The Lingo
In this section you'll find notes on how to discover your "wine voice"
and how to organise your thoughts around your wine experience
and communicate that experience to others.
In this section you'll find notes on how to discover your "wine voice"
and how to organise your thoughts around your wine experience
and communicate that experience to others.
Look: Your first impression you will probably have of a wine, after the label, will
also be the easiest to describe --- its color. Hold your glass up to the light or
against a white background and look at the wine. Is it really red? Or is it more
purple? A bit brownish perhaps? Is it light or dark? Can you see light through
it? Or does it block the light out? Does it remind you of rubies, sapphires,
amethysts or the falling leaves on an autumn day? When you swirl the wine in
the glass does it leave thick streaks along the inside of the glass? Thin
streaks? None? Say what you see. You can't be wrong.
Smell: Next you'll sniff the wine. You'll stick your nose way into the glass and
breath deeply. Your first sniff will always be your most accurate impression.
Your nose is highly sensitive, but it fatigues quickly. Note what the wine smells
like. To help you out, note that there are 10 basic smells found in wine. These
are:
Taste: Since the ancient Greeks, it has been believed in the Western world
that your taste buds are capable of receiving just four flavors: sweet, savory (i.
e., salty), bitter and sour, and that the myriad sensations of taste we
experience are just combinations of these. The Chinese believed in five
flavors, the same Western ones plus "spicy." Recent discoveries have
confirmed that a fifth receptor does indeed exist, but for a flavor called "unami,"
a glutamate that can give you a sense of warmth and well-being. Well, wine
certainly offers that, but that could just be the alcohol.
It's interesting to note that when you are "tasting" wine you are not just tasting
it. You are also smelling it. There is a passage between your nose and your
mouth, as anyone who has laughed so hard that they have shot Pepsi out of
their nose can tell you. So when you are swirling a wine around in your mouth
you are tasting it with your taste buds, smelling it, and feeling it against your
oral nerves.
In tasting you will find these basic qualities:
Finish: The lingering aftertaste of a wine is called its "finish." You'll be
surprised to find, especially in exceptional wines, that the flavors and
sensations encountered in the finish can be quite different from those you
encountered "up front." A wine's finish can be long, medium or short,
depending on how long the flavor and feel lasts at the back of your mouth.
In addition, as with a wine's smell, you'll often find herb and vegetable tastes
as well as coffee, chocolate and earth. When tasting, just say what you taste.
Again, you can't be wrong. When you first start you might not have the language
to describe your sensations, but this will come in time with practice and by
talking to other enthusiasts. It helps to keep a journal of wine notes to organize
your thoughts and keep as reference.
Common Descriptors
Adjectives used to describe wines are usually referred to as "descriptors."
Below is a list of some of the more common descriptors. For more, visit the
Lexicon.
Astringent
A quality in highly tannic reds that makes your mouth pucker.
Apricot
A flavor often noted in sweet white wines.
Austere
Can mean simple or one-dimensional, or it can mean light yet
acidic though not necessarily simple, like a Chablis.
Balanced
A wine is "balanced" when all of its base elements are presented in proper
proportion ---
acidity, fruit and tannin.
Berries
Blueberries, blackberries, black cherries, etc.
Big
A broad term for a full-bodied, flavorful wine.
Black pepper
A fragrant, floral, and distinctively peppery quality.
Buttery
The taste and feel in the mouth of butter in the wine which common in
Chardonnays, especially from California. It is highly desirable among ladies-
who-lunch but considered vulgar among many wine enthusiasts.
Caramel or Honey
A sweet, sugar-like aroma.
Chocolaty
"Found in hearty reds with a creamy feel in the mouth and a "burnt" quality.
Citrus
The citrus fruit --- oranges, lemons, limes, grapefruits, etc. --- quality often
found in white wine
Corked
A corked wine has an unpleasant musty taste that overawes all other aromas
and flavors in the wine. It means the wine's gone bad.
Earthy
The over-arching descriptor for the whole range of aromas and flavors
associated with the organic, including: "barnyard," "forest floor," "foxy," "tree
bark," "gamey," etc.
Flowery
Descriptor for a wine with aromas of flowers that is considered pleasant in
whites.
Jammy
Reminiscent of jam or jelly; associated with Zinfandel.
Mineral
A "stony" quality sometimes found Chablis and Riesling.
Melons
Watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew, etc.
Nutty
A flavor in many wines.
Oaky
A flavor and aroma found in wines like Chardonnays, that have been aged in
oak barrels.
Red Fruit
Apples, strawberries, raspberries, etc.
One way to train your nose and palate is to get some of these food items from
the store and taste and smell them, and then go and see if you can isolate
those same flavors and aromas in the wine.
also be the easiest to describe --- its color. Hold your glass up to the light or
against a white background and look at the wine. Is it really red? Or is it more
purple? A bit brownish perhaps? Is it light or dark? Can you see light through
it? Or does it block the light out? Does it remind you of rubies, sapphires,
amethysts or the falling leaves on an autumn day? When you swirl the wine in
the glass does it leave thick streaks along the inside of the glass? Thin
streaks? None? Say what you see. You can't be wrong.
Smell: Next you'll sniff the wine. You'll stick your nose way into the glass and
breath deeply. Your first sniff will always be your most accurate impression.
Your nose is highly sensitive, but it fatigues quickly. Note what the wine smells
like. To help you out, note that there are 10 basic smells found in wine. These
are:
- • Fruits
• Herbs
• Veggies
• Earth
• Flowers
• Grass
• Tobacco
• Smoke
• Coffee
• Chocolate
Taste: Since the ancient Greeks, it has been believed in the Western world
that your taste buds are capable of receiving just four flavors: sweet, savory (i.
e., salty), bitter and sour, and that the myriad sensations of taste we
experience are just combinations of these. The Chinese believed in five
flavors, the same Western ones plus "spicy." Recent discoveries have
confirmed that a fifth receptor does indeed exist, but for a flavor called "unami,"
a glutamate that can give you a sense of warmth and well-being. Well, wine
certainly offers that, but that could just be the alcohol.
It's interesting to note that when you are "tasting" wine you are not just tasting
it. You are also smelling it. There is a passage between your nose and your
mouth, as anyone who has laughed so hard that they have shot Pepsi out of
their nose can tell you. So when you are swirling a wine around in your mouth
you are tasting it with your taste buds, smelling it, and feeling it against your
oral nerves.
In tasting you will find these basic qualities:
- Sweetness --- Is the wine sweet? Or is it dry? (The opposite of sweet is
"dry.")
Dryness --- As mentioned above, this is the opposite of sweet. Still
confused? Eat a piece of Hershey's chocolate or a Gummi Bear. That's
sweet. Dry would be, say, a flour tortilla, or a shot of straight vodka or
maybe a rock.
Fruitiness --- Confusing fruitiness with sweetness is probably the most
common mistake made by novice wine enthusiasts. Fruitiness is a
fruit-like quality, rather than a strictly sweet quality. Typical fruit flavors
associated with wine include:
• Citrus (oranges, lemons, etc.)
• Tart fruits (pears, apples, etc.)
• Luscious fruits (watermelon, cantelope, etc.)
• Black fruits (blackberries, blueberries, etc.)
Acidity --- The tartness of the wine. Does it make your mouth pucker?
Then it's probably too acidic. Is there no tartness at all? Then it
probably could use some more acidity. People typically describe acidity
as tart (quite acidic), crisp (somewhat acidic) or soft (not very acidic).
Tannin --- Wines contain some level of tannic acid. A wine with a lot of
tannic acid will feel "raspy" in the mouth on first taste. This is not
necessarily a bad thing. Wines heavy in tannic acid tend to be good for
pairing with heavy foods, such as beef. People typically describe the
level of tannin in a wine as astringent (high tannin), firm (medium), or
soft (low tannin).
Body --- Body is less about taste than about "mouth feel." Body is the
impression of the whole of the wine as it sits in your mouth; how
"heavy" it feels. People typically describe a wine's body as light,
medium or full.
Finish: The lingering aftertaste of a wine is called its "finish." You'll be
surprised to find, especially in exceptional wines, that the flavors and
sensations encountered in the finish can be quite different from those you
encountered "up front." A wine's finish can be long, medium or short,
depending on how long the flavor and feel lasts at the back of your mouth.
In addition, as with a wine's smell, you'll often find herb and vegetable tastes
as well as coffee, chocolate and earth. When tasting, just say what you taste.
Again, you can't be wrong. When you first start you might not have the language
to describe your sensations, but this will come in time with practice and by
talking to other enthusiasts. It helps to keep a journal of wine notes to organize
your thoughts and keep as reference.
Common Descriptors
Adjectives used to describe wines are usually referred to as "descriptors."
Below is a list of some of the more common descriptors. For more, visit the
Lexicon.
Astringent
A quality in highly tannic reds that makes your mouth pucker.
Apricot
A flavor often noted in sweet white wines.
Austere
Can mean simple or one-dimensional, or it can mean light yet
acidic though not necessarily simple, like a Chablis.
Balanced
A wine is "balanced" when all of its base elements are presented in proper
proportion ---
acidity, fruit and tannin.
Berries
Blueberries, blackberries, black cherries, etc.
Big
A broad term for a full-bodied, flavorful wine.
Black pepper
A fragrant, floral, and distinctively peppery quality.
Buttery
The taste and feel in the mouth of butter in the wine which common in
Chardonnays, especially from California. It is highly desirable among ladies-
who-lunch but considered vulgar among many wine enthusiasts.
Caramel or Honey
A sweet, sugar-like aroma.
Chocolaty
"Found in hearty reds with a creamy feel in the mouth and a "burnt" quality.
Citrus
The citrus fruit --- oranges, lemons, limes, grapefruits, etc. --- quality often
found in white wine
Corked
A corked wine has an unpleasant musty taste that overawes all other aromas
and flavors in the wine. It means the wine's gone bad.
Earthy
The over-arching descriptor for the whole range of aromas and flavors
associated with the organic, including: "barnyard," "forest floor," "foxy," "tree
bark," "gamey," etc.
Flowery
Descriptor for a wine with aromas of flowers that is considered pleasant in
whites.
Jammy
Reminiscent of jam or jelly; associated with Zinfandel.
Mineral
A "stony" quality sometimes found Chablis and Riesling.
Melons
Watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew, etc.
Nutty
A flavor in many wines.
Oaky
A flavor and aroma found in wines like Chardonnays, that have been aged in
oak barrels.
Red Fruit
Apples, strawberries, raspberries, etc.
One way to train your nose and palate is to get some of these food items from
the store and taste and smell them, and then go and see if you can isolate
those same flavors and aromas in the wine.
Suggest a Wine
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think we'd like?
Recommend it
right here »
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think we'd like?
Recommend it
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Vinapedia.net
Wine knowledge for the wine novice
Source: Wine for Dummies
Finding the Words
The key to enjoying all the subtle sensations
described above is finding the right words to
illuminate your experience to yourself and
smartly communicate it to others. If you are
tasting with others, you will find that you can
bounce ideas off of your companions, allowing
you to hone in on the terms that best define each
quality. But let's begin with the very basics: look,
smell, taste, finish.
The key to enjoying all the subtle sensations
described above is finding the right words to
illuminate your experience to yourself and
smartly communicate it to others. If you are
tasting with others, you will find that you can
bounce ideas off of your companions, allowing
you to hone in on the terms that best define each
quality. But let's begin with the very basics: look,
smell, taste, finish.
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Tasting Terms
For a complete list
of tasting and other
terms, see the
Lexicon »
For a complete list
of tasting and other
terms, see the
Lexicon »