Acidity – the liveliness and crispness noted in wine. Wines with high acidity are tart and zesty (versus “round”).
Aeration / Breathing – adding oxygen to wine to open, round out, soften and improve the flavours.
Ageing – time spent in barrels and tanks, and in bottles to advance them to a more desirable state.
Aroma – the scent of the grape, as well as the smell of wine, especially young wines (different than bouquet).
Astringent – tasting term noting the harsh, bitter, drying sensations in the mouth caused by high levels of tannins. See Tannin
Austere – usually means the wine has very high acidity and very little fruit flavour – not fruit-forward or opulent.
Balance – when the elements of wine, the acids, sugars, tannins and alcohol; come together harmoniously, it is said to be “balanced”.
Barnyard – tasting term, generally not considered a compliment.
Barrel – the container, preferably oak, used for fermenting and ageing wine.
Big – a wine that takes up all sections of your mouth and tongue. A big wine is not necessarily a fruit-forward wine; it can also mean that it has big tannins.
Blend – a wine made from more than one grape varietal.
Body / Weight – a tactile sensation and term describing the weight and fullness of wine in the mouth. The thicker or richer a wine feels in the mouth, the more weight is described as having. A wine can be light, medium, or full-bodied.
Bouquet / Nose – tasting term describing the aromas.
Bright – bright wines are higher in acidity and make your mouth water. See Acidity
Cassis – the least fruit like of all dark fruits. When writers mention cassis, they are often thinking of the seedy and gritty character of actual black currants.
Charcoal – a wine with a gritty taste; usually dry (with higher tannins) that has this rustic flavour. Charcoal is often associated with a similar characteristic of pencil lead (but less refined).
Chewy – when you sip a wine with chewy tannins it dries the interior of your mouth out so that you “chew” or clean the tannins out the insides of your mouth.
Cigar Box – flavours hint towards sweetness and cedar-wood with an abundance of smoke. Considered a positive and desirable characteristic.
Closed – term describing underdeveloped, young wines whose flavours are not showing well.
Complex – a wine exhibiting numerous odours, nuances and flavours. Simply means that when you taste it, the flavour changes from the moment you taste it to the moment you swallow. But, using the word “complex” to describe a wine is a cop-out unless you go on to describe how it’s complex.
Cork Taint – undesirable aromas and flavours in wine often associated with wet cardboard and/or mouldy basements. Also, “corked” denotes a wine that has suffered taint (not wine with cork particles floating about).
Creamy – a popular description for white wines and sparkling wines fermented or aged in oak. Look for it in chardonnay if you like buttery, plus you can look for it in cabernet sauvignon.
Crisp – is more often used to describe white wines.
Dense – when wine writers pair down lengthy description of flavours and characteristics of a wine into one word, they use dense. It’s used for bold red wines such as cabernet sauvignon, some European blends but usually isn’t a positive characteristic in other wines.
Dry – opposite of sweet, the taste sensation often attributed to tannins and causing puckering sensations in the mouth.
Earthy – an odour or flavour reminiscent of damp soil, often used to describe that awkward green and unpleasant finish on a wine.
Elegant – often means that the wine is NOT big, NOT fruity, NOT opulent and NOT bold. Off-vintages are often referred to as elegant vintages; they have higher acid and tend to have more ‘green’ characteristics. Elegant wines may not taste ‘good’ when first released, but they also tend to age better.
Finish – the impression of textures and flavours lingering in the mouth after a wine is swallowed.
Food Friendly – pairs well with food, but maybe somewhat lacking in the ability to stand/drink on its own.
Fruity – tasting term signifying strong smells and flavours of fresh fruit. Can also describe aromas of cooked fruit, as in “jammy”.
Full-bodied – a wine high in alcohol and flavours, often described as “big”.
Grip or Grippy Tannins – with each subsequent sip, your mouth dries up. Wine with grip is hard to drink/gulp, but better to sip.
Herbaceous – tasting term denoting odours and flavours of fresh herbs (e.g., basil, oregano, rosemary).
Hot – wine high in alcohol is often described as producing a “hot” burning sensation in the mouth on the finish.
Jammy – sommeliers and wine experts cringe when they hear this term while the rest of us delight. In wine, jammy indicates a wine with a cooked berry sweetness that is syrupy. Often used to describe American wines like Zinfandel, Grenache, Cabernet Franc and Australian Shiraz.
Juicy – wine that seems it was grape juice just a moment ago.
Length – how long the flavours of a wine last in the mouth after swallowed; a lingering aftertaste.
Mature – ready to drink.
Minerality or Minerally – the smell of freshly wet concrete or what you’d expect if you licked a wet rock.
Mouth-feel – how a wine feels in one’s mouth (rough, smooth, velvety, furry).
Musty – unfermented grape juice (including seeds, skins, and stems).
Oak/Oaky – tasting term denoting the smells and flavours of vanilla and toast (toasty with a slight burnt caramel on the finish), it’s the most non-grape influence to flavour in wine. In whites, it adds butter, vanilla and sometimes coconut. In reds, it adds flavours often referred to as baking spices, vanilla and sometimes dill. Many countries make oak wine barrels, but depending on whom you ask, American and French are considered the best.
Open – tasting term signifying a wine that is ready to drink.
Opulent – this word is a baseline word to a style of wine that is rich, smooth and bold. If you are a rich, smooth, bold wine guy, “Opulent” is your word.
Oxidation – wine exposed to air that has undergone a chemical change. The deteriorating wine will exhibit stale smells and colours can look brown.
Refined – is a subset of elegant wines. Often this term is often used while describing tannins in a wine. These wines have the “less is more” ideology about them. See Elegant
Rough – the tactile “coarse” sensation one experiences with very astringent wines. A tasting term, and not to be confused with “bitter”.
Silky – silky is the red-wine equivalent word to creamy with white wines. If you like silky for bed sheets than you will most likely enjoy silky on your tongue. See Creamy, Velvety
Spicy – a tasting term used to note odours and flavours reminiscent of various aromatic spices that are found in certain wines.
Steely – wine that has higher acid and more sharp edges (may also allude to steel fermentation).
Structure – an ambiguous tasting term that implies harmony of fruit, alcohol, acidity, and tannins. A structured wine has high tannin and acid and is hard to drink. People say “structured” because they think that if you give the wine a few years, it’ll soften up and be yummy. See Austere
Tannins – the compounds that leave a bitter, dry, puckery feeling in the mouth.
Terroir – French for “soil”. Geographical characteristics – chalk, gravel, sand, clay – along with other environmental factors unique to a given vineyard, are also denoted by terroir.
Texture – a tasting term describing how the wine being tasted feels on the palate. It’s used more often when describing heavy, dense wines with a big mouthfeel.
Tight – this wine is not ready to drink. When I taste a tight wine it usually has very high tannins, hard-to-identify fruit characteristics and is hard-to-drink. This wine could benefit from a being decanted.
Unoaked – a wine that is unoaked doesn’t have vanilla, cream, butter or baking spices in it. In a white wine it’s zestier with lemony flavours (see Minerally) and in a red wine unoaked wines tend to be more tart.
Vegetal – tasting term describing characteristics of fresh or cooked vegetables detected on the nose and in the flavours of the wine. Bell peppers, grass, and asparagus are common “vegetal” descriptors.
Vintage – the year in which a wine is bottled.
Young – a wine that is usually bottled and sold within a year of its vintage. Some wines meant to be drunk “young” are noted for their fresh and crisp flavours.
Velvety – lush, smooth, silky are all synonyms of a velvety wine.
Grape Stains by Jimmy 