Acetic	The wine has been "got at" by bacteria
Acidity	The essential natural component which gives wine freshness and zing and prevents it from cloying.
Aggressive	Over-tannic or over-acidic.
Alcoholic	Over-alcoholic wines tastes "hot", burns the palate.
Almond	Bitter Almond can denote Tocai from Italy.
Aniseed	Found in red Burgundy and - to a lesser extent - Bordeaux and some Northern Italian whites.
Apple	A smell often found in young white wines. Unripe apple is often a sign that a wine has not undergone malolactic fermentation.
Apricot	Common in the white Rhone's of Condrieu and Chateau Grillet and other examples of the Viognier grape, and in wine from botrytis-affected grapes.
Aromatic	Often associated with wines made from grapes such as the Gewürztraminer and Muscat.
Artificial	Used to describe wines whose taste seems to have been created chemically.
Attack	The quality in a wine which makes you sit up and take notice.
Austere	A wine difficult to approach, with fruit not obvious. Wait for the flavour to open out in the mouth.
Backward	Not as developed as its age would lead you to expect.
Bad eggs	Presence of hydrogen sulphide, usually a result of faulty cellaring or wine-making.
Baked	Like stewed fruits, probably from an over-warm vintage.
Balance	A balanced wine has its fruitiness, acidity, alcohol and tannin (for reds) in pleasant harmony.
Banana	A smell usually associated with young wine, fermented at low temperatures and - in the case of reds - in an oxygen free environment. A sign of maceration carbonique.
Beefy	Big, hearty, meaty wine.
Beeswing	A skin which forms on certain old ports, leaving a characteristic residue in the glass.
Big	Mouth-filling, full-flavoured, possibly strongly alcoholic.
Biscuity	Often used to describe the bouquet of Champagne.
Bite	High acidity, good in young wine.
Blackcurrant	Found in Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir wines.
Blowsy	Exaggeratedly fruity, lacking bite.
Body	A full-bodied wine fills the mouth with flavour.
Bottle-sick	Newly bottled wines may take some time (sometimes months) to recover from the shock of air-contact and sulphuring at bottling.
Bouquet	Smell.
Butter	A richness of aroma and texture found in mature Chardonnay, and/or evidence of malolactic fermentation.
Cat's Pee	The pungent smell of Sauvignon Blanc and Muller-Thurgau.
Cedar	An aroma of maturing claret.
Chaptalised	Chaptalisation is the process of adding sugar to fermenting must to increase the alcoholic strength. If overdone a wine tastes "hot".
Cherry	A characteristic of Beaujolais.
Chocolate	For some people, a sure sign of the pinot noir grape.
Cigar-box	See cedar
Closed	Has yet to show its quality.
Cloudy	A sign of a faulty wine.
Cloying	A sickly taste, sweetness without acidity.
Clumsy	An unbalanced wine.
Coffee	Special characteristics of old, great Burgundy.
Complex	Having a diverse, well blended mixture of smells and flavours.
Cooked	A "warm", stewed fruit flavour - may suggest over warm fermentation or the use of grape concentrate.
Corked	A wine spoiled by a bad cork has a musty smell and flavour.
Crisp	Fresh, lively, with good acidity.
Crust	Deposit thrown by a mature port.
Depth	Wine with depth fills the mouth with lingering flavour.
Dirty	Badly made wine can taste unclean.
Dirty Socks	Cheesy sourness accompanying badly made white wine.
Dry	Having no obvious sweetness.
Dried out	A wine that has lost its fruit as it has aged.
Dumb	No apparent smell.
Dusty	Sometimes used to describe tannic Bordeaux - literally the dusty smell of an attic.
Earthy	Not as unpleasant as it sounds - an "earthy" flavour can characterise certain fine Burgundy.
Eggy	Carelessly handled sulphur can produce an eggy smell.
Elegant	Restrained, classy.
Eucalyptus	A flavour and smell often found in Cabernet Sauvignon.
Extract	The concentration of the grapes flavours in the wine.
Farmyard	A characteristic of Burgundian Pinot Noir.
Fat	Used to describe mouth filling wines, especially Chardonnay and white wines from the Rhone and Alsace.
Finesse	Understated, classy.
Finish	How a wine's flavour ends in the mouth. Can be "long" or "short"
Flabby	Lacking balancing acidity.
Flat	Short of acidity and fruit.
Forward	A precocious wine showing its qualities earlier than expected.
Generous	Big, mouth-filling, round.
Gooseberry	The smell of Sauvignon Blanc.
Grapey	Its surprising how rare this flavour is : Muscat and Riesling are often grapey; so is good Beaujolais.
Grassy	Green smell of young wine, especially Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Franc.
Green pepper	Can be the sign of Cabernet Sauvignon.
Grip	Firm wine has "grip". Essential to some styles.
Herbaceous	Think of a cross between grass and flowers - "planty".
Hollow	Lacking depth and roundness.
Hot	Used to describe over-chaptalised, over-alcoholic wines.
Jammy	A jammy fruit smell often signifies red wines from hot countries.
Lanolin	Some white wines have an oily softness reminiscent of lanolin.
Legs	The visible evidence of glycerine in a wine, these are the "tears" that run down the glass's side after swirling.
Lemon	Young whites may display a lemony freshness.
Length	The time the flavour stays in the mouth.
Malic acid	The component of wine converted by malolactic fermentation into softer lactic acid. Smell like green apples in young white wines.
Meaty	A wine to get your teeth into.
Mellow	Soft and mature.
Metallic	Taste/smell arising from the use of poor equipment.
Mint	Often found in cabernet sauvignon.
Mouldy	Taste/smell arising from rotten grapes, poor wine-making or a bad cork.
Mouth-puckering	Young, tannic or over acidic wine has this effect.
Nose	The smell of a wine.
Nutty	Especially of Chardonnay and sherry.
Oaky	In moderation, pleasant, like vanilla.
Old socks (clean)	A promising sign of young white Burgundy, particularly Chablis.
Oxidised	If a table wine looks and smells of sherry, it's oxidised - a diagnosis confirmed by its colour: brown for red wines, deep yellow for whites.
Palate	The flavour, and what you taste it with.
Pear drops	Smell which is usually the mark of a very young wine.
Pepper	Black, not green: the sign of the Grenache or Syrah in the Rhone.
Petrol	A desirable aroma of mature Riesling.
Quaffing, quaffable	Everyday wine, usually soft, fruity and undemanding.
Residual Sugar	The natural grape sugar left in a wine which has not been fermented into alcohol.
Ripe	Grapes were fully ripe when picked.
Robust	Solid, full-bodied.
Round	Smooth and harmonious.
Short	Wine with a short finish.
Structure	Wine with a good structure has, or will have, all its elements in harmony.
Sulphur	The antiseptic used to protect wine from bacteria.
Tannin	The mouth-puckering ingredient in red wine. Softens with age.
Tobacco	Like cigar-box, found in oak-aged reds.
Vanilla	Aroma of wines matured in American oak casks.
Vegetal	Earthy, wet-leaf smell; cabbagey, often of big Italian red wines.
Violets	Floral red Burgundies and Chiantis can smell intensely of violets.
Volatile	In an unstable - volatile - wine, acids evaporate from the surface giving vinegary, sometimes "greasy" smells.
Yeast	Like newly baked bread; smell found in Champagne, Muscadet sur lie and in some nuttily rich white wines.

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