When I first started drinking wine, I had a hard time describing it, and in some cases still do. I am pretty sure way back then I did not do a good job. When one of my wine friends asked if I could taste the red raspberries in the wine, I am pretty sure the answer was “heck no.” Twenty-five years later I am much better at it — although I still have plenty of room to advance myself…
Wine Lingo

Often at wine events, or in general conversation, I am asked to explain the characteristics of wines. I find this a little maddening at times, as there are so many terms to choose from and I will be the first to admit I do not know a third of them…
acidity, aroma, balance, body, finish, midpalate, nose, robust, tannins, wine lingo, wine termsTannins and Minerality

In past blogs I have written on wine terms, tastes and related topics. As an example: several weeks ago, I posted an article on the terms oaky and buttery (read that blog here). When we hear some people describe how wine tastes, either verbally or in writing, we hear or see lots of terms such […]
chalky, maceration, minerality, mouth feel, tannins, wine taste, wine termsWine Tasting Terms: Oaky & Buttery

In today’s blog I want to look into several tasting terms you’ll either hear someone describe when tasting wine or you’ll read about in tasting notes. The two terms are “Oaky” and “Buttery.” Let’s look at the term Oaky first…
Buttery, Chardonnay, Oaky, wine termsWhen do you become an Oenophile?

In my blog article from February 11, 2016, I wrote a lengthy piece called “Are you a wine snob?” I described the various titles and categories associated with “wine folks.” The four different categories were: Wine Snob, Wine Lover, Wine Aficionado and Wine Geek. At that time I categorized myself as a “Wine Aficionado” with a couple of “wine snob” faults…
Oenophile, wine aficionado, wine snob, wine terms