Acidic is a wine with too much acid. Wines contain acids, which vary in concentration.
Ageworthy is a term applied to wines which will benefit from further maturation in the bottle. Typical examples are either young reds with powerful tannins or very sweet young whites. Acidity can also be a factor.
Aggresive would be a wine acidic enough to make your gums tingle or with tannins in excess, so much that it would make the back of your throat feel dry.
Ample would describe a wine that feels full and generous in your mouth.
Aromatic will be applied to a wine with plenty more of perfumed, fruity scents -which normally you can appreciate before actually tasting the wine- than average. Grape varieties source of aromatic wines include Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Gewurztraminer, and the sweet Muscat.
Astringent refers to the rough, rasping feel some wines have, usually caused by tannins, acid or both. The sensation of a dry mouth is strong - tannins produce this, a strong black tea would leave a similar sensation. High tannin content produces dry, puckering effect.
Balanced - same as rounded - said of a wine it means all its elements are in perfect harmony and none stands out. Which elements? We are talking of the relative degree of acidity, alcohol, fruity quality, tannins, sugar, extract, and other characterisics.
Bitter means harsh, unpleasant taste –perceived at the back of the tongue- typically caused by an excess of tannins in the wine. Not a trait to covet, with the exception of some red Italian wines, where some bitterness is a highly sought-after characteristic.
Body refers, talking about wine, to the feeling in the mouth, this weighty feeling is influenced by the alcohol and extracts contained in the wine. Wines are considered light, medium, or full-bodied.
A wine has bouquet if it is complex of aromas, usually from aging.
Buttery is a smell and taste that comes often to wines matured in oak barrels.
Bright could be applied to a wine with vivid color or intense aromas and flavors.
When a wine is described as cedary it has flavors or aromas that remind of the smell of cedar wood.
Character in a wine, as it would be in people, means personality, substance and integrity.
When a wine has strong flavor and plenty of tannin, but not that much that can be named as aggresive, you can call it chewy.
Clean is said of a wine with no faults regarding aroma or flavor.
Complex is a wine with many kinds of aromas and flavors –think of several fruity flavors, and hints of other traits such as vanilla or other spices- and many layers of flavor, as soon as you decipher one flavor, you discover a new sensation. Good wines are usually complex; great wines even more so. Complexity develops typically through aging, this maturing process lets more flavors to come out.
Concentrated implies an intense taste and powerful feeling. That would be a wine with plenty of tannin, sugar, flavor and color.
Corked is spoiled wine, smelling of cork, usually from cracked or seeping cork allowing introduction of air or fungi.
Deep indicates a serious wine in which flavor seems to develope in many levels - doesn't this remind of complexity? - and where different hints of flavor, or aroma, surface at various stages of the tasting. Deep usually goes hand in hand with complex, subtle and rich.
Dry, definitely not sweet, not at all. The wine does not have sugar or any sweetness that can be appreciated. Some dry wines with very ripe, fruity flavors or new oak flavors occasionally look like sweet. Some red wines that have spent too long in barrel or bottle, therefore losing their fruity flavor, are "dried-out." Driest of Champagnes: brut.
Some studies have found no discernible difference between the health benefits of drinking white wine versus red. Besides the chemicals that are unique to wine, alcohol itself can be a powerful and beneficial compound (in moderation, of course); it increases the absorption of other antioxidants, boosts the level of good (LDL) cholesterol, thins the blood to prevent heart clots, and promotes relaxation, which can help avert stress-induced illnesses. Since white and red wines contain similar levels of alcohol, in this respect, they have the same positive effects on the body.
