Wine Glossary and Pronunciation Guide
Even the most seasoned wine aficionados occasionally 'come a cropper' when it comes to wine's fancy lexis. I personally have had too many 'lost in translation' moments (especially when it comes to all those French wine words…) and often wished I'd had a nifty little glossary and pronunciation guide like this to hand!
Tannins, lees stirring Gewurztraminer and Nebuchadnezzar...they are all explained here.
- AOC
- See Appellation d'Origine Controlée.
- Acid
- A compound naturally present in all grapes and an essential component of wine that gives it a lively, crisp quality and allows it to age; however it should always be in harmony with the fruit and other components. There are four major kinds of acids - tartaric, malic, lactic and citric - found in wine.
- 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.
- Acidity
- One of the tastes of wine, which is detected as a mouth salivating sensation on the sides of the tongue and mouth. Acid provides wine with a fresh, crisp, sharp character, however it should always be in harmony with the fruit and other components. The acidity of a balanced, dry wine is in the range of 0.6 to 0.75% of the wine's volume.
- Aerate
- To allow a wine to "breathe" by exposing it to oxygen. Aerating a wine helps it to open up, release its aromas and develop its full flavours, especially red wines. Decanting, pouring and swirling are ways to aerate wine.
- Aftertaste
- The taste or flavours that linger in the mouth after the wine is tasted, spat or swallowed. The aftertaste or "finish" is the most important factor in judging a wine's character and quality. Great wines have rich, long, complex aftertastes.
- Ageing
- The storing of wine in barrels, tanks or bottles for a period of time to allow its components to knit together or harmonise and develop additional complexity, sometimes referred to as secondary and tertiary aromas and flavours.
- Aggressive
- A term usually applied to wines that are either high in acidity or have harsh tannins, or both.
- Aglianico ('ah-lee-YAHN-ee-koh')
- Robust, quality southern Italian red wine grape variety found mainly on the volcanic slopes of Campania and Basilicata in Italy's south. Also, grown in Australia.
- Albariño ('al-bah-REEN-yoh')
- A high quality white wine grape variety grown in Galicia's Rias Baixas region in Spain, where it produces aromatic, full-bodied, peachy and grapefruity whites, which match beautifully with the local Atlantic shellfish. Discover more about Albariño here.
- Alcohol
- The end product of fermentation; technically ethyl alcohol resulting from the interaction of natural grape sugars and yeast. Most dry table wines contain between 10 and 16% alcohol.
- Aligoté ('ah-lee-go-tay')
- A white wine grape variety of Burgundy which produces crisp and sharp, if neutral, dry whites with a lemony tang of acidity. In the Cote Chalonnais in southern Burgundy, Aligoté is the exclusive white grape variety in the Bouzeron appellation.
- Aloxe-Corton ('ah-lox cor-tawn')
- A wine village in Burgundy's Côte de Beaune, famous for its Pinot Noir and Chardonnay wines.
- Alsace ('ahl-zahss')
- A wine region in north eastern France, which produces high quality wines mainly from the aromatic white varieties, Riesling, Gewurztraminer and Pinot Gris. Variations in wine styles are marked by their residual sugar levels, which cover the entire sweetness spectrum from bone dry to sweet. In 1983, the official terms 'Vendanges Tardives' and 'Selection de Grains Nobles' were introduced to define and categorise sweet Alsace wines.
- American Oak
- A type of oak used for making barrels in which to age wine. Marked by strong, sweet vanilla and cedar notes, it is used primarily for aging Shiraz in Australia, red varieties in Spain and Zinfandel in the US. New American oak barrels can be purchased for about half the price of French oak barrels.
- American Viticultural Area (AVA)
- A delimited, geographical grape growing area that has officially been given appellation status by the Alcohol and Tobacco, Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) in America. Two examples of AVAs are Napa Valley and Sonoma Valley.
- Amontillado ('ah-mon-tee-yah-doe')
- A particular style of medium-dry Sherry.
- Amoroso
- A dark and sweet style of sherry which is produced by adding Pedro Ximenez to Oloroso sherry.
- Angular
- A term used to describe wines that lack roundness, generosity, and depth. Wine that are too acidic are often described as being 'angular'.
- Anjou ('ahn-zho')
- A French wine district along the Loire.
- Appellation
- A geographical based term to identify where the grapes for a wine were grown, such as Bordeaux or Burgundy. Regulations relating to wines produced in certain appellations vary widely from country to country.
- Appellation d'Origine Controlée (AOC)
- The French system of appellations, begun in the 1930s and considered the wine world's prototype. To carry an appellation in this system, a wine must follow rules describing the area the grapes are grown in, the varieties used, the ripeness, the alcoholic strength, the vineyard yields and the methods used in growing the grapes and making the wine. The regulations are administered by the Institut National des Appellations d'Origine (INAO).
- Aroma
- The smell of a wine. Aroma and bouquet are sometimes used synonymously, however more correctly, aroma relates to the smell of the grape and bouquet to the smell of the wine acquired through the winemaking process. The term aroma is, therefore, generally applied to younger wines and bouquet to older wines.
- Aromatic
- The strong scented (often floral) smell of a wine; not the same as aroma. Some wines (and grapes) considered very aromatic are Viognier and Gewurztraminer.
- Arneis ('ahr-nayz')
- An aromatic, nutty white wine grape variety native to north west Italy's Piemonte, where it produces delicately fruity, herby dry white wines. The variety is also gaining interest in Australia, where it is grown in regions such as the King Valley in Victoria. Discover more about Arneis here.
- Astringency
- A term used to describe a drying and puckering sensation in the mouth after a wine has been tasted and swallowed or spat out. Astringent wines are harsh and coarse to taste, either because they are too young and tannic, and simply need time to develop, or because they are not well made.
- Auslese (ow-slay-zuh)
- A German wine classification based on quality and the ripeness level and sugar content of the grapes at harvest. Auslesen are made from individually selected bunches of very ripe grapes that have higher sugar concentrations than those selected for spätlesen, but lower than those selected for beerenauslesen. Auslesen are nearly always sweet wines but can be fermented in drier styles.
- Austere
- A term used to describe a wine that is hard and dry, usually with high acid, and lacking richness and generosity.
