Counting the 20 Most Unintelligible Wine Tasting Terms

This wine is very balanced, with a mineral taste and tannins as smooth as velvet.

When tasting wine, people often make comments or exclamations about the wine. Some descriptions are easy to understand, while others are more obscure. Today, let’s take a look at the meanings of 20 wine tasting terms that are more difficult to understand.

The taste of astringent wine is not pleasant, characterized by its dry flavor, high acidity, tight texture, and lack of fruity and rich taste. The astringent sensation occurs because the wine is young or the winemaking process is too rough. In short, “astringent” refers to a rough mouthfeel, heavy tannins, and no fruitiness.

If a wine has a high glycerol content and a rich, viscous mouthfeel, it is considered chewy. Wines made in good vintages with abundant extracts are often chewy, mainly because they have high levels of alcohol and glycerol, resulting in a full-bodied taste.

“Balance” is a term frequently used in wine tasting. Balance is one of the most important characteristics of a good wine, referring to the harmonious integration of a wine’s fruitiness, tannins, acidity, and oak flavors. A balanced wine has well-proportioned aspects, becoming more elegant with aging.

01  Austere

“Closed” is a term used to describe a young wine that has not yet fully revealed its potential for development, with its aroma and flavors being somewhat restrained. Young wines are generally closed within 12 to 18 months after bottling, and depending on the vintage and storage conditions, some wines may remain closed for several years or even decades. Another possibility is that the wine has not been allowed to breathe for a sufficient amount of time.

The barnyard smell is not a pleasant odor, referring to the dirty farm manure smell in wine, which is caused by the use of unclean wooden barrels and unsanitary winemaking facilities.

02  Chewy

The full-bodied and very ripe wine lacks sufficient acidity to balance it. A full-bodied wine is considered a flawed wine.

The wine with an earthy aroma exudes the scents of soil, leaves, and trees. This term is usually used to describe wines with a green vegetable taste in the aftertaste.

Just as the feeling of marshmallows and whipped cream in the mouth when eating a vanilla sundae, the rich fruit flavor of the wine is abundant, the aroma of the wine is pervasive, and the taste is full and round.

03  Balance

A wine that tastes like butter is usually found in white wines that have been aged in oak barrels.

One of the most subjective wine descriptors is that complex wines can bring great pleasure to the taster and maintain their interest in the wine. Complex wines have a variety of subtle aromas and flavors that are eye-catching. The complexity of wine is a major criterion for judging the quality of wine.

04  Closed

The tannins in the tight wine are strong, leaving a dry sensation in the mouth after drinking. This type of wine is usually consumed with food.

“Joyful wines are satisfying, intoxicating, and bring endless happiness.” This is one of Robert Parker’s favorite wine terms.

After drinking wine, there is often a burning sensation in the throat, which is usually caused by a high alcohol content.

05  Barnyard

In this world, it seems that fuller women are more popular, and being too thin does not highlight a good figure. The same goes for wine. Thin wine is as watery as water, lacks structure, and is not popular.

Mineral taste is a controversial flavor, and there is currently no unified conclusion. A common one is: mineral taste is the smell of wet stones.

06  Fat

When the grapes used for making wine are very ripe, the rich fruit flavor of the wine is the berry flavor. This type of wine has a rich and concentrated flavor, with an abundance of dry extract. Some Bordeaux wines made in great vintages have a very concentrated flavor, with berry notes.

This is also Parker’s version of wine terminology. “Dull wine” is similar in meaning to “big wine,” but big wine usually refers to wine with rich and concentrated flavors, which is very balanced. In contrast, dull wine is too heavy, causing too much thought and being annoying.

If the oak flavor is suitable, the aroma of the wine can be pleasing. However, if the wine is aged in oak barrels for too long, the oak flavor will become too strong and mask the fruit flavors.

07  Earthy

This is a popular characteristic of wine, synonymous with “silky,” a velvety smooth wine is rich and mellow, with a silky mouthfeel.

This means that the wine has the characteristics that a wine grape variety should have, which indicates that the quality of this wine is not bad.

08  Decadent