A Guide to Wine Tasting Notes

As a wine drinker, you've probably found yourself furrowing your brow at some overly poetic tasting notes. Notes waxing on about a wine's "cashmere tannins," "pixie spice," or "crushed velvet finish" can really make you go...huh?

We get it - sometimes those elaborate wine descriptions seem more like random words pulled out of a hat. How is one supposed to know what "forest floor" and "flinty" even taste like?  

The good news is, you don't have to be a master somm or have the descriptive talents of a romance novelist to understand wine tasting notes. With a little background knowledge, those quirky wine flavor descriptors will start to make a whole lot more sense. From sniffing out those seductive aromas to breaking down body, tannin, and acidity, here's your guide to decoding wine-speak.

The Art of the Nose

You may have heard that smell plays a huge part in how we taste things, and wine is no exception. In fact, our sense of smell is absolutely crucial to picking up the nuances and layers of aroma in a glass of vino. 

When a sommelier or winemaker sticks their nose deep into a glass and makes loud sniffing noises, they're not just being showy—this process of swirling and aggressive sniffing helps release those delicate aromas.

When nosing a wine properly, you want to take short, quick sniffs rather than one big inhalation. Try sticking your nose all the way into the glass, and gently swirling the wine in a circular motion before smelling again. This exposes the wine to more oxygen and amplifies those elusive scents.

Learning to recognize and name those primary aromas is key to understanding tasting notes. For example, red fruits like cherry, raspberry, and strawberry are common aromas in many red wines. White wines frequently give off citrus, floral, and apple/pear notes.

As you continue nosing the wine, see if you can pick up other, more subtle aromas. These could range from vanilla, baking spice, or smoky notes imparted by oak aging to earthy aromas like mushroom, leather, or dried herbs coming from the grapes themselves.

The Structural Elements: Body, Tannin & Acidity

Once you've spent some time with those seductive aromas, it's time for tasting. As you sip the wine, pay attention to its weight or viscosity on your palate—this refers to the wine's body.

Wines can range from light, crisp, and refreshing body to full, heavy, and velvety body. Generally, wines with higher alcohol tend to have richer, more viscous body. Cooler climate wines and whites tend to be on the lighter-bodied side.

Next, pay attention to astringency or drying sensation on your gums and inside of your cheeks—this comes from the tannins in the wine. Tannins come primarily from the grape skins, seeds, and stems, as well as oak barrel aging.

Higher tannin wines feel more grippy, drying and intense, like drinking a really strong cup of black tea. Fuller-bodied reds like Cabernet Sauvignon and Nebbiolo have bold, formidable tannins that provide structure. Wines lower in tannin, like Pinot Noir or rosé, feel softer and silkier on the palate.

The other key structural component is acidity, which provides a fresh, tart crispness to wine. High acid wines make your mouth water, with vibrant citrus, green apple, or lemon zest notes. Low acid wines taste more round, soft, and flabby. 

Warm climate wines like those from California's Central Coast tend to be lower in refreshing acidity. Cooler regions like France's Loire Valley or Germany are famous for producing zippy, mouthwatering high acid wines.

Putting It All Together

When reading tasting notes, think of the different components as pieces to a flavor puzzle. The nose provides the aromatic top notes, while the structural elements of body, tannin and acidity form the mid-palate base.

So for example, a California Cabernet could show aromas of blackcurrant, cedar, and baking spice, followed by a full body, chewy tannins, and moderate acidity on the palate leading to a long, spicy finish. Over time you'll naturally start connecting these descriptors to the flavors you're perceiving.

Don't worry if you don't get ALL those hyper-specific notes like "cigar box" or "crushed gravel" right away. Those nuances take a more mature palate to detect. Start by focusing on just the broader categories of fruit, spice, herb, and earth to get comfortable.

Similarly, learn to use a wide range of adjectives to describe the weight of a wine, like: light, crisp, lean, racy; medium, round, silky, velvety; rich, dense, weighty, massive. Apply these to describe the wine's body, acidity and tannins.

Have Fun With It

Remember, there's no right or wrong way to describe your wine tasting experience. Those wacky fruit descriptors or nonsensical phrases like "bramble pie" and "jammy bonzarra" are just meant as helpful illustrations, not hard and fast rules.

When it comes to wine, personal perception is everything, so don't be afraid to get creative with how you capture those flavors and textures, even if it sounds a little silly. At the end of the day, the tasting notes that matter most are the ones that help identify and communicate your own unique experience with each sip.[9]

So whether it's blackberries, charcoal, and sawdust or crude oil, black pepper, and Grandad's smoking jacket—you do you! Starting to understand wine descriptors opens up a whole new world to smell, taste, and savor all that captivating juice has to offer.

Sources:

[1] https://winefolly.com/review/wine-smelling-aromas-guide/

[2] https://vinepair.com/wine-blog/grape-by-grape-wine-aroma-descriptors/

[3] https://wineintro.com/basics/aroma/

[4] https://www.winespectator.com/articles/52696/10/12/2009/103151/News

[5] https://www.nataliemaclean.com/mobileencyclopedia/tannins/

[6] https://winecellaroutlet.com/blog/wine-tasting-basics-tasting-notes-structure/

[7] https://www.massmillionaire.com.sg/learning/read-wine-tasting-notes/

[8] https://winefolly.com/article/wine-tasting-etiquette-without-the-etiquette/

[9] https://blog.sfwineclass.com/10-tips-for-reading-and-understanding-wine-tasting-notes/