The Wine Vocabulary Book

By Wines Wonderland

http://www.WinesWonderland.com
When you walk into a wine shop you may feel like you have set foot on
another planet. Nobody seems to be speaking a language that you
understand… but they all seem to either be understanding each other or just
nodding their heads because they don’t know what anyone is talking about
either.

Here’s your big chance to get the drop on everyone else. You can know wine
words that they don’t even know. The tricky thing about a wine vocabulary
is that sometimes the words that are used to define other words depend on
you having some experience with wine and wine tasting. It is like saying that
a rattlesnake meat tastes like chicken. You have to know what chicken
tastes like. So, if you encounter terms whose definition doesn’t ring a bell for
you, don’t worry. Ask questions at your next wine tasting. You’ll get it.
Table of Contents
GENERAL TERMS ..................................................................................................................................... 4
BAD THINGS RELATED TO WINE............................................................................................................... 6
THINGS THAT MAKE WINE BETTER .......................................................................................................... 8
TERMS RELATED TO MAKING WINE ......................................................................................................... 9
TERMS USED TO CHARACTERIZE WINE .................................................................................................. 12
FLAVORS AND AROMAS IN WINES ......................................................................................................... 17
Fruity................................................................................................................................................. 17
Vegetable and Herbal ........................................................................................................................ 18
Other................................................................................................................................................. 18
GENERAL TERMS

AOC: This is the abbreviation for Appellation d’Origine Controlee. This is the French
designation for the highest ranking types of wine. The most important factors of the wine
are regulated by French law.

Bodega: A winery or building used for storing wine in Spain.

Castello: an Italian wine estate.

Chateau: a French wine estate.

Classico: An Italian term. It refers to controlled wines from a traditional region for a
particular type of wine. See DOC and DOCG.

Clone: a subvariety of a grape variety.

Colhelta: Portuguese for vintage.

Cosecha: Spanish for vintage.

Decant: decanting a wine is done to separate the clear liquid from the solids or to
oxygenate a wine. Typically this involves pouring the wine from the bottle into another
container, possibly through a filter.

DO, DOC: categories for wines whose name, grape varieties, and other factors are
regulated by law.

DOCG: Italy’s highest ranking wines.

Domaine: a term for a wine estate, commonly used in Burgundy.

Estate: a place that both grows grapes and produces wines from its own vineyards.

Estate-bottled: refers to a wine produced and grown at the same place.

Filter: to strain out wine solids by mechanical means.

Garrafiera: Portuguese referring to a wine with particular aging requirements.

Grape variety: a particular type of grape within a species of grape.

Lees: solid residues in wine.

Legs: after swirling a wine, legs are the tears of wine that cling to the glass and descend
on the inner glass. Slow falling legs indicate a full-bodied wine.

New World: wine producing countries outside of Europe.

Old World: as you would expect, Europe.

Palate: basically refers to the sensation of taste in a taster’s mouth.

Primary aromas: the smells of a wine that come directly from the grapes used to make
the wine.

Proprietary: one of the ways Americans label their wines. The winery usually owns the
name and it cannot be used by other wineries.

Red grapes: wine grapes that are deep red or blue. Also called black grapes.

Region: an area in which grapes are grown that is less general than a country and more
general than a district.

Reserva, Riserva: used on Spanish and Italian wines to indicate a longer aging.

Reserve: refers to wines that are generally assumed to be better than others.

Second label wine: wine produced by a winery that is not considered good enough for
their primary label is often distributed under a second label.

Sediment: solid residue in a bottle of wine.

Structural components: the alcohol, acid, tannin and sugar that give a wine its primary
characteristics.

Structure: the part of a wines taste that comes from the structural components.

Terroir: in French, the overall vineyard growing conditions including climate, soil, moisture
in the soil, etc.

Ullage: the distance between the cork and the wine when the bottle stands upright.

Varietal: wines made totally or predominantly from a single variety of grape.

Varietal character: the characteristics of a wine that come from the grape variety it was
made from.

Vintage: the year in which the grapes for a wine were grown.

Viticulture: growing grapes.

Vitis vinifera: the species of grapes responsible for most wines.

BAD THINGS RELATED TO WINE

Acetic (acid): an acid that contributes to a vinegary smell in a spoiled wine.

Acidic: Refers to a sour, tart taste. Acids are present in all wine, usually tartaric acid.
Younger wines and wines that are not properly balanced tend to be more acidic and have a
sour taste.

Astringent: Tannin and acid can give a wine a bitter taste that makes you want to pucker
up your mouth, make a face and say yuk. That’s described as astringent.

Bottle stink: This is placed into the bad things classification. However, it isn’t necessarily
so. It refers to an odor that sometimes comes from a freshly opened bottle of wine. At first
the smell is rather sever, but after aeration, the wine loses the foul oder.

Casky: the odor or flavor in a wine from having been in a wood container that has been
contaminated or simply left there too long.

Cloudy: As the name implies, a wine with a cloudy appearance. This is rarely seen in
modern wines.

Cold: the meaning is obvious. Too often, wines are served so cold that their odors and
flavors are stunted, unable to show themseIves.

Cooked: a smell, hot or burnt, often found in overly chaptalized French Burgundies and
Beaujolais or poorly handed wines from warm climates.

Cork(y): refers to a wine that smells more of cork than it does of wine. If noticed to excess
in a wine, provides sufficient reason for returning it.

Dilute: refers to a wine that has thin and watery flavors and aromas.

Dull: refers to the appearance, flavor, or aroma of a wine. It is unclear and muddled.

Dumb a lack of aroma in a wine. Typically used for a wine that is young and is expected to
be better with age.

Flabby: a wine that tastes much too soft as a result of lack of acidity or tannin.

Flat: a wine with a dull taste because of low acidity or a sparkling wine or champagne that
has lost its fizz.

Generic: a wine that uses a well known European district in its name but often does not
reflect the wine from that district. Basically, a marketing ploy.
Green: a term used to describe younger, more acidic wine that will typically soften with
age.

Hard: like green, but indicating a high tannin level and not very good to taste. Hard wines
typically improve with age.

Harsh: like hard or green. The difference is that it will not typically soften with age.

Hot: a wine that mainly reminds you of alcohol.

Hydrogen sulfide: the smell of rotten eggs in wine; this may dimish with aeration.

Maderized: wine with a premature over aged taste or a wine that has changed its color.
Typically they smell and taste oxidized

Matchstick: a burnt matchstick aroma from an excess of sulfur dioxide added to a wine. It
will typically disappear with age.

Musty: akin to bottle stink but not quite so distinctive. Typically this indicates poor wood
aging. It rarely dissipates.

Numb: similar to dumb but without implying that the wine may improve with age. This also
refers to excessively chilled wine.

Off, Off-smell, Off-taste: a wine with an abnormal flavor or aroma.

Orange juice, spoiled: wines that have been improperly fermentation will have an odor
similar to orange juice..

Oxidized: all wines will have some oxygen in them. However, a high degree of oxidation is
not a good thing. Highly oxidized wines are considered lifeless.

Phylloxera: a parasite also known as the wine louse that feeds on the roots of vines and
kills them.

Prickly: really, this is a matter of taste. It is the taste resulting from residual carbon
dioxide in wines.

Processed: refers to wine that have been put to too many processing steps and results in a
bland flavor or aroma.

Restrained: same thing as dumb.

Rotten eggs: the odor emitted by a wine excessive in hydrogen sulfide. Typically, this is a
bottle to return.

Sour: like acidic, a wine that has started to or already has turned into vinegar.

Stemmy: wines that were actually fermented with their stems or were crushed or pressed
in such a manner to have excess tannins from the stems.
Thin: lacking in body or alcohol; a watery wine.

Tight: a term referring to wines that do not express distinct aromas or flavors, or with an
unexpressive structure.

Vinegar: definitely what you do not want in a wine. See acetic.

Vinous: like winey.

Winey: the smell of a particularly unimpressive cheap wine. Yes, it is wine, but that’s about
all you can say.

Wood(y): wines that have been aged too long in wooden barrels and have excessively
picked up the flavor of the wood. Similar to musty. Other specific names include Cedar,
Cigar Box, Oak, Pencil Shavings, Pine and Resinous.

THINGS THAT MAKE WINE BETTER

Aerate: opening a wine and exposing it to the air. This is usually done to either make a
younger wine a bit softer or to make the best aromas in an older wine more apparent.

Alcohol: Let’s face it. This is one of the things wine is all about. Of course, it provides that
pleasant kick when you drink it, but it also contributes to the flavor and texture of the wine
and helps stabilize the wine. The predominant alcohol is ethanol. In addition other alcohols
are present is small quantities that provide distinct flavors to different wines.

Alcohol level: This is the percentage of alcohol in a wine as determined by volume. Wines
vary from 9 to 14 percent alcohol. White wines tend to be on the lower end of the scale and
red wines tend to be on the higher end of the scale.
TERMS RELATED TO MAKING WINE

American Oak: Oak wood from forests in the United States. Some wineries prefer using
barrels made from American Oak for aging their wine. It contributes a unique flavor.

Barrel: A small wooden container, typically made of oak, in which wine is fermented or
aged.

Black grapes: Grapes that have blue or red colors in their skins. They are used to make
red wine.

Brix: A term referring to the measure of solids, usually sugars, in a grape juice. It can be
used to estimate the amount of alcohol that will be in a wine.

Bulk: A quick and inexpensive way to make sparkling wines that does the secondary
fermentation in a large tank instead of in the bottle.

Bunch: A full cluster of grape berries

Cask: A fairly large wooden container or barrel used to make or store wine.

Chaptalization: Adding beet or cane sugars to a wine before fermentation in order to raise
the final alcoholic content of the wine.

Cold fermentation: a particular way to fermenting grape juice at lowered (55 degrees F.)
temperatures. This conserves as much fruit character in the wine as possible.

Cross: breeding one variety of grape with another to get a better result.

Crush: Picking and processing grapes to allow their juice to run out.

Fermentation: nature’s way of transforming the sugar in grape juice to alcohol. Go

microbes!

Free run: wine that is produced by allowing it to flow by gravity from the fermenter to the
aging barrels.

French oak: Oak from French forests used to make aging barrels. This is considered the
best oak for aging white wines.

Grape tannin: tannins in a red wine that come from the grape skins.

Hybrid: laboratory produced grape varieties typically involving more that one grape
species.

Labrusca: a species of grape.

Late Harvest: a term that indicates the grapes were left on the vine longer than normal.
This makes them ripen and results in high sugar levels and alcohol in the wine.
Maceration: soaking the skins of red grapes in their juice to get tannins and other
substances into the juice.

Malolactic conversion, Malolactic fermentation: bacterial conversion of malic acid in

wines into lactic acid resulting in a lowering of the overall acidity of the wine.

Maturation: the aging period at the winery.

Méthode Champenoise: the classic way of making Champagne and other sparkling wines
by doing a secondary fermentation in small bottles.

Muscadine: a colloquial name for a sub-genus of the vitis family of grapes.

Must: in red wine fermentation, the mixture of grape juice, skins, seeds, and pulp; in white
wine fermentation just the juice.

New oak: typically refers to oak barrels that are used for the first time to age wine.

Nouveau: wines produced to capture the ultimate in freshness and fruit character. They
rarely have any aging potential.

Old oak: aging barrels that have lost most of the oaky character. Usually at least three
years old.

Old vines: grape vines that are older (usually older than 40 years) and presumably produce
a better grape.

Pomace: the residue left after fermentation. Typically it consists of grape skins, un-used
pulp, and seeds.

Press wine: refers to the portion of wine that is pressed from the skins and pulp after
draining off the free run wine. Typically this has a higher concentration of tannins and other
components and is sometimes blended back into the free run wine.

Rack: draining wine from a holding tank in order to aerate it and separate it from the
sediment at the bottom.

Residual sugar: gives a measure of the sugar left in wine after fermentation and is an
indication of the wine’s sweetness.

Skin contact: during the winemaking process, leaving the skins of the grapes in contact
with the grape juice.

Solera: a term to refer to mixing or fractional blending of older wines with younger wines
to create a consistent product.

Stems: the woody part of a bunch of grapes that is usually removed before fermentation.

Sulfur dioxide: a chemical added to most wine to improve its stability.

Sussreserve: unfermented grape juice added to white wines to increase their sweetness.

Tannin: a natural constituent of wines, particularly red. It is bitter tasting, but helps
preserve wines during the aging process.

Topping Up: completely filling casks or tanks with wine to remove all air.

Yeasts: the little miracle microorganisms that turn grape juice into wine.
TERMS USED TO CHARACTERIZE WINE

Ample: A wine that give an overall impression of being large and weighty in your mouth.

Appellation: This is frequently used in a wine’s name to denote the geographic origin of
the wine.

Aroma: This has several different meanings. In the most general sense it is simply the
smell of a wine. More specifically, it refers to that portion of the smell of a wine derived
specifically from the grape variety,such as Cabernet-Sauvignon or Chardonnay, as opposed
to that portion of the smell derived from other sources (see Bouquet). In addition, many
people refer to the upfront smells of a younger wine as its aroma and the more complex
smells of an aged wine as its bouquet.

Aromatic: A term used to describe a wine with a distinct smell. It is commonly used for
wines with fruity and floral smells, although it can be used for any wine with strong
aromatic compounds.

Aromatic compounds: Chemical substances in a wine that are responsible for its aromas
and flavors. They may be result of the grapes, from the way in which the wine is made or
from the aging process.

Attack: This refers to the very first taste impression a wine gives to you. It really has to do
with the taste sensations you get in the front of your mouth when you first sip the wine.

Austere: Generally, austere in a wine refers to a sensation of an enjoyable bitterness in the

wine from tannins. It is reminiscent of the difference between tasting lemonade as opposed
to a sugary soft drink.

Balance: When you consider the basic constituents of wine – the sugars, acids, tannins and
alcohols – balance refers to no particular constituents standing out among the others.

Barnyard: As the name implies, this is the smell of barnyard animals in a wine. It is found
in some Rhones and Burgundies. It can be an unpleasant smell that discourages many to
taste the wine, but the taste of the wine can often be very rewarding.

Barrel aged: This refers to wine that has been aged in wooden barrels. Typically, the wine
has been fermented in another type of container like stainless steel.

Barrel fermented: This refers to wine that has been fermented in oak barrels. It is
typically used to characterize white wines and gives them a more subtle flavor than white
wines that have simply been aged in barrels.

Big: a wine of with more flavor, alcohol, etc. than others. A full bodied wine containing at
least 14% alcohol.

Bitter: Is one of the four basic taste sensations in a wine. It is the result of a fairly high
tannin content and is typical of young, red Bordeaux or Cabernet.
Blend: A mixture of two or more different wines. It can apply to wines made from different
grapes, different regions, or different vineyards.

Body: Generally speaking, the impression a wine leaves of its “weight” in your mouth. A
number of factors contribute to the notion of weight including the amount of alcohol and
other components. Wines are usually characterized as having a body that is light, medium
or full.

Bottle age: The length of time a wine matures after it has been bottled. Most wineries age
in the bottle a short time. Consumers may age the wines in bottles longer, particularly for
finer wines.

Bouquet: Bouquet and aroma refer to the smell of a wine. Bouquet is used when referring
to the smell of an aged wine where the maturing process has brought out things like the
aging in wood and subtle smells from the fermentation process. Young wines are not
considered to have a bouquet, only an aroma.

Breed: A term that generally refers to a mature wine made from better grapes with a
distinctive quality resulting from the right grapes, soil, and wine making skills. It refers to a
superior bouquet, flavor and balance.

Bright: Characterizes a wine that is vivid to the senses. It can refer to wines that are
visually bright or have bright flavors or aromas.

Brilliant: Refers to the appearance of the wine. It is a wine that is perfectly clear and has
no haziness.

Brut: A very dry sparkling wine.

Character: Just like the character of one person distinguishes them from another person,
the character of a wine distinguishes it from other wines. A wine with character is generally
used to indicate a wine that is above average. It’s most frequently used the sense of a good
wine, but a wine can have too much character as well.

Chewy: Refers to a wine that has a higher acid, but is still balanced. Bordeaux, Cabernet,
and Shiraz wines can be chewy.

Clean: a simple wine with no off-odors or off-tastes.

Compact: a wine that is intense but not full.

Complex: a wine described as complex is many-faceted; it contains not only acids,

alcohols, tannins, etc., but more. It has a multiplicity of aromas and flavors.

Concentrated: wines that have dense flavors and aromas as opposed to dilute.

Concentration: refers to a wine whose flavors are dense as opposed to dilute.

Course: heavy common wines without breed.

Crisp: crisp wines are generally acidic and feel clean and brittle in your mouth. They go
well with food.

Depth: a wine that gives the impression of many layers of taste. Typically fine wines have
depth.

Distinguished: the best of all the superior wines.

Dry: dry wines have no noticeable sweetness.

Earthy: refers to a characteristic of the wine derived from its special soil and climate.
Typical of wines with a unique heavy dull taste from grapes grown in heavy soil.

Elegance: refers to wine that are fine and delicate as opposed to intense. A very fine wine,
but a bit light.

Fat: refers to a wine containing higher than average alcohol.

Feminine: refers to a wine that is more delicate than most.

Finish: the aftertaste of a wine after you have swallowed it.

Firm: generally refers to the tannic content or acidity of a wine. It is a wine that tastes
good and has good balance.

Flavor intensity: refers to the degree that the flavors in a wine are easily apparent.

Floral: having a distinct floral aroma. Other specific terms include Acacia, Cherry Blossom,
Elderflower, Lavender, Linden, Linalool, Orange Blossom, Rose, Violet and White Flowers.

Flowery: a light wine with an aroma reminiscent of flowers.

Fortified: wines that have added alcohol.

Fresh: younger whites or lighter reds with a pleasant, youthful sensation. A matured wine
that has not lost any of its characteristics due to excessive aging.

Fruit character: the characteristics of a wine like aroma and flavor that come from the
grapes.

Fruity: a wine with aromas and flavors that suggest fruit. Typical of young wines. Specific
terms include citrus fruits, tree fruits, berries, tropical fruits, dried fruits and vine fruits.

Full, Full-Bodied: wines that give the impression of being large or heavy in your mouth.
This can come from a high alcohol content or other factors in the wine. Personal preference
determines how pleasant a full wine is.

Generous: wines whose characteristics are easy to perceive.

Gran reserve: a Spanish term indicating wines that have aged at least five years, two of
which were in oak barrels.

Harmonious: well balanced wines that express themselves well.

Herbaceous, Herbal: smelling or tasting of herbs like rosemary, thyme, tarragon, etc.
Other specific terms include Allspice, Anise, Fennel, Licorice, Basil, Black Pepper, Cinnamon,
Clove, Dill, Eucaluptus, Horseradish, Mint, Peppermint, Spearmint, Nutmeg, Saffron, Thyme,
Vanilla and White Pepper.

Intense: used to describe the strength of a wine’s flavor or aroma.

Length: typical of fine wines. A taste across the entire length of the tongue.

Light: similar to feminine.

Luscious: a rich wine, typically high in sugar.

Masculine: the opposite of feminine. A big or full wine.

Medium dry: very slightly sweet wines.

Medium sweet: wines that are sweeter than medium dry wines but not fully sweet.

Mellow: a soft, smooth, often sweeter wine.

Off dry: describes wines that are neither dry nor sweet.

Powerful: wines that convey strength or intensity.

Rich: wine that has an abundance of flavor or other characteristics.

Ripe: well balanced, fully mature wine of great quality. Also, fruity flavored wine that has
reached its peak.

Robust: same as big.

Salty: a term used to characterize wines with a higher mineral content.

Serious: used to refer to a high quality wine.

Shoe polish, Shoe paste: a smell reminiscent of shoe polish that typically indicates a
fungus in the wine.

Silky: wine with a smooth texture.

Single vineyard wine: wine that is made from the grapes of a single vineyard. There is an
assumption that the vineyard is older and on good land, making the wine better.

Smooth: wine whose texture is not harsh.

Soft: same meaning as mellow. A wine with low acidity, mild and pleasing, but not
generally considered a superior wine.

Sweet, sweetness: a sweet taste in the wine resulting from residual sugars. Specific terms
include bubblegum, Butterscotch, Caramel, Chocolate, Gingerbread, Honey, Macaroon,
Marzipan, Molasses, Pear Drop, Fruitcake and Toffee.

Tannic: wines that are high in tannin.

Tart: a wine higher than normal in acid or with the aromas or flavors of under ripe grapes.

Texture: the feel of wine in your mouth.

Vegetables, Vegetal: wines that are reminiscent of the ingredients in a salad like green
peppers, asparagus, etc. Other specific terms include Asparagus, Beetroot, Green Pepper,
Black Olive, Cucumber, Grass, Green Olive, Green Pea and Lentil.

Velvety: similar to mellow, but without sweetness.

Volatile: components of the wine that are easy to perceive by smelling.

Weedy: like herbaceous.

Weight: the overall impression of a wine’s volume in the mouth.

FLAVORS AND AROMAS IN WINES

Fruity

Apples: this refers to the smell or taste of apples in a wine. It is typical in some German
Rieslings, Chardonnays, and Chenin Blanc wines. It is not unusual for an oxidized wine to
have an apple smell.

Apricots: refers to the smell or taste of apricots in a wine. It is found in some sweet
Rieslings, Semillons and Muscats.

Bananas: some young wines smell reminiscent of bananas. This occurs because of a cold
fermentation process and will typically diminish with age. It is often found in nouveaux
Beaujolais.

Berries: a subtle, fruity, berry-like character, often found in young red wines, like
Zinfandels.

Black currant: a taste reminiscent of black currants or casis that is typically found in
Bordeaux wines with a high percentage of Cabernet-Sauvignon and similar California wines.

Black fruits: fefers to the general aromas and flavors reminiscent of blackberries,
blueberries, blackcurrants, black cherries and similar black fruits.

Cherry: also called Black Cherry, an aroma or taste reminiscent of cherry.

Citrus: reminiscent of orange, burnt orange or a general citrus flavor. It’s often found in
Chiantis and Barolos.

Figs: wines from the Sémillon grape variety are often reminiscent of figs.

Foxy: a musk-like aroma typical of concord grapes.

Grapey: wines that have an aroma and flavor of fresh picked grapes.

Peaches: a peach like aroma or flavor sensed in some sweet, late-picked wines.

Plummy, Plums: flavors or aromas that are reminiscent of ripe plums.

Prunes: flavors or aromas of prunes.

Quince (apple): flavors or aromas of apples.

Raisiny: a wine flavor that arises from grapes that have dried. Common to hot-climate
wines.

Raspberrles: sensed in many red wines including Zinfandels, Petit Slrahs, and Gamays

Vegetable and Herbal

Asparagus: refers to the small or taste of asparagus in a wine. It can be found in

Sauvignon Blanc based wines, especially Pouilly-Fumés, Sancerres and those of New
Zealand.

Grassy: tastes and aromas reminiscent of grass. Typical in Sauvignon blanc-based wines.

Green bell Peppers: the aroma or flavor of green bell peppers.

Green olives: the aroma or flavor of green olives. Not common.

Kraut: perceived in many wines from the Merlot variety.

Mint: a term often used to express the flavors of wood aging-specifically French oak aging.

Mushrooms: the smell of fresh picked mushrooms.

Nuts, Nutty: aromas or flavors that are reminiscent of nuts

Peppermint: an aroma or flavor of peppermint, sometimes sensed in 100 percent, well-

made Pinot noirs.

Spicy: wines that that have a flavor like dill or basil. It gives a tangy impression to the
wine. Typically high quality wines with a fruity flavor are called spicy, although the term is
also used to characterize poor quality wines with spices added.

Tomatoes (stewed, canned): this is generally not a desired taste or odor of tomatoes
coming from a yeast called brettanomyces (dekkera). In small amounts it can add to the
wine.

Other

Charry: A flavor or aroma reminiscent of burnt or charred wood.

Cloves: usually the mark of new French oak.

Minerally: having flavors or aromas that are reminiscent of minerals as opposed to plants.

Oaky: the flavor of wines that have been aged in small newer wood barrels.

Resin: the smell, predominating in Greek Retsinas, caused by the addition of small
amounts of resin to the fermentation.

Smoky: aromas or flavors reminiscent of smoked wood.

Stony: wines that have a mineral content making them reminiscent of stones.

Tarry: flavors or aromas reminiscent of fresh tar.

Underbrush: flavors or aromas reminiscent of dampness or wet leaves. Generally consider

a good thing in older red wines.