Winespeak:    wine terminology decoded

However, armed with a little knowledge of the language of wine, you may escalate your enjoyment beyond just the taste.   Wine has the power to stimulate of all the senses, and the terminology often refers to the very characteristics that speak to those senses.  Beginning this month, we will dedicate a column to "Winespeak", to help our readers feel more confident in their wine knowledge and grow in their wine appreciation.  Regardless of your wine drinking experience, please never feel intimidated to ask your tasting room staff member questions.  We are here to help you find wine that appeals to your tastes, and perhaps even broaden your repertoire of favorite wines.

This month's wine terminology category is "Describing Wine".  Specifically, we'll define words used to evaluate the quality of a wine, especially as they relate to the senses.

Body- when you look at the wine in your glass, this is the consistency or visual "weight" of a wine, usually described as light, medium, or full. 

Legs- when you swirl a glass of wine (don't try this with more than a half-full glass), these are the lines of wine that cling down the inside of the glass.  The more legs, the more viscous the wine is.  It also may indicate a higher alcohol content.

Nose- simply put, how does the wine smell?  This is very subjective.  It may smell fruity (e.g. apple, lime, peach), floral (honeysuckle, orange blossom), earthy (smoke, musk, cedar), herbal (sage, grass, hay), sweet & spicy (honey, vanilla, nutmeg), or even chemical (sulphur, acetone, mineral). 

Bouquet- the aromas of an older wine that has developed through the aging process

Mouthfeel- the texture of the wine in your mouth and on your tongue; common descriptors are full-bodied, smooth, round, crisp, soft, coarse, light, or creamy.

Dry- a term describing a wine that does not taste sweet.  Technically, it refers to a wine in which, during fermentation, all the original grape sugar has been converted to alcohol.  Semi-dry would be a wine that contains very little residual sugar after fermentation, and by taste, has only a hint of sweetness.

Sweet- a term describing a wine that tastes sweet.  In contrast to dry wines, a certain amount of grape sugar is allowed to remain by halting ("arresting") fermentation.  Dessert wines and ports are subcategories of sweet wine.  Semi-sweet wines those having a range of 1-3% residual sugar.

Character- a term used loosely to describe the prominent sensory experiences of the wine (the smell, taste, and appearance).  For example, a wine could have a black cherry character, a tart green-apple character, earthy or smoky tones.

Balance- when all the aspects of wine are in harmony-specifically, the acidity, alcohol, sweetness, and tannins-with no one element dominating the others

Finish- the lingering flavors or impression (or lack thereof) left after the wine is swallowed or spat

If you are intrigued enough, when you have your next glass of your favorite wine, try to describe what you are sensing using some of the above terminology.  The idea isn't to make you a "wine snob" or just fluent in winespeak; rather it is to identify the characteristics YOU like in a wine, so that it helps you choose new wines in the future.  When you are in a restaurant or wine shop next time, you can confidently say to your server that you would like a "full bodied"  dry red wine with a "long finish" and a "fruity" character, or whatever descriptors you've identified as your favorites.  Undoubtedly you'll happily discover even more great wine you never knew you liked.                                                               -CK