How to Sound Like a Wine Expert

The idea of talking about wine can be intimidating. Being able to talk about wine makes you sound high-class and well-educated, but if you get it wrong it’s quite the social faux-pas. There are some basic terms you can learn about to make you sound like you know more than you do. The following is how to sound like a wine expert.

“Dry” Wines

The word “dry” is one of the most misunderstood word when it comes to describing wine. People take the word literally and use it for a wine that is somehow, quite literally, a little dry. This isn’t the case with wine as, by definition, a “dry wine” is a wine that doesn’t have any sugar in it. One of the reasons it gets so misused is because people smell or taste fruit in their wine and feel that it must be sweet, even if it’s actually quite dry. If you were after a fruity but dry wine, it would be good to ask for something that is “highly aromatic”. This means a wine with a lot of character or a floral nature. Don’t be surprised the next time you ask for a dry wine and get something that has no sweetness to it.

Tannin

Tannin is a word that primarily comes up when speaking about red wines. It’s a word used by sommeliers to judge how bland a wine is, or whether it fits well with food or not. When you ask for a wine that has a lot of tannin to it, you’re asking for a wine that impacts the palate. These wines are rich and come with an astringency that goes with the alcohol content or fruit character of the wine.

Rustic

A rustic wine is one that has been made using old-fashioned wines. It can also refer to wines that taste like wines from a bygone era. A rustic taste is a good thing in a wine that needs to be aged to perfection. Rustic can also be a negative thing for wines, in particular young and earthy wines. These wines need to feel fresh and fruity, not like they were made decades ago.

Rich

A rich wine is one with a generous, full, and pleasant flavor. Rich wines tend to be sweet with a round nature. Even though sweet wines tend to be described as rich, it is possible for a dry wine to be rich. Dry wines are afforded their richness by high levels of glycerine and alcohol, or through their complex flavors. Especially sweet wines can also be considered rich if their sweetness is backed up by a fruity flavor.

Volatile

If you taste a wine and can tell there is a high amount of acidity – it gives wine a sour and vinegary taste – then the wine would be described as volatile. Really low levels of acidity are undetectable and not a bad thing, but the more acidic the wine is the more of a fault it is. High levels of acidity in wine leads to a defective wine. Volatility is something that could never be considered a good thing for wine.

If you’re interested in learning more about wine and all the different wine-related terms, then you should consider getting a Somm certification and becoming a fully qualified sommelier (wine expert). You’ll learn everything there is to know about wine and prepare yourself to enter the world of wine tasting. There’s no need to worry about making a social faux-pas or sounding like you know nothing about wine when you’ve got a diploma that says you know all about wine after all.