Glossary

If you're anything like me, you've often come away a little perplexed at all of the different terms used in the areas of winemaking or wine appreciation. At WineXplorer, our goal is to "demystify" your experience with wine and help you enjoy a variety of different wines to there fullest. With that in mind, here are a few explanations of some of the more common terms in the "mystical" wine vocabulary. Check back with us for more definitions.

• Acid/Acidity: This term is usually used to describe a tart or sour taste when total acidity of the wine is high. Check the acid levels on the wine label. A "dry" wine usually has an acid level between 0.6% and 0.75% of the wines volume. A "sweet" wine should not be less than 0.70%.
  
  
• Age/Aged: White wines tend to turn from a greenish hue in young wines to a yellowish caste/tone to a gold/amber color as they age. Reds usually possess a purple tone when young, turning to a deep red - (Bordeaux wines) - or a brick red color - (Burgundy wines) - detectable at the surface edge in a wineglass as they age. Rose's should be pink with no tinge of yellow or orange.
  
  Cellar aged red wines at their peak will show a deep golden-orange color as it thins at the surface edge. If the wine color has deepened into a distinctly brown-orange tint at the edge it usually indicates a wine past its peak and declining.
  
  
• Big: The overall flavor of a wine, white or red, that is full and rich. "Big" red wines are often tannic. "Big" white wines are generally high in alcohol and glycerin.
  
  
• Breathe: As in "allowing the wine to breath." When wine is poured into another container, such as a wineglass, the mixture of air with the wine seems to release pent-up aromas which then become more pronounced.
  
  
• Dessert Wine: Can be a fortified wine such as Sherry where alcohol is added in the form of Brandy or neutral spirits. It is also used to refer to sweet or very sweet wines of any alcohol level customarily drunk with dessert or by themselves and, usually in small amounts.
  
  
• Dry: Wine made deliberately to possess little or no sweetness. Usually contains less than 0.5% residual sugar.
  
  
• Legs: Used when referring to the liquid rivulets that form on the inside of a wineglass after the wine is swirled in order to evaluate the alcohol concentration present. Usually the higher the alcohol content, the more impressive the rivulets appear because of reduced surface tension effects.
  
  
• Tannin: A naturally occurring substance in grapeskins, seeds and stems. Tannin is primarily responsible for the basic "bitter" component in wines. It acts as a natural preservative, helping the development and, in the right proportion, balance of the wine. It is considered a fault when present in excess.
  
  
• Do you have a question about wine that you'd like to have answered? Maybe a wine term that you don't quite understand? Send us your question via email and we'll do our best to answer it on the site within a few days of your submission. Thanks and enjoy a glass of wine today!