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Wine Jargon From A to Z

If you are in a wine shop or liquor store in person or online, a quick way to judge a wine by its label is to look at its rating. Generally anything with a 90 or above is a decent wine. However, rating alone cannot tell you what kind of wine you are buying and what to match it with. The description on the back label may give you more information. If you are at your first wine tasting, many people will describe the wines with terms foreign to you in that context.  Below are some of the wine terms you'll need to decipher a wine label and help you through a beginner tasting. If you are looking for information on wine classifications check here. ! '''Acidity''': A wine's acidity is detected as a sharpness of the mouth, specifically around the front of the tongue. It should be well-balanced in all wines. White wines are known for their acidity. It is what gives wine their body and taste, providing a refreshing sensation. And in reds it adds grip and balance. Without acidity wines are dull and flabby, while too much makes the wine difficult to drink. '''Aftertaste:''' The taste left on the palate after the wine has been swallowed. The length of the aftertaste is often used as an indicator of the quality of the wine. ! '''Alcoholvolume. This clearly determines the amount of alcohol in the wine. Just a note: the proof is double the percent of alcohol by volume. ! '''Aroma:''' Wines are made to have a particular set of aromas from fruity to flowery, to woody and spicy. Some aromas can help complement very specific foods. Visit this external link to see a chart with listings on aromas and the types of wine that are known for those aromas. Keep in mind that the term aroma is often used for referring to young wines, not to be confused with bouquet, a term dedicated to older, more mature wines. '''Backward:''' A tasting term used to describe a wine that undeveloped and not yet ready to drink. '''Balance''': One of the keys to a good wine is balance. It is also referred to with terms like smooth or harsh. Wines described as having balance are a harmonious combination of  tanninnorm, aciditynorm, texture and flavour. '''Body''': Fullbodied wines couple with different foods to give a more pleasing effect. Neither one is necessarily better or worse. See below for more information on food and wine matching. '''Bouquet:''' As a wine's aromaglossarylink becomes more developed from bottle aging, the aroma becomes a bouquet that is hopefully more than just the smell of the grape. '''Closed:''' A tasting term that describes a wine that has little or no aroma or flavour. Many wines, after the exuberant flavours they offer in youth, "close" before they "open" again as they enter a mature phase. '''Corked:''' Used to describe a wine that is contaminated by trichloroanisole, a chemical compound that is the product of mold infection in the cork. It may result in a wine that simply lacks fruit and can be difficult to spot, or it may be horribly obvious, with cardboardy, musty, mushroomy, dank aromas and flavours, rendering the wine completely undrinkable. Check the actual cork of the wine first, if it smells bad, chances are the wine is bad as well. '''Cru:''' Means "growth" in French and used to classify many wines. It holds a different meaning in different regions. For example, in Burgundy "grand crus"  are the best vineyards, while in Bordeaux he term relates to the châteaux that own the land and in Champagne it applied to whole villages. ! '''Dry Wine''': This means a wine has less than 9 grams maximum of sugar per liter. A dry wine is the opposite of a sweet wine. It can also be used to describe tannins or mouthfeel when referring to the dry puckering sensation the wine imparts when tasting. '''Entry:''' When at a tasting, you may find someone describing a wine on entry. They are referring to his or her impression of the wine as it lands into the mouth. '''Fat Wine''': Both a positive and negative term. Avoid sweet and soft and aim for voluptuous. '''Finish:''' How the wine tastes at the point of or just after swallowing is its finish. '''Forward: '''Denotes a wine which is  developing quickly, and is ready to drink before it might otherwise be  expected. Opposite of backwards (see above). '''Hectare:''' The most commonly used measurement of area in viticulture. One hectare equals 10,000 meters squared or approximately 2.5 acres. '''Hollow:''' This describes a wine that lacks flavor and texturenorm, often through the midpalate. '''Generous Wine''': It is easy to drink because it gives off its flavor easily. '''Length''': Describes when a wine's flavor lingers on your tongue and palate after the swallow. This is often a sign of a quality wine. '''Madeirisation: '''Wines that taste Madeirised are most  probably oxidized and therefore faulty. It predominantly occurs in white wines.  The resemblance to Madeira comes from the fact that oxidation is an intrinsic  aspect of this unique wine. However, on other wines it is a sign the wine was the victim of poor storage. '''Midpalate:''' A tasting term that describes how the wine  develops in the mouth. After taking a mouthful, hold it in the mouth, and see what  you get from the wine. '''Nose:''' Describes how a wine smells. '''Robe''': Simply a way to describe a wine's color. Ruby, garnet, amber, etc. ! '''Tannins''': Tannins are harsh, bitter compounds found in grape skins, pips and stalks, which if present in large amounts make a wine difficult to drink as they leave a  dry, puckered sensation in the mouth. It is often qualified as supple (smooth) or firm (harsh). Tannic wines are generally destined for aging, the tannins  polymerizing to form sediment with time. '''Texture:''' Describes how the wine feels in the mouth   silky, velvety, rounded, or smooth. It is a more specific term than bodynorm, which describes the general impact of the wine. '''Vintage:''' Refers to the year the grapes were grown.  For Champagne, however,  vintage wine is one that is made from grapes  all grown in the year declared on the label and a non-vintage wine is a  blend of wines from several years.