Last week, I introduced a number of phrases and words associated with wine. You will often hear this terminology if you go to a wine tasting party or when you visit a winery. Most wine bottles have some of this jargon on the labels, too.
Learning some of this “wine speak” will help you understand styles of wine, what the wine producers or winemakers were trying to achieve during a certain vintage, and familiarize yourself with tastes and aromas.
Let me emphasize again that each person’s taste perception is unique, and yours should be the guiding force when you taste or buy wine.
Hollow/thin: A wine that is hollow does not have defining characteristics, often perceived as diluted or blase.
Intensity: Desirable trait in good wines that describes the overall appeal of the wine. An intense wine should have great balance – one that is layered, aromatic, well-structured and not overpowering in any area.
Legs/tears: The streams inside a wine glass that are formed as you swirl your wine. All wines have legs. Slow moving, thick legs may indicate a wine that is full-bodied; thin, fast moving legs may indicate a lighter bodied wine. Legs are not a sign of quality, bad or good.
Lush/velvety/silky: Wines with a nice, smooth taste that is delicious from start to finish. A lush wine is fruity, concentrated and never hard on the palate.
Mouth-feel: Refers to how the wine texturally feels in your mouth. If the wine has good mouth-feel, a nice balance of fruit, tannin and alcohol, one wants to consume it. If it has poor mouth-feel, perhaps because the wine is too harsh, acidic or hot, then one wants to spit it out.
Musty: A wine that smells musty, like old newspapers or cardboard, may have been aged in dirty barrels or was exposed to a bad cork.
Nose: The smell and aroma of wine, using one’s olfactory senses or “nose.”
Oaky: A lot of wine today is aged for varying lengths of time in oak barrels, anywhere from six months to three years. Oak barrels impart certain flavors and smells into the wine, depending how long the wine sits in the barrel, whether the barrel was new or used, etc. Winemakers strive to find the perfect melding of fruit and oak. The wood may overwhelm the wine. If it does, the wine is considered too oaky.
Peppery/spicy: Aromas of white or black pepper. Clove, cinnamon, vanilla, anise and other well-known spices are lumped together; often pungent in the nose of the wine.
Perfumed/floral: These are not synonymous terms but similar in the flowery, perfumed smells that are sometimes found in fragrant white wines and some reds.
Ripe: Grapes that reach the perfect level of maturity. Wines that taste over-ripe come from overly mature grapes; wines that are under-ripe come from grapes that have not matured sufficiently.
Round: Think of well-rounded. In young wines, they are soft and have subtle acidity. In mature wines, they have loss some of the harsh tannins and are savory.
Smoky: Due to the barreling or soil, the pleasant character of roasted meats, cooked bacon, etc. Do not think of cigarettes or cigars here!
Structure: I always think of a building. What holds the wine together? How is the combination of fruit, acids, tannins and alcohol? Often related to how well the wine will age over time.
Sweet: Describes the residual sugar in wine; flavors of honey. Mostly found in white, blush, rose and dessert wines.
Thick: Rich, bold wines with low acidity.
Volatile: A wine that has excessive acetic bacteria will have a strong vinegar smell, a serious flaw.
Next week, the final part of this series will focus on other wine terms that you often hear but not necessarily those associated with taste and smell.
Cheers!
