Learning the Lingo of Wine
Part Two
Advice from Wine Taster Jill Stacey
Jill is teaching us to speak wine...get up to speed on wine lingo with these new terms! Click here for the complete Wine Lingo list.
 Acidity – A natural component of wine, acid helps fermentation. Acid is responsible for the zesty, crisp refreshing qualities of some wines. Wines with the proper amount of acid are vibrant and lively. Too little acid creates “flat” wine, and too much a “sharp” or “biting” wine.
Complexity – This is not a thing, but a phenomenon. Unlike jamminess or acidity, you can’t pinpoint complexity. It’s more like a force that pulls you back to the wine repeatedly to return for another smell and sip because each time you find something new. Complexity is sometimes referred to as “layers”.
Jammy – Having the thick, concentrated berry aroma or flavor of jam. Jammy can be confusing to those who do not care for a sweet wine. It does not necessarily mean sugary. Think of cocoa powder compared to chocolate. You don't get the sweetness of chocolate, only the flavor of the cocoa. In the same way, a jammy wine will give you the essence of the berry.
Legs – The streams of wine that roll down the inside of the glass after swirling the wine. We call them legs here and in Britain. The Spanish call them “tears”, and the Germans, “church windows”. Some wine drinkers look for great shaped legs, falsely believing that “nicely shaped” legs (whatever that means) portend great flavor. In fact, legs are a complex phenomenon that relates to how fast the liquid evaporates rather than flavor. With wine, as with women, very little meaningful information can be deduced by looking at the legs.
Punt – The indentation found on the bottom of many wine bottles. The punt may be shallow or, as in the case of many Champagne bottles, quite pronounced. Contrary to popular belief, the punt is not a way for wine makers to rip you off by leaving less room in the bottle for wine. It adds stability for shipping by weighting the bottom of the bottle, and also strengthens the bottle at its weakest point.
Reference:
Karen MacNeil’s “The Wine Bible”
Workman Publishing, New York
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