Sound like a Wine Connoisseur by Using the Right Vocabulary

If you have ever been at a get together where the host is serving wine, you know exactly what I am talking about. They start talking about the bouquet or tannins that bring the wine to be and continue with explaining the density within the wine and how long it is fermented by which you are so confused by now you've merely walked away or pretended like you knew what in the world they were discussing. Don't worry, if this is you and you want to be the center of this conversation, or maybe you are fine dining a loved one and would like to impress them with a little intellectual talk. I imagine either way, its a lot better than talking about work.

These articles will be continuous as I myself love to talk about wine, and to enhance your knowledge on the subject I will be writing about the stories behind the vineyards to where these beautiful wines are made. Some are serious parts of the history in the United States and others are so funny you just want to try the because of the story behind it. If you are serious about this, you might want to consider getting a little pack of flash cards to practice with so you can remember. I know, I know, that sounds ridiculous, however the last fine dining establishment I worked at we were required to learn over 200 wines and the ingredients in each one, well not all 200 but the more knowledge the better feel the guests would have. I took it one step further and learned about the vineyards which was very entertaining and the servers, other bartenders, and even management were intrigued to know these stories to share with their tables as well. My point is I learned by using flash cards and although elementary sometimes you must go back to basics to get the best results. So lets rundown the back of a wine bottles inscriptions so you can understand what they are trying to tell you.

Aroma: I wanted to start off with the easiest one first. obviously this means the smell of the wine. The cool part about this is that "aroma" is used for newer and more modern day wines. If you are talking about an older vintage wine go with the word "bouquet". Both are usually describing the smell of the grape variety.

Palate: You will find some bottles read that the finish on the palate will be that of fresh strawberries or something of this nature. Not to get all Grey's Anatomy on you or anything but the palate is the roof of your mouth that separates the oral cavities from the nasal cavities, lol. That was a little much sorry, but I sounded kinda smart didn't I? Anyways its the roof of your mouth.

Body: If someone is talk about the body they are describing the effect the wine is having on thetaster'spalate. You will hear people either use the words, light body, medium body, or full body, but occasionally you might here someone say full, meaty, or weighty.

Dry: You will hear this mentioned many times for any wine that has either a little hint of sugar in it or none at all. Basically telling you that it is not sweet.

Finish: This is the fancy word for aftertaste. Example: The finish is of fresh strawberries.

Length: Occasionally you will find a steward of some sort that explains the length of the finish to his/her guests. This supports how long the actual aftertaste is on the back of the throat after swallowing the wine. The longer the better but if you find one that last at least fifty seconds that is considered an excellent if not extraordinary finish. I was going to save this term for another time but its enjoyable to go to various wine tastings and actually try to find a wine that will have of finish of this magnitude.

Tannin: Even after learning about wines many people find it difficult to remember what tannins are or mean. It's of the grape skins, stems, and seeds that give a wine its bitter component. This will balance out the wine in the end, but if there is an excess amount you will be able to tell and your cringing reaction will let others know as well.

This is just some basic definitions that will help you along the way. However, one thing I forgot to mention is that for anyone that is reading this and is new to wine all together when you go to your local store you will see wines that are Chardonnays, Rieslings, Zinfandels, Sauvignon Blanc, Merlots, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noirs, and many others. These represent the major grape that the wine is made. Most often you will here people say, "what is your favorite grape varietal" which of course makes them sound intellectual but they are really saying, "which one of these wines is your favorite".

My next article will talk about each grape varietal itself, or the most common ones anyways that people can enjoy and understand. I hope you enjoyed learning a little basic wine talk. Until next time......................