While we sommeliers do try to educate wine lovers, some of the terminology we use can seem obscure or suggest something entirely different from what the term represents. The terms below are commonly used to communicate what characteristics we are perceiving in a wine.
To logically organize these terms, consider the areas where these terms are applied: vineyard management, grape processing, and wine flavors via the nose and palate.
Vineyard management:
Since many of us believe that wine is made in the vineyard, these terms cover that important part.
Field Blend: Although increasingly rare, field blends occur when a vineyard plants different grape types and harvests and ferments all the grapes together. Different ripening times make this difficult to do. This was more common in the past when the grape grower wasn’t sure what types of grapes he had in his vineyard. A friend gave them some cuttings that they thought were an x grape when in fact it was a y grape. In other words they were doing a field blend and didn’t know it!
Ampelography is the science of identifying plants by their structure, color, leaf structure and grape color. It wasn’t until DNA testing that many grapes could be accurately classified. Now a grower knows what type of grape it is and which clone of that grape he is planting.
Wine Blend: More commonly blends come from different vineyards or different areas within a vineyard optimized for a specific grape. Then each grape is fermented separately and aged if so required and then sampled to decide what percentage of each grape to place in the blend. Typically blending is done for red wines.
Organic Vineyard: One not using chemicals for pest and disease control or soil enrichment. This does not mean the wine is organic if the winemaker adds sulfur or other chemicals in the processing of the grapes. Then the label will indicate it was made with organic grapes, but not an organic wine.
Single Vineyard: Either by the term or by a vineyard’s name, this denotes a wine made from a single vineyard’s grapes, although there may be more than one type of grape in the wine. This generally suggests a quality vineyard and a higher price tag.
Grape processing:
Here is where everything from harvesting grapes, de-stemming, crushing and fermentation take place. These operations will influence the wine’s nose, called bouquet, and palate.
Carbonic maceration: The process of putting grapes in the tank and allowing the weight of the grapes to crush and split the lower grapes. Since grapes will have native yeast on the skins, this will trigger the beginning of fermentation. This technique is common in Beaujolais and results in very fruity wines. However, higher quality Beaujolais wines use partial carbonic maceration and in some cases use standard maceration of the grapes.
Cold-soaking or Cold-soak maceration: A technique to extract color and flavor from grapes before actual fermentation begins. Keeping the grapes cold prevents fermentation beginning as it does in carbonic maceration.
Malolactic fermentation: Often abbreviated as MLF, this process converts malic acids (think apple) into lactic acids (think butter), creating a softer, less acidic wine providing a more buttery or creamy mouthfeel. This is most commonly done with Chardonnay-based wines. Buttery and creamy are only two of hundreds of words used to describe mouthfeel but do confuse the uninitiated wine drinker.
Sur Lie: Pronounced surly and those that don’t understand the term often are. This is an alternative way to achieve a creamy mouthfeel without undercutting the acidic backbone as MLF often does. The lees, or spent yeast cells and sediment in the must, are stirred daily. The must is the crushed and fermenting wine.
Racking: Racking the wine is siphoning off the wine from one vessel to another to remove sediment. Too many rackings can influence the wine’s flavor. “This wine tastes blah. It must have gone through too many rackings”.
Fruit bomb: Hopefully there’s nothing explosive in the wine, but this refers to a highly extracted, high alcohol wine that is fruit-forward and aggressive. Highly-extracted means the grape skins were left in the must for an extended period of time. If the grapes are harvested at a high brix, i.e. high sugar level, it needs more body to balance the higher alcohol level, which comes from extended skin contact.
Detecting a Wine’s Nose
Wine Nose: A wine’s nose is divided into aroma, which comes from the particular grape, and bouquet which comes from harvesting, fermenting and aging. These terms are often conflated or used interchangeably. Less frequently you might hear the term tertiary used which refers to an aged wine’s nose.
Foxy: This comes from the type of grape used and therefore is an aroma of the wine. It is a characteristic of North American grapes of the genus Vitis and species Labrusca and Rotundifolia. Vitis Labrusca wine grapes include Catawba, Concord, and Niagara. Vitis Rotundifolia wine grapes include Muscadine and Scuppernong grapes. By contrast, Vitis Vinifera refers to Old World grapes such as Merlot and Chardonnay.
Gamey might be a better term for these as foxy, as in sexy, should never refer to these wines. Scuppernong was the grape the French Huguenots used to make wine in Florida until they sniffed the foxy aromas and quickly gave up winemaking in the New World. “Mon Dieu, this wine is awful. Some animal must have died in our wine barrel.”
Typicity: Refers to the wine being typical of the grape and/or wine region. This does not refer to wine quality, but a wine’s sense of place and grape characteristics.
Corked: A corked wine is not one that has its cork inserted. Nor does it mean the cork fell into the wine. It refers to a contaminant of the wine’s cork, also called cork taint or TCA, an acronym for 2-4-6 Trichloroanisole. It shows up in the wine’s nose as old moldy newspapers or wet dog. A corked wine will also taste off or muted as the palate is also affected. In other words at higher levels of TCA the wine becomes undrinkable. Trust me, I’ve tried.
Balance: Balance here does not refer to a wine’s acrobatic sense, but how well all the elements of a wine: alcohol, acid, fruit, tannins are proportioned. A fruit bomb is often high in alcohol with intense fruit flavors, which can off-balance the wine. Likewise, serving a wine too warm emphasizes the alcohol and the wine is no longer balanced. Great wines are always balanced.
Volatile (acids): Also known as VA, not to be confused with the Veteran’s Association, but, of course it will. It does not mean the wine is ready to explode, but don’t shake it, just to be safe. What it means is the acetic acid in the wine is excessive giving off vinegary odors and is usually the result of poor winemaking. Higher levels of VA smell like nail polish and boy is that ever off-putting.
Yeasty: Yeasty, warm bread and brioche often relate to the same smell, which is common in Champagne and other sparkling wines that undergo a second fermentation in bottle. It also shows up in sur lie fermented Chardonnay. Otherwise and in the case of too yeasty defines a wine fault; particularly if it’s a still wine.
On the Palate
The three stages of the perceptions of palate are the attack, the mid-palate and the finish. A simple wine will change little between the first and second stages and the finish is often short. More complex wines will be well-defined in all three stages. The following terms refer to these stages.
Dumb: Describes a phase young wines undergo when their flavors and aromas are undeveloped. Many Old World wines go through a dumb phase, during which time drinking them is undesirable. No one can predict when and how long this condition will persist although some types of wines possess this trait.
Forest floor or Earthy: Those unfamiliar with Old World red wines might be hard pressed to see this as a favorable indicator, but it is common for many Bordeaux wines and prized. When it is more intense the descriptor is barnyard, but if the cows are mooing, this may not be a good thing. Usually decanting or transfer to a carafe will dispel the most potent of these aromas. If Brettanomyces, often shortened to brett is present, this spoilage yeast can cause unappealing barnyard odors that decanting can’t correct.
Herbal and Herbaceous: Describes the aromas and flavors of herbs in a wine. For example, Sauvignon Blanc often has herbal notes. When the concentration of this aroma is high, it often becomes less pleasant, and the term herbaceous is used.
Hollow: Lacking in flavor, particularly in the mid-palate. The term describes a wine that has flavor on the attack and the finish, but is missing intensity or distinct flavors in between.
Horizontal Tasting: This does not require the drinker to lie down for the tasting except in ancient Rome. This is an evaluation of wines from a single vintage; the wines may highlight producers from a single region or the same grape variety from many regions, among other possibilities. By contrast vertical tasting is sampling wines of different years, usually from the same winemaker.
Hot: No we are not cooking wine here, but heat is in evidence. This refers to high alcohol, unbalanced wines that tend to burn with “heat” on the finish. The burn is mostly sensed in the back of the throat. Often allowing a red wine to open up will integrate the alcohol and reduce the sense of heat. The wine may have been served too warm, which will also emphasize the alcohol. This is acceptable in fortified wines such as Port, which are between 18 and 20% ABV. (Alcohol by volume)
Reserve: Not a regulated term in the New World as in Europe, but may carry a higher price. In Europe a reserve wine has been aged longer, often a year or two. A Gran Reserva wine has been aged even longer, often over five years as in Spanish Rioja wines. In many Old World locations not every year classifies as reserve status and then needs to be defined by regulatory groups. However it invariably means the wineries best grapes are used as well as how they are aged.
Structure: Related to the mouthfeel of a wine, provided by acidity, tannin, alcohol, sugar and the way these components are balanced. Wines with low levels of acidity are said to be flabby. Red wines with low tannins can be described as lacking in structure. When the acidity or tannin levels are sufficiently high, a “firm structure” is the result.
Tarry: Who would want tar in their wine? Well, many wine lovers understand it to mean wines that have a dark color and texture that many relate to tar. It’s important to note that this term usually refers to mouthfeel. When it refers to taste; that is not a good thing.
Certain grapes yield this characteristic; a Spanish Priorat made with older vines is often described this way. Some Rhone wines possess this trait, as well as Barolos of Piedmonte, Italy. If it is too pronounced it is not a positive descriptor.
Tight: Who knew, a wine could also be tight and here I thought that was just me after a consuming a bottle. Describes a wine’s structure, concentration and body, as in a “tightly wound” wine. Closed or compact are similar terms. This is often used for red wine that has not opened as yet, or young Bordeaux that hasn’t been aged long enough.
Vegetal: A tasting term that describes characteristics of fresh or cooked vegetables detected on the nose and palate. Bell peppers, grass, and asparagus are common “vegetal” descriptors. A little goes along way, but if more pronounced can be the result of under-ripe grapes.
Vinous: Literally means “wine-like” which is ironic since it’s usually applied to dull wines lacking in distinct varietal character. In other words, they aren’t wine-like!
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