Fruity Is Not Sweet
A wine can smell of ripe berries and still be completely dry.
Learn Wine. Sip with Confidence.
Understand Wine. Enjoy Every Glass.
Wine Basics
Wine words can sound like a secret code. Most of them describe simple things you can taste or read on a label, and a few dozen terms cover almost every conversation.
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You do not need wine terminology to enjoy a glass, but a handful of words makes ordering and shopping much easier. If you can tell a server you want something “dry, crisp, and light,” or “bold with soft tannins,” you will get a far better match than saying “something good.” Wine words fall into three groups. Structure terms describe how wine feels in your mouth. Flavor and aroma terms describe what you smell and taste. Label and production terms describe where the wine came from and how it was made. The structure terms are the most useful to learn first, because they predict whether you will like a wine regardless of grape or region. If you are just starting out, pair this glossary with how to taste wine so each term links to a real sensation.
Dry means not sweet; most red and white table wines are dry. Off-dry means slightly sweet, common in Riesling and Chenin Blanc. The contrast is covered in dry vs sweet wine. Crisp or bright means high acidity, the mouthwatering zing in Sauvignon Blanc; flabby means too little acid. Tannic describes the drying, gripping feel from grape skins, seeds, and oak, strongest in reds like Cabernet Sauvignon and Nebbiolo; soft or supple means gentle tannin. Body describes weight: light-bodied wines feel like water, full-bodied wines feel rich and heavy; see wine body explained. Hot means the alcohol burns noticeably. Balanced means none of these elements sticks out. Finish is how long the flavor lingers after swallowing.
Fruity or fruit-forward means ripe fruit flavors lead, typical of warm-climate wines like California Zinfandel or Australian Shiraz. Fruity is not the same as sweet. Earthy describes notes like mushroom, forest floor, or wet soil, common in Burgundy Pinot Noir. Mineral is a loose term for flinty, chalky, or stony impressions, often used for Chablis or Sancerre. Oaky describes vanilla, toast, smoke, or coconut from aging in oak barrels. Buttery describes the creamy, butter-like note in many oaked Chardonnays, which comes from malolactic conversion. Herbaceous or green means grassy, bell pepper, or herbal notes, typical of Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Franc. Jammy means very ripe, cooked-fruit flavors. Bouquet traditionally refers to the aromas that develop with age, as opposed to fresh primary fruit aromas.
Vintage is the year the grapes were harvested; non-vintage (NV) wines blend several years, common in Champagne. Wine vintage meaning explains why it matters. Varietal means a wine named for its main grape, like Merlot. Blend means several grapes are combined, as in Bordeaux. Appellation is a legally defined growing area, such as Napa Valley AVA in the US, AOC in France, DOC or DOCG in Italy, and DO or DOCa in Spain. Estate bottled generally means the winery grew the grapes and made the wine itself. Reserve or Reserva has a legal meaning in some countries, such as Spain’s Rioja, where it requires minimum aging, but in the US it is not regulated. For a full walkthrough, see how to read a wine label.
Fermentation is the process where yeast turns grape sugar into alcohol; how wine is made covers it step by step. Malolactic conversion (often called malolactic fermentation) turns sharp malic acid into softer lactic acid, adding roundness and sometimes buttery notes. Lees are spent yeast cells; aging on the lees, or sur lie, adds creamy, bready texture, as in Muscadet. Oaked versus unoaked tells you whether the wine spent time in barrels. Skin contact is how long juice sits with grape skins, which drives color and tannin. Sulfites are compounds used as a preservative and also produced naturally during fermentation; see sulfites in wine. Terroir is the French idea that a vineyard’s soil, climate, and landscape shape a wine’s character.
Decant means pouring wine into another vessel to add air or separate it from sediment; see how to decant wine. Breathe refers to letting wine sit exposed to air so it opens up. Corked describes a wine tainted by a compound called TCA, smelling of wet cardboard or a damp basement, not just a wine with bits of cork floating in it. Legs or tears are the streaks that run down a glass after swirling. A flight is a set of small pours tasted side by side. Sommelier is a trained wine professional at a restaurant. Corkage is the fee a restaurant charges to open a bottle you bring. Knowing these few words makes restaurants and tasting rooms far less intimidating.
Start with dry, acidity, tannin, alcohol, and body. They describe how every wine feels and are the most useful terms.
Taste a crisp Sauvignon Blanc for acidity and a young Cabernet Sauvignon for tannin so each term has a real reference.
Practice describing smells as fruity, floral, earthy, or oaky, then name one specific fruit or spice.
Pick a bottle and find the grape or region, vintage, alcohol, and any terms like Reserva or estate bottled.
Describe what you want in two or three terms, such as dry, light-bodied, and crisp, and let staff recommend.
A wine can smell of ripe berries and still be completely dry.
Reserva is regulated in Spain and Italy but has no legal meaning in the US.
Name a wine you enjoyed and two traits; staff can use that to guide you.
Learn Your Taste
Answer a few simple questions and discover styles that fit your palate.
Take the Wine QuizDry means the wine has little or no residual sugar, so it does not taste sweet. Most red wines and many whites are dry, even when they smell very fruity.
Minerality describes flavors or textures that recall wet stone, chalk, flint, or sea spray rather than fruit. It is common in wines like Chablis, Muscadet, and Mosel Riesling. Its cause is still debated, and it does not mean you are tasting soil, but tasters use the term widely.
Variety is the grape itself, such as Merlot. Varietal describes a wine made mainly from one variety and labeled with that grape's name. In casual speech, people often use the two interchangeably.
Terroir is a French term for how a vineyard's soil, climate, slope, and surroundings shape the taste of its wine. It explains why the same grape tastes different from different places.
Tannic describes a wine with noticeable tannins, which create a drying, gripping feeling on your gums and tongue. Young reds like Cabernet Sauvignon, Nebbiolo, and Tannat are classic tannic wines.
NV means non-vintage. The wine blends grapes from more than one harvest year, a common practice in Champagne and other sparkling wines to keep a consistent house style.
