| Acetic | The wine has been “got at” by bacteria |
| Acidity | The essential natural component which gives wine freshness and zing and prevents it from cloying. |
| Aggressive | Over-tannic or over-acidic. |
| Alcoholic | Over-alcoholic wines tastes “hot”, burns the palate. |
| Almond | Bitter Almond can denote Tocai from Italy. |
| Aniseed | Found in red Burgundy and – to a lesser extent – Bordeaux and some Northern Italian whites. |
| Apple | A smell often found in young white wines. Unripe apple is often a sign that a wine has not undergone malolactic fermentation. |
| Apricot | Common in the white Rhone’s of Condrieu and Chateau Grillet and other examples of the Viognier grape, and in wine from botrytis-affected grapes. |
| Aromatic | Often associated with wines made from grapes such as the Gewürztraminer and Muscat. |
| Artificial | Used to describe wines whose taste seems to have been created chemically. |
| Attack | The quality in a wine which makes you sit up and take notice. |
| Austere | A wine difficult to approach, with fruit not obvious. Wait for the flavour to open out in the mouth. |
| Backward | Not as developed as its age would lead you to expect. |
| Bad eggs | Presence of hydrogen sulphide, usually a result of faulty cellaring or wine-making. |
| Baked | Like stewed fruits, probably from an over-warm vintage. |
| Balance | A balanced wine has its fruitiness, acidity, alcohol and tannin (for reds) in pleasant harmony. |
| Banana | A smell usually associated with young wine, fermented at low temperatures and – in the case of reds – in an oxygen free environment. A sign of maceration carbonique. |
| Beefy | Big, hearty, meaty wine. |
| Beeswing | A skin which forms on certain old ports, leaving a characteristic residue in the glass. |
| Big | Mouth-filling, full-flavoured, possibly strongly alcoholic. |
| Biscuity | Often used to describe the bouquet of Champagne. |
| Bite | High acidity, good in young wine. |
| Blackcurrant | Found in Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir wines. |
| Blowsy | Exaggeratedly fruity, lacking bite. |
| Body | A full-bodied wine fills the mouth with flavour. |
| Bottle-sick | Newly bottled wines may take some time (sometimes months) to recover from the shock of air-contact and sulphuring at bottling. |
| Bouquet | Smell. |
| Butter | A richness of aroma and texture found in mature Chardonnay, and/or evidence of malolactic fermentation. |
| Cat’s Pee | The pungent smell of Sauvignon Blanc and Muller-Thurgau. |
| Cedar | An aroma of maturing claret. |
| Chaptalised | Chaptalisation is the process of adding sugar to fermenting must to increase the alcoholic strength. If overdone a wine tastes “hot”. |
| Cherry | A characteristic of Beaujolais. |
| Chocolate | For some people, a sure sign of the pinot noir grape. |
| Cigar-box | See cedar |
| Closed | Has yet to show its quality. |
| Cloudy | A sign of a faulty wine. |
| Cloying | A sickly taste, sweetness without acidity. |
| Clumsy | An unbalanced wine. |
| Coffee | Special characteristics of old, great Burgundy. |
| Complex | Having a diverse, well blended mixture of smells and flavours. |
| Cooked | A “warm”, stewed fruit flavour – may suggest over warm fermentation or the use of grape concentrate. |
| Corked | A wine spoiled by a bad cork has a musty smell and flavour. |
| Crisp | Fresh, lively, with good acidity. |
| Crust | Deposit thrown by a mature port. |
| Depth | Wine with depth fills the mouth with lingering flavour. |
| Dirty | Badly made wine can taste unclean. |
| Dirty Socks | Cheesy sourness accompanying badly made white wine. |
| Dry | Having no obvious sweetness. |
| Dried out | A wine that has lost its fruit as it has aged. |
| Dumb | No apparent smell. |
| Dusty | Sometimes used to describe tannic Bordeaux – literally the dusty smell of an attic. |
| Earthy | Not as unpleasant as it sounds – an “earthy” flavour can characterise certain fine Burgundy. |
| Eggy | Carelessly handled sulphur can produce an eggy smell. |
| Elegant | Restrained, classy. |
| Eucalyptus | A flavour and smell often found in Cabernet Sauvignon. |
| Extract | The concentration of the grapes flavours in the wine. |
| Farmyard | A characteristic of Burgundian Pinot Noir. |
| Fat | Used to describe mouth filling wines, especially Chardonnay and white wines from the Rhone and Alsace. |
| Finesse | Understated, classy. |
| Finish | How a wine’s flavour ends in the mouth. Can be “long” or “short” |
| Flabby | Lacking balancing acidity. |
| Flat | Short of acidity and fruit. |
| Forward | A precocious wine showing its qualities earlier than expected. |
| Generous | Big, mouth-filling, round. |
| Gooseberry | The smell of Sauvignon Blanc. |
| Grapey | Its surprising how rare this flavour is : Muscat and Riesling are often grapey; so is good Beaujolais. |
| Grassy | Green smell of young wine, especially Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Franc. |
| Green pepper | Can be the sign of Cabernet Sauvignon. |
| Grip | Firm wine has “grip”. Essential to some styles. |
| Herbaceous | Think of a cross between grass and flowers – “planty”. |
| Hollow | Lacking depth and roundness. |
| Hot | Used to describe over-chaptalised, over-alcoholic wines. |
| Jammy | A jammy fruit smell often signifies red wines from hot countries. |
| Lanolin | Some white wines have an oily softness reminiscent of lanolin. |
| Legs | The visible evidence of glycerine in a wine, these are the “tears” that run down the glass’s side after swirling. |
| Lemon | Young whites may display a lemony freshness. |
| Length | The time the flavour stays in the mouth. |
| Malic acid | The component of wine converted by malolactic fermentation into softer lactic acid. Smell like green apples in young white wines. |
| Meaty | A wine to get your teeth into. |
| Mellow | Soft and mature. |
| Metallic | Taste/smell arising from the use of poor equipment. |
| Mint | Often found in cabernet sauvignon. |
| Mouldy | Taste/smell arising from rotten grapes, poor wine-making or a bad cork. |
| Mouth-puckering | Young, tannic or over acidic wine has this effect. |
| Nose | The smell of a wine. |
| Nutty | Especially of Chardonnay and sherry. |
| Oaky | In moderation, pleasant, like vanilla. |
| Old socks (clean) | A promising sign of young white Burgundy, particularly Chablis. |
| Oxidised | If a table wine looks and smells of sherry, it’s oxidised – a diagnosis confirmed by its colour: brown for red wines, deep yellow for whites. |
| Palate | The flavour, and what you taste it with. |
| Pear drops | Smell which is usually the mark of a very young wine. |
| Pepper | Black, not green: the sign of the Grenache or Syrah in the Rhone. |
| Petrol | A desirable aroma of mature Riesling. |
| Quaffing, quaffable | Everyday wine, usually soft, fruity and undemanding. |
| Residual Sugar | The natural grape sugar left in a wine which has not been fermented into alcohol. |
| Ripe | Grapes were fully ripe when picked. |
| Robust | Solid, full-bodied. |
| Round | Smooth and harmonious. |
| Short | Wine with a short finish. |
| Structure | Wine with a good structure has, or will have, all its elements in harmony. |
| Sulphur | The antiseptic used to protect wine from bacteria. |
| Tannin | The mouth-puckering ingredient in red wine. Softens with age. |
| Tobacco | Like cigar-box, found in oak-aged reds. |
| Vanilla | Aroma of wines matured in American oak casks. |
| Vegetal | Earthy, wet-leaf smell; cabbagey, often of big Italian red wines. |
| Violets | Floral red Burgundies and Chiantis can smell intensely of violets. |
| Volatile | In an unstable – volatile – wine, acids evaporate from the surface giving vinegary, sometimes “greasy” smells. |
| Yeast | Like newly baked bread; smell found in Champagne, Muscadet sur lie and in some nuttily rich white wines. |
