The Ultimate A-Z Wine Glossary: Essential Terms & Definitions

Welcome to the definitive guide to wine terminology! Whether you're a beginner just learning about acidity and tannins, or an enthusiast trying to understand terroir and appellation, this A-Z glossary covers the key terms used in the vineyard, the cellar, and the tasting room. Use this resource to enhance your wine knowledge and impress your friends at your next tasting!

 

🍇 Wine Terms & Definitions (A-D)

 

Acidity

The liveliness, crispness, and refreshing quality in a wine, primarily caused by naturally occurring acids (like tartaric and malic acid). Acidity is crucial for a wine's balance and ability to age.

Aeration (or "Breathing")

The deliberate process of allowing a wine to mix with oxygen (usually by decanting or swirling it in a glass). This softens the flavors, mellows harsh tannins, and helps release trapped aromas, especially in younger red wines.

Aftertaste (or Finish)

The final impression of flavors, textures, and aromas that linger in your mouth after you've swallowed the wine. A long finish is often a sign of a high-quality, complex wine.

Alcohol by Volume (ABV)

The measure of the alcohol content in the wine, expressed as a percentage. This is a direct product of the yeast converting sugar during fermentation.

Appellation

A legally defined, protected geographical area established to identify where the grapes for a wine were grown. Key examples include AOC in France (Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée) or AVA in the U.S. (American Viticultural Area).

Aroma

The smells in a wine that come primarily from the grape itself. These are typically simpler, primary notes like fruit, floral, or herbal scents (e.g., cherry, rose, grass).

Astringency

The harsh, mouth-drying, and puckering sensation caused by high levels of tannins, usually found in young red wines. It is a textural sensation, not a taste.

Balance

A term used when all the main components of a wine—acidity, sweetness, tannins, and alcohol—are in perfect harmony, with no single component dominating the others.

Barrique

A French term for a standard-sized oak barrel, usually 225 liters, traditionally used for aging wine in Bordeaux.

Body

The perceived weight, viscosity, or texture of the wine in your mouth. Think of it like comparing skim milk (light-bodied) to whole milk (medium-bodied) to cream (full-bodied). It is primarily influenced by alcohol and residual sugar.

Botrytis Cinerea (Noble Rot)

A beneficial mold that punctures the grape skin, causing water to evaporate and the remaining sugars and flavors to concentrate. It is essential for making certain sweet dessert wines, such as Sauternes.

Bouquet

The complex, secondary, and tertiary smells in a wine that develop as it matures and ages in the bottle or barrel (e.g., vanilla, spice, leather, tobacco). This is different from a simple aroma.

Brix (or °Bx)

A scale used to measure the sugar content in grape juice (must). It is used to estimate the potential alcohol content of the finished wine before fermentation.

Brut

A French term used to describe a dry (not sweet) sparkling wine, especially Champagne. The most common style of Champagne.

Corked (Cork Taint)

A fault in wine caused by a chemical compound (TCA) found in the cork, which gives the wine unpleasant, musty aromas reminiscent of wet cardboard or moldy basements.

Champagne

A sparkling wine produced exclusively within the designated Champagne region of France, following strict rules, most notably the use of the Méthode Traditionnelle (or Champenoise). It is typically a blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier grapes. The term is geographically protected, and wines made elsewhere cannot legally use the name.

Cru

A French term meaning "growth," used to indicate a vineyard or group of vineyards recognized for superior quality, often as part of a formal classification system (e.g., Grand Cru or Premier Cru).

 

🍇 Wine Terms & Definitions (E-L)

 

Decanting

The act of pouring wine from its bottle into a separate container (decanter). This is done both to separate the wine from any sediment (in older reds) and to allow the wine to aerate.

Dry

The opposite of sweet. A wine is considered dry when all or most of the sugar in the grapes has been converted to alcohol during fermentation.

Enology (or Oenology)

The science of wine and winemaking. An enologist is a wine scientist or winemaker.

Fermentation

The essential process where yeast consumes the sugar in the grape juice (must) and converts it into alcohol and carbon dioxide, turning the juice into wine.

Fine Wine

A subjective classification for wines of the highest quality, recognized globally for their superior flavor, complexity, balance, structure, ability to age gracefully, and often, high price. These wines typically come from recognized appellations or crus with a long history of excellence.

Fining

A clarification process where a substance (like egg whites or clay) is added to the wine to bind to and precipitate unwanted particles, making the wine clearer.

Finish (See Aftertaste)

Fortified Wine

A wine whose alcohol content has been increased by the addition of a distilled spirit (usually grape brandy) during or after fermentation. Examples include Port, Sherry, and Madeira.

Full-Bodied

(See Body) A wine that is rich, weighty, and concentrated on the palate, often due to high alcohol and extract.

Lees

The solid material—mostly dead yeast cells, grape seeds, and pulp—that settles at the bottom of the fermentation vessel. Wines aged "sur lie" (on the lees) develop richer, creamy flavors.

Length

A tasting term referring to the duration of the finish or aftertaste; how long the pleasant flavors and sensations linger.

 

🍇 Wine Terms & Definitions (M-Z)

 

Malolactic Fermentation (MLF)

A secondary fermentation where tart, aggressive malic acid (like in green apples) is converted into softer, creamier lactic acid (like in milk). This is common in red wines and some Chardonnay to add a buttery note.

Mouthfeel

A general tasting term for the physical sensations a wine creates in the mouth, including its body, texture, weight, and presence of tannins.

Methode Traditionnelle (Traditional Method)

The highest quality and most labor-intensive process for producing sparkling wine, used for Champagne, Cava, and Franciacorta. It involves the wine undergoing its second fermentation inside the individual bottle where it is aged on the lees (dead yeast cells) before being disgorged. This process creates the wine's characteristic fine, persistent bubbles and complex, toasty bouquet.

Must

The unfermented grape juice, pulp, skins, and seeds—collectively, the raw material—before fermentation begins.

Orange Wine

A white wine made by allowing the pressed grape juice (must) to ferment in contact with the white grape skins for an extended period, similar to how red wine is made. This contact extracts color, flavor, and tannins, resulting in a wine with an amber or deep orange hue, and a savory, complex flavor profile.

Oxidation

The chemical change that occurs when wine is exposed to too much oxygen. A little is desirable (aeration), but too much causes browning, loss of fresh fruit flavors, and a move toward nutty or sherry-like notes.

Red Wine

Wine made from black (or red) grapes. The juice is fermented in contact with the grape skins, which extracts the wine's color (from anthocyanins), flavor compounds, and tannins. Red wines are known for their structure and aging potential.

Residual Sugar (RS)

The amount of natural sugar remaining in the wine after fermentation has stopped. This determines if a wine is dry, off-dry, or sweet. Measured in grams per liter (g/L).

Rose Wine

A category of wine made from black grapes where the juice is allowed to have only brief contact with the grape skins (a few hours to a couple of days). This limited contact imparts a delicate pink color and lighter, fresher fruit flavors than red wine. Most Rosé is made dry and is not a blend of red and white wine (except in Champagne).

Sediment

The solid matter, like tannins and color pigments, that precipitates out of a wine as it ages. It is harmless but can taste bitter, hence the need to decant older wines.

Sommelier

A trained and knowledgeable wine professional, typically specializing in wine service and cellar management in fine-dining restaurants.

Sparkling Wine

Wine that contains significant levels of dissolved carbon dioxide, making it fizzy. This can be achieved via the Traditional Method (like Champagne or Cava) or the Charmat Method (like Prosecco).

Sweet

Wines with a perceptible amount of residual sugar (RS). These range from off-dry Rieslings to extremely sweet dessert wines.

Tannins

Naturally occurring phenolic compounds found primarily in grape skins, seeds, and stems, as well as in oak barrels. They cause the bitter, drying, astringent sensation in red wine. They are key to a red wine's structure and aging potential.

Terroir

A French concept encompassing all the environmental factors that affect the growth of the vine and the resulting character of the wine, including climate, soil, topography, and surrounding flora/fauna.

White Wine

Wine made either from white grapes or from the clear juice of black grapes (where the must is immediately separated from the skins). Unlike red wine, white wine is fermented without the skins, resulting in a wine that is lower in tannins and generally lighter in body and color.

Value Wine

A subjective term referring to a wine that offers high quality relative to its price. It is a wine that tastes significantly better than its cost would suggest, providing excellent enjoyment and satisfying the drinker without being expensive.

Varietal

Refers to the specific grape type used to make a wine (e.g., Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir). The wine is also often named after the primary varietal.

Vintage

The year in which the grapes were harvested. Most table wines are labeled with a vintage. Non-vintage (NV) wines, like many Champagnes, are blends of multiple years.