By Kori ~ February 13th, 2010.
This weekâ€™s Wine Word of the Week is viscosity.
Official definition from Jancis Robinsonâ€™s The Oxford Companion to Wine:
Viscosity, the quality of being viscous, is the extent to which a solution resists flow or movement. Honey is more viscous than sugar syrup, for example, which is considerably more viscous than water. Viscosity, which approximates to what wine tasters call body, can be sensed by the human palate in the form of resistance as the solution is rinsed around in the mouth.
Laymanâ€™s terms from Kori:
Viscosity generally describes the â€œthicknessâ€ of a wine on your palate. A sweet dessert wine is more viscous, or thicker, than a dry table wine.
Filed under: Wine Word of the Week