10 Misunderstood Wine Terms (And How to Use Them Correctly)

There are some wine terms people like to toss out to sound knowledgeable about wine. And they are probably knowledgeable about wine, just not the term they are trying to use. 

Here are the top 10 terms that seem problematic or cause the most misunderstandings. So, in order of the most abused:

Terroir – a nice French word that means "sense of place") or the environment where grapes are grown – it refers to the climate, soil, topography, and human influence that determine a wine's acidity, ripeness, and tannin. I've heard it used to describe dirt.

Balance – Many people confuse balance with the body of a wine. Think of it as balance is a verb and body is a noun. Balance is when no one component of a wine is predominant; the acid, tannin, alcohol, and fruit are all harmonious in that not a single component is vying for the most attention. Body is the weight of the wine; the more alcohol and fruit, the heavier the wine and the bigger the body. Capiche?

Structure – Structure is the framework of the wine:  sweetness, acidity, tannin, alcohol, and body.

Elegant – this term is massively overused. Instead of saying 'nice,' people say a wine is 'elegant.'  An elegant wine is restrained and refined. A really fruity, high-alcohol wine, while delicious, is not elegant. A Nebbiolo-based wine, such as Barbaresco, is because the alcohol and fruit are muted. It's more about style than a pronouncement of quality.

Complex – no, the wine cannot do involved mathematical equations. It just means that the wine has multiple evolving flavors.

Dry - Dry is used to describe a whole lot of things it's not. Dry just means the absence of sugar in the wine. 

Old Vines – Is not a regulated term—more of a marketing term than anything else.

Reserve – Often used to imply higher quality or aging. Outside of Spain and Italy, it is not regulated. It's like the wine world's equivalent of "natural" on food products.

Legs / Tears – Twirl a glass of wine; the droplets you see sliding down the glass are what are referred to as legs or tears, and have absolutely nothing to do with the quality of the wine. It does indicate higher alcohol or sugar in the wine.

Tannins -Tannins are actually a mouth-drying sensation caused by polyphenols from grape skins, seeds, and stems. Both tannin and acid are tactile, not flavors, which confuses people. A salivary gland's workout manifests as acid; tannins manifest as a drying sensation in the roof of the mouth.

Like this blog? See others like it