Need-to-Know Vocab

Learn to speak wine.

Describing Wine

Acidity - A structural component that is responsible for making your mouth water. It’s utilized when evaluating the body or weight of the wine and is the antithesis of tannins. 

Aging Potential - Determination of how long a wine can age after it has been bottled before its quality begins to decline. When tasting, this is decided during the final evaluation of the wine as a whole. It can be subjective, but some practiced experts (especially the winemakers of said wine) can pinpoint this very well. See more about aging below in the section “Fun Things to do With Wine.”

Alcohol - A structural component. Alcohol can be determined by a hot sensation in the back of the throat and/or a tingling in the nose or or on the tongue. This component is also important when evaluating the body of a wine as it adds weight. It is generally described with the terms low, medium, or high.

Body - A term to describe the weight of a wine on your tongue. It is evaluated after determining the level of acidity, tannins, alcohol, and sweetness. Generally, body is described using the terms light, medium, or full.

Cava – This is sparkling wine made in the same method as Champagne and can only be considered Cava if made in Spain, specifically Penedes where it was first created. 

Color – Like it sounds, this is the color of the wine. As wine ages its color changes. Reds change from ruby to garnet (sometimes brown if very old) while whites transition from lemon to amber (sometimes brown if very old). This helps tasters determine age and possible aromas and flavors. 

Champagne – Sparkling wine that only comes from Champagne, France (yes, it is a region of France). If sparkling wine is made outside of Champagne, by law, it cannot be coined as a Champagne. 

Complex – One of those terms that is commonly heard but not always understood. It simply means a wine that has a lot going on – many flavors and aromas. A complex wine does not mean that it is better, it just means it is complex.

Depth – When referring to the transparency of a wine, it is determined when considering the color. Like the color of the wine, it changes with age – reds become paler and whites become darker. Terms to describe depth are pale, medium, or deep.

Dry – Dry is an objective term when evaluating a wine’s structure, and is subjective for those unfamiliar with or who don’t care about evaluating structure. Objectively: When professionals determine a wine to be “dry,” they are being objective based on learned tasting guidelines. “Dry” generally means the wine has little residual sugar, high acidity, and/or a lot of tannins. Subjectively: The perception of sweetness can be subjective based on your own taste buds and the types of foods you eat. If you think a Sauvignon Blanc is sweet then it is, but it may not be to your friend. 

Full – A term referring to the body of the wine and, again, a description determined by the four structural characteristics: level of acidity, tannins, alcohol, and sweetness.  

Finish – After swallowing the wine, how long do the good-tasting flavors (namely primary flavors) last on your tongue? If they last a long time, the finish is considered long. Other terms used are short or medium. This can also be difficult to determine and may take practice.    

Fruit Forward – A wine that has more fruity sensations than anything else. It can still present other flavors, but if there is a burst of fruits, it can be considered fruit forward. Examples can be a young Pinot Noir or an easy-drinking Sauvignon Blanc.

Intensity – When referring to depth, but also aromas and flavors. To determine, pour the wine into your glass and incrementally pull it closer to your nose. If you can smell it from a longer distance away the intensity is “pronounced.” If you have to search for aromas, even after your nose is in the glass, the intensity is “light.” The same goes for when sipping. Intensity descriptions are generally light, medium, and pronounced. 

Light – A term used when describing intensity and body. Intensity descriptions are generally light, medium, and pronounced. 

Medium – A term used when describing depth, intensity, sweetness, acidity, tannins, alcohol, body, and finish. To better think of this, a wine that doesn’t seem like it is very full bodied but isn’t light bodied is somewhere in the middle, and can therefore be described as “medium bodied.”

Open Up/Breathe — When a wine needs to be or has been exposed to the air in order to allow all of the flavors and aromas to fully express themselves. It is common to allow this when drinking complex and/or fuller-bodied wines.  

Primary Characteristics – This is one of three categories of describing the flavors and aromas of wine. Generally speaking, primary characteristics underscore flavors and aromas that can be considered bright, vibrant, juicy, and typically are used if a wine is “young.” They are the result of the natural flavors in the grapes and the fermentation process before a wine is aged (if it is aged) before and/or after bottling.  

Prosecco – A sparkling wine that comes from the Prosecco DOC, which is a region of Italy. Prosecco can only be considered and labeled Prosecco if it comes from the Prosecco DOC or any of its sub-appellations, such as the higher-quality sub-region of Conegliano-Valdobbiadene DOCG. There are many other regions in Italy that make sparkling wines that cannot be considered Prosecco. 

Residual Sugar (R/S) – This is what determines a wine’s sweetness level and is the result of stopping fermentation early (see the definition of “sweet wines” in the “Winemaking Technique” section below). It is the amount of sugar that is left over after fermentation is complete. Dry wines have very little residual sugar, if any at all, and sweeter wines have much more. 

Secondary Characteristics – The result of winemaking techniques that go beyond just fermentation. These can include a many number of things, but most ubiquitous is barrel aging and malolactic conversion (see both definitions in the “Winemaking Techniques” section below)

Sparkling Wine – This encompasses all sparkling wines and is not contingent with regionality like with Champagne or Cava. 

Still Wine – A wine that is not sparkling. It’s the same as still or sparkling water.

Tannins – The grippy sensation one may feel when drinking a red wine (only reds have tannins). It causes a drying sensation, grippiness on your teeth and gums, and the mouth to pucker. It is the main component responsible for determining the body of the wine and is the antithesis of acidity, as more tannins means a fuller-bodied wine. They are the result of the skins of the harvested grapes. Think of tea leaves – the longer the tea bag is in the cup, the more tea leaves are added. The tea leaves are tea tannins, and provide grip like wine tannins do.

Tertiary Characteristics – The result of bottle aging. Like with color and depth, aromas and flavors also change over time. The longer a wine ages in the bottle, the more its primary and secondary flavors develop. Examples of tertiary characteristics are dried fruits and savory meatiness.

Tight – A sensation when tasting. This describes a wine that is young and needs to age and/or a complex wine that needs time to open up for the flavors and aromas to become more apparent. It is a nuanced term and understanding may require practice.

Varietal/Variety – a term used to describe different types of grapes. For example, Cabernet Sauvignon is a different varietal than Pinot Noir.

Young – A wine is young if it needs to age longer. This essentially means that even if a wine can be drunk now, it will be better when it is older or has aged. (see “aging” in the “Fun Things to Do With Wine” category below)

Ripening - As grapes ripen, their inner sugars (glucose) develop, natural acidity decreases, the skins of grapes become thicker, and tannins form, which is especially important with red grapes — which have more tannins than white grapes — because this is an important structural component (see “tannins” above). The structure and flavor profile of a wine is dependent on these components. 

Grapes ripen at different speeds, and winemakers typically take notices of those that are “early-ripening” or “late-ripening,” as these factors are taken into consideration when planting and when harvesting.

Early Ripening – Grapes that “ripen early” are those whose sugars and skins fully develop on the vine earlier than average harvest times. Grapes in this category do well in cool climates, as a warm climate would cause them to ripen too quickly, wherein they may lose their naturally fruity flavors.

Late Ripening – Grapes that are “late ripening” are those whose sugars and skins take longer to develop than grapes that ripen early or somewhere in between the two. Red grapes that ripen late (Grenache) will need more sunlight and heat to reach their full tannic potential, while white grapes that ripen late will have the ability to become fuller-bodied and possibly be made into sweeter style wine (sweet Riesling). 

Talking About a Wine Bottle

Appellation/Region – Specificity of where the grapes were grown and harvested. Region can be interchangeable with appellation, including the term sub-appellation. 

AVA – AVA or American Viticultural Area. Like with region, this term defines a specific grape growing area. AVA is utilized only in the United States of America. Other countries use region or appellation when depicting a growing location.

Cork – A common insert in a bottle to keep the wine away from oxygen, though not entirely, which can be important for determining how a wine will age and if it should at all. Cork is a natural product that derives from trees. Portugal produces the most cork for bottlings in the world, exporting 70% of world trade. 

Cru – Some countries in the world, like France, will use the term “Cru” when depicting a specific vineyard or appellation. This is a distinction of quality amongst other vineyards or appellations that do not possess this status. There are Premier and Grand Crus. America does not use the Cru system. 

Screw Cap – A metallic sealant that, unlike cork, does not allow any air inside the bottle. A screw cap does not always mean the bottle is worse than if it were sealed with a cork…just saying. 

Sediment – If you’ve drunk a red wine, and at the bottom of the glass was some chunky and gritty clumps like sand – that’s sediment. It’s completely harmless, but not super tasty. It’s particles that have separated from the wine and have formed clumps of crystals. They are common in white wines that have been stored for too long in the fridge or in red wines that are very old or when a winemaker deliberately does not filter and fine the wine enough – they appreciate the complexities sediment can provide.

Sub-Appellation/Sub-AVA – a term to define a smaller region within an umbrella appellation. The term “sub-AVA” follows this same pattern.

Vineyard – Specific plot of land within an AVA, appellation, region or a sub-variety of the three. The importance of understanding the vineyard is because plots of land can differ in regards to grape quality and flavors based on many climatic factors. 

Vintage – The date the grapes were harvested. If a bottle of wine reads “2021” that is the year the grapes were harvested. Wines can be distributed to the public years after the date written on the bottles of wine.

Winemaking Techniques

Alcoholic Fermentation – How alcohol of any kind is created. In the case of wine, yeast east sugars from harvested grapes and metabolize them to create alcohol and CO2. 

Asti Method – One of five ways to make a sparkling wine. This method is utilized in Asti, the Piedmont region of Italy. This is a sparkling wine method, and the wines are always sweet and will have no more than 7% ABV (Alcohol by Volume) when bottled. Unlike Champagne, only one fermentation occurs.  

Barrel/Barrique – This can be a fermentation or aging vessel, though it is more often used for aging. Utilizing wood from America or France to create barrels is common, but wood from other countries may also be used, and is, depending on winemaking preferences. 

Carbonation Method – When a winemaker injects CO2 into still wine to make it sparkling. 

Champagne Method/Method Champenoise – Not all sparkling is Champagne and not all sparkling wines are made like Champagne. The Champagne Method requires two fermentations, the second being in the bottle. This second fermentation in the bottle results in CO2 – a natural byproduct of fermentation, which creates the bubbles. 

Charmant Method/Tank Method – This is the method to make Proseccos. Rather than two fermentations, like with Champagne, there is only one, and it takes place inside of a tank. This helps to retain fruit flavors and vibrancy.  

Inert Vessel – A vessel commonly used for fermentation that does not allow air to come into contact with the wine – “inert” means lacking the ability to, and in the case of wine, it is in regards to air. Additionally, this vessel allows for temperature control during fermentation. It is also used for aging wine at times, namely white wines. 

Lees – Yeast cells that are left over after fermentation is complete. Fermentation stops naturally when yeast has no more sugar to eat. What is left over are inactive, or dead, yeast that float in the fermentation vessel. These are filtered out before bottling.

Lees Aging – After fermentation is complete, yeast cells are now considered lees. They are no longer metabolizing sugars, but, before being filtered out, winemakers may leave them to sit in the wine for a period of time to add texture, flavors and aging potential. This is also commonly known as "sur lie" in French, or "on the lees."

Malolactic Conversion – Ever said “I don’t like Chardonnay”? Well, it may be because of Malolactic Conversion (aka Malolactic Fermentation, though it’s not actually a fermentation method). This process is utilized for most red wines and some white wines, especially Chardonnay from California. Essentially, a winemaker puts wine in a barrel and adds a specific bacteria that softens acids – converting malic acid (sharp) to lactic acid (soft). The result is a smoother profile, and in the case of white wines, oftentimes butteriness.   

Oxidation – When a wine comes into contact with air deliberately or not. This is good or bad depending on the desired profile the winemaker wants and the type of wine you enjoy drinking. When wine interacts with oxygen, over time its color and flavors change. Some wines taste better after oxidation, some don’t. Cork allows for oxygenation, which is where the term “ages like fine wine” comes from.

Sweet Wines – the result of residual sugar. The most common way to create a sweeter wine is to stop fermentation before it is complete. This halts the alcohol process and sugar (residual sugar) and yeast remain in the tank. Because sugar and yeast have stopped fermenting, the alcohol of the wine is lower and more sugar remains than if fermentation were to be completed.

Transfer Method – Like with Champagne, this is a sparkling wine that underwent two fermentations. But unlike Champagne, after the second fermentation in the bottle, the wine is transferred into a stainless steel tank (inert vessel) where it will continue to age before being filtered. It is more cost effective than the Champagne Method.

Fun Things to Do With Wine

Aging – Letting a wine sit before drinking. Ageablitiy is determined by the complexities of the wine, the structural components (acidity, body, sweetness, tannins), and length of finish. Not all wines can age and not all ageable wines can sit for the same amount of time. Understanding how long to age a wine takes practice, and can still be elusive to many professionals. Generally, however, a wine can age if it has high tannins, high acidity, is very sweet (some sweet Rieslings can age for decades!), and/or is very complex. Aging is a wine-specific ordeal and does take some understanding of different grape varietals, where the grapes were grown, and winemaking techniques.

Aerate – Deliberate oxidization, or allowing wine to come into contact with the air after opening a bottle to drink. This tactic allows for older wines to open up so their aromas and flavors can shine. It can also be used for young wines that have a lot of tannins. As a wine comes into contact with air its tannic structure softens and becomes less grippy.  

Decentor – A vessel used to aerate and when pouring old wines that may have a lot of sediment. When pouring a wine in a decanter that has sediment, try putting a small-holed strainer on top of the decanter – it will catch the sediment.  

Sabering – A fun way to open a sparkling wine by using a sharp knife to open the bottle. When done correctly, the knife is dragged so quickly along the bottle (held horizontally) that it slices off the cork of a sparkling wine bottle. It’s fun, but not recommended for nice sparkling, as much of the wine will be lost after the cork pops off.