Wine Tastings 101
Beginner tips for wine tasting success without being intimidated. READ MORE
READ BLOGWine is more than just a drinking activity, it’s an entire culture.
This becomes even more apparent when looking at the multitude of wine phrases, wine terms, and wine expressions that have been expressed over the centuries.
Meaning:
As wine ages, it develops more and become more valuable. The same can be said about friendships.
Meaning:
A true wine enthusiast knows that to truly enjoy the wine, you have to take note of the aroma and flavors. “Truly” drinking wine is a talent that takes time and experience to perfect.
Meaning:
Any celebration is a good time for a glass of wine and catching up with friends.
Meaning:
Wine is one of the only things that entices all of your senses and provides such a unique experience solely from the simple act of drinking.
Meaning:
It does no one any good to stay in the bottle. Wine is meant to be drank and enjoyed.
Who doesn’t like to kick back, and relax with a nice, hearty wine? We all know that it tastes good, however, in order to keep up with wine connoisseurs, it is nice to know the basic drinking expressions:
The wine does not need to be decanted, it is ready to pour straight from the bottle.
No, I don’t mean literally, that would be a waste of good wine! Let it down means to let the wine age.
Let it decant, the fruit flavors will soften and it will open up.
When a newly opened bottle releases odd smells like sulfur, and other gaseous odors it is or needs to ‘blow off’. This can also mean that the wine seems high in alcohol.
Over-oaked Chardonnay
A specific wine region that suddenly comes on trend. For use as a sarcastic retort: As it was no good until (re)discovered by critics, and hipsters.
High in alcohol- so much so that you can smell the alcoholic fumes.
After a bottle of wine travels a distance (bottled in Europe, shipped to the U.S) or is bottled quickly and then reopened, it can go a period of time without giving off aroma or flavor.
A winemakers ‘tease’. A winemaker will make an affordable bottle, getting a customer hooked and hoping they’ll move up a tier level.
A winemaker that travels to other regions, making wine and doing consultations.
Tasting different bottles of the same variety of wine, vintage, and region.
Tasting bottles from different years, but made by the same winery.
Grapes picked from every continent where grapes are grown.
Extra ripe grapes are used, they are typically picked later in the season. This usually produces a sweeter wine.
A wine with a following. Enthusiasts flock to buy a certain wine, raising the prices and making it harder to find.
You don’t have to be super sophisticated or even educated, to appreciate the history, making of, and enjoyment of wine. Now that you know popular drinking phrases and expressions, you are ready to become part of the exclusive group of serious wine enthusiasts. Cheers!
Beginner tips for wine tasting success without being intimidated. READ MORE
READ BLOGRestaurant wine can be a tricky thing to navigate if it’s not something you do frequently. READ MORE
READ BLOGNational Wine Day is around the corner, and we’ve created a comprehensive wine-tinerary for you to go on a full wine tour through town. READ MORE
READ BLOG