Wine vocabulary can be confusing. Some of the most commonly used words like "dry" and "fruity" don't mean quite what they mean in any other walk of life. This can lead to disappointment if you choose a wine based on what you think the descriptive is telling you.
Dry does not mean dry. It means that the wine has tartness, acidity and a noticeable lack of fruit and sweet. It can also indicate that what fruit character there is, is citrus instead of tropical.
Fruity does not apply to wine as it does to bubble gum. A fruity wine is most often one with tropical, luscious grape character, ripeness and/or berry fruit. A red can have a black-raspberry aroma but not be sweet. A white can have mango and pineapple aromas and not taste like those fruits. Fruit defines the grape and is hard to extract from vines. The more complex the fruit character, the more expensive the wine.
"Sweet" does mean what it says. Wines that taste sweet are best with desserts (remember, the wine must be sweeter than the dessert it is served with). Some perceive Rieslings from Germany and elsewhere to be sweet. Many are, but some of the best for food pairing are the dry QBA and Kabinett style of Rieslings. The aroma suggests sweetness, but the taste is crisp and tart.
"Spicy" is warm spice, not hot; think baking spices instead of Thai chiles. Black pepper can be found in the aroma of Rhone reds from France and Zinfandels from California, but no chiles are found in wine.
"Oaky" wines often smell like charred toast and can sometimes smell like cedar, sawdust or a forest floor. Oak is a great seasoning and flavoring component for wine.
Buttery wines are the result of a winemaking technique. Can a wine really be buttery and creamy? Yes. You'll find the flavor and aroma most often in Chardonnays. In order to get this character a wine is allowed to go through a secondary fermentation called malolactic fermentation. The malic acids are converted to lactic acids, which are by nature creamy and buttery. Warmer climates like Napa Valley produce grapes that have high levels of malic acid so when put through this fermentation, the results are exaggerated buttery qualities. It's wonderful for aroma and mouth feel.
Legs. Really? Legs have nothing to do with the flavor, but they are an excellent indication of the character of the wine. Legs form on the inside of a glass when you swirl wine. When a wine is thin (light) it will sheet off like water. If the wine is viscous (thick) it will leave a thicker sheet on the glass and the wine will slowly fall from the inside of the glass. The slowness and thickness of these legs indicate that a wine will be rich in character and heavy with fruit and alcohol. This is a good thing . . . if a wine doesn't have legs, it's not going anywhere!
Put your wine vocab lesson to use with these bottles:
- I tasted an inexpensive Chardonnay this week that fits the term "buttery." Others are Mer du Soleil, Chalone and Miner Chardonnay.
2006 Paraiso Chardonnay, Santa Lucia Highlands, Monterey, Calif. ($14-$17) - The color is ring gold and clear. The aroma is creamy buttery toast. The mouth feel is rich and balanced with the yummy aromatic tones carrying over to the taste. 87 points
- This delightful red demonstrates "dry" with currants, light wood and smooth tannins.
2006 Palazzo della Torre from Allegrini, Veronese, Italy ($16-$18) - With enough "stuffing" (dryness and tannin) to stand up to a meal but delicious fruit, this is a good everyday red. 89 points
Reach Tarbell, owner of Tarbell's restaurant in Phoenix, at firstname.lastname@example.org.
Valley chef Mark Tarbell.
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