Written on 28/07/2020
Wine has its own language. It is discussed as much as it is tasted. From the erotic to the scientific, the wine lexicon is vast and sometimes mysterious. We've heard the terms a thousand times without ever admitting we don't understand them. Here's a selection of words you need to know and master to talk about "wine" without getting your feet stuck in the vine...
Wine has its own language. It is discussed as much as it is tasted. From the erotic to the scientific, the wine lexicon is vast and sometimes mysterious. We've heard the terms a thousand times without ever admitting we don't understand them. Here's a selection of words you need to know and master to talk about "wine" without getting your feet stuck in the vine...
GRADE
It's simple: it's a type of vine! It's a grape variety with its own identity, which can be combined with other varieties to give the glass you're drinking that special taste. Of course, this grape variety can be the sole component of a wine (this is often the case with Chardonnay, Syrah, Sauvignon and others...). Drinking these wines will help you choose the grape variety that suits you best. But don't neglect pairings, which depend on the winemaker's know-how and will open the door to extraordinary nectars!
DRESS
It's simple: it's the color! To ape the specialists, you bring the glass to the light and flatter its color. It's only fair: wine, like color, is a matter of taste! By dint of experience (or after a welcome oenology course), however, you'll come to understand that the color of a wine provides information about its ageing, its production...
NOSE
It's simple: it's the smell of the wine! Its aromas, its uniqueness... Smelling a wine is generally a two-step process.
The first nose identifies the general character of the vintage in question. Don't hesitate to smell it powerfully (without sniffing, thanks for the others). You'll soon know whether you'll like it...
Then the second nose. Before forcing your nostrils to the rim of the glass, give that little Chablis that didn't do anything to you a couple of laps around the merry-go-round. Suddenly stop. A few sniffs will give you all the information you've been missing until now. Experienced noses will be able to guess the grape variety and region of origin. Be modest and sensitive: what does it inspire in you? Fruity? Apricot, redcurrant, quince? Or floral, a little rose, violet in the background? Or animal, perhaps... a musky base, like a memory of truffles? A thousand options, a thousand borns, an infinity of possibilities. Only a person of your taste speaks well of wine.
Here are a few dog-eared pages in the never-ending wine dictionary. We could still have talked about dry wine, round wine, green wine, wine with or without sulphite... but that's only part of the story!
