A

ACIDITY

Acidity in wine is a critical factor affecting the wine’s flavour, food pairing and aging potential. Acidity is one of the 4 fundamental traits in wine. The other fundamental traits are sweetness, tannin and alcohol. The natural occurring acids (tartaric and malic) come from the pulp of the grape. Acid gives wine a crisp, zesty or tart taste. When drinking wine, acidity is detected on the tongue where it causes a tingling sensation. Medium to highly acidic wines will make your mouth water similar to biting into a lemon slice.

ALCOHOL

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ANGULAR

(Wine Tasting Term) An angular wine is characterized by its sharp and well defined qualities often feeling sharp and edgy on your palate vs. a rich wine like an oaked Chardonnay or a full body red wine. Angular wines are typically young and fresh wines often having high acidity with light to medium alcohol levels.

APPELLATION

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AROMAS

(Wine Tasting Term) Wine aromas generally refer to the pleasant and noticeable smells associated with the grape itself or aromas from the fermentation process. Often fruity, floral or herbaceous. Some consider aromas originating from the aging process as a wine’s “bouquet”. For this glossary, we consider all as aromas and all fall into three categories of wine aromas:

• Primary - aromas that come from the grape itself or created during the fermentation process. Example; black currant aromas in a Cabernet Sauvignon or red berries aromas in a Pinot Noir.

• Secondary - aromas created during post fermentation such as Malolactic conversion, Autolysis or wine storage in oak vessels. Example; vanilla, clove, smoke in red wines, or biscuit and bread present in white or sparkling wines.

• Tertiary - aromas derived from the aging process and the vessels used to age the wine (often times as a result of exposure to small amounts of oxygen. Example; coffee, caramel, honey, earth and mushroom found in some red wines that have aged for some time.

AROMATIC

(Wine Tasting Term) A wine that has a complex and distinctive aromas that are intense enough to be noticed before even drinking it. This would be considered having pronounced aroma intensity. Aromatic wines often have strong fruity, floral or herbal scents.

ASTRINGENT

(Wine Tasting Term) Astringent wines are characterized by high tannin in the wine causing a drying, bitter or puckering sensation in the mouth. The tannin comes into contact with the saliva and binds to the salivary proteins resulting in a dry and puckering sensation on the palate. Astringent wines are typically highly tannic young red wines. The tannins soften / mellow over time reducing the astringency in the wine.

AUSTERE

(Wine Tasting Term) Wine typically defined as lean and structured often high in acidity, high tannins and with subtle aromas and fruit flavours. Austere wines often leave a moth watering sensation on your tongue due to the high acidity, a dry mouthfeel due to grippy tannins and has minimal fruit flavours.

B

BALANCED

(Wine Tasting Term) Balance is the ideal mix of the four critical wine elements of acidity, sweetness, tannins, and alcohol. Balanced wines feel smooth and well-integrated on the palate.

BARNYARD

(Wine Tasting Term) This term describes a wine withearthy, rustic aromas that may remind one of a farm or stable. These scents, often associated with natural fermentation processes or the oxidative affect of wine aging. Barnyard aromas can include scents of hay, straw, or wet soil.

BIG

(Wine Tasting Term) Big describes a wine with massive flavour in your mouth that takes up all sections of your mouth and tongue. A big wine is not necessarily a fruit-forward wine, and it can also mean it has high levels of tannins and/or high levels of alcohol.

BLEND

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BODY

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BOLD

(Wine Tasting Term) A full body wine with strong, intense aromas and flavors. Bold wines often have high alcohol content and rich, concentrated fruit flavors.

BORDEAUX

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BOTRYTIS

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BOUQUET

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BRIGHT

(Wine Tasting Term) Bright wines are higher in acidity and make your mouth water.

BRUT

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BUTTERY

(Wine Tasting Term)‍ A wine with buttery characteristics is generally rich and has lower acidity. A buttery wine often has a cream-like texture that hits the middle of your tongue, almost like oil (or butter), and has a smooth finish. This often comes from Malolactic Fermentation post fermentation and a characteristic of many Chardonnay wines.

C

CASSIS

The aromas and flavours of blackcurrants often found in red wines such as Cabernet Sauvignon produced in France and other parts of Europe. Blackcurrants is a small dark purple fruit native to Europe. The fruit adds depth, sweetness and complexity to the wine.

CHARCOAL

(Wine Tasting Term) A wine that is described as tasting like charcoal. It tastes gritty, dry, high tannins and often with a rustic flavor. Charcoal is often associated or referred to as “pencil lead” which has similar characteristics.

CHEWY TANNINS

(Wine Tasting Term) A reference to wine that has a considerable drying mouthfeel that instinctively stimulates the desire to chew. The sensation is a result of highly tannic wine interacting with the proteins in the saliva leading to a pronounced drying effect on your palate.

CHAPTALIZATION

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CIGAR BOX

(Wine Tasting Term) The term “Cigar Box” in wine refers to a woody, cedar like aroma often associated with oak aging and found in red wine. This desirable aroma typically has notes of dry cedar, spice, tobacco leaf, and sometimes leather with smokey flavours. Cigar box aromas are often present in Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz wines.

CLARET

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CLEAN

(Wine Tasting Term) A wine that tastes crisp and refreshing with no abnormal flavours. Clean wines are straightforward and pure in flavour, often making them easy to drink.

CLOSED

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COMPLEX

(Wine Tasting Term) A complex wine is one that offers multiple layers of aromas, flavours and textures. The aromas and flavours change gradually with different notes emerging over time in your glass. The wine provides a rich, deep and balanced tasting experience on your palate with the acidity, tannins and sugar complementing each other harmoniously.

CORKED / CORK TAINT

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CREAMY

(Wine Tasting Term) Creamy wines are characterized by their rich, round, and thick mouthfeel with flavours primarily of butter, cream, biscuit and bread. It is a characteristic typically found in many white wines and sparkling wines. It is a result of two winemaking techniques; Malolactic Conversion and Lees Contact. Malolactic conversion is a natural process that occurs after alcoholic fermentation and converts sharp malic acid into softer lactic acid, the same acid found in milk. This technique introduces the buttery flavours in white and sparkling wine. The winemaker can chose to prevent the malolactic conversion from taking place so the wine remains more acidic and less buttery. Lees contact is a natural process that occurs after alcoholic fermentation. After fermentation, the yeast die and fall to the bottom of the fermentation vessel. Winemakers can choose to leave the lees in contact longer with the wine introducing flavours of biscuit and bread.

CRISP

(Wine Tasting Term) Crisp is a term often used to describe a white wine with high levels of acidity and generally unoaked. It is often accompanied with sharp citrus flavours leaving a clean, crisp feeling on your palate.

CRU CLASSE

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CUVEE

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D

DEMI-SEC

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DENSE (Wine Tasting Term)

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DRY

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E

EARTHY

(Wine Tasting Term) A term used to describe wines that evoke aromas and savoury flavours similar to the earth and ground that is the opposite of fruit forward wines. Notes of forest floor, wet soil, leaves, truffles, mushrooms and minerality are common in earthy wines. These earthy characteristics are a byproduct of the environment and soil where the grapes are grown. Some examples of earthy wines: Pinot Noir from Burgundy France, Nebbiolo, Sangiovese, Tempranillo, Bordeaux blends, Chablis and Grüner Veltliner.

ELEGANT

(Wine Tasting Term) A term used to describe a wine that has a harmonious balance between it major traits of sweetness, tannin and alcohol. It generally is a light to medium body wine that has high acidity, smooth on the palate with subtle aromas and flavours. No one trait or characteristic over powering the other wine elements. Basically a wine that is not bold, not fruity and not opulent.

F

FAT

(Wine Tasting Term) Wide, big, opulent: These are all similar synonyms of fat. A fat wine refers to its body, weight and mouthfeel. Fat wines are typically full body, rich, and smooth on the palate and often with low acidity and ripe aromas.

FERMENTATION

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FINING

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FINISH

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FLABBY

(Wine Tasting Term) Flabby typically means a wine with low to no acidity. Acidity is important to a wine’s structure and balances the other critical elements in wine such as the sweetness, tannins and alcohol. With little acidity, the wine and is unbalanced, may taste bland or syrupy on you palate and does not stimulate your tastebuds. It’s a negative term and typically a result of harvesting grapes paste the time of prime harvest/

FLAMBOYANT

(Wine Tasting Term) A flamboyant wine typically gets your attention with an abundance of fruit aromas and flavours. This fruit-forward flavours dominate all other elements on your palate. Fruit-forward, juicy, ripe and jammy are other words used to describe this type of fruity wine. Shiraz, Zinfandel, Primitivo and Pinot Noir are examples of fruity flamboyant wines. Additionally, beyond the grape variety itself, harvesting and winemaking techniques can produce these fruit-forward wines.

FLESHY

(Wine Tasting Term) Fleshy is a term used to describe a wine that feels chewy, meaty or beefy in your mouth. Typically this is a full body wine that feels thick and heavy in your mouth.

FOOD FRIENDLY

(Wine Tasting Term) A food friendly wine typically refers to a wine that has high acidity that is balanced, moderate alcohol levels, low to medium tannins and medium body. These wines complement many dishes versus competing with the food dish. The high acidity cuts through rich foods and the low to moderate tannins, alcohol and body does not overpower most dishes. These characteristics result in a wine that pairs well with a variety of foods and provides an enhanced dining experience.

FRUIT FORWARD

(Wine Tasting Term) Fruit forward in wine refers to a wine that is especially "fruity". The fruit aromas and flavours are dominant over other aromas and flavours and linger in the wine’s finish. The fruit flavours can range from citrus and green apple to ripe berries and stone fruit, depending on the grape variety. The fruity flavours in the wine are often accompanied with crisp acidity that balances the sweetness of the fruit. The tannin levels in fruit forward wines are typically low to moderate resulting in a smooth and fruity wine.

FULL BODY / FULL-BODIED

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G, H, I, J.

GI’S (GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATIONS)

GI’s is a legally defined vineyard area. These areas can be very small areas or can be an entire region in a country. GI’s outside of Europe grape grower are free to grow any grapes they like with minimal restrictions. For GI’s within Europe, there are strict regulations that can stipulate only specific grapes to be grown in that vineyard area and how the wine is to be made. GI’s in Europe are further divided into two groups; 1. PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) that cover smaller areas with very stringent regulations and 2. PGI (Protect Geographical Indication) covering larger areas with less rigid regulations.

GRIP or GRIPPY TANNINS

(Wine Tasting Term) Tannin is a compound found in the grape skins, seeds and stems that creates a drying, puckering or bitter sensation in your mouth (refer to Tannin definition below). Grippy tannins are more pronounced and sharper making the wine feel more drying and firm in your mouth, tongue and gums. These grippy tannins mellow over time giving the wine a more rounder and softer feel on your palate.

HERBACEOUS

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JAMMY

(Wine Tasting Term) The jammy term in wine refers to a wine that has concentrated ripe fruit flavours that is similar to jam or preserves. Jammy wines are typically sweet and full of fruit flavours such as raspberries, strawberries, blackberries and plum. These wines generally have low acidity and low tannins hence the fruit flavour dominant characteristic. Often times this term has a negative connotation with many sommeliers and wine experts since it implies a fruity unbalanced wine.

JUICY

(Wine Tasting Term) A juicy wine has intense fruit aromas and flavours. It is accompanied with high refreshing acidity and a soft texture. These fruity wines are often young wines made from ripe grapes and easy to drink. Gamay and Granache wines are examples of Juicy wines.

L

LINEAR

(Wine Tasting Term) Flavours that are straightforward and not complex. Pinot Grigio (simple lemon and pear aromas and flavours vs. a Cab or Malbec or Syrah that have primary, secondary and tertiary notes

Wines that are straightforward, focused and not complex. Typically wines that have simple primary flavours and no secondary or tertiary aromas and flavours. Pinot Grigio is an example of a linear wine. It has simple lemon and pear flavours vs. a Cabernet Sauvignon that has primary fruit flavours and Secondary and Tertiary flavours such as oak, vanilla and clove.

LIVELY

(Wine Tasting Term) Lively wines have bright, high acidity and have a fresh mouth feel. They are refreshing and invigorating, making them a great choice to enjoy on a warm summary day.

LEES

Lees is a winemaking term describing sedimentary deposits of dead yeast or residual yeast as a byproduct of wine fermentation. As fermentation finishes, the yeast dies and sinks to the bottom of the fermentation vessel/vat. Some wine makers leave the fermented wine in contact with lees or stir the lees with the fermented wine to introduce biscuit, bread, brioche and toast flavours as well as a more creamier texture. This wine making technique of “lees contact” is used often when making white wine such as Chardonnay and Champagne.

M, N, O

MALIC ACID

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MALOLACTIC FERMENTATION

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MALOLACTIC CONVERSION

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MATURE

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MINERALITY

(Wine Tasting Term) Minerality in wine refers to aromas comparable to minerals of the earth such as rock, wet stone, flint and slate. Minerality is not considered a flavour in the traditional sense but a sensory or olfactory impression that gives one the perception of earthy aromas and flavours. Minerality can very in intensity amongst different wines. The origin of minerality is often attributed to the soil of the vineyard particularly in regions with stony or chalky soils. The Priorat region in Spain, Chablis France, Campania Italy and Swartland South Africa are known for their slate, chalky limestone or volcanic soils producing wines with minerality.

MOUTH-FEEL

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MUST

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NOBLE ROT

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OAKED

(Wine Tasting Term) Oaked is a term used to describe wine that has been aged in oak barrels. The oak imparts secondary and tertiary aromas and flavours detectable to wine drinkers such as vanilla, spice, clove, caramel and coconut adding complexity to the wine. Different oak types (American, French, and Slavonian) have different influences on the wine as well as certain oak characteristics such as the grain of the wood (fine vs. dense) and the toasting level (light vs. strong).

OENOLOGY

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OPEN

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OPULENT‍ ‍

(Wine Tasting Term) Opulent is term used to describe a wine that is rich, bold, lavish and full body. It typically has concentrated fruit flavours, a creamy / velvety texture, oak notes of vanilla or spice and a long finish. Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is an example of an opulent wine.

OXIDATION

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P, Q

PHENOLIC COMPOUNDS

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PHYLLOXERA

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PEPPERY

(Wine Tasting Term) The term peppery is used to describe wine that has aromas and flavours similar to white, black or freshly ground pepper. These spice notes are generally attributed to a compound called Rotundone found on the skin of the grape. Australian Shiraz and French Syrah grapes produce wines with pronounced pepper flavours.

R

REFINED

Refined is a subset of elegant wines. This term often describes tannins in a wine. These wines have the “less is more” ideology about them.

ROBUST

Similar to bold, robust wine is intense, with strong, assertive flavors. Robust wines can be hearty, often making them suitable for pairing with rich, flavorful foods

ROSE

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ROUND

(Wine Tasting Term) A round wine is characterized by its smooth texture. It is balanced with soft tannins so does not feel sharp or drying in your mouth. A round wine typically has strong assertive flavours and usually paired with flavourful foods. (already updated)

S

SEC

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SILKY

‍Silky is the red wine equivalent word to creamy white wines. It generally refers to silky tannins, or smooth tannins, rather than grippy ones.

SOMMELIER

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‍STEELY

‍A steely wine has higher acidity and more sharp edges.

STRUCTURED

A structured wine has high tannin and acid and can be tough to drink if the wine hasn’t been aged. People say “structured” because they think that giving the wine a few years will soften it up and make it yummy. Structured wines often work well with food.

SWEET

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T

TANNIN

Tannin or tannins are natural compounds in wine that create a drying or puckering sensation in your mouth. Wines with high tannin levels that have not softened with age may taste bitter in your mouth. Tannins are one of the 4 fundamental traits in wine. The other fundamental traits are acidity, sweetness and alcohol. Tannins are found in the skins, stems and seeds of the grape. Since red wine is fermented with the skins, almost all red wine contain tannins and white wine does not. Important to note, tannin levels vary with the different wines since it is the red grape variety and fermenting techniques that dictate tannin levels. Tannins act as a natural preservative allowing wines with high tannin levels to age gracefully. They also help balance the wine’s sweetness and acidity, enhancing overall structure and complexity. Cabernet Sauvignon and Nebbiolo (Barolo) are known for their high tannin levels while Pinot Noir and Gamay have lower/softer tannins. When pairing wine with food, moderate to high tannic wines complement protein rich foods or fatty dishes such as steak or other meat dishes. (definition updated)

TARTARIC ACID

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TERROIR

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TEXTURE

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TIGHT

This wine is not ready to drink. When you 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 being decanted (see How to Decant Wine).

TOASTY

‍Toasty is most commonly a reference to a wine that’s oak-aged in medium plus toasted oak. It doesn’t actually taste like toast (sorry to disappoint), it’s more like slightly burnt caramel on the finish.

TRAINING AND PRUNING

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TYPICITY

This wine is not ready to drink. When you 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 being decanted (see How to Decant Wine).

U

ULLAGE

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UNCTUOUS

When a wine is unctuous, it is oily, full bodied, and often high in alcohol.

UNOAKED

An unoaked wine doesn’t have vanilla, coconut, or baking spices in it. An unoaked white wine is more zesty with lemony flavors (see minerally), while an unoaked red wine tends to be more fruit forward.

V, W, X, Y, Z

VEGETAL

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VELVETY

Lush, smooth, and silky are all synonyms for a velvety wine. This often refers to the tannins and how smooth they are. To imagine velvety, visualize watching perfectly smooth chocolate pouring into a mold.

VINIFICATION

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VINOLOGY

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VITIS VINIFERA

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VINTAGE

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WEIGHT

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YEAST

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YIELD

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