| Acetic: | A taste or smell of vinegar that develops
when a wine has been overexposed to air. |
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| Acidity: | The sour or tart taste of a wine. |
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| Aftertaste: | A taste or aroma that lingers on the tongue and in the nose after swallowing the wine. |
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| Almondy: | An adjective used to describe a buttery and almond-like flavor. |
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| Aroma: | The smell or fragrence of a wine. |
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| Astringency: | The urge to pucker one's lips from the acidity and sour taste. |
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| Attack: | The first impression the wine makes. |
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| Austere: | Used to describe wine that has high acidity and a very low fruit flavor. |
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| Balance: | the state of harmony between all of the wines major components. |
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| Big: | strong/powerful flavor and aroma. |
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| Body: | the texture and weight the wine has on the tongue. |
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| Bouquet: | an assortment of aromas that develop as a wine ages. |
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| Brilliant: | term used to describe a wine with a bright color and clear appearance. |
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| Butter: | used to describe a wine with a lot of flavor and a smoorh texture enhanced by an oil or butter like flavor. |
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| Carmel-y: | a flavor usually caused by oak, occuring in some very aged white wines giving it a taste of burnt sugar. |
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| Character: | a complement used to distinguish one wine from another. |
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| Chewy: | describing red wines that are unusually thick. |
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| Complex: | a good term referring to wines that have many aromas and flavors. |
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| Cooked: | refers to a wine that has a taste of burnt fruit flavors (generally occuring in wines that grow in hot regions).
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| Corked: | an unpleasant smell a wine develops due to a bad cork. |
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| Crisp: | fresh taste, generally associated with white wines. |
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| Developed: | a positive term referring to the aging process of a wine which can take place both while the wine is in the bottle and also after the wine has been opened. |
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| Distinctive: | a character that distinguishes one wine from another. |
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| Dry: | lacking sweet flavor. (the exact opposite of sweet) |
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| Dull: | the absense of flavor. |
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| Dumb: | a wine lacking flavors and aromas due to either being not ripe enough, too young, or when a wine is served too cold. |
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| Earthy: | the smell of earth aromas in a wine. |
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| Elegant: | when a wine is very well balance with great flavor, and is not too heavy. |
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| Fat: | refers to a wine that is full bodied and that has low acidity. |
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| Finish: | the aftertaste left in the mouth. |
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| Firm: | implementing that a wine has a great character and structure and that the wine will continue its great flavor in the future. |
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| Fleshy: | a wine thick in taste with a lot of fruit flavor. |
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| Flinty: | a dry, mineral flavor that comes from soil with lots of limestone. |
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| Floral: | describing the flower like aromas of many red wines. |
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| Forward: | to be prominent, or give a stronf impression. |
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| Fresh: | a wine with a healthy balance of alcohol and acidity. |
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| Fruity: | referring to strong fruit flavors. |
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| Full Bodied: | when a wine has an abundance of alcohol flavor and thickness. |
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| Glycerine: | alcohol used to give wine a thickness. |
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| Green: | referring to an underdeveloped young wine. |
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| Grip: | the taste of both bitter and dry; this taste is caused by the tannins. |
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| Hard: | refers to red wines whose fruit taste is overshadowed by the tannins. |
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| Harmonious: | wines that are balanced in such a way that none of its components overpower the others. |
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| Harsh: | rough flavor caused by an excessinve amount of tannins and lack of fruit. |
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| Heady: | strong wines with heavy aromas and high amounts of alcohol. |
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| Herbaceous: | when a wines aromas consist of herbal scents. |
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| Honest: | a simple wine that sells for a reasonable price. |
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| Insipid: | lacking character, flavor and body. |
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| Inky: | an offensive metallic flavor usually caused when iron has come in contact with the tannins.
(sometimes used to describe the deep red color of some red wines.) |
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| Jammy: | term for a wine that is intensely ripe and fruity. |
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| Jug wines: | wines that consumers take home from wineries in their own containers. |
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| Kosher wine: | wine made in accordance to Jewish Rabbinical Law. |
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| Light: | refers to a wine that has a low alcohol level and low weight on the tongue. (sometimes this characteristic is considered a weakness) |
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| Lively: | can refer to a wine with a clean aroma, or to a sparkling wine full of carbonation. |
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| Mature: | refering to a wine at its peak of perfection. |
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| Meaty: | decriptive of a fresh wine with a chewy texture. |
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| Mellow: | a smooth wine with low acidity. |
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| Minty: | a mint like aroma in a wine. |
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| Nose: | a term used to describe the smell of a wine, i.e. a 'good' or a 'bad' nose. |
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| Nouveau: | a French word meaning 'new'. This term refers to young wines that are meant for immediate opening. |
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| Nutty: | nut like flavors and aromas. |
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| Oak: | the taste and smell of oak barrels that wine is sometimes contained in. |
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| Off: | a term similar to dry, a wine lacking sugar. |
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| Pale: | a wine weak in color. |
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| Peppery: | wine with small traces of pepper in their flavor. |
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| Prickle: | small bubbles that occur naturally in young wines. |
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| Quench: | a wines ability to please and refresh the palate. |
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| Raisiny: | the smell or taste of raisins resulting from overripe grapes. |
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| Rich: | a wine with a lot of flavor, body and aroma. |
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| Robust: | a wine that is full bodied with intense flavor and high alcohol content. |
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| Round: | a wine with harmony that leaves a great impression on the tongue. |
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| Sharp: | wines with a lot of acidity. |
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| Short: | refers to the aftertaste of a wine that doesn't last very long. |
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| Silky: | a wine that is smooth in texture. |
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| Simple: | refers to a wine that is straightforward and inexpensive. |
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| Smooth: | a wine that is rich in glycerine but light in tannins. A wine that feels good on the tongue. |
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| Soft: | delicate in taste. Usually gentle fruit and low acidity. |
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| Spicy: | having an aroma of spices. |
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| Steely: | a term used to describe white wines that are structured very firmly, with high acidity. |
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| Stemmy: | a harsh flavor, generally from the stems of the grapes. |
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| Straw: | descriptive of the golden color of some white wines. |
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| Strawberry: | a fruity aroma of strawberries found in some red and rose wines. |
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| Structure: | the fundamental elements of a wine, acid, alcohol, fruit, tannins. |
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| Sweet: | the presence of sugar that has not converted into alcohol. |
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| Tannin: | a natural component found in the seeds, skin and stems of grapes. Tannins in young wines create a puckering of the lips sensation, softening with age |
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| Tart: | sharp taste from the acidity in a wine. |
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| Thin: | a negative term referring to wines lacking body, flavor and aroma. |
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| Tired: | a wine that is past its peak. |
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| Tobacco: | an aroma found in mature wines. |
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| Unctuous: | a term to describe a thick wine, with high alcohol content and a rich aroma |
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| Vanilla: | a spicy vanilla-esque aroma. |
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| Velvety: | a wine that has the characteristics of being smooth and silky in texture. |
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| Woody: | oak flavors and aromas absorbed from wood barrels. |
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| Xanthic: | a shade of yellow, referring to the color of some white wines. |
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| Yeasty: | an aroma of bread sometimes found in champagnes. |
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| Zymology: | the science of fermentation. |
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