Wine Tasting Terms

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | Y | Z

A.
Acetic - vinegary smell, sharp overtart on the palate. A vinegary condition resulting from the action of aceto-bacter, harmful ferments that attack wine left in open unfilled bottle or carboy.

Acetone - high toned estery aroma, connected with the ethyl ester acetate or with nail varnish -like amyl acetate.

Acid/Acidity - on the nose and a mouth watery refreshing character, sometimes like raw cooked apples. Detectable on the tongue, giving the wine a crispness and zing. The right sort of natural acidity is an essential component of sound wine. It acts as a natural preservative. Youthful acidity tends to mellow with age.

Aftertaste - the internal bouquet that sometimes remains in the throat and usually what is poetically referred to as a 'lingering fairwell.'

Alcohol - an essential component, binding and preserving. In the pure form the higher alcohols, amyl and butyl have an unpleasant, throat catching odour. Ethanol presents in its pure form a burning sensation. However, diluted as in wine, alcohol is scarcely detectable on the nose though it can be assessed by its weight in the mouth.

Aroma - the part of the smell of wine derived from the grape. As opposed to bouquet which is derived from the development of the wine in the bottle or barrel.

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B.
Baked - an earthy hot smell produced by grapes that are shivelled and burnt due to damaging sunshine and shortness of rainfall.

Beefy - a character that is muscular in extract, alcohol and tannin.

Big - a character that contains vital elements not just heavy with alcohol.

Bitterness - it is detected on the back of the tongue and is usually unpleasant. Bitterness can be imparted by colouring substances. Polyphenols that are extracted from dirty contaminated wooden barrels that contain oxidized wine may add to the bitterness. Dirty wooden barrels may harbour bacterial diseases. Unless you clean and care for your wooden barrels you may experience a disenchanting variety of flora and fauna. Stay away from "traditional" backyard wineries.

Body - a weight sensed in the mouth due to alcoholic content and other physical components. This character arises from the quality of the vintage and its geographical origin.

Botrytis - a short form for Botrytis cinerea also known as noble rot. It is a condition encouraged to develop on the skins of grapes in Sauternes and the highest vineyards in Germany during the delayed autumn harvest. When Botrytis is found on the grapes they are shriveled and their water content is reduced. With this, the sugar content increases and the effect on the palate and nose is akin to honey.

Bottle Age - a hard to describe entity. Usually more pronounced earlier in bulk aged wines, (in containers stainless, wooden or otherwise that are larger than 100 litres). However, when bottles are left for substantial periods of time a definite softness and slight oxidation occurs. Usual time for such a transformation from Heurige wines can be between 18 and 36 months.

Bouquet - the pleasant and characteristic smell of wine. In a nutshell it is a smell created by the wine's own development. Esters and aldehydes are formed by the eventual oxidation of weak fruit acids and alcohols.

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C.
Caramel - a burnt, almondy toffee-like flavour and taste. It is very predominant among all wines made from concentrate. It is due to the rigorous and extreme conditions created by the standard concentration process. Some of the producers creatively mask this condition with various mystery packages found in "kits". A characteristic of madiera and marsala.

Carbon dioxide- it is a natural by-product of the yeast metabolism. It is responsible for the sparkle in champagne and spritzers.

Character - a wine that has distinct varietal attributes and features.

Clean - absence of foreign and unpleasant odours. May lack complexity.

Cloudy - the appearance of a wine with a colloidal haze and particulate matter.

Common - lacking breed but nonetheless drinkable.

Complex - the juxtaposition of several bouquets. In some cases it may refer to nonolfactory sensations not easily described or put into text.

Corked or Corky - the undesirable smell of a few bottled wines. A putrid odour from a cork of rare or unknown origin. Next, it may be due to cork tannins which may be present soon after corking. The most common is mousey or mouldy odours which are blamed on poorly stored corks. Penicillium multiclour, P. frequentans, P. velutina are implicated.

Crisp - a desirable characteristic is white wines, firm, balanced, refreshing, proper straw colour (not oxidized), and decent acidity. A well rounded white wine.

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D.
Deep - an adjective that needs to be properly clarified; deep-coloured; deep bouquet; depth of flavour - opposite to superficial. This term indicates a state of multiple layers in the modified noun.

Delicate - some charm and a common balance in a basic quality wine.

Depth - richness, that is subtle; again layers of flavour seemingly interlocked.

Developed - a maturity stage for a wine; underdeveloped, well-developed (mature, balanced, rounded), overdeveloped (past its prime).

Dry - absence of sweet taste; that is, of wines with less than about 1% sugar per weight. Consumers tend to prefer sweet to dry wines if they do not know that they are sweet.

Dull - the appearance of wine with a coloidal haze. Less than cloudy and more than clear.

Dusty - an evocative cellar-like smell; possibly high tannic content.

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E.
Earthy - an unpleasant aroma perceived when warmed in the mouth upon tasting. It is difficult to properly describe. How much of this phenomenon is soil, climate, time of harvest, processing, or microbial in origin is not known.

Eggs, rotten - hydrogen sulphite H2S disagreeable but harmless. Clearly illustrates a need for proper disinfection and rinsing procedures.

Elegant - stylish balance and refined quality.

Estery - high-toned acetone smell. Smell is very similar to nail polish remover. It is an ester which is formed from the condensation reaction of an organic acid (COOH group) and an alcohol (OH group).

Eucalyptus - descriptive, analogous, spicy bouquet associated with certain top-quality cabernet sauvignons. Some fine Bordeaux clarets may have this spicy bouquet.

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F.
Faded - oxidation on the nose, it is noticeable in acetaldehyde. More or less the same as the French evente. Over the hill is a poetic further stage.

Fat - a full body, high in glycerol and other complex biochemical components.

Fermentation or Fermenting - the yeasty odour of newly finished wines.

Filter - use of too much clarifying agents (gelatine, egg white, albumin, Sparkalloid, kieselsol, bentonite, skim milk, Isinglass, Casein, ox blood, agar - agar, carbon, PVPP [polyvinylpolypirrolidone]), as filter aids; may give a slight odour and off-taste to the wine when first filtered.

Fine - an all encompassing expression for very high quality. Perhaps the most overused word in the wine business.

Finish (farewell taste) - the end taste. Wines of quality must have a good end to be considered such. Usually indicates a firm, crisp and distintive end. The opposite, a short or poor finish, will be watery, and the tail end will terminate with an inconclusiveness.

Firm - implies a sound constitution and balance, positive in the mouth.

Flat - Lack of the astringent taste of proper acid content. Such wines are not only defective in taste, but also defective in colour and nose. Conditions comes from using low acid grapes, excessive malolactic fermentation over correction of high acidity, over chaptalization and in some cases an over generous hand with the water hose. Also used for those sparkling wines that have lost their carbonation.

Flavour - a term which covers not only the palate sensation but also the olfactory sense when the wine is in the mouth and swished.

Flowery - used for the floral bouquet of many young wines. It is 2-phenethanol with a rose-like smell. Generally associated with young wines of high total acidity and low pH.

Foxy - a complex of odours found in grapes of Vitis labrusca and its hybrids. Methyl and ethyl anthranilate and other biochemical compounds are involved. Many pioneering New World settlers found a tolerance for this entity. Nothing, of quality, was indigenously available to vinify. Does not imply an animal but relates the wild or "fox" grapes as mentioned.

Fruitiness or Fruity - the grapelike flavour and taste, particularily of young wines of high acidity. A wine which is refreshing. Lack of fruitiness is DEPLORABLE! Not necessarily a grapey aroma.

Full (bodied) - see Body .

Fusel - a highly characteristic and generally obnoxious odors of the so-called higher alcohols (butyl, propyl, amyl, isoamyl, etc). Not found in table wines of quality. However, a moderate amount is tolerated and seemingly appreciated in some Portuguese ports.

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G.
Gasey - the taste and tactile (and often visual and even auditory), sensations of carbon dioxide escaping from a wine.

Geranium - The highly undesirable odour arising from bacterial activity in wines containing sorbic acid. The perpetrating compound is usually 2-ethoxy-hexa-3,5 diene.

Grapey - a rich muscatelle-like aroma produced by certain grape varities, including muscatelle itself and crossings extactly like the Scheurebe and Morio Muskat, that we carry in our pure fresh grape juice inventory.

Grassy - it is a characteristic aroma of wines that are produced from sauvignon blanc grapes.

Green - the nose of wines made from unripened grapes. Associated with a high acid bitterly sour or highly astringent taste. Connected with leaf alcohol and leaf aldehyde.

Grip - a firm and ever present combination of physical characteristics. It is the opposite to flabbiness and spinelessness.

Gritty - coarse texture and tactile sensation on the taste buds in the mouth.

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H.
Hard - could endorse a tactile or taste sense. Usually an over-prominence of tannin and or metallic elements.

Harsh - a term saved for wines with unusually high tannin, young French, or some backyard concoctions "blended" with acetic acid.

Heady - a wine that is high in alcohol, usually greater than 13.0%

Hearty - traditional description for red wines, those that are robust, zestful, warm and possibly alcoholic.

Hollow - a wine with a decent beginning and end, but nothing to carry it in the middle-flavour.

Hydrogen Sulphide - H2S, the tell-tale smell of rotten eggs. The identity of the other sulfides and mercaptans may not be known in conjuction with this compound. Indicates a lack of cleanliness and sterility during vinification.

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I.
Inky - an unpleasant, metally-tin taste due to the presence of tannate of iron, a reaction between tannin and iron. The iron usually presents itself in the form of a nail in wooden barrel or iron filings in inproperly washed equipment. Tannate of iron can be found in variety of inks.

Insipid - lacking flavour and any recognizable taste. Such a wine is said to lack a soul or character.

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L.
Legs - an English term for liquid globules which run down the sides of the glass after the wine is swirled in the glass. These legs are also referred to as "tears." These phenomena are indicative of a rich wine.

Lemon - Overtones of lemon. These overtones may be present on some fine but young white Hermitage wines.

Limpid - clear in appearance

Light - a lower degree of alcohol ( under 12 G.L.). May be correlated with a lack of body. This is a desirable characteristic of some wines like the young beaujolais and Mosel-Saar-Ruwer wines.

Lively - an explicit term. The term refers to a fresh, youthful wine; or an old wine with fresh and youthful characteristics.

Long - a flavour which may linger on the tongue and in the mouth; traditionally used to describe wines of quality.

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M.
Maceration Carbonique - a method of winemaking using the "whole fruit" principle which involves the fermentation of the must with the entire grape components. Results can be pleasant at best and at worst, tinny and very sharp. This technique can be used to further extract colour from grapes which are red.

Maderized - the heavy flat smell of an over-mature, oxidized white wine. One may also observe a colour change from light straw to an amber colour much like an ale. May also give the sensation of being baked or burnt.

Mature - maturity of the wine may be a highly-sought component depending on the varietal and the winemakers attempted iteration. Wines vary enormously in make-up and take anything from a matter of months to a few years to reach maturity. Maturity is a highly subjective entity that can be detected by the palate and nose but is usually dictated by either one's own personal experience with a particular varietal or by the specific wineries' recommendations for peak aging times.

Meaty - a heavy, rich almost chewable quality of some read wines.

Mellow - soft, limpid. No rough edges or astringent properties. This characteristic is usually appropriate for wines that have reached maturity.

Mercaptan - a sour, unpleasant rubbery smell indicating deterioration in wines. It can be attributed to breakdown of sulfur containing compounds used for wine preservation.

Mouldy - a totally undesirable flavour imparted by rotten or substandard grapes, stale unclean wooden barrels and poorly stored corks, etc.

Mousey - smell and taste, flat yet acetic. This smell is an indication of bacteriological disease involving acetamide and acrolein. It primarily occurs when the malolactic fermentation attacks tartaric acid, producing lactic acid, acetic acid, carbon dioxide, and the characteristic odour.

Musty - a term used primarily by connoisseurs to describe a smell that is off but not mouldy. Can be attributed to poor cask care or low grade improperly stored corks.

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N.
Neutral - a wine lacking distinctive flavour or odour. A common feature of most blended wines and wines from sources where the true varietal cannot be reliably singled out, as in "Blancs de blancs"

Noble - indicates stature and breed, a wine with impeccable varietal characteristics and elegance.

Nose - a broad term for the bouquet, aroma, or smell of the wine.

Nutty - an ambiguous term that is best left untouched. Some claim it to be an indicator of old tawny port which has a distinct smell of cobnuts.

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O.
Oak - an important component, in the make up of fine wines. Oak casks or the 'barrick' is simply a wooden barrel made from one of several species of oak tree. Such names as limousin, vogues, american are well known to professional and amateur winemakers. In the well made wine it is present in a pleasently detectable manner, in the nose and palate. The wine extracts vanillins, syringaldehyde, and related phenolics derived from the lignin as it ages in the barrel. About 0.6-0.7% of the total weight of the dry wood can be extracted initially. A certain amount of oxidation also takes place as air passes through the staves of the barrel, thereby aiding the hydrolysis of lignin to release more of the fragrant substances during aging. One can mimic this vanillin extraction by adding oak chips to wine stored in stainless steel or in glass. But the oxidization effect is lost because glass or steel does not allow air to pass freely in and out of the wine. However, too much of this component can become undesirable or off-putting.

Off - an undesirable odour, not as much flavour. Can be indicative of a disease process in the wine. One should try to further describe this sensation and place it. i.e. geranium (the highly undesirable odour arising from bacterial activity in wines containing sorbic acid. The perpetrating compound is usually 2-ethoxy-hexa-3,5 diene).

Old - can be a factual statement based on the age of the wine or can describe the state of the wine in the tasters' palate. Can imply a breakdown of the components in the wine.

Olfactory - a sensation to do with smell and its perception registered by the olfactory neurons of the brain. Also the name of cranial nerve II. Woman are more skilled at using this sense than men.

Ordinary - in terms of wine tasting, it can be derogatory; a wine with no pretensions or little notability.

Organoleptic - an analytical testing of food and wine, employing the human senses.

Oxidized - a flat ending taste, attributed to prolonged exposure of a wine to air. Mainly the odour of carbonyl compounds, primarily acetaldehyde. A colour change may also be apparent in white wines as a golden or amber colour. In red wines one may notice a red brick edge when holding the glass at a 45 degree angle to a light source.

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P.
Palate - a word loved by some oenophiles (winelovers), which is used to describe the taste or tactile sensation of the wine in the mouth. The word is usually associated with flavours rather than odours.

Peppery - a self explanatory term that refers to wines that are rather youthful. Some qualified oenologists have claimed that this sensation comes from higher alcohols but it has yet to be demonstrated conclusively.

Perfume - an agreeable scented quality of bouquets of wines typically of German origin. A vivid example of such a wine with this bouquet is the German Morio Muskat.

Petroleum - a smell analagous to the semi-refined oil product. Can be traced to sources of contamination in wine storage containers or even the fuel used in pots to prevent frost damage to the vines and their fruit.

Pomace - an objectionable odour that emanates from wines that were fermented on the skins at too high a temperature. May be traced to the yeast autolysis at this high temperature.

Pungent - implies that the odour is strong and penetrating the olfactory sense. It may be useful for describing the bouquet of highly flavoured wines and some dessert wines.

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Q.
Quality - a term that can be vaguely applied to any wine. The EEC defines 'quality' wines in legal terms. Countries such as Germany, France, Italy, Spain and Portugal have adapted highly stringent rules for 'quality', based on geographic location, production volume, and analytical parameters of the grapes themselves. In an abstract sense it can refer to the wine's correctness, refinement and clarity of colour; pure varietal aroma and overtones of well aged bouquet; an overall completeness of the finished product. A term that should be used wisely.

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R.
Racy - a term that is abstract in nature; a word which describes liveliness of character in a variety.

Rancid - an off odour in some wines. It is believed to arise from the oxidation of the fatty acids from the grape seeds.

Raspberry - may describe such wines from Gamay and Zinfandel, it is a fairly common red varietal aroma.

Resinous - the turpentine odour of retsina wine. It is literally imparted by the addition of resin.

Rich - a self explanatory term. It implies a harmony of all of the components in a wine that a taster will evaluate. These are aroma/bouquet, flavour, alcohol and extract.

Ripe - see mature.

Robust - a term used in sometimes ambiguous ways to describe well aged wines with elevated price tags.

Rough - descibes the astringent tactile sensation in the back of the mouth, not to be confused with bitter.

Rubbery - a cooked-cabbage, rubber-boot, or old rubber odour. It occurs in wines that are made from grapes in very hot regions. Often these grapes are harvested with low acidity and high pH.

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S.
Sharp - this term should be limited to acetic vinegary odour. It may include wines that are in the early stage of acetification or simply turning to vinegar.

Savoury - a rich mouthful of flavour that contains good acid content.

Scented - a postive grapey aroma, a flowery perfumed eminence.

Short flavoured - refers to the length of the taste on the palate, an abruptness that may occur from a lack in quality.

Smokey - an overtone characteristic to varieties such as Sauvignon Blanc and particular Chardonnays. May also be an addition to any varietal wine with the use of 'semi-toasted' oak aging.

Smooth - noted in wines with above average ethanol content. This increased content may mask the sensation of astringency.

Sorbic Acid - not a natural acid found in grapes but intentionally added as a preservative in wines. Typically, you'll see 150-200 ppm (taste threshhold typically around 135 ppm, although it may be as low as 50ppm) sorbic acid used to stabilize wine concentrates and sweet wines. It fights certain microbial infections, and will stop wine yeast from working on a sweet wine, if racking, 50 ppm SO2 or 0.5 micron filtration don't work. Use sorbic acid as a last resort, because it decreases wine quality, usually by producing off flavors and odors (like butter or oxidized fat). It doesn't kill yeasts, but prevents them from multiplying, and thus sometimes fails to prevent a slow fermentation in the bottle if yeasts have not been reduced enough. Sorbic acid also reacts with and reduces free SO2, so you have to keep your SO2 levels up if you're going to use sorbic acid. Best advice: Avoid addition of Sorbic Acid.

Sour - the acid taste of all the volatile and nonvolatile acids of wines (particularily the latter). This term is not to used for wines containing acetic acid. The opposite is flat. A certain acid content in the wine is essential for making the wine whole.

Spicy - a distinctive aromatic odour of wines that are made from certain grape varieties such as Gewurztraminer. Typical is the rich herb-like aroma.

Stalky - the odour reported from wines produced from musts containing fresh green stems. Describes some musts left in prolonged contact with the grape skins during fermentation.

Steely - a firm, yet lean tasting wine with decent acidity. Has been used to describe the varietals coming from Germany. These varietals include, Morio Muskat, Muller Thurgau and Scheurebe.

Superficial - a wine without depth or follow through.

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T.
Tactile - an object that induces the sensation of touch. e.g. velvety, creamy, effervescence.

Tannic - refers to a presence in the palate of tannin. Tannin is a naturally occuring preservative of colour in red wines. The presence of tannin dries the roof of the mouth, grips the teeth and sometimes gives a "musty cellar" smell sensation. It will break down in the wine over time. French reds tend to be highly tannic, as evidenced by the practice of maceration to extract maximum colour.

Tartartic Acid - one of the good and essential acids in wine. Its chief virtue is the effervescent cooling and refreshing quality it provides. Its presence gives wine its healthy, refreshing tang and contributes greatly to its quality and crisp finish. Wines lacking acidic content are said to be flat. Crystals become apparent in young wines while they undergo cold stabilization.

Thin - a wine that is deficient in natural properties; watery, lacking body.

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U.
Ullage - when casks or barrels are not fully topped up, they are said to be on ullage. The wines become oxidized.

Unripe - two senses of the word; immature, raw; 'green' an acidity or astringency from grapes that are not fully rippened.

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V.
Vanilla - a purely descriptive term in the sense. Some say it is associated with vanillins (compounds derived from the wood in oak barrels, particularily new American Oak) that give this taste sensation.

Vapit - a mildly oxidized odour.

Vegetal - a pronounced grassy or root like smell.

Vinegary - the odour of acetic acid and ethyl acetate, representative of bacteriological infection. This is always objectionable in a wine of character or merit.

Vinosity - refers to the ethanol content. Mainly measured by the taster's tactile sensation.

Vinous - without a remarkable odour, a neutral wine.

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W.
Watery - a wine lacking fruit and extract, similar to thin.?

Weak - a self limiting term. May describe low alcohol content, feeble fruit and character.

Weedy - an undesirable odour from weeds being harvested with the grapes.

Woody - the odour of wines stored too long in oak containers, particularly barrels. Oak containers that have not been properly treated before use will communicate the odour sooner than properly conditioned containers.

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Y.
Yeasty - descriptive smell of ferments, live or dead. It may occur in wines that have been left to ferment too long.

Young - refers to fresh, fruity, unoxidized wine. It is a positive attractive feature in particular varietals.

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Z.
Zing - a newer term that may refer to an acceptible level of acidity on the end of the taste.