Wine Terms Glossary

Apéritif – A French term that means “to open”. Usually a drink served before a meal to stimulate the appetite, or consumed on its own.

Aroma – Otherwise known as “nose”. Term for the primary scent of a wine that comes from the kind of grape used. Generally associated with flavours from fruit, flowers, and herbs.

Breathing – Also known as aeration. Letting wine breathe before consuming is believed to release more aromatic compounds, and helps soften some harsher elements, like tannins. This practice is hotly debated by wine experts, however.

Bouquet – Otherwise known as “nose”. Term for the secondary/tertiary scents of a wine that comes from the winemaking process involving fermentation (secondary) and aging (tertiary).

Fermentation: Yeast breaks down sugar in the grapes to turn it into alcohol. Depending on the type of wine, other ingredients may be added, and multiple stages of fermentation may take place.

Aging: The flavour of wine is further affected by aging it, and factors such as the amount of oxygen it’s exposed to, and oak. Wine is often stored in oak barrels during fermentation and aging, or oak chips are added when the wine is stored in stainless steel.

Decantation – Pouring wine into a separate bottle (decanter) to allow sediment to settle at the bottom.

Digestif – A drink served after a meal to help with digestion.

Dry – A wine that lacks sweetness. 

Fortified wine – Wine that has added distill spirits, such as Port or Sherry.

Ice wine – A Canadian term for wine made from frozen grapes. 

Mead – Made from fermented honey and water, instead of grape juice, mead is a wine-like alcoholic drink. Click here to go to Grey Owl Meadery

Mulled wine – Can also be known as “spiced wine”. This drink is generally made with red wine, spices, and fruit, and is served warm.

Port – A kind of sweet fortified wine, made from grapes grown in a particular region of Portugal. The process of making it involves halting fermentation to preserve some of the natural grape sugars.

Prosecco – This Italian apéritif wine, made from Prosecco grapes (the European Union renamed them Glera grapes in 2009), is named for an Italian village where the grape and wine may have originated, in the Veneto region. Prosecco is lively, dry, and fresh with light primary flavours, such as green apple, pear, and honeydew melon. 

Sangria – Believed to be a product of Spain originally, this punch-like drink is traditionally made from red wine and chopped fruit, and sometimes other ingredients, like brandy or orange juice, are added.c/Secco/Seco – Terms for dry wine in French, Italian, Spanish and Portugese.

Sommelier – Someone educated and trained in all aspects of wine, including pairings with food. Professional, certified sommeliers go through a combination of training and education, involving classes and exams that can take years.

Sparkling wine – Champagne falls under this category, but not all sparkling wine is champagne. It’s a wine with carbon dioxide in it, either from natural fermentation, or created by injecting carbon dioxide into the batch.

Tannins – A naturally occurring element that makes wine taste dry. Red wines tend to have higher tannins than white, but tannins can be added to wines from the wooden barrels it’s stored in. Tannins are also found in dark chocolate, tea leaves, some nuts and spices, and more.

Vintage wine – Made from grapes grown and harvested in one specific year.