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Wine Stories

When you get in deep with a particular hobby, you're bound to learn a lingo to use when you're around other people who are into the same hobby.  As far as wine is concerned, there is a very distinct lingo among wine aficionados.  If you don't have a sense of the wine lingo, you're going to feel really lost when you’re around other people who are obsessed with the stuff.

For instance, when you drink something and it leaves a taste in your mouth, you call it an aftertaste.  In wine circles, there are two terms to describe what you used to define using one: aftertaste and finish.  The aftertaste is still the taste that remains when swallowing, but the finish is defined as the residual flavors and aroma of a wine on the palate after swallowing.  You might not think there's much of a difference there, but there’s enough of a difference to warrant the existence of two terms.

A number of different terms are used to define flavor as well.  Acidity refers to the natural acids in wine.  If you're drinking a young red wine, you have to go through the aeration process, which involves swirling the wine around in a glass to soften the tanins, smooth out the wine, and allow the flavors to open up.  If your wine is harsh tasting, you might refer to it as having an aggressive or alcohol taste.  The alcohol taste comes when a wine tastes hot or peppery because the large level of alcohol overwhelms the fruit and balance.

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