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The thing I never understand about wine and no introduction ever explains is what do people mean with those names they use to describe it's taste: "dry", "body"

The thing I never understand about wine and no introduction ever explains is what do people mean with those names they use to describe it's taste: "dry", "body", "mature", "grassy", etc.

BrentOzar 4y ago
Dry = not sweet. Not bitter - bitter is bad - but just not sweet. Body = thickness, aka mouthfeel, aka strength of flavor and texture. (I’m simplifying here.) Mature = complex. Simple wines that can be opened while young are usually straightforward in the same way that soda is sweet.
pwarner 4y ago
It can be daunting to learn the vocabulary of any domain, wine included. It's even trickier because you are learning the words to describe flavors, and perception of flavors vary. But there are totally resources. If you want to go in deep, I suggest https://www.thegreatcourses.com/courses/the-everyday-guide-to-wine https://www.thegreatcourses.com/courses/the-everyday-guide-t...
InCityDreams 4y ago
>what do people mean with those names they use to describe it's taste: "dry", "body", "mature", "grassy", etc. I always thought it was all pretentious claptrap, until a bar owner gave me a glass of 'wine from where I'm from". Wow! My description? "Dry, full-bodied, heavy", then, there where the _several aftertastes is how I'd describe it, and i later bought several bottles. As a dark-beer drinker i was knocked out by this stuff, and did (finally) understand how some descriptions can be applied. I've tried a few different wines in a few different bars since, and the vast majority have been a very easy "light, fruity....and shite".
- romeoblade 4y ago
  What was the wine he gave you? Always looking for new ones to try!
nerdponx 4y ago
You might enjoy Oz and James' Big Wine Adventure, wherein James May learns exactly what you are asking about, while on a very entertaining road trip with a wine expert (about whom I will not pretend I know anything else). Look up "Oz and James" on YouTube and you'll probably find a few complete episode uploads, if not the whole series.
UncleMeat 4y ago
Imagine you were asked to describe the flavors of a steak. Could you do it precisely? Would you have to use words that didn't quite fit? But because we never ask people to describe what a steak tastes like, we don't notice this. Instead we conclude that only wine is described in this circuitous way when actually this is just how we'd have to describe basically all taste experiences. We are trying to describe a wine but we don't have words that really fit these particular senses. So we develop a jargon that is at least largely consistent across the ecosystem so when somebody describes a wine as "high minerality" you understand if you've tasted other wines also described this way. The fact that a wine isn't actually "dry" in a literal sense (it is almost entirely water, after all) doesn't matter once you've got a bit of experience matching the jargon to prior experiences. Next time somebody tells you a wine is "high tannin" or "fruit-forward" or "thin", ask what dimension they are talking about here and try to remember it. Next time somebody says this you'll be able to predict what the wine will be like or you'll know to ask a professional for wines that match the particular things you like.

The thing I never understand about wine and no introduction ever explains is what do people mean with those names they use to describe it's taste: "dry", "body", "mature", "grassy", etc.

BrentOzar 4y ago

Dry = not sweet. Not bitter - bitter is bad - but just not sweet. Body = thickness, aka mouthfeel, aka strength of flavor and texture. (I’m simplifying here.) Mature = complex. Simple wines that can be opened while young are usually straightforward in the same way that soda is sweet.

pwarner 4y ago

It can be daunting to learn the vocabulary of any domain, wine included. It's even trickier because you are learning the words to describe flavors, and perception of flavors vary. But there are totally resources. If you want to go in deep, I suggest https://www.thegreatcourses.com/courses/the-everyday-guide-to-wine https://www.thegreatcourses.com/courses/the-everyday-guide-t...

InCityDreams 4y ago

>what do people mean with those names they use to describe it's taste: "dry", "body", "mature", "grassy", etc. I always thought it was all pretentious claptrap, until a bar owner gave me a glass of 'wine from where I'm from". Wow! My description? "Dry, full-bodied, heavy", then, there where the _several aftertastes is how I'd describe it, and i later bought several bottles. As a dark-beer drinker i was knocked out by this stuff, and did (finally) understand how some descriptions can be applied. I've tried a few different wines in a few different bars since, and the vast majority have been a very easy "light, fruity....and shite".

romeoblade 4y ago
What was the wine he gave you? Always looking for new ones to try!

nerdponx 4y ago

You might enjoy Oz and James' Big Wine Adventure, wherein James May learns exactly what you are asking about, while on a very entertaining road trip with a wine expert (about whom I will not pretend I know anything else). Look up "Oz and James" on YouTube and you'll probably find a few complete episode uploads, if not the whole series.

UncleMeat 4y ago

Imagine you were asked to describe the flavors of a steak. Could you do it precisely? Would you have to use words that didn't quite fit? But because we never ask people to describe what a steak tastes like, we don't notice this. Instead we conclude that only wine is described in this circuitous way when actually this is just how we'd have to describe basically all taste experiences. We are trying to describe a wine but we don't have words that really fit these particular senses. So we develop a jargon that is at least largely consistent across the ecosystem so when somebody describes a wine as "high minerality" you understand if you've tasted other wines also described this way. The fact that a wine isn't actually "dry" in a literal sense (it is almost entirely water, after all) doesn't matter once you've got a bit of experience matching the jargon to prior experiences. Next time somebody tells you a wine is "high tannin" or "fruit-forward" or "thin", ask what dimension they are talking about here and try to remember it. Next time somebody says this you'll be able to predict what the wine will be like or you'll know to ask a professional for wines that match the particular things you like.