vogue + vino: { Wine Wednesday } Proper terminology

What better way to truly learn about the art of wine tasting than by studying the basic terminology.  Here is our very own vogueandvino wine dictionary:

1. Acidity - The tart taste in wines; too much can make the wine taste sour. 
2. Aroma - The smell of a young wine. Aroma is the smell that comes from the grapes, while bouquet (below) is the smell that comes from finished wine. 
3. Balance - A wine is classified as balanced when nothing else overwhelms the wine; the overall impression is pleasing. 
4. Blush Wine -A term that is sometimes used to indicate a wine made in a white wine style from red wine grapes. "Blush" is actually a registered trademark. They are also called "Rose" wines. 
5. Body - The overall mouth feel/weight of a wine.
6. Bordeaux - One of the largest cities in France, and a generic term for the sea of wine that is made around the region. With over 215,000 acres planted to vineyards, and an average 35 million cases produced annually, Bordeaux is one of the leading wine regions in the world in quality and quantity. The Principal grapes are Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot for reds and Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon for whites.
7. Bouquet - A term used to indicate how a wine smells after proper bottle ageing. 
8. Burgundy - One of the most important wine regions in France. The red grape is Pinot Noir and the white grape is chiefly Chardonnay.
9. Champagne - This region in France is famous for its sparkling wines, and the method to make them, "methode champenoise." 
10. Chardonnay - One of the most popular and important white grapes in the world. Located within the Burgundy region of France, when first aged in oak, Chardonnay is one of the few white wines that improve with bottle aging.
11. Cloying - A wine that is overly sweet, to the point of tasting off.  Proper wine will be a fine balance of the sweet flavors with the sour flavors of the acids.
12. Crisp - A wine tasting term used to imply that a white wine has a refreshing acid balance. 
13. Decant - To transfer wine from a bottle into a crystal or glass container (a Decanter). This is primarily done with older red wines and Port which have developed sediment. The careful transfer of the wine into a fresh container allows the sediment to be left in the original bottle resulting in clearer wine.
14. Earthy - A wine tasting term referring to a slight taste of soil found in the wine.
15. Enology - The science of wine production.
16. Enophile - A wine lover.
17. 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.
18. 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). 
19. Legs - Refers to the streams that are seen on the side of the glass after swirling, which is function of the alcohol and has no bearing on the quality of wine. 
20. Malbec - One of the red wine grapes of Bordeaux, France. Argentina is the new champion of Malbec, where it is one of the most important grapes planted.
21. Merlot - One of the best known red wine grapes. Often blended with Cabernet Sauvignon. It ages quicker than Cabernet Sauvignon, because it is lighter in tannins.
22. New World wines - These are wines produced outside the traditional wine regions of Europe and the Middle East; but from countries like Argentina, Australia, Canada, Chile, New Zealand, South Africa and the US.  
23. Nutty - A wine tasting term for a wine that exhibits flavors reminiscent of nuts, especially hazelnut.  
24. Old World wines - Refers primarily to wine made in Europe and the Mediterranean region.  
25. Pinot Noir - One of the most important red wine grapes in the World. Mainly from Burgundy, France and throughout the New World, some of the best in California are from the Santa Barbara region.  Pinot Noir tends to be high in acid, and low in tannin, which makes it easier to enjoy in its youth, and one of the best wines to enjoy with food. Pinot Noir is a very hard grape to grow and a hard wine to make. 
26. Riesling  - One of the greatest white wine grapes, found originally in Germany, and still the most important quality grape there, it has now made its way around the world. Riesling makes wines that are fruity, but well balanced with acidity. This makes for long lived white wines, and some of the best sweet wines in the world.
27. Shiraz - The Australian name for the grape Syrah. Most of the vines planted in Australia (where Shiraz is one of the most planted red wine grapes) can trace their ancestry back to France, via South Africa. It's a long story how the wine left from France and ended up in Australia {google it if interested} but in it's own way Shiraz may be a distinct clone of the Syrah grape, yet entitled to its own name.
28. Tannin - These are the tastes responsible for the bitter tastes found in wines. The butter tastes are primarily found in the skin and seeds of the grapes, and since white wines have little to no contact to those parts of the grape, the have little tannin. Tannin is required for aging red wine. 
29. Zymurgy - The science and study of fermentation.

What are some other wine terms you use?