Glossary of Terms
Acid/Acidity – Acid doesn’t generate a positive image for most people but true wine lovers are not amongst this group. Acid is in fact one of the main structural components of any wine. Wines are made up of four types of acid: citric, lactic, malic and tartaric. While we often think of acid in a negative light, it is critical for balanced wines. Acidity ensures the flavour of a wine tastes fresh and balances any residual sweetness.Lack of acidity in any wine and particular dessert styles of wine can provide the wine a cloying mouth feel and unpleasantly sweet impression.
Aftertaste (finish) – Have you ever had a wine’s taste linger in your mouth? This lingering sensation is known as the aftertaste or finish of a wine. The best wine has a long balanced aftertaste that lasts for many seconds and in some cases minutes. While, the finish should be balanced, it is not always the case. Some wines might taste hot (a mild burning sensation in the throat) as in the case of wines with a high and unbalanced amount of alcohol. Others might taste soft (lack of acidity), tannic or seemingly have no finish at all.
Aroma - Reading a wine review it is easy to get overwhelmed by the seemingly endless list of descriptors. You might ask yourself how could one wine have aromas of rose petals, cherry, vanilla and cocoa? The answer is that all wines are made of aromatic compounds found naturally in the grapes. These are known as primary aromas are most often associated with fruit character but can be herbaceous or vegetal elements depending on the grape. Wines can also have secondary aromas which speak to the influence of the winemaker.
Astringent – If you’ve ever had a wine that was so dry that it made you lips cringe. When making your tasting it is proper to refer to a wine that is so high in tannin that it provides a puckering taste as astringent.
Austere – A wine might be termed as austere if it appears to lack in fruit character and body but have high levels of acidity or firm tannins. Austere wines generally are young wines from cool climates. The austere character of these wines may reduce with time.
Balance – All good wines strive to have balance. Acid balances sweetness, fruit character balances oak and tannin while alcohol is balance by fruit character. If a wine is not in balance it may be tagged as hot (alcoholic), acidic (too much acid), soft (not enough acid) or tannic (too much tannin relative to fruit).
Body– There is a reference to body in just about any wine description. Body refers to the weight of a wine. The impression of weight comes from alcohol as well as glycerin and sugar.
Bouquet – Bouquet is often confused as the same as aroma. However, while aroma reflects the aromas provided by the grape or winemaker, bouquet is the aromatic qualities associated with age. A young fresh wine has aroma while a older wine can have both aroma and bouquet.
Closed – Professional wine tasters will often describe a young full-bodied wine as closed as often these wine don’t reveal their personality without time in the cellar.
Corked – In rare instances, a wine may have an undesired wet cardboard like aroma. This aroma may be the result of cork taint. If a cork that has not been properly sterilized and is inserted into a wine during the bottling process, an off-flavour can develop in the wine.
Cru – A term often found on premium French wines. Cru refers to a wine made from a vineyard that is recognized as superior. Cru is often preceded by Premiere or Grand. The Grand Cru wines of Burgundy are amongst France’s best and most expensive wines.
Decant – The act of decanting is the process of pouring a wine from a bottle into another glass container. Decanting may seem a bit pretentious but there is a lot of validity behind it. The process of decanting is often reserved for older wines. Here the idea is not to let the wine breathe (expose it to oxygen) but separate the wine from the natural sediment that has developed in the bottle over time. You may also use decanting to expose young wines to oxygen in an effort to soften the wine’s youthful aggression. In this instance use a wide mouthed decanter to ensure as much exposure to air as possible.
Dry – A wine made to with little or no residual sweetness. This lack of sugar accentuates the wines acidity and tannin creating a drying impression in the mouth.
Estate Bottle – A term used to refer to a wine made from grapes grown on the wineries own property.
Firm – Wines are often described as firm. The wine isn’t physically hard but the finish of the wine has high amounts of acidity and or tannin. Firm is generally regarded as positive comment and is reserved for wine’s with excellent structure.
Fleshy – Some wines are described as fleshy. The reference is to the wine’s texture which is rich, sometimes oily and soft.
Green – Wines from unripe grapes are often described as being green as they will show either herbaceous or vegetal character or very high, citrus-like acidity.
Hot – You might opt to describe a wine as hot if the impression of alcohol is high. Often alcohol can either be smelled or comes across as burning sensation on the throat in the finish of the wine.
Icewine – A wine made from frozen grapes. The grapes must be picked when the outside temperature has dropped to -8 Celsius or lower for a prolonged period of time. High minimum sugar levels are also required in the must (grape juice) to be able to made into Icewine.
Jammy – Red wines from Australia and other warm countries often are described as jammy. In very warm climates, the character of red wines often veer from fresh fruit flavours to more cooked, jam-like fruit character. In extreme conditions this fruit character can become dried or raisin-like in nature.
Legs – After spinning a wine to release its aroma, natural streaks develop on the side of the wine glass. These streaks of are referred to as the legs. The character of the legs gives clues about the wine. Thicker streams indicates a wine with higher alcohol or sugar levels.
Meritage – An American term created for wines made by blending a minimum of two of the traditional Bordeaux grape varieties; namely Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, Malbec and Carmenere for red wines. On rare occasions, some wineries also label a wine as a White Meritage which is a blend of at least two of Sauvignon Blanc, Sauvignon Vert, Semillon and Muscadelle.
New World Wine – Wine made in countries discovered by the Europeans in the period of discovery. Most often it refers to countries in North and South America as well as Australia and New Zealand. South Africa is also often included as a New World country.
Nose – The nose of a wine refers to the wine’s aroma which includes both the primary and secondary aromas as well as the bouquet of the wine.
Old World Wine – Wine made in traditional European countries as well as North Africa and Asian Minor.
Oak - The most common aging and storing vessel for wine. Wine aged, and or fermented in oak, are often described as having aromas suggestive of vanilla, coconut, spice, cedar or possessing a toasty character.
Oaky – A wine may be described as oaky if the aromas of the oak such as vanilla, toasty notes, coconut or freshly sewn oak dominates the fruit character of the wine.
Reserve (Reserva) – Wines labeled in North America as reserve often refer to premium wines or wines aged for extended periods in oak. However there is no legal definition of reserve so the term is often used for marketing purposes. In Europe, the term is more stringently monitored, with individual regions having its own definition for the term.
Super Tuscans – A group of wines made in Italy’s Tuscany province. These wines are made outside of the traditional wine law and will often incorporate international grape varietals such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah.