'Finish', 'nose', 'full-bodied' – words used to describe wine can be confusing if you're not a wine buff, so we've created this easy guide to wine jargon so you'll be able to talk wine with the best of them.
Wine-tasting terms
Finish
The aftertaste of a wine after swallowing. This can be quite short or lingering, referred to as the 'length'.
Nose
The aroma or fragrance of a wine. Smelling a wine can tell you a lot about what it will taste like.
Palate
The taste and sensations created by wine in the mouth.
Wine flavour descriptions
Apricots
Fruity flavours often found in Chardonnay from ripe tropical areas such as Australia and Chile, and in sweet dessert wines.
Aromatic
Heady and scented, often floral and perfumed. Often used to describe Pinot Grigios from Italy.
Blackcurrant
Ripe and dense fruit, a hallmark of Cabernet Sauvignon from Bordeaux and Chile.
Brambly
Packed with ripe hedgerow berries, as in Cabernet Sauvignon from the south of France.
Buttery
A rich creaminess often found in New World Chardonnay.
Cherry
The definable fruit edge on a Gamay wine from Beaujolais, or in the young Italian reds like Valpolicella.
Creamy
A subtle sensation of creaminess – often found in Champagne and Chardonnays from the New World.
Gooseberry
The strong notes of fresh ripe gooseberries, mainly found in Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand and Chile.
Grassy
Notes of freshly cut grass and summer, mainly found in Sauvignon Blancs from the Loire Valley in France.
Herbaceous
Herby notes can often be detected in reds or whites. Sauvignon Blanc has basil notes, Cabernet Sauvignon has mint, and Côtes du Rhône has notes of bay leaf.
Honey
The aroma of acacia found in sweet white wines.
Lemon
Juicy citrus notes found in youthful white wines with fresh acidity.
Nutty
Dried nut aromas found in some delicate Italian whites such as Soave and Frascati.
Petrol
This aroma can certainly be detected on a mature Riesling from Germany.
Raspberries
Scents and taste of the crushed fresh fruit, as in Pinot Noir, for example.
Spice
A whole range from black pepper and green peppercorns to cinnamon and nutmeg. Mainly found in big bold red wines from the Syrah and Grenache grapes.
Toasty
Found in good Champagnes and sparkling wines.
Vanilla
The spicy fragrance that comes from ageing in oak, for example, in Riojas from Spain, where they tend to use American oak which has a particularly vanilla character.
Zesty
Grapefruit, lime or lemon zest can be found in young white wines.
Wine style descriptions
Dry, medium or sweet
Used to describe the degree of sweetness of a wine. This ranges from bone dry, almost flinty or steely, to lusciously and voluptuously honeyed.
Elegant
A wine with classy stylishness, normally applied to whites.
Firm
A red wine with tannin, with a sturdy, intense, strong flavour.
Full-bodied
A red wine with a lot to say for itself, packed with rich flavours and usually relatively high in alcohol.
Mellow
Easy-to-drink and rounded flavours which meld together.
Smooth
A term which applies to both reds and whites, where there is excellent balance of flavours and acidity.
Velvety
A term applied to a really smooth red, with soft tannins and layers of flavour.