Heard a few wine terms and don’t know what they mean? Here’s a few that may help clear up your questions. If you have additional questions, I’m happy to help. Contact me
- Varietal: This is the particular style of grape that makes up the wine, such as Chardonnay, Merlot or Cabernet Sauvignon. California wines must contain at least 75% of a varietal in order for it to be labeled as that varietal. Otherwise, it would be considered a blend.
- Corked: A wine affected by TCA (trichloroanisole) is often called “corked” (a defective cork). You will notice a strange odor or taste with corked wine, people have said “it smells like wet newspaper or wet socks”. You may notice a dry rot smell as well.
- Aroma/Bouquet: Bouquet and aroma are often used interchangeably to explain the scent of the wine, but technically, they have different meanings. Aroma (and Nose) refers to scents inherent in the unfermented grape, i.e. fruity scents. Bouquet refers to scents that come from processing the wine, i.e. woody scents.
- Reserve: A description winemakers put on labels to let you know it’s a special bottle. Reserve has no legal definition in the United States, however, so sometimes it’s really slapped on there for marketing purposes.
- Tannins: These are natural substances found in grape skins, seeds and stems. Tannins give red wines their structure, and, in young wines, the astringent taste that can make you pucker up. Tannins mellow with time and are what let red wines age beautifully.
- Acidity: A component of wine generally consisting of tartaric acid. Very important in wine, this gives the wine that crisp taste.
