A

Acetic/Acidity - All wines contain acetic acid (I.e.: vinegar), usually in minute amounts, which may enhance flavor. At just under 0.10% content, the flavor becomes noticeable and the wine is termed acetic. The acidity of wine gives it its crispiness and vitality. A proper balance of acidity must be struck with the other elements of a wine, or else the wine may be said to be too sharp - having disproportionately high levels of acidity - or too flat - having disproportionately low levels of acidity.

Acrid - tasting term for a wine with overly pronounced acidity; this is often apparent in cheap red wines

Aftertaste - tasting term for the taste left on the palate after wine has been swallowed

Age/Aged - White wines tend to turn from a greenish hue in young wines to a yellowish caste/tone to a gold/amber color as they age. Reds usually possess a purple tone when young, turning to a deep red - (Bordeaux wines) - or a brick red color - (Burgundy wines) - detectable at the surface edge in a wineglass as they age. Rosé's should be pink with no tinge of yellow or orange. Cellar aged red wines at their peak will show a deep golden-orange color as it thins at the surface edge. If the wine color has deepened into a distinctly brown-orange tint at the edge it usually indicates a wine past its peak and declining.

Aging barrel - a barrel, often made of oak, used to age wine or distilled spirits

Alcohol - refers to ethanol, a chemical compound found in alcoholic beverages; also -alcoholic beverages in general; Table wines must, by law, state on the label the alcohol content of the wine within the bottle, usually expressed as a percentage of the volume. Table wines do not usually exceed 14% alcohol content - (11% to 12.5% is generally considered the optimum amount) - although a few, such as the "jaune vin" of the Jura region of France are fermented in a special manner to attain consistently higher levels in the 14.5 to 15.5% range. Sweet dessert wines fall in the same range. Fortified wines (Sherry, Port, etc.) range from 17% to 21% alcohol content.

Angular - the total effect of dominant, tart-edged flavors and taste impressions in many young dry wines; opposite meaning to round, soft or supple

Altar wine - wine used by the Catholic Church in celebrations of the Eucharist

Alternative wine closures - various substitutes used in the wine industry for sealing wine bottles in place of the traditional cork

Amphora - type of ceramic vase, used for transporting and storing wine in ancient times

Angel's share - the portion of a wine in an aging barrel that is lost to evaporation

Anthocyanin - phenolic pigments that give red wine its color

A.O.C. - abbreviation for Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée, literally a wine whose Appellation is of controlled origin, as specified under French law; AOC laws specify and delimit the geography from which a particular wine (or other food product) may originate and methods by which it may be made and areadministered by the Institut National des Appellations d'Origine, or INAO.

A.P. number - abbreviation for Amtliche Prüfnummer, the official testing number displayed on a German wine label that shows that the wine was tasted and passed government quality control standards

Appellation - geographical based term to identify where the grapes for a wine were grown

Appley - smell or aroma of a wine, usually carrying additional modifiers; "Ripe apples" ~ full, fruity, clean smell associated with some styles of Chardonnay wine; "Fresh apples" ~ same for some types types of Riesling; "Green apple" ~ describes wines made from barely ripe or underripe grapes; "Stale apples" ~ almost exclusively used for flawed wine exhibiting first stage oxidation

Aroma - the smell of a wine; intensity and character of the aroma can be assessed with nearly any descriptive adjective. (eg: from "appley" to "raisiny", "fresh" to "tired", etc.); usually refers to the particular smell of the grape variety; generally used for younger wines; bouquet is reserved for more aged wines

Ascescence - term used to mark the presence of acetic acid and ethyl acetate; noticed by sweet and sour, sometimes vinegary smell and taste along with a sharp feeling in the mouth

Astringent - describes wines that have a rough, puckery taste; condition attributed to high tannin content; astringency generally (but not always) decrease with age

ATF - Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, a United States government agency which is primarily responsible for the regulation of wines sold and produced in the United States

Attack - initial impact of a wine; if not strong or flavorful, the wine is considered feeble; late rain just before harvest diluting desirable grape content may cause this

Attractive - the winetaster liked it anyway; a slight put down for expensive wines, a compliment for others

Austere - usually used in description of dry, relatively hard and acidic wines that seem to lack depth and roundness; Such wines may soften a bit with age. often applied to wines made from noble grape varieties grown in cool climates or harvested too early in the season



B

Backbone - refers to big, full-bodied red wines with evident tannin and/or acidity

Backward - describes a wine that retains youthful characteristics despite considerable aging; usually indicates that it will take longer to reach maturity and requires even more aging in the bottle or barrel; opposite of forward

Balance - the harmonious relationship of the components of wine resulting in a well proportioned, or well balanced, wine; no individual part dominant. acid balances the sweetness; fruit balances against oak and tannin content; alcohol is balanced against acidity and flavor; Wine not in balance may be acidic, cloying, flat or harsh etc.

Barrel - hollow cylindrical container, traditionally made of wood staves, used for fermenting and aging wine; Sometimes called a cask.

Barrique - French name for a 225 litre Bordeaux style barrel (Bordeaux hogshead); will yield 24 12 bottle cases

Baumé - measure of the sugar concentration in the juice or wine

Beeswing - light sediment, chiefly mucilage, found in Port

Bentonite - type of clay used in wine clarification

Berrylike - describes the ripe, sweet, fruity taste of blackberries, raspberries, cranberries and cherries in a wine; often used for red wines, particularly Zinfandel

Big - overall flavor of a wine, white or red, that has full, rich flavors big red wines often tannic; big white wines generally high in alcohol and glycerin; can imply clumsiness, the opposite of elegance; generally positive, but context is essential; A Bordeaux red wine, for example, shouldn't be as "big" as a California Cabernet Sauvignon.

Biodynamic wine - wines produced by the principles of biodynamic agriculture

Bitter - one of the four basic tastes, along with salty, sour, and sweet; tannin content a major source of bitterness; some grapes (e.g. Gewurztraminer, Muscat) have a distinct bitter edge to their flavor. if dominantt in the aroma or taste of a wine, considered a fault; Sweet dessert wines may have an enhanced bitter component that complements the other flavors making for a successful overall taste balance.

Blanc de Blancs - white wine, usually sparkling, made exclusively from white grapes, often Chardonnay

Blanc de Noirs - white wine, usually sparkling, made from red grapes

Blending - mixing of two or more different parcels of wine together by winemakers to produce a consistent finished wine that is ready for bottling; Laws generally dictate what wines can be blended together, and what is subsequently printed on the wine label.

Blatina - a red wine grape of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Blind tasting - tasting and evaluating wine without knowing what it is

Bodega - a Spanish wine cellar; also - a seller of alcoholic beverage or the store itself

Body - tasting term describing the effect on the taster's palate usually experienced from a combination of alcohol, glycerin and sugar content, often described as "full", "meaty" or "weighty"; wine may be light-, medium-, or full-bodied. less specific term than texture; Wines rich in concentration, extract, alcohol, tannin and glycerol may be described as full-bodied.

Botrytis, Botrytis cinerea aka Noble rot - a mold or fungus that attacks grapes in humid climate conditions, causing the concentration of sugar and acid content by making grapes at a certain level of maturity shrivel; may result in a pleasing, aromatic and flavorful wine to be made; the extraordinary "Beerenauslese" a result of botrytis on Riesling grapes

Bottle shock aka bottle-sickness - a temporary condition of wine characterized by muted or disjointed fruit flavors; often occurs immediately after bottling or when wines (usually fragile wines) are shaken in travel; condition usually disappears after a week

Bottle variation - degree to which bottled wine of the same style and vintage can vary

Bouquet ( a near synonym for "aroma") - tasting term for the complex aromas of an aged wine, generally restricted to description of odors from poured bottled wines; generally not applied to young wines

Box wine - wine packaged in a bag usually made of flexible plastic and protected by a box, usually made of cardboard, and sealed by a simple plastic tap

Brandy - (from Dutch Brandywine, "burned wine") - alcoholic liquor distilled from wine or fruit juices; a fortified wine

Brawny - term used mainly to describe young red wines with high alcohol and tannin levels e examples.

Breathe, Breathing - the act of allowing the wine to "breathe"; ie: wine s poured into another container, such as a wineglass, the admixture of air seems to release pent-up aromas which then become more pronounced. In some wines, the aroma may change in minutes, while others may take an hour or more.

Breed - wines from the best grape varieties, the so-called "noble grapes"; wines judged to have reached classical expectations of aroma, balance, structure and varietal character

Brettanomyces - a wine spoilage yeast that produces taints in wine commonly described as barnyard or band-aids

Briary - wine having an aggressive, prickly taste best described as peppery; often combined with the adjective "brawny" to characterize a young red wine with high alcohol and tannin content

Bright - a wine that has high clarity, very low levels of suspended solids

Brilliant - very clear (and transparent in white wines) appearance with no visible particulates or suspensions; may be sign of flavor deficiency in heavily filtered wines

Brix - measurement system used for sugar content of grapes, wine and related products; reading of 20° to 25° Brix is the optimum degree of grape ripeness at harvest for the majority of table wines; A quick conversion method for users requiring Specific Gravity units of measurement is to take the Brix reading, deg. Brix (as Sucrose, for which most refractometers are calibrated), and multiply by 0.00425 and then add 0.9988 to the resulting number. (This quick method is not exact, but very close.)

Browning - denotes aging in a wine; Young wine color tints show no sign of such "browning". If possessed of good character and depth, a wine can still be very enjoyable even with a pronounced "brown" tint. In average wines this tint, seen along the wine surface edge in a tilted glass goblet, normally signals a wine is "past its peak", although still very drinkable.

Brut - French term for a very dry champagne or sparkling wine; drier than extra dry

Bung - a stopper used to seal a bottle or barrel; commonly used term for corks

Burnt wine - another name for Brandy, a liquor made from distilled wine; often the source of additional alcohol in fortified wines

Butt - old English unit of wine casks, equivalent to about 477 liters (126 US gallons/105 imperial gallons)

Buttery - taste sensation found in better white wines, particularly Chardonnay

C

Cabernet Sauvignon - variety of red grape mainly used for wine production, and is, along with Chardonnay, one of the most widely-planted of the world's noble grape varieties

Cabernet Sauvignon(cah bear nay so veen yon) -
Full-bodied and rich. Flavor can include nuances of berry, herbs, cedar & chocolate

California cult wines - certain California wines for which consumers and others pay higher prices than those of Bordeaux's First Growths (Premiers Crus)

Candylike - refers to the perfumed fresh fruit aromas and flavors of the grape which can be attractive in wines made for early consumption, e.g. "nouveau" Beaujolais; Many consider it a less desirable characteristic in longer-aging reds and better whites.

Capsule - the plastic or foil that covers the cork and part of the neck of a wine bottle

Carbonic maceration - winemaking practice of fermenting whole grapes that have not been crushed

Cedar/Cedarwood - aroma component often found in fine red wines

Cellaring - aging wine for the purpose of improvement or storage; may occur in any area which is cool (12-15°C), dark, free from drastic temperature change, and free from vibrations; bottled wines typically cellared on their sides

Chai - a wine shed, or other storage place above ground, used for storing casks, common in Bordeaux; usually different types of wine kept in separate sheds

Champagne flute - a piece of stemware having a long stem with a tall, narrow bowl on top

Chaptalization - winemaking process where sugar is added to the must to increase the alcohol content in the fermented wine, often done when grapes have not ripened adequately

Chardonnay (shar doe nay) - dry, crisp, flavorful with nuances of apples, citrus & vanilla; one of the "noble" white varietals

Charmat process - a method where sparkling wines receive their secondary fermentation in large tanks, rather than individual bottles as seen in Méthode champenoise

Charming - a patronizing comment applied to wines that don't quite fulfill the first expectations. Implies lightness, an expression of "attitude"; Sometimes used to describe certain wines made from the Chenin Blanc grape and styled after a type of wine originating from the Loire region of France.

Château - generally a winery in Bordeaux, although the term is sometimes used for wineries in other parts of the world, such as the Barossa Valley

Chewy - refers to a high total tannic component of a wine; Figuratively, one cannot swallow this wine without chewing first.

Cigarbox - near synonym for "tobacco" aroma detected in the nose, especially if a "cedarwood" component is present. (Spanish cedarwood is the traditional material for making cigar boxes.)

Citrusy - having an aroma and flavor reminiscent of citrus fruits, with grapefruit the most common perception; most often present in white wines made from grapes grown in cooler regions of California or other countries

Claret - British name for Bordeaux wine. Is also a semi-generic term for a red wine in similar style to that of Bordeaux

Clarification - winemaking process involving the fining and filtration of wine to remove suspended solids and reduce turbidity.

Cleanskin - in Australia - wine bottled without a commercial label, usually sold cheaply in bulk quantities

Cloudy - opposite of clear; noticeable cloudiness undesirable except in cellar aged wines that have not been decanted properly; a characteristic of some unfiltered wines showing the result of winemaking mistakes and often possessing an unpleasant taste

Cloying - excessive sugar component annoys with dominating flavor and aftertaste; the wine then demonstrably unbalanced relative to the other components

Cold Duck - mixture of red and white sparkling wine that has a high sugar content

Cold stabilization - winemaking process where wine is chilled to near freezing temperatures for several weeks to encourage the precipitation of tartrate crystals

Complex - near synonym for "breed"; possesses that elusive quality where many layers of flavor separate a great wine from a very good one; balance combines all flavor and taste components in near perfect harmony

Cork - a wine bottle stopper made from the thick outer bark of the cork oak tree

Corked - tasting term for a wine that has cork taint; chemical changes in the wine due to insufficiently sterilized cork stopper inserted at bottling source thought to be the main reason; Simply a bad cork may be another.

Corkscrew - tool, comprising a pointed metallic helix attached to a handle, for drawing corks from bottles

Cork taint - type of wine fault describing undesirable aromas and flavors in wine often attributed to mould growth on chlorine bleached corks

Country wine - another name for "Fruit wine"

Crackling - semi-sparkling wine; slightly effervescent; also called frizzante

Creamy - a near synonym for "buttery"; refers to "silk-like" taste component of wines subjected to malolactic fermention as opposed to the "tart/crisp" taste component of the same wine lacking the treatment; opposite of "crisp".

Crémant - French sparkling wine not made in Champagne region

Crisp - wine has pronounced but pleasing tartness, acidity; fresh, young two terms that can describe crisp wine; generally used to describe white wines only, especially those of Muscadet de Sevres et Maine from the Loire region of France

Crust - sediment, generally potassium bitartrate, that adheres to the inside of a wine bottle

Cult wines - wines for which committed buyers will pay large sums of money because of their desirbility and rarity

Cuvé - large vat used for fermentation

Cuvaison - French term for the period of time during alcoholic fermentation when the wine is in contact with the solid matter such as skin, pips, stalks, in in order to extract color, flavor and tannin

Cuvée - the pressing, or a blending of several wines to ensure uniformity, often used in the production of chanpagne; also - bulk wine

D

Decanting - process of by which cellar-aged bottled wine is poured slowly and carefully into a second vessel, usually a glass decanter, in order to leave any sediment in the original bottle before serving; generally used only with reds

Dégorgement - the disgorging or removal of sediment from bottles that results from secondary fermentation

Delicate - wine demonstrating somewhat mild, but attractive characteristics; occasionally used to describe well-made wines from the so-called "lesser grape" varieties

Demi-sec - moderately sweet to medium sweet sparkling wines

Depth, Deep - rRefers to a premium wine with a developing flavor, having subtle layers of flavor that go "deep"

Dessert wine -
1) Fortified wine - eg: Sherry - where alcohol is added in the form of Brandy or neutral spirits.
2) sweet or very sweet wines of any alcohol level customarily drunk with dessert or by themselves and usually in small amounts.
3) In the UK, a very sweet, low alcohol wine.
4) In the US by law, any wine containing over 15% alcohol.

Devatting - process of separating red must from pomace, which can happen before or after fermentation

Direct - All sensations in the wine are present at first taste and immediately noticeable.

Dirty - describes any of the undesirable odors that can be present in a wine that that was poorly vinified; causes may be improperly cleaned barrels or various other processes performed incorrectly; Usually detected first in a wine by the smell of the cork stopper or from a barrel sample. Not the same as corked wines, where the stopper is thought to be responsible.

Diurnal temperature variation - the degree of temperature variation that occurs in a wine region from daytime to night.

DO -
1. abbreviation for Denominación de Origen, or "place name"; Spain's designation for wines whose name, origin of grapes, grape varieties and other important factors are regulated by law
2. abbreviation for dissolved oxygen, the degree of oxygen saturation in a wine, which strongly affects oxidation of the wine and its ageing properties

DOC -
1) abbreviation for Denominazione di Origine Controllata, or "controlled place name", Italy's designation for wine whose name, origin of grapes, grape varieties and other important factors are regulated by law
2) abbreviation for Portugal's highest wine category, which has the same meaning in that country.

DOCG - abbreviation for Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita or controlled and guaranteed place name, which is the category for the highest-ranking wine in Italy

Doux French -or sweet - usually refers to the sweetest category of sparkling wines

Drawing off - devatting.

Drip dickey - wine accessory that slips over the neck of a wine bottle and absorbs any drips that may run down the bottle after pouring - preventing stains to table cloths, counter tops or other surfaces

Dry - having zero or very low levels of residual sugar, generally containing less than about 0.5% residual sugar; opposite of sweet, except in sparkling wines, where dry means sweet

Dumb - synonym for "closed-in"; description of a young wine with yet-to-develop aromas and flavors; named so because it seems "unable to speak"

E

Earthy - describes situations where a "mother-earth" component is present; not to be confused with “dirty” wine; used to describe wine that made from grapes grown on vines planted in land previously used for growing certain vegetables containing components which "marked" the soil in some way; European tasters use the term in a broader sense to describe terroir characteristics.

Easy - describes wine that does not require special knowledge or a refined taste to appreciate; Easy wine tastes good.

Eiswein (German - ice wine) - a dessert wine made from frozen grapes

Elegant - a near synonym for "breed"; description similar to complex; having great balance

en Tirage - French for "in pulling", refers to the period of time in which bottled sparkling wine is rested in contact with lees generated during secondary fermentation; part of the Méthode Champenoise process

Enology - American English spelling of oenology, the study of wine

Essence
1) "odor kits" containing vials of representative flavor essence

2) used occasionally by wineries to describe a late harvest, sweet red wine. Most frequently appears on bottle labels for Zinfandel red wine made from grapes picked at 35° Brix or higher sugar content.

Estate winery - United States winery license allowing farms to produce and sell wine on-site, sometimes known as a Farm winery

Extra dry - champagne or sparkling wine with a small amount of residual sugar (slightly sweet); not as dry as Brut

Extract - everything in a wine except for water, sugar, alcohol, and acidity; refers to the solid compounds such as tannins; High levels result in more color and body, which may be increased by prolonging the wine's contact with the skins during cuvaison.

Extracted - the coloring imparted to wines during the fermentation process by the skins of the grapes used; can also occur in the further step known as "maceration" where new wine is allowed to steep with the skins again; This second step usually results in a "highly extracted" style of wine, deeply colored with strong flavors and tannin. Rosés, (aka "blush" wines), are normally made by limiting contact with the skins, the opposite of "extraction".

F

Farm winery - United States winery license allowing farms to produce and sell wine on-site

Fat - fills the mouth; "feels" and tastes a little obvious; often lacks elegance, but is prized by connoisseurs of sweet dessert wines; not quite right even for a late harvest Moselle Riesling, but just right for a classic Sauternes; fatness/oiliness determined by the naturally occurring glycerol (a.k.a glycerin) content in the wine

Fault - unpleasant characateristic of wine resulting from a flaw with the winemaking process or storage conditions

Fermentation - yhe conversion of grape sugars to alcohol by yeast

Fiasco - straw-covered flask historically associated with Chianti

Fighting varietal - term that originated in California during the mid 1980s to refer to any inexpensive cork-finished varietal wine in a 1.5 liter bottle

Filtered - suspended particulates (resulting from the fermentation process) have been removed; helps to ensure future clarity and stability of a wine

Fined/Fining - a clarification process where flocculants, such as bentonite or egg white, are added to the wine to remove suspended solids, which then precipitate to the bottom of the fermentation process vessel carrying any suspended particulate matter with them

Finish - the term for the lingering aftertaste after a wine has been swallowed

Firm - acid or tannic astringency is noticeable to the palate, suggesting that the wine is young and will age; nearly always a positive comment; very desirable with highly flavored foods

Flabby - term used to indicate a wine lacking in structure, often marked by low acidity

Flagon - a glass bottle that holds two litres of (usually inexpensive) table wine. The vessel with the pestle holds the pellet with the poison. The flagon with the dragon holds the brew that is true.

Flat- opposite of "firm"; generally indicates very low acidity, resulting in an insipid taste and lacking flavor

Fleshy - refers to both body and texture; fleshy wine fatter than a meaty wine, exhibiting some excess oiliness if too pronounced; often suggests great smoothness and richness

Flint/Flinty - "stoney" tasting; derived from French phrase gout de pierre a fusil, literally a smoky, whiff of gunflint; an almost acrid taste; used to describe flavor sensations allegedly present in wines made from grapes grown on a limestone/silica rich terroir; an initial evaluation indicating a young white wine made from cool region grapes under cold fermentation condition; characterized by high acidity, a tactile "mouthfeel" that is filling and yet has a flavor sensation that is cleanly "earthy"

Flor - yeast responsible for the character of dry Sherries

Floral - the aroma or taste, usually aroma, of flowers is present; usually used to describe attributes of white wine aromas; Few red wines have floral aromas.

Fortified wine - wine to which alcohol has been added, generally to increase the concentration to a high enough level to prevent fermentation

Forward - the presence of "fruitiness" is immediately apparent; generally means that the wine is in peak condition and on its plateau of maturity; opposite of backward

Foxy - term for the musty odor and flavor of wines made from Vitis labrusca grapes native to North America; derived from the French phrase "gout de renard which literally translates as "odor" or "taste" of fox, but means something more like "presence of fox" in the intangible sense; best understood by smelling fresh Concord grapes; not a good quality in white wines

Free run - juice obtained from grapes that have not been pressed

Fresh - lively fruity taste, possibly a slight acidic taste; present in young light reds, ros& #233s, and whites; opposite of flatness, staleness

Frizzante - semi-sparkling wine; slightly effervescent; also called crackling

Fruit - main component of the wine, usually grape but other fruits also used to make wine, such as pear, plum, etc.; often mentioned when the fruit isn't grown in the same site as the winery, such as "the wine is produced here on-site, but the fruit is purchased from a vineyard upstate"

Fruit wine - fermented alcoholic beverage made from non-grape fruit juice which may or may not include the addition of sugar or honey; always called "something" wines (e.g., plum wine), since the word wine alone is often legally defined as a beverage made only from grapes

Fruity - describes any quality that refers to the body and richness of a wine made from good, ripe grapes; will have an appley, berrylike or herbaceous character; usually implies a little extra sweetness

Full-bodied - opposite of thin or thin-bodied; weighty on the tongue, fills the mouth; tastes like wine, with a noticeable, but not unpleasant, taste of alcohol

This message has been edited. Last edited by: DorianGreyed,