Terre a Terre, Vegetarian Restaurant, Brighton

the wine : glossarybbbvbb

As if drinking wine is not enough, some people actually like to talk about it. Short on words?
Here’s a few to chew on (see chewy under ‘Descriptors’)

Red Wines

Variety	Most Common Descriptors	Spice	Regional Variation
Cabernet sauvignon	Blackcurrant, bell pepper	Black pepper, mint , tobacco	New World more forward & softer
Cabernet franc	Strawberry, raspberry	Lead pencil, slate	New World jammier & riper
Pinot Noir	Wild strawberry, cherry, truffles, game	n/a	New World juicier, looser, sweeter
Merlot	Prunes, plums, leather	White pepper	Warm climate=softer and sweeter. Cold=more rounded and savory
Syrah	Blackberries, figs, blueberry, coffee	Cinnamon, pepper	New World spicier
Mourvèdre	Damsons, prunes	Black pepper	New World spicier
Grenache	Ripe plums	n/a	Old World richer, New World sweeter
Carignan	Underripe hedgerow fruit	n/a	New World sweeter
Cinsault	Plum jam	n/a	New World riper
Pinotage	Damsons, raspberry, blackberry, gamy, chocolate, rubber	All-spice	n/a
Zinfandel	Figs, raisins, blackcurrant, chocolate, leather	Black pepper, cinnamon	n/a
Sangiovese	Baked hedgerow fruit, earth	Black and white pepper	Old world earthier, more tannic
Malbec	Wood, soft fruit, leafy	Pepper	New World juicier
Gamay	Raspberry, cherry, apple, banana	n/a	Beaujolais higher in alcohol, sweeter, rounder
Tempranillo	Vanilla, plums, chocolate, tea, almonds	Paprika	Spanish the most chocolate
Petit sirah

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White Wines

Variety	Most Common Descriptors	Spice	Regional Variation
Sauvignon blanc	Gooseberry, asparagus, cat’s urine, grass	Nutty	New World richer, Old World can be smokier
Chardonnay	Melon, butter, lemon, honey, rotting hay, mango	n/a	Cool climate drier, more vegetal
Viognier	Peaches, apricots	Marzipan	New World sweeter
Semillon	Citrus, ripe satsuma	Lime zest	Difficult to say since mostly used in blends
Chenin blanc	Wet wool (dry wine), waxy/honey (off-dry wine)	Talcum powder	New World much zingier and fresher
Pinot gris	Nuts, underripe melon	n/a	Warm-climate examples are fatter
Gewürztraminer	Rose petals, lychees	Cinnamon	New World makes more rounded wines
Riesling	Apple, petroleum, paraffin, honey, lime	Fruit cake spiciness	Cold-climate examples have more mineral edge to the acidity, more advanced plasticine aromas, greater petroleum undertones when old
Verdicchio	Lemon, bitter almond, fresh	n/a	n/a
Verdelho	Dried apricots, peaches	Musky	New World versions much richer and riper
Marsanne	Melon, lemon cordial, butterscotch, toffee	Rare	New World examples have an added clotted quality
Pedro Ximenez or ‘PX’	Sticky, raisins, syrup, figs	Clove,	n/a

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Descriptors—ever wonder what is meant by…

Acidity…sharp, appley, tart; counterbalances the sweetness of a wine
Aggressive…quite tannic or acidic; not quite ready for drinking
Aromatic…fruity and/or floral notes, usually in young wines
Astringent…mouth-puckering tannin
Austere…rather hard and unyielding
Baked…fruit flavours that have lost their freshness, due to overripe grapes or overheating in the fermentation process
Chewy…tannic, but not aggressive
Closed…not showing much aroma and flavour; not ready for drinking
Concentrated…packed with flavour and substance
Crisp…fresh, good acidity
Dried-out…old wine which is past its best and fading in flavour
Dumb…same as closed, to describe a phase in a wine’s life
Extracted…unbalanced red wine (too much tannin and colour)
Fat…full-bodied but with inadequate acidity
Finesse…high-quality, refined, with good balance
Firm…good tannins and/or acid
Flabby…lacking necessary acidity, the opposite of crisp
Flat…lacking acid and freshness
Fleshy…full and generous
Forward…more mature or ready than you would expect
Green…young, acid, raw; perhaps too young to drink
Hard…acid or tannic or both
Heavy…full-bodied, high alcohol, usually implying unbalanced
Hollow…lacking flavour; has a start and finish but no middle
Hot…over-alcoholic and therefore unbalanced
Jammy…jam rather than bright fruit flavours, lacking freshness
Lean…short on fruit
Long…splendid lasting flavours
Meaty… (but we’ll say savoury here) full-bodied, flavoursome
Mouth-filling…wine with richness of flavour and texture that seems to fill the whole mouth
Neutral…wine that offers little in the way of aroma or flavour
Oily…the slightly oily (smooth, heavy) texture of grape varieties such as gewürztraminer and viognier and of botrytized Semillon wines, such as Sauternes
Rich…depth and breadth of fruit, other flavours, and texture
Round…no hard edges, ready to drink
Short…flavours that don’t last
Silky…fine, smooth texture
Soft…not too tannic or acid
Spritz…tiny carbon-dioxide bubbles giving a refreshing prickle on the tongue
Steely…a firm, intense, positive quality in dry wines with good acidity, such as Chablis Structure…the balance and intensity of the basic components (acid, tannin, alcohol, colouring matter
Supple…round, smooth, not too tannic or acid, ready for drinking
Tangy…lively and crisp from start to finish
Thin…lacking flavour and body
Tough…too tannic
Velvety…smooth texture, similar to silky but perhaps richer
Volatile…all wines have volatile acidity, but a volatile wine is on its way to vinegar
Woody…usually implies an unpleasant, old, or dirty wood character rather than positive oak flavours
Zesty…fresh, crisp, lively (white wines)

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Aromas and Flavours…

no two people ever seem to agree
almond, apple, apricot, asparagus, banana, biscuit, blackberry, blackcurrant, bread, brioche, bubblegum, butter, cat’s pee, cedarwood, cigar box, cherry, chestnut, chocolate, clove, coffee beans, cream, currant leaf, earth, eucalyptus, flint, flora, game, gooseberry, grape, grapefruit, grass, herbaceous, honey, lanolin, leather, lemon, lime, liquorice, lychee, melon, mineral, mint, nivea, nut, oak, olive, orange, peach, pear, pepper(white,black,capsicum), petrol, plum, quince, raisin, raspberry, rose, salt, smoke, spice, stone, strawberry, tar, toast, tobacco, turkish delight, vanilla, yeast

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