Winemaking Terms Defined: Describing a wine’s taste

By Jill Misterka and Jack Keller.

Words used to describe a particular wine may often seem exaggerated or ridiculous, but they do convey truths about a wine’s odor or taste. Here we define some of the terms that may be used to describe the notes of a wine when tasting or judging:

NOTE: Most of these terms are not considered positive or negative qualities in themselves; they may be appropriate for one type of wine and not another, or a small amount may be desirable while a large amount may be considered a flaw or a fault.

acidic  tasting tart or sour because of the presence of various acids.

aggressive  a harshness in taste denoting an imbalance, usually due to a high level of tannin or acid or both.

aroma  the smell of the basic constituents of the wine—the grapes or fruit from which it was made—after fermentation, plus the influence, if any, of oak aging; this is the basic, underlying smell of the wine and is distinct from bouquet, which is volatile and fleeting.

astringent  an obvious dry, harsh, puckery feeling all over the mouth similar to that produced by tea or unripe persimmons, usually caused by high tannin or acid.

balanced  having all desired taste components (acid, tannin, alcohol, sweetness) in proportions where no single component stands out or is perceived as missing.

barnyard  an odor often caused by the bacteria brettanomyces; usually considered a fault, though in small amounts some feel it adds to a wine's complexity.

bite  that sharp, zesty tang of acid or tannin that all well rounded wines possess to some degree; too much or too little is a defect but not a fault.

bitter  one of the four basic tastes—with sour, sweet and salty—which in wine usually derives from tannins found in stems or seeds and, if apparent in the taste or finish is considered a fault.

blowzy  an exaggerated fruit flavor or aroma suggestive of artificial flavoring and considered a defect.

body  a sense or impression of weight or fullness on the palate, derived exclusively by alcohol, sugar and glycerin in balance with acid and tannin, with the latter two contributing nothing to this attribute.

bottle shock or sickness  a temporary condition of muted flavor caused by agitation of bottling or rough travel.

bouquet  the volatile odors of esters, acids and other constituents, developed over time in the bottle by aging wines, and existing independently of the underlying aroma of the grapes or fruit from which the wine was made.

burnt  a wine having a singed, toasty, or smoky edge, usually derived from overripe grapes.

buttery  having a rich, creamy mouthfeel reminiscent of butter, usually created by undergoing malolactic fermentation.

cheesy  an aroma suggestive of aged gouda cheese, caused by the creation of a small amount of butyric acid during fermentation that later develops into the ester ethyl butyrate; either a defect or a fault, depending on severity.

chewy  a rich, heavy, tannic, full-bodied wine that presents the impression of chewable substance.

closed  a wine that has character but lacks aroma or expected fruitiness or flavor.

cloves  an aroma derived from aging in improperly cleaned toasted oak barrels; caused by eugenic acid in the charred oak.

coarse  a rough texture, usually from tannin or oak; or large, harsh bubbles in a sparkling wine, the latter from the injection of carbon dioxide into a still or weakly sparkling wine.

complex  having several notes in a wine’s nose and taste, such as richness, intensity, depth, focus, balance, elegance, and finesse.

corked  a wine that is musty or moldy in taste and aroma with a dry aftertaste caused by TCA contamination of the cork, a mold byproduct. Also known as tainted.

delicate  a light- to medium-weight wine with good flavor and aroma.

depth  a wine exhibiting complexity and a concentration of flavors, often in succession, on the palate, through the swallow and in the finish..

drying or drying out  the loss of fruitiness or sweetness in a wine expected to have it, with acid, tannin and alcohol dominating the taste; considered a fault in an expected sweet wine.

earthy  having a taste or aroma reminiscent of clay, loam, compost, mushrooms, or barnyard characters; can be positive or negative, depending on the intensity.

elegant  a distinct notation of subtle flavors possessing grace, balance and beauty in a wine.

fat  a full-bodied, high alcohol wine low in acidity which gives an impression of fatness on the palate; can be enjoyed in wines with rich, bold, ripe flavors but could denote weak structure and imbalance.

finish  a measure of the taste or flavors of a wine that linger in the mouth after the wine has been tasted; a rich, long and complex finish is desired.

flat or flabby  tasting too low in acidity, without any life or bite.

fleshy  a wine with a soft, smooth texture and muted tannins.

floral  having an odor or taste reminiscent of flowers.

fruity  having an odor or taste reminiscent of fresh fruit.

foxy  having a musky aroma. Foxy is properly used only for wine made from native American labrusca grapes.

grapey  a wine displaying the simple flavors and aromas associated with table grapes and lacking more complex fruit flavors associated with fine wines.

green  having an odor associated with unripe grapes.

harsh an astringent wine, high in tannins or alcohol.

herbal or herbaceous  having an odor or taste reminiscent of fresh herbs, grass or asparagus; also known as grassy or leafy.

hollow  a wine lacking any sense of fruit.

hot  high alcohol, unbalanced wines that burn the palate or on the finish; tolerated in Port wines but otherwise a fault.

length  the measure of finish, or the time the sensations of taste and aroma persist after swallowing a wine.

lively  a wine that is fresh, fruity, open, bright and vivacious.

minerality  having a taste, or more likely an odor, reminiscent of chalk, slate or any mineral matrix other than sulfur, but also described as the smell of rain on parched earth.

musty  a wine with a moldy or mildewy smell, usually stemming from being made with moldy grapes, stored in improperly cleaned storage vessels, or sealed with tainted corks.

oaky  having a distinctive flavor imparted by exposure to oak wood during aging, with possible notes of wood, tannin, vanilla, butter, smoke and others denoting positive aspects, but charred, burnt, lumber and plywood denoting negatives; the taste varies depending on whether the oak was natural or toasted and where the oak was grown.

oxidized  a wine overly exposed to oxygen during its life loses its fresh aromas and flavors for cooked, nutty, mushroomy, yeasty, sherried flavors and aromas; while usually a fault, certain types of wine such as sherry are deliberately oxidized.

palate  a tasting term for the feel and taste of wine in the mouth.

reticent  a wine not exhibiting much aroma or bouquet due to its youth.

silky  a wine with a soft, smooth, caressing mouthfeel texture, reserved for light- to medium-bodied wines.

simple  a straightforward, one-dimensional wine in aroma and flavor, without depth or complexity.

smoky  a wine aged in a heavily charred oak barrel can have a profound smoky, roasted aroma, subjectively judged as a plus or a defect.

spicy  a wine exhibiting aromas or flavors reminiscent of spices such as nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, or pepper.

spritzy  containing bubbles when the wine is not supposed to, caused by fermentation restarting in the bottle. Also known as fizzy.

structure  the elements that interact to create a wine's texture and mouthfeel, such as acid, tannin, alcohol, glycerin, and body; all wines have some structure, so as a judging expression it is always used with a descriptor, qualifier or modifier such as weak, firm, lacking, robust, etc.

sulfur (or sulphur)  having an odor reminiscent of burnt matches, skunk, garlic or cabbage.

tannic  giving an astringent, puckery feel to the mouth due to the presence of tannins in the wine.

tart  a sharp tasting, overly acidic wine.

thin  a wine lacking body.

tired  a lackluster wine.

Thanks to Jack Keller for expanding on this article. Thanks also to Ken Beard for his help. Other sources used: winemaking.jackkeller.net; www.wineloverspage.com; www.cawineclub.com; June/July 2009 WineMaker.

This article was reprinted in the San Antonio Regional Wine Guild Newsletter.

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