| Acrid: |
Describes a wine with
overly pronounced acidity. This is often apparent in cheap red wines |
| Assertive: |
Upfront, forward. |
| Attractive: |
A lighter style, fresh,
easy to drink wine. |
| Balanced: |
Indicates that the
fruit, acid, wood flavours are in the right proportion. A wine is
well balanced when none of those characteristics dominates. Wine
not in balance may be "acidic," "cloying," "flat"
or "harsh." |
| Big: |
A wine that is full-bodied,
rich and slightly alcoholic tasting. |
| Character: |
A wine with top-notch
distinguishing qualities. |
| Crisp: |
Denotes a fresh, young,
wine with good acidity. |
| Cutting
Edge: |
Stylistic, hip. |
| Closed: |
Describes wines that
are concentrated and have character, but are shy in aroma or flavour. |
| Complete: |
A full-bodied
wine rich in extracts with a pronounced finish. |
| Complex: |
Describes a wine that
combines all flavour and taste components in almost miraculous harmony. |
| Delicate: |
Used to describe light-
to medium-weight wines with good flavours. |
| Dense: |
Describes a wine that has concentrated aromas on the nose and palate,
desirable in young wines. |
| Depth: |
Describes the complexity
and concentration of flavours in a wine. Generally refers to a quality
wine with subtle layers of flavour that go "deep." Opposite
of 'Shallow.' |
| Developed: |
Refers to the maturity
of a wine. |
| Elegant: |
Describes a wine of
grace, balance and beauty. |
| Empty: |
Flavourless and uninteresting. |
| Fading: |
Describes a wine that
is losing colour, fruit or flavour, usually as a result of age. |
| Flabby:
|
Lacking acidity on
the palate. |
| Flat: |
Having low acidity;
the next stage after flabby; or refers to a sparkling wine that
has lost its bubbles. |
| Full-Bodied: |
Fills the mouth. Opposite
of 'thin-bodied.' |
| Graceful:
|
Describes a wine that
is subtly harmonious and pleasing. |
| Neutral: |
Describes a wine without
outstanding characteristics, good or bad. |
| Pedestrian: |
Plain. |
| Potent: |
Describes a strong,
intense, powerful wine. |
| Robust: |
Describes a full-bodied,
intense and vigorous wine; possibly inflated. |
| Round: |
Describes a well-balanced
wine in fruit, tannins and body. |
| Seductive: |
A wine that is appealing. |
| Short: |
Describes a wine that
does not remain on the palate after swallowing. |
| Simple:
|
Describes a wine with
few characteristics that follow the initial impression. Not necessarily
unfavourable; often describes an inexpensive, young wine. |
| Soft: |
Describes a wine with
low acid/tannin, or alcohol content with little impact on the palate. |
| Supple: |
Describes
a wine with well-balanced tannins and fruit characteristics.
Thin: Lacking body and depth. |
