Common Wine Terms - Desnobberized

Let's talk stereotypes.  It's easy for people in the wine industry and connoisseurs alike to be labeled as "wine snobs."  I have a small issue with this.  The term "snob" infers that we believe we are better than the poor, unfortunate souls not in our inner Wine Snob circle.  While some might relish in their wine prowess, I'd say most share a desire to spread their wealth of knowledge around like a well-oiled socialist economy.  You know who got their name right?  Geek Squad.  They're nothing but a Snob Squad in geek's clothing.  And I know one thing, wine is easier and definitely more fun to learn about than computers.  We're just a bunch of geeks waiting for the next wine fix.  Maybe I'm not proving my point so well.  If it wasn't obvious, I'm a self-proclaimed Wine Geek through and through, and I'm here to end the 'snob' stereotype once and for all!  With the thousands of wineries and wines around the world, it's no wonder people get intimidated.  There's a lot of information to consume, but it can be simplified - sans snobbery.  I'd say some of the label stems from the flowery words us Wine Geeks use when talking about wine.  We don't just throw these words around to sound interesting and intelligent (well, maybe it's a little of that), but the truth is they're important to know.  Through my blog, I hope to educate & possibly humor you.  In an effort for you to better understand wine, I would be remiss if I didn't take the time to decode some common wine terms so that we can all be snobs geeks together.

Here is the Private Pour List of Common Wine Terms - Desnobberized:

Acid, Acidity - ya know that feeling where your mouth waters while eating a Sour Patch Kid?  Same thing with a highly acidic wine.

Astringent - when your mouth gets sucked dry by a wine...that's astringency (see also, Tannins)

Aroma/bouquet - technically two different things, but basically the scent of a wine

Balance - In general, if you drink a wine and you say things like, "this wine is REALLY dry", "this wine is REALLY buttery", the wine is not in balance.  I think people often refer to a wine as "smooth" when they really mean it's in balance.  A well balanced wine is in such harmony that no one component outshines another.

Body - the feel or "weight" of the wine in your mouth.  Fun Fact: Wines from hotter climates tend to have more body than those from cooler climates.

Corked - In short, if your wine smells like wet cardboard, it has a contaminated cork.  It can't hurt you if you drink it, but you wouldn't want to.  On the conservative side, 1 in 30 bottles is infected with TCA (aka - cork taint), but as many as 1 in 7 are believed to be infected but below the human threshold for detection.  *this is why you smell/taste the wine when ordering a bottle at a restaurant.*

Decant - the process of pouring a bottle of wine into a carafe to separate the sediment from the wine.  (see also, sediment)

Fermentation - turning grape juice into wine.  More specifically, the process of converting sugar into alcohol in the presence of yeast.

Finish - some wines disappear immediately after being swallowed while others linger a while.  A pleasant, lengthy finish is a sign of a great wine.

New World - wines from North America, South America, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and Asia.  Most new world wines are labeled by grape variety (i.e. chardonnay, cabernet) rather than geographic region (i.e. Bordeaux, Champagne).

Nose - the term used to describe the aroma/bouquet of a wine.

Old World - wines from France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Morocco, Greece.  Most old world wines are named by their growing region (i.e. Bordeaux, Champagne), rather than their grape variety (chardonnay, cabernet).

Tannin - that dry mouth feeling you get when drinking a big bad cab(ernet), that's tannin.  It's a natural compound that comes from the skins, stems and pits of the grapes, and also from the wood barrels in which wine is aged.  (see also, astringent)

Terroir - a fancy french word for all the distinct elements that contribute to the characteristics of a particular region/vineyard.

Sediment - the coffee ground looking particles that form in wine as it ages.  Like actual coffee grounds, they are very bitter in taste and should be decanted off before drinking.  (see also, decant)

Varietal - a specific type of grape (i.e. chardonnay, malbec, cabernet sauvignon)

Vintage - the year the grapes are harvested.

See, that wasn't so bad.  Now get out there and use at least three of these terms in conversation today and let your geek flag fly!