Glossary of Tasting Wine(A-B)

Acetic: Tasting term indicating an undesirable vinegary smell.

Acidic: Used to describe wines whose total acid is so high that they taste tart or sour and have a sharp edge on the palate.

Acids: Essential component of all wines. Several different acids are found in grapes and wine. Grapes are one of the few fruits to contain tartaric acid, the major wine acid and the most important source of acidity in wine. Smaller amounts of malic acid, citric acid and lactic acid can also be found, as can acetic acid. See also 'volatile acidity'.

Acrid: Describes a harsh or bitter taste or pungent smell that is due to excess sulfur.

Aftertaste: Sensation left in the mouth after wine is swallowed. A long aftertaste is a sign of a complex, high-quality wine. See also 'length'.

Age-Worthy: Describes the small number of top wines that have sufficient flavor, acidity, alcohol and tannin to gain additional complexity with time in the bottle. Most popular wines are meant to be enjoyed shortly after release and will only diminish with age.

Aggressive: Tasting term, usually indicating a wine with high or excessive acidity or tannin. Wines that are aggressive in their youth may improve with ageing.

Agreeable: Pleasant character of a well-balanced wine.

Alcoholic: Used to describe a wine that has too much alcohol for its body and weight, making it unbalanced. A wine with too much alcohol will taste uncharacteristically heavy or hot as a result. This quality is noticeable in aroma and aftertaste.

Appearance: Refers to a wine’s clarity, not color. Common descriptors refer to the reflective quality of the wine; brilliant, clear, dull or cloudy for those wines with visible suspended particulates.

Apple, appley: Tasting term used to indicate the lively fruity acidity of a young white. Bruised apple taste can indicate oxidation, in reds or whites.

Aroma: Tasting term used to indicate the smells of a wine, particularly those deriving from the grape and fermentation. See also 'bouquet'.

Aromatic: Tasting term used to indicate a wine with a positive, agreeable smell. Also, a class of grapes (e.g. the Muscat family) which are particularly fragrant.

Astringent: Tasting term used to indicate a sharp bitterness. Usually a fault, a wine may become less astringent with ageing.

Austere: Tasting term, usually indicating a lack of richness or sweetness.

Awkward: Describes a wine that has poor structure, is clumsy or is out of balance.

Backbone: Used to denote those wines that are full-bodied, well-structured and balanced by a desirable level of acidity.

Backward: Used to describe a young wine that is less developed than others of its type and class from the same vintage.

Balance: A wine is balanced when its elements are harmonious and no single element dominates. The "hard" components –acidity and tannin– balance the "soft" components –sweetness, fruit and alcohol.

Balanced: Tasting term, used to indicate a wine in which all the elements (fruit, acidity, tannin, etc.) are in harmony.

Bead: The tiny bubbles found in sparkling wines; a small, persistent bead is an indicator of quality.

Beery: Tasting term indicating the malty smell or taste of beer, usually considered a fault in wine.

Berry: This term has two meanings. An individual grape is called a berry by grapegrowers. It also describes the set of fruit flavors found in many wines, which includes strawberry, raspberry, and blueberry.

Big: Tasting term used to indicate a powerful wine with plenty of fruit and structure and possibly high alcohol.

Bite: Tasting term used to indicate a powerful initial sensation of acidity or tannin, which grabs attention immediately the wine is tasted.

Bitter: One of the four basic flavors which can be detected by the tongue. Bitterness is a fault in excess, but is normally balanced by fruit and sweetness.

Blackcurrant: Tasting term used to indicate the often pungent aroma of blackcurrant fruit and leaf, particularly in wines of Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc.

Blind Tasting: A tasting in which the wines are not identified; often the bottles are disguised in paper bags. The goal is to reduce tasters’ expectations of specific wines, offering a more objective analysis of each wine. In a single-blind tasting, the taster may know which brand or types of wine are in the flight, but not the order. In a double-blind tasting, the taster has no information about the wines in the flight.

Blunt: Strong in flavor and often alcoholic, but lacking in aromatic interest and development on the palate.

Blush: Also known as rose, this term describes a pink or salmon-colored wine made from red grapes. The wine may be dry or sweet.

Body: Tasting term used to indicate the weight of the wine in the mouth.

Bottle Sickness: A temporary condition characterized by muted or disjointed fruit flavors. It often occurs immediately after bottling or when wines (usually fragile wines) are shaken in travel. Also called bottle shock. A few days of rest is the cure.

Brawny: Used to describe wines that are hard, intense, tannic and that have raw, woody flavors. The opposite of elegant.

Briary: Describes young wines with an earthy or stemmy wild berry character.

Bright: Used for fresh, ripe, zesty, lively young wines with vivid, focused flavors.

Brilliant: Term applied to wines, particularly white wines, which are free of any visible suspended matter and have a sparkling clarity.

Bouquet: Tasting term used to indicate the smells that develop with ageing.

Browning: Describes a wine's color, and is a sign that a wine is mature and may be faded. A bad sign in young red (or white) wines, but less significant in older wines. Wines 20 to 30 years old may have a brownish edge yet still be enjoyable.

Burnt: Describes wines that have an overdone, smoky, toasty or singed edge. Also used to describe overripe grapes.

Buttery: Tasting term used to indicate a rich taste or smell of butter, usually in white wine. Often an indicator that the wine has undergone malolactic fermentation.

Butyric: Rancid odour of some spoiled wines.