It's easy to be intimidated by all those terms on the wine label or the jargon you hear people tossing around. What is it with noses and length? Is full-bodied good? And why would you drink anything that smelt like a sweaty saddle? Don't let yourself get bogged down in the terms. There are hundreds of them, but here are some of the ones you will read and hear most often.
A - Z
acetic: Wine with a vinegar like smell and flavour.
acidity: It refers to the total acid content of the wine. The desirable acid content on dry wines should be 0.6 per cent to 0.75 per cent; for sweet wines not less than 0.7 per cent.
aftertaste: The flavour that remains after the wine has left the mouth.
aroma: See nose.
astringent: It's the puckery feel to the mouth caused by tannin in the wine.
balance: The relationship between tannin, acid, sweetness and alcohol.
big wine: A strong wine with complexity of flavour and maybe a high tannin level. It would cellar well.
blush wine: Originating in California, it's where the skins of the black grapes are left to macerate briefly, to create a pink wine.
body: It's the effect on the palate created by the combination of alcohol, glycerin and sugar. The wine feels full, even meaty.
botrytis: A mould or fungus that attacks grapes causing them to shrivel. It makes for distinctive dessert wines.
bouquet: See nose.
breathe: The flavour of the wine improves when it is decanted or the air is allowed to reach it.
buttery: It's a smooth mouth feel and taste, like butter, often found in white wines which have undergone malolactic fermentation.
citrusy: Wine with fruity, grapefruit overtones.
corked: Wine that has an unpleasant, mouldy flat taste/smell.
crisp: Usually young wine with a pleasant tartness and acidity.
decanting: The act of slowly pouring cellar-aged bottled wine into a second vessel.
dessert wine: A fortified or a sweet wine often served with dessert.
dry wine: Wine without sweet overtones. It may still taste fruity while containing less than 0.5 per cent residual sugar.
finish: The aftertaste of the wine.
flabby: Bland tasting wine.
flat wine: Wine lacking in flavour and body.
floral wine: Wine with a fresh, flowery flavour or aroma.
fruity wine: As it sounds, wine with a flavour that reminds you of fruit.
full-bodied wine: Wine with a strength of flavour and alcohol that gives it a feeling of weight in the mouth.
grassy (or herbaceous) wine: Wine with a fresh grasslike aroma, often found in Sauvignon Blanc.
hard wine: Wine that still has a lot of tannin in it, such as a young fine red.
herbaceous wine: See grassy.
laying down wine: Many people buy wine and cellar it to improve its value and quality. Wine must be laid down to keep the cork moist (hence the term) and kept out of the sun light at a constant non-humid temperature, between 7 - 21°C.
legs: They're the thin streams of wine that trickle down after the wine has been swirled in the glass showing a sign of alcohol content.
length: It's the time the aftertaste lingers after swallowing.
lively: Usually a term given to fresh young wine.
malolactic fermentation : It's the secondary fermentation that converts naturally occurring malic acid into lactic acid and results in a buttery mouth feel.
mouth-filling: It means an intensely flavoured wine.
nose: The aroma or bouquet of a wine.
oaked wine: Wine that retains the flavour and aroma of the oak barrels used during fermentation.
open-up: It's the improvement in flavour of wine (often red) after being in contact with the air for a time.
rich: A full-bodied wine without additional sweetness. It's usually achieved with higher alcohol content.
room temperature: It's the temperature at which red wine is served. A hundred years ago homes were much cooler and room temperature was 16 -17°C, which is ideal for wine.
rose wine: Wine produced from black grapes without the stalks.
rough wine: Wine with a coarse flavour and poor balance.
round/rounded wine: Wine with a good balance and texture.
sparkling wine: Wine made using the methode champenoise. It can only be called Champagne if made in that region of France.
spritzy: Lively with an almost fizzy effect on the tongue. Often found in very new wines.
structure: It's the completeness of the wine, showing competent winemaking.
tannin: A naturally occurring substance found in grape skins, seeds and stems that causes astringency in excess. Otherwise it's essential for good balance.
terroir: The earthy, geological elements of the vineyard site, which some say can be tasted in the wine.
thin bodied: The opposite of full-bodied - wine lacking in flavour.
toasty wine: Wine with an oaked or vanilla flavour.
woody: Where the elements of oak fermentation are apparent in the wine.
yeasty: Wine with a yeast like flavour which is desirable if fresh and not too pronounced.
If you've been drinking and you intend to drive then you must stay under the 0.05% limit. This means that men can have two standard drinks in the first hour, and women just one. After that, it's one drink per hour for both men and women. More information on Driving and alcohol...
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