what does "inky smack" mean?

[blwings]

"Everyone’s excited – the house is warm and noisy, the older teenagers have found the cider, the little ones are high on 7 Up, and the red wine delivers an inky smack."

This is from Lucy Pollock's The Book About Getting Older.
I wonder what does "inky smack" mean here.

 

[emsr2d2]

A "smack" is a way of describing something with a fairly strong taste. "Inky" refers to the colour - it's dark.

 

[Skrej]

See the definition for smack noun (1), and the related verb (1) definition #1

I would take 'inky' as a reference to the tannin in the wine - what gives wine that slightly sour/acidic taste. For hundreds of years, ink was made with tannic acid and oak galls (as a source of iron), hence the name 'iron gall ink'.

Such ink was widely used up until about the 1950's, although it's still available today. It's pretty simple to make yourself as well.

 

[probus]

Another way of looking at it is that inky describes a fluid that is not fit or appetizing to drink.