Wine Glossary: A - Z of Wine

We’re all familiar with the reputation of viniculture and its association with the inexplicable terminology and impossible rhetoric of pretentious wine pseudos. But at Mr.Wheeler, we feel that fine wine and the lexicon that orbits it really needn’t be so impenetrable. Wine often speaks for itself when you sip. 

Because we choose better wine at Mr.Wheeler, we think some wine terms are worth defining in an accessible and understandable way. We want to help wine lovers expand their oenological vocabulary along with their palate. This is why we have created an A to Z wine glossary which covers all the important terms every wine lover should know. Without further ado here’s complete wine lexicon:

A

Abboccato: Italian term used to describe slightly sweet wines with medium body.  

ABV: abbreviation that stands for alcohol by volume. It can be found listed by prevent on the wine label (e.g. ABV: 15%)

Acescence: describes sharp, vinegar-like tang that can be tasted in wines with increased levels of volatile acidity. 

Acidity: the quintessential ingredient determining the freshness of a wine. Wines with excessive acidity can taste tar and sour. Too little acidity, on the other hand, will result in a dull, heavy tasting wine. 

Aftertaste: One of the top components of a good wine. It’s a term used as a synonym for length, finish or end note. The amount of time you’re able to taste the wine after drinking it is much of what defines a fine wine. 

Age: The ability to develop in flavour with age is an essential indicator of high quality wine. Aged wines have been cellared for a period of time to allow for their taste to develop. 

Angular: Describes wines sharper in taste in comparison to round, fleshy wines. They are defined by their high acidity that hits your mouth in specific places with high impact.

Anthocyanins: A term which describes the pigments that give red wine its distinct ruby colour.

Appellation: A legally defined area where wine grapes are grown and made into wine, for example Napa in California or Pomerol in Bordeaux.

B

Balance: One of the essential traits of the best wines. Balance refers to the harmonious blend between a wine’s acidity, tannins, fruitiness and alcohol levels. Winemakers consider this the holy grail. 

Barrique: French word for ‘barrel’. Typically used to describe a 225 litre oak barrel which is used to store wine. The highest quality barriques originate in Bordeaux and the surrounding forests of Limoges. 

Beaujolais Nouveau: the first Beaujolais wine of the harvest. It’s released on the third Thursday in November every year. 

Big: Short-hand for describing the size of flavour in your mouth, more specifically referring to the presence and intensity of ripe fruit and tannins. 

Blanc de Blancs: Champagne made entirely from Chardonnay grapes. 

Blanc de Noirs: Champagne made entirely from red grapes, either Pinot Meunier or Pinot Noir or a mix of both. 

Blend: Made of two or more grape varieties that are combined after separate fermentation. Some popular blends include red and white Bordeaux and Côtes du Rhône.

Bodega: Spanish word meaning wine cellar or wine warehouse. A wine estate producing wine for example Bodegas Benito Urbina.

Body: The impression of weight on one’s palate when tasting wine. The common body qualifiers are light, medium and full-bodied. 

Bond: A wine held ‘under bond’ is being stored in a customs approved warehouse with no duty or VAT payable until it’s removed from this facility.  

Bordeaux: one of the largest wine regions in France with over a dozen subregions; a red wine made mostly of Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon; also a white wine made from Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc. 

Breathe: The process of allowing a wine to take in air which can improve the texture and aroma of the wine. 

Bright: Describes the quality of acidity and/or fruit in a wine. 

Brooding: Wines with darker colour and intense concentration of flavours. 

Brut: French for 'raw' and generic term that describes a drier style of sparkling wine. Typical in Champagne.

Burgundy: World-famous wine-producing region spanning Chablis to Lyons where reds are typically made from pinot noir and whites from chardonnay. 

C

Cabernet Franc: Red grape variety common to the wine region of Bordeaux. Cabernet Franc is characterised by an intense herbal, leafy flavour and fleshy texture. 

Cabernet Sauvignon: An aromatic red grape with high tannins and noble heritage. The base grape for many Bordeaux reds and some of the best red wines from around the world. It can be aged for decades.

Cap: The grape solids that rise to the top during fermentation, such pits, grape skins and stems. 

Carbonic Maceration: A method in winemaking where uncrushed grapes are placed in a sealed vat and topped with carbon dioxide. Wines created using this method have low tannins and colour with juicy flavours of fruit and bold aroma. This is a process commonly used with Beaujolais wines. 

Champagne: Denominated region of north-east Paris, where pinot noir, chardonnay and pinot meunier are made into fine sparkling wines. 

Chaptalisation: The process in winemaking of adding sugar to fermenting grapes to increase alcohol percentage. This helps the fermentation process and produces sweeter, full-bodied wines. 

Chardonnay: Arguably the most popular variety of white grapes in the world. 

Chateau: French term for a wine estate and most common in Bordeaux. 

Chenin Blanc: A white grape varietal common in the Loire Valley of France. 

Claret: A term for Bordeaux wine used predominantly in Great Britain. The term originates from the phonetic melding of clear red wine. 

Classic: A stylistic term typically referring to a wine - or vintage - showing a more traditional restraint or austerity in ripeness, concentration and alcohol.   

Closed: Describes a wine showing a modest aromatic/flavour profile. It is a state that may go in phases throughout a wine's development and is typical in young Bordelais cuvées. 

Clunky: An unbalanced wine. One in which fruit, acidity and tannin, in any combination, are disproportionately aligned. 

Crisp: Here, the adjective describes a wine high in acidity and with pronounced freshness of fruit.   

Cru: 'Growth' in French (lit.) and quality-classifying term in the French appellation system that implies 'Cru Classé'. E.g. Premier Cru, Grand Cru, Duxieme Cru (Classé) etc. 

D

Decanting: The process of transferring wine from bottle to separate vessel for the purposes of aeration and/or to separate it from sediment. container.   

Density: Describes the level of extraction, body weight, and concentration of flavour in a wine.   

Depth: Refers to the degree of layering of flavours in a wine.  

Dessert Wine: Wines with high residual sugar and ABVs ranging from 14% to 24%. 

Domaine: 'Estate' in French and most commonly included in winery names in Burgundy and Rhone. 

Dry: Describes a wine in which almost all residual sugar has been fermented into alcohol and thus where no sweetness on the palate is detected.  

Duty: A government tax levied on alcoholic drinks based on their ABV%. 

E

Earthy: A subjective descriptive term often used in reference to the more geological nuances of a wine's terroir expression. 

Elegant: Often used to describe sleekly styled wines high in acidity and modest in fruit ripeness. Sancerre/sauvignon blanc, Provencal rosé and pinot noir, as examples, are typically described as such. 

Endnote: The final nuances and flavours experienced at the end of a wine's finish. 

En Primeur: The purchasing wine prior to bottling and market release, typically 12 to 24 months in advance.

Expansive: Describes the development of a wine's flavour profile as it progresses on the palate. 

Extract: That which constitutes a wine above and beyond its elemental water, sugar, acidity and alcohol components.  

Exuberant: Describes fresh, young, fruity wines. 

F

Fermentation: The process of using yeast and water to transform natural sugars into alcohol. 

Filtration: The process of clarifying the wine of any sediments and impurities prior to bottling.  

Fortified Wine: A higher-AVB style of wine produced by the addition of brandy or other spirits during fermentation. 

Frizzante: An Italian descriptive term for sparkling wines having a slighter degree of bubbles than the more common spumante. 

Full-Bodied: Wines having a higher level of concentration and alcohol and thus weightier sensation on the palate. 

G

Gamay: The principle red grape in the Beaujolais region of France. 

Gewürztraminer: A white grape varietal with spicy character most prominent in Alsace, Germany, northern Italy. 

Glycerine: A by-product of the fermentation process which adds to the texture and body of a wine. 

Grainy: A term to describe the texture of a wine's tannic content. 

Grand Reserva: A Spanish categorisation of red for wines barrel and bottle-bottled for at least five years prior to release. 

Grip: Describes the sensation of a wine's tannins on the palate. Thus is a red wine with a high tannic content described as 'grippy'. 

H

Herbaceous: A term referring to a wines aromatic character that may range from 'freshly cut grass' to 'garrigue' to 'fennel' to 'wild thyme'.   

Hollow: Describes a wine lacking depth or body. 

Honeyed: A tasting descriptor common to sweet wines and typically referring to fruit character. 

I

Ice Wine: A sweet wine made from shrunken grapes which, having been naturally frozen on the vine, have had their flavours and natural sugars especially concentrated. Mainly produced in Germany, Austria and Canada. 

Imperial: A 6-litre vessel holding the equivalent of 8 x 75cl bottles.  

Intensity: Describes the sensual impact of a wine’s aromatic and flavour profile.

J

Jammy: Generally a negative term describing a red wine's overripeness and/or over extraction. Accompanying descriptors will often be 'syrupy', 'cooked', or 'pruny'. 

Jeroboam: For champagne, a 3-litre vessel; for still wines, 4.5-litre. 

L

Lactic Acid: The naturally occurring acid in dairy products that can also be introduced in the winemaking process via malolactic fermentation, whereby malic acid is converted into lactic acid, thus imparting a certain creaminess in aroma and texture to the wine.   

Late Harvest: A category of sweet wine made with grapes that have been left on the vine until the last phases of harvesting to ensure optimum ripeness and sugar levels.  

Laying Down: Storing a wine away for the purposes of maturation. Synonymous with 'cellaring'. 

Lees: The sediment of dead yeast cells left over from the fermentation process on which wines are often temporarily stored owing to the particular flavours this sediment will impart.  

Linear: Describes a wine with a well defined level of acidity and achieved precision in its flavour profile.  

Lively: Describes a decent level, quality, and freshness of acidity in a wine. 

M

Maceration: Co-fermenting crushed grapes with their skins to obtain and enhance colour, tannins and aromatics in a wine. 

Magnum: A 1.5-litre-sized vessel. Therefore a 'double magnum' can contain 3 litres, or the equivalent to four standard, 750ml bottles. 

Malolactic Fermentation: A secondary fermentation process through which harsher malic acid is transformed into creamier lactic acid. This is often intentionally triggered when wines are in barrel.  

Maturation: The process by which aromatic, flavour, and structural components in a finer wine evolve and complexify over time. A wine's phase of optimum maturity (its 'drinking window') can span years and is considered the ideal period for enjoying.   

Medium-Bodied: Describes a moderate weight of a wine on the palate owing to lesser concentration, ripeness and alcohol.  

Merlot: A red grape native to Bordeaux and today one of the most popular of 'international varietals', grown everywhere from New Zealand to California to Chile.  

Minerality: The aromatic and flavour components of a wine that reflect the soil composition of the vineyard from which it was sourced. This is often expressed through a certain saline quality or 'earthiness' in a wine and is arguably the most expressive element in the French concept of 'terroir' (see below).

Must: Crushed, macerated and pressed grape juice with (or without) skins that is or is about to undergo the fermentation process.  

N

Nebbiolo: The signature and native grape varietal of Piedmont in the northwest of Italy and sole component in the wines of 'Barolo DOC' or 'Barbaresco DOC'. 

Nebuchadnezzar: With a 15-litre capacity, this is the largest of all wine vessels, containing the equivalent to 20 standard-size bottles. 

New World Wine: wines produced in countries or regions outside the traditional wine-growing areas (Europe and the Middle East) where winemaking originated. Those include Argentina, Australia, Chile, New Zealand, South Africa and the United States. 

Nose: synonymous with bouquet. The combination of all prominent aromas in a wine. 

Nutty: a term often used to describe oxidised wines. It can also be used when describing certain sweet wines.

O

Oaky: a term that describes woody aromas and flavours found commonly in barrel-aged wines. Some of the notes found in oaky wines include butter, popcorn and toast. 

Off-Dry: a wine that is only slightly sweet.

Old World Wine: wine produced in regions where the art of viniculture originated, notably France, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Greece and Germany. 

Open: young wines that display character and flavours early. The opposite of closed wines. 

Opulent: wines that are smooth, rich and bold in textures.  

Organic: grapes that are grown without the help of any chemical-based pesticides, herbicides or fertilisers. 

Oxidised: a wine that has lost its quality due to being exposed to too much air. An oxidised wine can be brown or bricky in colour. 

P

pH: a term of measure for acidity in wine. Wines with high pH are low in acidity, while wines high in acidity have low pH. The average pH range for wines is between 2.5-4.5. 

Phenols: a group of chemical compounds that affect the colour, taste and feel of a wine. Tannin is a type of phenol which is also known as polyphenol. 

Pinot Blanc: variety of white grape popular in Germany, Alsace and other parts of the world. 

Pinot Gris: also known as Pinot Grigio. This is a white grape with a distinct greyish-purple colour. It yields a white wine with bright acidity and refreshing taste. 

Pinot Noir: the prime red grape variety of the regions of Champagne and Burgundy in France, and Oregon in the United States. 

Piquant: a simple, easy-to-drink white wine with appealing fruit flavours and just the right amount of acidity to give it some liveliness.

Port: sweet, fortified wine produced in the Douro Valley in Portugal and aged near the coast in the town of Vila Nova de Gaia. The popular variations of Port include Vintage, Late Bottled Vintage, Tawny and others. 

Premier Cru: French term for “first growth”. 

Press Wine: the product of the second pressing of the pomace, which is made of seeds, pulp and grape skins after the fermented juice is drained from the solid materials. Press wine is higher in tannins, with a more vibrant colours and potential flavours that can be blended or not.  

Q

Quaffer: an inexpensive wine that’s good to drink on release 

Qualitätswein: the designation given to Austrian wines as a mark for quality. 

R

Reductive: a wine with a somewhat sulphurous aroma, usually caused by being kept in an airtight container during fermentation. 

Reserve/Riserva/Reserva: high quality wine that has been aged longer and has higher alcohol levels. Only the Spanish term “reserva”, however, has any official requirements.

Riddling: the process of rotating Champagne bottles to shift any sediments toward the cork.

Riesling: one of the most popular white grapes along with Chardonnay. Most commonly grown in Germany, Austria and Alsace. 

Rioja: Arguably Spain's most famous region producing mostly reds from tempranillo, garnacha, graciano and mazuelo, and some whites from verdejo, viura and tempranillo blanco.  

S

Sangiovese: variety of red grape native to Tuscany. It’s the base grape used in Chianti, Brunello di Montalcino, Morellino di Scansano and other popular Italian wine varieties. 

Sauvignon Blanc: An international grape varietal and signature varietal of the Loire and of New Zealand. 

Secondary Fermentation: The process transforming still wine into sparkling wine by adding a mixture of yeast and sugar to the still wine when in bottle or tank. 

Sherry: A fortified wine from a denominated region in the southwest of Spain. The popular styles of sherry include fino, Manzanilla, amontillado and oloroso. 

Structured: A wine showing prominent tannins, acidity and extraction which, when in balance, will promote good ageing potential. When drunk too young, a 'structured' will often seem harsh on the palate.  

T

Table Wine: term used to describe wines with alcohol contents between 10 to 14 percent. In Europe, table wines are wines produced outside of regulated regions or by methods yet approved by an industry-governing body. 

Tannins: The chemical compounds that produce the drying sensation felt on the gums and palate mostly when tasting red wines. Tannins provide structure to a wine and tend to settle, refine and integrate with age.  

Tart: A common, high-acidity-based sensation on the palate owing to insufficiently ripened fruit.  

Tartaric Acid: Small, odourless, tasteless crystals which occasionally form with age at the bottom of a wine in bottle.   

Terroir: A French term and concept that refers to the combination of climate, soil and general growing conditions that influence the taste of a wine. 

Toasty: A common term referring to flavours resulting from the duration of oak-ageing a wine has undergone.

Typicity: Describes a wine with qualities typical of a particular region or style. 

U

Unctuous: A common term to describe richness, weight and texture in a wine, more often in reference to sweet wines.  

Ullage: The space between the surface of the wine and the top of the barrel, or between the wine and the bottom of the cork or cap. 

V

Varietal: A common alternative term to 'variety' when referring to grapes, e.g. a wine that is 'single-varietal'. 

Velvety: A term commonly used to describe a red wine's texture. 

Veneto: A prominent wine-producing region of northeastern Italy. 

Vertical Tasting: Features wines from a single producer, vineyard, or winery across multiple - often consecutive - vintages. 

Vibrant: Describes fresh, energetic and lively wines with good acidity and rich in depth. 

Vin de Paille: A sweet wine made from dry grapes that have been let to dry on straw mats to decrease their juices while increasing their sugar levels. 

Vintage: Reference to a specific year in which grapes are grown and harvested.  

Viticulture: The science studying the cultivation of grape varieties. 

Vinification: The process of turning unfermented grape juice into wine through fermentation. 

Volatile Acidity: An abundance of acetic bacteria in a wine that can turn it to vinegar.  

W

Whole Bunch Vinification: A method of fermentation in which stems are included.  

Woody: Wines that are described as woody have a distinct oaky aroma. They feature prominent scents of vanilla, coffee and smoke. This can be seen as a flaw as it means the wine can come across a bit dry and overwhelming. 

Woolly: a term often used to describe Chenin Blanc in particular. It refers to the distinct aroma of lamb’s wool in a wine. 

Y

Yeast: Micro-organisms that issue enzymes which can trigger a faster fermentation process by helping convert sugar to alcohol. 

Yield: Agricultural term referring to the quantity of grapes collected in a harvest. Low yields are often believed as having the potential to produce better wine due to the increased concentration. 

Z

Zinfandel:  Red grape variety commonly grown in California and believed to be related to the primitivo varietal of Croatia and southern Italy. 

We hope that our glossary of wine has helped you learn some new terms as well as familiarise yourself with the wine industry. You can use your newly acquired knowledge to wow your friends at the next dinner party. Or if you were already familiar with some of the terms we’ve mentioned throughout the article why not browse our beautifully crafted mixed wine cases and host your very own taste test session.