Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Wine Speak
Wine Speak
The art of drinking wine has a language of it's own. As with any art form we look for
elements, qualities, to describe it vividly. If we were scrutinizing or analyzing a
Monet we would look at the highlights used, the balance of color, the lines of the
painting, the form of each character etc. Wine looks at 3 basic elements, looks,
smell, and taste. Therefore a certain vocabulary, or “speak” was used for those
elements that derived from years of experience through wine makers and wine
connoisseurs. This language if you will became the norm. It is also fair to say as
American wine makers began getting notoriety and win awards for their wines they
have in turn added a plethora of adjectives used today. Here is a small collection of
definitions to describe a wine and it’s effects or experience. Some may even say its
Nirvana.
This is far from a complete list of terms and definitions for the wine enthusiast, but
it is a good working vocabulary for the average wine drinker. As you learn to speak
about what you are seeing, tasting, and smelling in a glass of wine you will pick up
other terms from other connoisseurs who will help to expand your vocabulary.
Wine Articles 1