Wine tasting descriptors

• Astringent - An overly tannic white wine.
• Acidic - A wine with a noticeable sense of acidity.
• Balanced - A wine that incorporates all its main components, tannins, acid, sweetness, and alcohol in a manner where no one single component stands out.
• Big - A wine with intense flavor, or high in alcohol.
• Body - The sense of alcohol in the wine and the sense of feeling in the mouth.
• Bouquet - The layers of smells and aromas perceived in a wine.
• Chewy - The sense of tannins that is not overwhelming.
• Closed - A wine that is not very aromatic.
• Complex - A wine that gives a perception of being multi-layered in terms of flavors and aromas.
• Concentrated - Intense flavors.
• Connected - A sense of the wine's ability to relay its place of origin or terroir
• Crisp - A pleasing sense of acidity in the wine.

• Dry - A wine that is lacking the perception of sweetness.
• Expressive - A wine with clearly projected aromas and flavors.
• Fat - A wine that is full in body and has a sense of viscosity.
• Finish - The sense and perception of the wine after swallowing.
• Firm A stronger sense of tannins.
• Flabby - A lacking sense of acidity.
• Fresh - A positive perception of acidity.
• Fruit - The perception of the grape characteristics and sense of body that is unique to the varietal.
• Green - Overly acidic wine. Typically used to describe a wine made from unripe fruit.
• Hard - Overly tannic wine.
• Heavy - A wine that is very alcoholic with too much sense of body.
• Hollow - A wine lacking the sense of fruit.
• Hot - Overly alcoholic wine.

• Lean - The sense of acidity in the wine that lacks a perception of fruit.
• Mature - A wine that has aged to its peak point of quality.
• Oaky - A wine with a noticeable perception of the effects of oak. This can include the sense of vanilla, sweet spices like nutmeg, a creamy body and a smoky or toasted flavor.
• Powerful - A wine with a high level of alcohol that is not excessively alcoholic.
• Rich - A sense of sweetness in the wine that is not excessively sweet.
• Round - A wine that has a good sense of body that is not overly tannic.
• Smooth - A wine with a pleasing texture. Typically refers to a wine with soft tannins.
• Soft - A wine that is not overly tannic.
• Supple - A wine that is not overly tannic.
• Sweet - A wine with a noticeable sense of sugar levels.
• Tannic - A wine with aggressive tannins.
• Tart - A wine with high levels of acidity.
• Toasty - A sense of the charred or smoky taste from an oaked wine.