Get a bit
flummoxed when people start commenting in WineSpeak? Don't! With this
handy guide, you can throw WineSpeak around with the best of them,
maybe even surprise people with a word or two they haven't yet heard:
Acidity:
The quality that gives wine it's crisp and zesty character. The
acidity needs to be balanced; over-acidity creates a wine that's too
sharp, tart, or sour; low levels create a flat wine. The three main
acids found in wine are tartaric acid and malic acid (both of which
come from directly from the grapes) and lactic acid (a product of the
fermentation process). All wines contain some acidity, but it's
usually more noticeable in white wines.
Appellation: A geographically-based term that identifies where
wine grapes were grown.
Aroma:
The smell of a wine, generally applied to younger wines. Aged wines
are said to possess a bouquet.
Balance:
The way various parts of the wine harmonize. When acids, fruit,
tannins, and alcohol are in proportion, the wine is said to be
well-balanced.
Body:
A tasting word that describes the taster's impression of a wine's
weight and fullness in the mouth.
Bouquet:
The smell of a wine. The term is generally applied to the complex
aroma of aged wines. Younger wines are said to possess an aroma.
Corked:
A term for a wine that has gone bad, with a musty and unpleasant
smell—usually via a flawed cork.
Decanting: Pouring wine from its original bottle into a decanter.
After sitting a while, the wine and its sediment are separated. This
process usually doesn't need to be done with younger wines.
Dry:
A dry wine is one in which there is no sugar remaining after
fermentation. Red wines are almost always dry, although they can have
fruity aromas. In sparkling wines, however, the word "dry" means
sweet.
Fermentation: The conversion of the sugar in grapes into alcohol.
This process is due to the presence of yeast.
Flabby:
A tasting term indicating that a wine lacks structure; this could
indicate that the wine is low in acidity.
Fruitiness: Fermentation gives most wines a complex aroma with
subtle hints of other fruits besides grapes—apple or pear in white
wines, for example, and raspberries or cherries in reds.
Lees:
Wine sediment occurring during and after fermentation, an accumulation
of grape seeds, dead yeast, and other solids. The process of racking
separates lees from wine.
Must:
Unfermented grape juice, including grape seeds, skins, and stalks.
Nose: A
tasting term for a wine's aroma or bouquet.
Off-Dry:
An off-dry wine is slightly sweet, but not sugary. Off-dry wines are
usually white.
Sweet:
Sweet wines are usually considered dessert wines, which are usually
enjoyed with sweet desserts, or by themselves at the end of a meal.
Tannin:
Plant-based compounds that—in the extreme—give wine a bitter, dry,
puckery feeling in the mouth. Tannin is found almost exclusively in
red wines.
Tart:
A Tasting term that describes a wine high in acidity.
Terroir:
The physical and geographical qualities of a specific vineyard that
give the grapes grown there unique properties.
Varietal: Wines made from a single grape variety—Pinot Noir or
Chardonnay grapes, say.
Young:
A wine that is not matured; it's usually bottled and sold within a
year of its production.
