Wine tasting may be subjective, but there are some commonly used terms that seem a little out of place in everyday conversation. Here are our top five weird wine terms to get you up to speed and speaking like a sommelier:
Flabby:
No, they aren’t commenting on the arm holding the glass, but rather the lack of acidity and structure in a wine. Other ways to describe a ‘flabby’ wine are loose, soft, flat or lacking balance.
Hot:
This in no way refers to the temperature of the wine, but rather the level of alcohol. Wines that have a high percentage of alcohol are considered ‘hot’ because of the sensation that the alcohol leaves behind.
Minerality:
Imagine the smell of wet slate or a sidewalk after the rain, then imagine those characteristics translated into a flavor. We don’t recommend you licking the pavement, so take our word that the right amount of minerality is actually desirable and one of the hallmarks of impeccable Sauvignon Blanc.
Racy:
On the more scandalous side of wine terms, racy is the opposite of flabby. Wines with this descriptor are higher in acidity and offer bright, lively flavors.
Tight:
We’re not talking about how hard it is to get the cork out of the bottle, but rather a wine that isn’t quite ready to drink yet. A tight wine usually has very high tannins, which makes it hard to pick out any fruit flavors or aromas. While you can’t hold on to the opened bottle to let it age, it might be worth it to save another bottle to open again in a year or two.