This glossary is designed to help you
get more familiar with many of the terms associated with wine.
Aerate: To allow the wine to air before tasting it.
Alcohol level: The percentage of alcohol by volume that
a wine has; most white wines have an alcohol level between 9 and
14 percent, and most red wines have an alcohol level between 11
and 14 percent.
Ample: Wine that feels full and expansive in your mouth.
Appellation: The official place where the wine originated.
Aroma: The smell of a wine.
Attack: The first taste impression you get from each wine.
Barrel: A container made of wood to age red wine.
Big: A very intense wine.
Body: The feeling of the weight of the wine in your mouth.
Bottle-age: The length of time the wine has been bottled
for.
Bright: A wine that is very intense to your senses.
Cask: A wooden container used to make and store wine.
Character: The impression of wine being solid in your mouth.
Compact: Wine that tastes intense but not full.
Crisp: Wine that leaves a slightly brittle feeling in your
mouth.
Decant: To switch the wine to another container.
Depth: Wine that is multi-dimensional in taste.
Dilute: A watery or thin aroma or flavour.
Dry: A wine that is not sweet.
Dull: An aroma, flavour or style that is unclear in the
wine.
Estate: The property that not only grows grapes but produces
the wine from its own vineyard.
Fermentation: The natural process by which the sugar in
grape juice is transformed into alcohol (and the juice is thus transformed
into wine) through the action of yeasts.
Finish: The final impression you have of the wine after
you have swallowed it.
Flabby: Soft wines.
Fleshy: A wine with a rich texture.
Fortified Wine: A wine with added alcohol.
Full: Wines that feel large in your mouth.
Generous: Wine that has easily describable characteristics.
Harmonious: Wines that are well balanced.
Intense: Aromas and flavours that are very strong.
Length: A wine that lingers in your senses.
Maturation: The amount of time the wine waits at the winery till it is bottled.
New World: The general name for countries not in Europe that produce wine.
Old World: The general name for countries in Europe that make wine.
Rich: Wines with an abundance of flavour and texture.
Second-label Wine: Wine made from slightly lower quality grapes.
Serious: Wine that is of high quality.
Structural components: A wine's alcohol, acid, tannin and sugar.
Sweetness: The sugary taste of a wine.
Tannin: A substance in the skins, stems, and seeds of grapes.
Texture: The feel of the wine in your mouth.
Tight: A wine that has no specific aroma or texture.
Vinification: The process of turning grape juice into wine.
Vintage: The year the grapes grew and were harvested.
Viticulture: The process of growing grapes.
Weight: The wine's volume in your mouth.
