| Term |
Definition |
| Acidic |
A sharp, citric taste. |
| Aftertaste |
The taste left in the mouth after you have swallowed the wine. |
| Bitter |
An aftertaste, usually associated with tannin or fruit of young wines. |
| Body |
The feel of the wine in the mouth. Light, medium or full depending on the wine's alcohol and extract. |
| Clean |
A young wine not yet expressing it's bouquet or flavour. |
| Closed |
A young wine whose sugars have been totally fermented. |
| Crisp |
A green-apple freshness in whites denoting lively acidity. |
| Dry |
A wine whose sugars have been totally fermented. |
| Fruity |
A wine with good fruit extract from fully ripened fruit. |
| Green |
Unripe grapes producing highly acidic wine. |
| Hard |
The mouth puckering effect of young tannin and acidity masking the wine's fruit. |
| Herbaceous |
A grassy. vegetal taste, especially in Sauvignon Blanc. |
| Hot |
High alcohol leaving a hotness in the throat. |
| Legs |
The wet residue left on the side of the glass. The thicker and slower moving, the higher the alcohol and residual sugar. |
| Musty |
An odd odor caused by dirty barrels or rotten grapes. |
| Nose |
The bouquet of the wine. |
| Oaky |
The toasted vanilla or coconut smell and taste imparted by new oak barrels. |
| Petrol |
A characteristic smell in older Rieslings. |
| Short |
A wine with little after taste. |
| Soft |
A well-rounded wine with mature tannin and little evidence of acidity. |
| Tannic |
A dry, astringent taste and mouth-feel from the skins, pits and stalks of grapes. |
| Terroir |
A total physical condition surrounding a wine yard: climate, soil, drainage, exposure, etc. |
| Toasty |
The barrel smell and taste imparted in oaked wines. |
| Unbalanced |
Excess of one or more elements in wine: fruit, alcohol, acid, tannin or oak. |
| Well-balanced |
Perfect harmony between all the wine's elements. |
