chantelbot
Johan Botha
This list of wine terms and definitions will give you a head start at your next wine tasting. It is often helpful to carry a small notepad with you to tastings so you can jot down your impressions of wines. Develop your own list of wine terms: using your own words to describe different tastes and aromas will help you to remember and apply them.
Wine Definitions: Nose
- Acetic Wine smells and or tastes of vinegar.
- Aggressive Harsh tastes or impressions due to excesses of tannin, acid or alcohol.
- Aromatic Used to describe perfumed or very distinctive aromas such as from Gewürztraminer.
- Blackcurrant Aroma associated with Cabernet Sauvignon often referred to as cassis.
- Body Impression in the mouth of weight and consistency mainly due to alcoholic strength and extract.
- Bouquet Smells / aromas that develop as a wine matures.
- Buttery Smell and flavours of butter. Sometimes seen in heavily oaked Chardonnays.
- Caramel Taste and or smell of caramelised sugar.
- Cardboard Smell of damp papers or cardboard.
- Cedar Smell associated with many red wines that have been matured in oak. Similar to the smell of pencil shavings.
- Corked Wine fault recognised by a distinctive mouldy rotting smell.
- Crisp A marked level of acidity.
- Ethyl Acetate Smell of solvents such as some glues or lacquers or pear drop sweets.
- Eucalyptus A pleasant aroma sometimes found in red wines from Australia.
- Farmyard Vegetal or animal odours.
- Flinty Mineral aromas and flavours usually associated with dry white wines.
- Flowery / Floral Fragrant scents like fresh flowers.
- Geraniums Smell of geranium leaves, usually associated with excess sorbic acid.
- Gooseberry Often used to describe the aroma of young /sauvignon Blanc.
- Grapey Smell of grapes – often found with Muscat.
- Herbaceous Vegetal, grassy and smell of leaves.
- Musk Heavy waxy / vegetal aroma of mature Semillon and Sauternes.
- Nose Bouquet or aroma.
- Pear Drops Smell similar to nail polish remover or acetate.
- Perfumed Fragrant
SMART about wine 