Wine Terms E - M

Earthy

A wine tasting term. It means just what it sounds like, a slight taste of soil. The French use a term "gout de terroir" that is often used to mean the same thing; although it can also mean that the wine has typical tastes for the region.

Edna Valley

An American Viticultural Area south of San Luis Obispo in California (an area broadly referred to as the Central Coast). One of the few transverse valleys in the US (meaning it points to the sea).

Enology - also Oenology

The science of wine production. Enophile - also Oenophile A wine lover.

Estate Bottled - Estate Bottling

Wine that was bottled by the vineyard owner. Many wines are still bottled and produced from grapes that are purchased on the open market, often for the lowest price.

Extra Dry

A sparkling wine that is slightly sweet. This term often leads to confusion since Dry means without sweetness, but Extra Dry for some reason means slightly sweet.

Faded

A wine tasting term for a wine that has lost all or much of its flavor and aromas over time.

Fat

In the US this term often infers that the wine is lacking in acidity. In other parts of the world the term fat is used to indicate a full, well balanced wine, and is a compliment.

Fermentation

The process that turns grapes into wine. Specifically the metabolization of the sugars by the yeast, into alcohol, carbon dioxide and heat.

Finish

The final flavors you taste in the wine. often confused with "aftertaste." I distinguish the finish as being the taste you notice just as you swallow or spit a wine, as opposed to the aftertaste which are those flavors you notice after you swallow the wine, and which linger in your mouth for some time.

Fresh

Most wine is intended to be enjoyed young. When this young wine has ample acidity in the balance, it is often referred to as fresh.

Fruit

Wine basically has three components. Fruit, acidity and tannin. All three must be in balance to make a decent wine. The fruit encompasses all the tastes and smells that that are not sour (acid) or bitter (tannin).

Fruity

Some young wines have an aroma that can only be described as fruity. Beaujolais is one of the best known examples.

Garnacha (gahr-nah'-shah)

The Spanish name for the grape referred to in France as Grenache. Very popular in Spain, it is the grape responsible for Sapin's best known red wine, Rioja.

Green

A wine tasting term for wines made from under ripe grapes. The wine will have the smell of vegetation and be highly acidic.

Grenache (greh-nah'sh)

A red wine grape of the Rhone Valley of France, and elsewhere (especially Spain). In the southern Rhone Grenache replaces Syrah as the most important grape (Syrah being more important in the north).

Hard

In wine tasting terms this relates to a wine that is tannic, particularly one that is so tannic that it is out of balance. This is a function of youth for some wines, and these wines will "soften" with age.

Harsh

A hard wine with excessive acidity will be "harsh". The acid accentuates the tannins and increases the drying sensation known as astringency.

Heavy

Used in wine tasting to imply that the wine is out of balance towards the tannins. This type of wine is more than just "hard" it is tannic to a fault, and may not soften enough with age to be enjoyable.

Herbaceous

A green, vegetable smell in wine. For example, Sauvignon Blanc is grassy when subtle, herbaceous when overpowering. It is not considered a positive attribute when it is more than subtle.

Hot

The burning sensation of excessive or out of balance alcohol in wine. Usually found in the nose, rather than the taste.

Ice Wine

This is an intense desert wine that has been made from very ripe grapes (without Botrytis) that were frozen on the vine. The frozen water is removed during pressing, leaving a very sweet must. In German it is known as "eiswein."

Lambrusco

A lightly sparkling wine, made from the grape of the same name. It is from the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. Produced both in a dry or slightly sweet style, it is best know in the US as the brand Riunite (which is one of the sweetest examples made).

Late Bottled Vintage Port

A style of Port created originally for restaurants. Since Vintage Port throws a great deal of sediment, it can be difficult for a restaurant to deal with. The solution was to age the Vintage Port first in barrels, between four to six years.

Late Harvest

By harvesting later, the grapes are riper, and sweeter. This is appropriate for making sweet, dessert style wines. Some Late Harvest wines are almost dry, opting for increased alcohol and intensity rather than sweetness, as in the Alsatian "vendange tardive" (French for late harvest).

Light

The opposite of heavy. A wine without much tannin in the balance. The wine may still be complex, and full of flavor. Such wines are often enjoyable young, but rarely age.

Liqueur

A sweet, flavored, alcohol based drink. Used in the world of wine to mean something completely different. In the champagne method of making sparking wines "liqueur de tirage" is the mix of sugar solution and yeast added to the wine, to create the secondary fermentation, which will in turn produce bubbles.

Madeira

A Portugese island in the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Morocco. The fortified wines from this region are unique in that they are purposefully baked and oxidized, prior to bottling. In times gone by this was accomplished by shipping the wines on a sailing vessel, the longer the journey the better, although today modern techniques favor specially designed heating tanks. Madeira is almost certainly the longest lived of all wines.

Magnum

A large wine bottle, which holds the same as two normal bottles. The larger the bottle, the slower the wine ages. A magnum is the perfect size for aging great red wines, as it ages the wine slowly, but not too slowly.

Marsala

Often relegated to the kitchen, this is the best known fortified wine of Sicily, Italy. While still popular as a cooking ingredient, it has not kept up with current taste for fortified wines.

Merlot

One of the best known red wine grapes. Often blended with Cabernet Sauvignon. In the Haut-Medoc region of Bordeaux, France, it is second to Cabernet Sauvignon; but, across the river in Saint-Emilion and Pomerol it is the primary grape. It ages somewhat more quickly than Cabernet Sauvignon, because it is lighter in tannins.

The above Information was written by Stephen Reiss

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