Sommelier Vocabulary in English — 20 Essential Terms

Terroir is a French word that has no precise English equivalent. It refers to the complete natural and cultural environment in which a grape grows — the soil type and structure, the climate (rainfall, temperature, sunshine hours), the topography (altitude and slope), the aspect (direction the vineyard faces), and even the microorganisms in the soil. Winemakers who believe strongly in terroir argue that a wine's most interesting and distinctive characteristics come from the land itself rather than from what the winemaker adds in the cellar. The concept is central to European wine law, which protects geographical designations (appellations) precisely because different places produce recognisably different wines from the same grape variety. Burgundy is often cited as the clearest example: vineyards only metres apart can produce wines that taste completely different.

Tannins are polyphenolic compounds found primarily in grape skins, seeds, and stems, and also in the wood of oak barrels used for ageing. They are the compounds responsible for the dry, gripping, slightly astringent sensation you feel on your gums and the inside of your cheeks when you drink red wine. This happens because tannins bind to proteins in saliva, reducing lubrication and causing the drying feeling. Young red wines — especially those made from thick-skinned grapes like Nebbiolo, Cabernet Sauvignon, or Syrah — tend to have high tannins that may feel harsh. With time in bottle, tannins polymerise (link together into larger molecules) and soften, which is why old red wines feel smoother. Tannins also act as a natural preservative, helping wines age.

A vintage wine displays a year on its label indicating when the grapes were harvested. Because growing conditions differ year to year — in temperature, rainfall, sunshine, and disease pressure — the vintage year significantly affects a wine's character and quality. Collectors and investors pay close attention to vintages in regions like Bordeaux and Burgundy, where some years produce exceptional wines and others produce ordinary ones. A non-vintage wine (often marked NV) is a blend of wines from multiple years, assembled to create a consistent house style regardless of annual variation. Non-vintage Champagne is the most famous example: producers blend reserve wines from previous years with the current harvest to maintain their signature flavour profile.

An appellation is a geographically defined area whose name a wine is legally entitled to use on its label, provided the wine meets the regulatory requirements for that area. In France, the Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée (AOC) system defines not only where the grapes must be grown but which grape varieties are permitted, maximum yields, minimum alcohol levels, and sometimes ageing requirements. A wine labelled “Chablis” must come from the Chablis appellation in Burgundy and must be made from Chardonnay. A varietal label, common in New World wine countries such as Australia, the USA, and Chile, names the wine after the grape variety rather than the place. “Australian Shiraz” tells you the grape but gives you very little information about where or how it was grown.

Decanting serves two main purposes. The first is to separate the wine from any sediment that has formed in the bottle during long ageing — particularly in old red wines where pigment and tannins precipitate out of the liquid over time. Pouring carefully and slowly into a decanter, often over a candle or light source to see when the sediment approaches the neck, keeps the clear wine in the decanter and the sediment in the bottle. The second purpose is aeration: exposing wine to oxygen allows volatile compounds to evaporate, softens tannins, and opens up aromas. Young, tannic red wines especially benefit from an hour or two of aeration. Delicate old wines, however, may not benefit from long decanting as they can fade quickly once opened.

In wine tasting, the nose refers to everything you perceive through smell before the wine enters your mouth: the totality of aromas released by swirling the glass. Experienced tasters can identify primary aromas (from the grapes themselves, such as fruit, floral, and herbal notes), secondary aromas (from fermentation, such as yeast and bread), and tertiary aromas or “bouquet” (from ageing, such as leather, earth, tobacco, and dried fruit). The palate refers to what you taste and feel in the mouth once you take a sip: the flavours perceived on the tongue, along with sensations such as acidity, tannin, body, sweetness, and the finish. A comprehensive tasting note describes both the nose and the palate separately.

Malolactic fermentation (MLF or malo) is a secondary microbial process in which lactic acid bacteria convert the sharp-tasting malic acid naturally present in wine into softer lactic acid. Malic acid tastes tart and green-apple-like; lactic acid is softer and reminiscent of milk or cream. The process also reduces the wine's overall acidity. Not all wines undergo malo. Full-bodied white wines such as Chardonnay typically benefit from it, gaining a richer, rounder, more buttery character. Many aromatic white wines such as Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, and Pinot Grigio are deliberately protected from malo to preserve their fresh, lively acidity. Most red wines undergo malo as a matter of course to soften their acidity and improve stability.

A blind tasting is an evaluation of wine conducted without seeing the label, so the taster cannot be influenced by knowledge of the producer, region, vintage, or price. All assessment must be based solely on what the taster can perceive with their senses. Sommeliers use blind tasting as a training and certification tool: the Master Sommelier examination includes a demanding blind tasting section in which candidates must identify wines by grape variety, region, and approximate vintage from sight, smell, and taste alone. Blind tastings also reveal interesting biases — in famous historical experiments, even expert tasters have ranked inexpensive wines above prestigious and expensive ones when labels were hidden.

Both acidity and tannin provide structure and texture in wine, but they feel very different in the mouth. Acidity is perceived as tartness or sharpness, primarily on the sides of the tongue, and produces a mouthwatering, salivating sensation. It comes from the natural fruit acids in grapes (tartaric, malic, and lactic acid). Tannin creates a drying, gripping, astringent sensation on the gums and inner cheeks because it binds to proteins in saliva. Tannin is found almost exclusively in red wines and some orange wines, while acidity is present in all wines, both white and red. High acidity makes a wine feel fresh and food-friendly; high tannin makes a wine feel firm and structured, and requires ageing or food to integrate fully.

The most effective approach is to taste wine and read tasting notes at the same time. Begin by reading wine descriptions in English on a retailer's website or in a wine guide such as the Wine Spectator, Decanter, or Jancis Robinson's Oxford Companion to Wine. As you taste, try to match what you read to what you experience in the glass. Notice when a wine makes your mouth water (acidity) or dries your gums (tannin), and try to identify the aromas the tasting note describes. Attending a structured wine course in English — such as a WSET qualification — will provide systematic vocabulary development alongside practical tasting experience. Reinforce the 20 key words on this page with Flash Cards and Matching Pairs on LexFizz.