A Wine Glossary: A list of words found at the end of a book that the author uses constantly, often just to impress readers. The author might not remember the meaning of these words themselves...so he puts them at the end where he can refer to them all the time.
Let's take a look at some of the commonly dropped wine terms in polite society, in random order:
Tannin: The bitter sensation mostly associated with red wine. Different grapes produce wines with different amount of tannins - Cabernet/Shiraz being the most to Gamay being the least. They seem harsh at first sip but, petit-à-petit, grow on you. Tannins leave a furry/velvety coat on the inside of our mouth which gives the effect of dryness. They also give red wine their structure and ageworthiness, and their ability to pair well with rich, high-protein dishes. Tea too has tannins. Talk of tannins in white/rosé wines is perfect at a table where one is discussing other things imaginary, like WMDs in Iraq.
Fruity: An after-taste that feels similar to what one may experience after eating his way through a fruit basket. Wine has no fruit extracts added; hence, to find cherry flavours in a Burgundy Red simply means that the sensation left behind is similar to the one felt on eating (really expensive!) cherries.
Full-Bodied: The sign of the alpha-male...Drinks only "full-bodied" wines, even with his salad! The term implies a wine with a lot of complexity of aromas and flavours and a robust structure, which will help it to age gracefully. Yes, such a wine would have plenty of tannins when young.
Acidic: The same as sucking on a lemon. The intense rush felt on the sides of the tongue, which can be quite refreshing in adequate doses, and tongue-twisting in excess. A crisp acid white (Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio) can be an excellent before-dinner drink.
Terroir: Pronounced "Ter-wah", it's that never-translated French term which refers to the summation of all factors responsible for the quality of a certain wine - soil, location, rainfall, winemaking techniques and style...in short one word that can sincerely justify a hefty price tag.
Balance: A personal favourite. A wine is a tightrope walk attempt. As long as it delivers a pleasant sensation on the palate, it is making it over to the other side. But if the alcohol (burn in throat), acidity or tannins are disproportionately intense/weak and consequently disturb our enjoyment of the wine, the wine is said to have taken a tumble off the rope. The wine lacks balance and nothing (except a sound blow to the winemaker's head) can ever change that.
After-taste: Connoisseurs will never use this one. They prefer the "aromatic persistence of the wine" better. It is a measure of how long the flavours last on the palate and is measured in seconds, although inexplicably and snottily enough, the unit of measurement is called Caudalie.
Tears/Legs: As I always say, commenting on legs on a woman - good, but legs in wine have no tactile significance whatsoever. A non-professional will dwell on the legs if he has nothing qualitative to say about the wine otherwise. ‘Tsk-Tsk' those who tell you they can tell a dry from a sweet wine by the leg formation on the inside of the glass.
Retrolfaction: A nice one to drop around. Your mouth is connected to your olfactory bulb (smelling centre) and that is not a freak accident. It helps us ‘smell' foods even as we chew them ‘twixt our teeth. What we perceive here may or may not conform to what we were smelling earlier through our nostrils while nosing the wine; in other words more notes may become apparent. This is called Retrolfaction and most oak-aged wines show a nutty/buttery nuance at this stage.
That's all folks, or as the French would chirp - Voilà!
