WINE SPEAK EXPLAINED
Thurstqueen’s Guide to Wine Lingo:
Let’s set the scene. You’re at some über hip party somewhere in Silverlake where everybody has amazing tattoos and piercings.
All the dudes here wear glasses and have very interesting facial hair to boot. You may even spot a man bun in the wild.
You’re drinking wine out of Solo cups or mason jars - because it’s what you DO over there COME ON - and some dude approaches you and chats you up about the wine.
“Bruh, this wine is mousey as all f**k, right? I heard it’s from some sort of certified biodynamic producer located at the base of the Dolomites where they harvest each year according to the lunar calendar then vinify their wines in some sort of amphora buried deep in the ground. This shit freaking SLAPS, bro.”
UM… Excuse me?
If you don’t speak wine and have been in this situation, it can be very uncomfortable. Us folks in the wine biz have our own language and sometimes, no matter how well-intentioned we are, we can alienate people who are not as familiar with wine speak.
This is why I wanted to take a second to break down some common wine terms you may have heard of but were too afraid to ask what they really mean. Hopefully after this post, you’ll be able to feel confident enough to chat up anybody about wine - or at least impress your friends.
ACID: Acid is one of the five main elements of wine. This simply refers to the wine’s ability to make your mouth water, like when you’ve sucked on a lemon. Generally speaking, wines with higher acidity are often lighter. The other four components of wine are alcohol, sweetness, flavors, and tannin.
Not that kind of acid.
AMPHORA: A clay pot used to age wine. Amphorae were some of the oldest aging vessels for wine and though they fell out of favor for a while – like bootcut jeans - are now trending again. Winemakers like to age wines in amphorae because they preserve the freshness and purity of fruit.
APPELLATION: Wine appellations are legally determined and protected wine regions used to showcase the unique geographical characteristics that make wine special from that specific region. Different countries have different names for appellations. Italy for example calls their appellations DOCs and IGTs, Spain calls their appellations DOs, the USA calls theirs AVAs.
BIODYNAMIC WINEMAKING: A winemaking process that uses organic practices. Biodynamic wines will often avoid pesticides and treat all the components of the vineyard as a whole entity. Sometimes farming and harvesting is controlled by the lunar calendar at biodynamic properties. At some biodynamic wineries, they will have sheep and other animals grazing on the property because they help provide natural fertilizer. Some biodynamic properties grow nettles and such to create special teas to spray their vines and protect them from pests. A winery has to get a Biodynamic Certification to be able to call themselves “biodynamic.” Sometimes you will hear people say, “Certified Bio,” in the wild.
A lot of biodynamic wineries have sheep and cows on property. Some even have horses and buggies to plow the vineyards.
BODY: A wine’s weight on your mouth. If the wine is really heavy, we call the wine, “full-bodied.” If it is light, it is a lighter bodied wine.
BRETT or BRETTY: Both of these words are short for “Brettanomyces,” a type of yeast. If you like your sour beers, brett is a huge reason why those beers taste the way they do. Brett is considered by some winemakers to be their worst enemy, but as movements like the natural wine movement have grown in popularity, bretty wines are not considered as much of a bad thing anymore. If a wine has some brett, that usually means you’ll be getting some funky barnyard or animal aromas – which some people find really attractive.
BRIX: A measurement of the sugar content of the grapes, must and wine. Brix refer to the grape’s ripeness level at harvest. Winemakers need to know a grape’s brix level in order to know what the alcohol content of the wine is going to be after the fermentation process.
CHAPTALIZATION: A process where sugar is added to the unfermented grape must to increase alcohol. This is usually done during vintages where the harvest yields under-ripened grapes and that particular vintage may need a little bit of alcoholic “oomph.” Chaptalization is considered a bit of a “no-no” within the winemaking process. Chaptalization is outlawed in California, Argentina and South Africa
Chaptalization is kind of scandalous. If you ask some winemakers if they do this to their wines, you may be met with some weird looks.
CLOSED: When a wine is not expressing itself. Think of a wine like a person at a party. A closed wine is that person who stands awkwardly in the corner and isn’t really talking to anyone because they’re shy. People also describe closed wines as, “Tight.”
Adam Levine being a closed wine.
CORKED: A wine that has become contaminated because of cork taint, or the presence of a chemical called TCA (2,4,6 – trichloroanisole.) Corks tend to have natural fungi that live there and sometimes the fungi gets infected with TCA. Cork taint wine typically smells like soggy newspaper or rotten cardboard. The fruit isn’t able to express itself and the wine just tastes… Well… Boring. Wines that have screw caps will never be corked as will wines with glass closures.
DECANT: A process where the wine is poured into a vessel – usually a decanter but a water bong works just as well – to aerate the wine. When you decant a wine, you expose it to oxygen which gives it new life. You’re also getting rid of the sediment in the wine – which can be kind of gross if you drink it.
Can be used as a decanter. OBVIOUSLY CLEAN IT BEFORE.
Do not ask me how I know this. :)
DRY: If a wine has less than two grams of sugar per liter of fluid it is considered, “dry.” Dry wines don’t taste very sweet and there is very little, “residual sugar” in them.
FERMENTATION: The process of sugar in grapes being converted into wine. During fermentation, yeast eats the grape sugars and converts them into alcohol. For more information on how wine is made, check out this post.
FINED or FINING: A method used to help winemakers remove, “colloids,” molecules that make a wine look hazy and unattractive. Some things used to fine a wine are egg whites or milk casein. Yes, wines that have been fined with egg whites are not considered vegan.
MALOLACTIC FERMENTATION: The process where tart malic acid is converted into more buttery tasting lactic acid. Wines that have undergone malolactic fermentation – a lot of wine folk call this “ML,” or “Malo” will have a buttery, creamy taste to them.
Drinks Chardonnay ^
MOUSEY: A word used to describe a wine that has, “mouse taint,” something caused by compounds called tetrahydropyridines. A lot of these compounds are made by lactic acid bacteria and some strains of Brettanomyces. Mousey wines have aromas of mouse cage, popcorn, rice cakes, salami, or dirty socks. For a long time, “mousetaint,” was considered offensive – I mean, I’m not sure I’d be a fan of a wine that smelled like dirty socks. But since the natural wine movement has become more popular, some people are starting to warm to popcorn-smelling wines. Loads of Somms are starting to share how much they love mousey wine. Honestly? I can kind of dig it.
Get ready for the mouse movement.
NATTY: Slang for, “natural wine.” Not to be confused with “Natty Light.” A natty wine is a natural wine that is made with no intervention in the vineyard or the vat room. Natty wines use native yeasts and experience a spontaneous fermentation process without humans intervening.
OENOPHILE: A very fancy, snooty word for someone who likes wine. If a person describes themselves as such and uses the word, “Oenophile,” out loud… RUN. Like seriously, what the hell are you doing talking to me - GET OUTTA THERE! The same applies to someone who calls themselves a, “Connoisseur who only drinks Cab.”
OPEN: A wine that is fully expressing itself and all its aromas, living its best life.
Adam Levine as an open wine.
ORGANIC WINE: A wine that uses certified organic grapes.
RS or RESIDUAL SUGAR or RESIDUAL: Left over sugar that has not been converted into alchohol by the yeasts during the fermentation process. Wines with higher RS include Rieslings from the Mosel, Vouvray, and some rosé from Anjou in the Loire Valley.
SULFITES: Sulfites are used to stabilize the fermentation process in wine and prevent oxidization. Fermentation is a very volatile, fluid process and though yeast naturally produces sulfites during the fermentation process, some winemakers add more sulfur dioxide to help stabilize and preserve the wine.
TANNINS or TANNIC to describe the wine: Tannin is what dries your mouth out. Have you ever had a very strong cup of tea that has made your mouth feel dry after? That would be because of tannins. If you ever drink Cabernet Sauvignon or Bordeaux Blends and feel your mouth dry out after, that is because the wine has a lot of tannins.
TERROIR: A French word that is used to describe the soil, weather, and geography that affect the way a wine is made. Typically referred to as a “sense of place,” in wine. If you want to experience terroir try having a Cabernet from Napa and a Cabernet from Chile and spot the differences as each one will be affected by that wine region’s unique climate.
VARIETAL or VARIETY: A species of grape like Chardonnay, Albariño, Barbera, and Merlot. All wine grapes are considered vitis vinifera, but the individual varietals are different species of these grapes. If someone says they are trying a, “single varietal wine,” that means they are drinking wine from one varietal, like a German Riesling.
I hope this was helpful! And now, spill the tea on (excuse my pun) the—
PICK OF THE WEEK: KLOOF STREET SWARTLAND ROUGE $19.00 @ BARBRIX
Fans of blends from the Rhône Valley or the Languedoc will be enthralled with this stunner of a wine. I used to broker the Kloof Street Swartland Rouge and it was my go-to casual Friday taco wine. I particularly loved this spicy, fruity, delicate wine in the fall when the weather was cooling down.
The Swartland Rouge is an extraordinary value, and really shows just how amazing South Africa is as a wine producing region. Underneath all that red fruit and spice, this wine is soft, generous, and extremely seductive.
You can find this beauty of a wine at Barbrix for under $20.000 and I highly recommend you snag a bottle! Pairs perfectly with any street tacos, trust me.