Wine 101

Acidity: Proportion of Tartaric acid in wine. How sour wine is.

Alcohol level: Proportion of alcohol...expressed as percentage of total volume.White wine: 9%<14%.Red wine: 11%<14%

Aroma: Smell. Similar words: bouquet, fragrance, scent...All mean the same thing.

Balance: Relationship between residual sugars, alcohol, acid and tanin...When none of the above are obstrusively on the palate, wine said to be "balanced"...Good.

Blended: To mix wines of different vineyards or varieties of grapes together...Also, wine from different years...usually used to "up" the standard of mediocre wines.

Body: Wine's weight in your mouth...light, medium, full...simple as that.

chateau:French for estate where the wine was produced...eg chateau La Tour...don't be scared though it sounds cheem. (Italian-Castello)

Complex: Many different kinds of flavours and aromas...this is one of the bluffer's favourite words...to blow his cover, ask him what's the difference between complex and complicated...then watch as he stutters for a reply...works all the time.

Crisp: Sharp feeling...associated with high acidity...wines like Pouilly Fume are crisp.

Decant: to transfer wine from bottle to decanter.

dry: not sweet lah!

Finish: Impression wine leaves after you swallow or spit it out.be frank when asked to describe this...don't try to bluff...cos experts know when you are bluffing.Helpful words: strong, heavy, weak, sultry.

Fortified: Wines with added alcohol...eg madeira or port...strong...so people usually drink in small quantity.

Fruity: Another favourite word of the bluffer! To counter him, ask,"what kind of fruit? Dried?cooked?fresh?" As it is a broad descriptor...to nail the bluffer, ask specifically what kind of fruit...

Intense: Bluffers love to use this word...don't know why...it simply means how strong a particular flavour (eg Apricots) are in a wine.

New World: Any place outside Europe.(opp. Old World...in Europe)

Oaky: A wine that has flavours derived from oak...close your eyes...do you taste toast?Vanilla?Bar kwa?if something in the wine reminds you of any of the above, it may be described as oaky.

Reserve: Superior...presumably finer than usual...(Spain-Reserva,Italy-Riserva)

Skin Contact: Process during which juice rest in contact with grape skin...because the two elements are in contact, the wine absorbs the red colour and tannin in the skin-and becomes a more aromatic.

Sweetness: Impression of sugar, not actual sweetness...caused by residual sugar.

tannin: substance that leaves a wine clinging to your teeth and the sides of your mouth...feels exactly like teh-O...high in tannin=astringent.

tart: wine tastes of under-ripe fruit...too sour

Varietal: Wine named after a type of grape (eg Cabernet Sauvignon)

Vintage: Year in which wine's grapes were harvested...Good vintage-weather, soil and human factors combine to produce good grapes.Bad vintage-everything sucks and the grapes produced by the vineyard are lousy.

Weight: Impression of wine in your mouth...like body...

So don't let wine-related terms turn you off...actually, wine is not a complex subject...but wine is a complex food...there is so much culture and history in every sip...The experience of wine tasting is truly unbeatable...it saddens me that many people are put off because a minority of wine drinkers create the impression that wine is exclusively for the rich or well-to-do...

Happy wine tasting.