Basic Wine Terms
Acidity: Describes a tart our sour taste in the mouth when the acidity of the wine is high.
Aftertaste: The taste that lingers in the mouth after the wine is tasted. Also see “Finish”.
Aroma: Refers to the particular smell of the grape variety, i.e. “spicy”, “citrus”, “floral”.
Beads: Winespeak for the bubbles in a glass of Champagne, which are purported to string together into a beadlike formation.
Body: The weigh of wine in your mouth, commonly expressed as full-bodied, medium-bodied or light–bodied.
Bouquet: A tasting term used to describe the aromas a wine develops as it ages.
Finish: The lasting flavor of the wine after a sip.
Legs: The viscous trails that wine makes on a glass after it has be swirled. This is an indication of the alcohol present in the wine. The thicker or longer the legs, the stronger in alcohol and/or sugar the wine tends to be. These are also called tears.
Length: The amount of time the sensations of taste and aroma persist after swallowing.
Mouth feel: The texture of the wine, how it feels in the mouth and against the tongue.
Nose: See Aroma.
Palate: The feel and taste of wine in the mouth.
Terms about the Wine’s Character
Acrid: Describes a wine with overly pronounced acidity.
Assertive: Upfront, forward.
Attractive: A lighter style. Fresh, easy to drink wine
Balanced: The quality achieved in a wine when its fruit, acidity, alcohol and tannin are all in good proportion to one another. A wine is well balanced when none of those characteristics dominates.
Big: A wine that is full-bodied, rich and slightly alcoholic tasting.
Character: A wine with excellent, distinguishing qualities.
Crisp: Denotes a fresh, young wine with good qualities.
Closed: Describes wines that are concentrated and have character, but are shy in aroma or flavor.
Complete: A full-bodied wine rich in extracts with a pronounced finish.
Complex: Used as a compliment to wines for their diversity of flavors, aromas, and textures. It describes a wine that combines all flavor and taste components in harmony.
Delicate: Used to describe light to medium weight wines with good flavors.
Dense: Describes a wine that has concentrated aromas on the nose and palate.
Depth: Describes the complexity and concentration of flavors in a wine. Generally refers to a quality wine with subtle layers of flavor that go “deep”.
Developed: The maturity of a wine.
Elegant: Describes a wine of grace, balance and beauty.
Empty: Flavorless and uninteresting.
Fading: Describes a wine that is losing color, fruit, or flavor, usually as a result of age.
Flabby: Lacking acidity on the palate, suggesting it was made from overripe grapes.
Flat: Having low acidity; the next stage after flabby; or refers to a sparkling wine that has lost its bubbles.
Food-friendly: Usually denotes a well-made but simple wine that matches up easily with different foods.
Full-Bodied: Fills the mouth.
Graceful: Describes a wine that is subtly harmonious and pleasing.
Grip: Sensation ascribed to a wine with enough acidity and/or Tannin that it seems to actually grab hold of the palate.
Harmony: Synonymous for Balance. A musical mingling of flavors and textures.
Hot: A wine that is inordinately high in alcohol, leading to a burning, unpleasant Finish.
Mouthfeel: The texture of a wine as it coats the tongue and palate.
Neutral: Describes a wine without outstanding characteristics, good or bad.
Potent: Describes a strong, intense powerful wine.
Robust: Describes a full-bodied, intense and vigorous wine.
Round: Describes a well-balanced wine in fruit, tannins and body.
Short: Describes a wine that does not remain on the palate after swallowing. Common, in inexpensive wines, but not necessarily a fault.
Soft: Describes a wine with low acid/tannin, or alcohol content with little impact on the palate.
Supple: Describes a wine with well-balanced tannins and fruit characteristics.
Structure: Term for wine’s overall body and “Mouthfeel”. A tart, high acid wine is considered “firm” in structure, and a tannic wine more “powerful” or “tight”, while a softer, super ripe style might be described as “flabby.”
Thin: Lacing body and depth
Terms about the Wine’s Taste
Barnyard: An adjective for wines with a pronounced earthiness.
Bite: A marked degree of acidity or tannin. An acid grip in the finish should be more like a zestful tang and is tolerable only in a rich, full-bodied wine.
Bitter: Considered a fault if the bitterness dominates the flavor or aftertaste. A trace in sweet wines may complement the flavors. A fine, mature wine should not be bitter on the palate.
Buttery: Refers to both the flavor and texture or mouth feel. Common among Chardonnay, especially new world.
Chewy: Describes rich, heavy, tannic wines that are full-bodied.
Corked: The wine smells of cork, it is unpleasant to smell and taste, slightly musty. The flavor of the wine will typically be flat and dull.
Dirty: Covers any and all foul, rank, off-putting smells that can occur in a wine, including those caused by bad barrels or corks. A sign of poor winemaking.
Earthy: Describes a wine that tastes of soil, most common in red wines. Can be used both positively (pleasant, clean quality adding complexity to aroma and flavor) and negatively (barnyard character bordering on dirtiness).
Flinty: Describes the aroma or taste of some white wines; like the odor of flint striking steel. Often used to describe Riesling.
Fruity: Describes any quality referring to the body and richness of wine, i.e. “appley,” “berrylike.” Usually implies a little extra sweetness.
Grapey: Describes simple flavors and aromas associated with fresh table grapes.
Green: Suggests that the grapes were harvested too soon, picked from young vines. Not necessarily a bad thing, especially in a Riesling.
Heady: Used to describe the smell of a wine high in alcohol.
Herbaceous: The taste and smell of herbs.
Kerosene: Tasting term applied to Rieslings, usually flatteringly.
Leather: Tasting term applied to complex red wines, usually flatteringly
Murky: Lacking brightness; turbid or swampy.
Musty: Having a moldy smell.
Oaky: Describes the aroma and taste of oak.
Over-oaked: Describes a wine whose maker has let the juice’s flavor get overpowered by that of the barrel in which it was aged. Some degree of oakiness is desirable in many wines, imparting toasty and/or vanilla like qualities.
Peppery: Describes the taste of pepper in a wine; sharper than “Spicy”. Good zinfandel often has a black pepper aroma, white Rhone Valley Syrah can have a white pepper aroma.
Perfumed: Refers to a delicate bouquet.
Smoky: Describes a subtle wood-smoke aroma. Attributed to barrel fermenting or aging.
Spicy: Describes the presence of spice flavors such as anise, cinnamon, cloves, mint and pepper, often present in complex wines.
Sweet: One of the four basic tastes. Describes the presence of residual sugar and/or glycerin.
Tannin: Describes a dry sensation, with flavors of leather and tea.
Tart: Sharp-tasting because of acidity. See also “Acidic.”
Toasty: Describes a hint of the wooden barrel. Usually associated with dry white wines.
Velvety: Having rich flavor and a silky texture.
Zesty: A wine that’s invigorating.
