07 · Taste Beginner

Building a wine vocabulary

Wine tasting language is learned, not innate. The same compounds that make a Sauvignon Blanc smell like passion fruit and grass are in the bottle for anyone to detect — vocabulary is just a shared system for naming what you already perceive.

Aroma vocabulary by category

Fruit

Group Descriptors Found in

Citrus Lemon, lime, grapefruit, orange peel, zest High-acid whites: Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Chablis

Stone fruit Peach, apricot, nectarine, cherry, plum Warmer-climate whites and light reds: Viognier, Pinot Noir, Merlot

Tropical fruit Mango, pineapple, passion fruit, lychee Warm-climate Sauvignon Blanc (Marlborough), Gewurztraminer

Red berry Raspberry, strawberry, redcurrant, cranberry Pinot Noir, Grenache, Gamay, young Rioja

Dark berry Blackcurrant, blackberry, blueberry, dark plum Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Malbec, Mourvèdre

Earth and mineral

Group Descriptors Found in

Mineral Wet stone, flint, chalk, oyster shell, slate Chablis, Mosel Riesling, Pouilly-Fumé, Champagne

Earth Forest floor, mushroom, truffle, damp soil Aged Pinot Noir, Barolo, Ribera del Duero

Savouriness Olive, herbs, garrigue, dried tomato Southern Rhône, Provence, Spanish reds

Oak and winemaking

Group Descriptors Found in

Oak-derived Vanilla, cedar, toast, smoke, coconut, clove Oaked Chardonnay, Rioja Reserva, Napa Cabernet

Autolytic (lees ageing) Brioche, toast, biscuit, bread dough, yeast Champagne, aged Cava, Muscadet sur lie

Oxidative Walnut, hazelnut, dried fruit, toffee, coffee Aged Sherry, Tawny Port, Côtes du Jura

Age and development

Group Descriptors Found in

Tertiary (aged) Leather, tobacco, dried rose, potpourri, petrol (Riesling) Aged Bordeaux, aged Barolo, old Riesling

Reduction Struck match, rubber, burnt rubber Some natural wines; resolves with aeration

Floral Violet, rose, elderflower, orange blossom, jasmine Viognier, Gewurztraminer, young Barolo, Muscat

Structure vocabulary

Aroma and flavour vocabulary describes what a wine smells and tastes like. Equally important is the language of wine structure — the sensations of weight, texture and balance rather than flavour. The five structural components every taster should describe are: acidity (the freshness and sharpness), tannin (the drying grip in reds), alcohol (warmth and weight), body (overall weight on the palate) and sweetness (residual sugar). The tasting note in five lines guide shows how to combine structural and flavour vocabulary into a coherent note.

How to use this vocabulary in practice

The vocabulary above is most useful as a starting framework rather than a lookup table. When tasting, avoid forcing a specific descriptor — let the wine suggest a category first (citrus or stone fruit? berry or dark fruit?) then narrow down. Compare the wine to something you know: a lemon is high-acid, a plum is sweet and fleshy, fresh cut grass is herbaceous and sharp. Wine descriptors work because they reference experiences you already have. Developing wine vocabulary is fundamentally about building a personal aroma library through repeated association.

For a guided approach to applying this vocabulary at the tasting table, see the How to taste wine guide.

Sources: WSET (Systematic Approach to Tasting vocabulary); Wine Spectator (aroma wheel reference); Jancis Robinson MW — Oxford Companion to Wine; GuildSomm (professional sommelier study resources and vocabulary guides). Last updated: 2026-10-16. Corrections via the contact form.

Questions

About wine vocabulary.

Is there a "right" way to describe a wine?

No. Wine description is useful insofar as it communicates accurately and helps others understand what you experienced. Professional tasting note language — the format used in the WSET Systematic Approach to Tasting (SAT) — is designed to be objective and reproducible: it describes structure (acidity, tannin, alcohol, body) and flavour categories rather than highly personal metaphors. For personal notes, any language that you will understand later is valid. The tasting note in five lines guide offers a practical framework that avoids jargon while covering the key structural elements.

I can't smell "blackcurrant" in Cabernet Sauvignon. Am I doing something wrong?

Almost certainly not. Aroma perception varies significantly between individuals — some compounds are detectable by virtually everyone; others require specific genetic receptors. The "blackcurrant" character in Cabernet Sauvignon is driven by pyrazine compounds, which most people can detect, but sensitivity varies. More importantly, wine vocabulary requires calibration: you need to smell a real blackcurrant (or a blackcurrant-scented reference standard) while simultaneously smelling the wine to make the connection. Aroma kits (like Le Nez du Vin) exist for this purpose. With practice, the connection between compound and descriptor becomes automatic.

What does "mineral" mean in wine description?

"Mineral" is one of the most contested terms in wine vocabulary. It is used loosely to describe wines that evoke wet stone, flint, chalk, oyster shell or a certain electric freshness on the finish. The chemistry behind the sensation is debated: it may be driven by acidity, by sulphur compounds, by the absence of fruit-masking oak or residual sugar, or by actual mineral compounds from soil. What is consistent is its usage: minerality describes wines from cool-climate, high-acid styles — Chablis, Mosel Riesling, Champagne, Muscadet — that have a stony, precise quality rather than fruit generosity. Use it when you taste something that reminds you of wet stones rather than fruit.

Should I use wine jargon when talking to a sommelier or wine merchant?

Use whatever vocabulary is comfortable, and don't worry about imprecision. Wine professionals are very accustomed to translating non-technical descriptions into wine recommendations. "Something crisp and not too fruity" is as useful as "high-acid, low-residual-sugar white." "Tastes like a forest after rain" is a valid description of terroir-expressive Pinot Noir. If you are trying to communicate what you dislike, being specific about structure (too acidic, too tannic, too heavy, too sweet) is more useful than general impressions. The goal of wine vocabulary is communication, not performance.

How do you write a wine tasting note?

A good wine tasting note covers three things in order: appearance (colour, clarity, intensity), nose (aromas — fruit category, secondary/tertiary notes, oak), and palate (structural components: sweetness, acidity, tannin if red, alcohol, body; then flavour and finish length). Professional tasting notes in the WSET Systematic Approach to Tasting (SAT) format follow this sequence and conclude with an assessment of quality and development potential. For personal notes, a simplified five-line approach works well: one sentence each for appearance, primary aromas, structural assessment, dominant flavours, and conclusion. See the tasting note in five lines guide for a practical template.

What is the difference between primary, secondary and tertiary wine aromas?

This three-tier classification describes where wine aromas come from. Primary aromas come from the grape itself — fruit, floral and herbal notes (blackcurrant in Cabernet, elderflower in Sauvignon Blanc, rose in Gewurztraminer). These are most prominent in young wines. Secondary aromas come from fermentation — yeast-derived notes like bread dough, yeast, and the lactic, buttery character from malolactic fermentation. Tertiary aromas (also called "bouquet") develop during ageing — either in oak or in bottle. Oak ageing produces vanilla, cedar, toast, coconut, smoke. Bottle ageing produces leather, tobacco, dried fruit, dried flowers, petrol (Riesling), truffle and game. Identifying which tier a wine's aromas belong to helps estimate its age and winemaking style.

How can I improve my wine vocabulary quickly?

Three things accelerate development faster than any other. First: taste with intention — decide before you open a bottle which structural elements you are going to focus on (today: only acidity and body). Second: compare directly — taste two wines side by side to make differences perceptible that would be invisible in isolation. Third: associate — whenever you identify an aroma, find the real-world equivalent (pick up a lemon, smell dried mushrooms, scratch a cedar pencil) to build the reference memory. The How to taste wine guide provides a systematic structure for this process.