Describing a Wine

Some people just want to say "Yumm" or "Yuck" when describing a wine and leave things at that. Either you like it or you don't. Some people will go to the other extreme and use phrases like : "It captures the joy of the moment in an artisanal way without alienating those that typically veer away from the eccentric." which doesn't tell you much either.

I was even an evaluator at a Consumer Wine judging event where the ratings included: "I would take this home for dinner" and "I would recommend this to a friend". These actually were kind of helpful.

In Wine and Spirits Educational Trust, Society of Wine Educators and AWS Wine Judging Certification program, we use the more traditional / standard methods of describing a wine. Characteristics include Color, Aroma, Development, Acidity, Alcohol, Tannins, Flavors, Finish, etc. The categories are similar for each of the programs but not exactly the same. And within the categories there are levels of intensity. A color can be pale, or maybe deep. A wine may be light or full bodied. Sugar can range from Dry to Medium Sweet to Sweet to Luscious.

Many of these terms are somewhat objective and for me this has been one of the harder parts of describing a wine. Is an intensity a medium(-) a medium or a medium(+)? What constitutes a Deep or Opaque color ?

I was going through the study guide for Certified Wine Educator and I came across a set of practical guidelines that I like. Now maybe they teach you these as well in the WSET introductory programs but I jumped over those - so this has always been an issue and a question for for me.

Here are the Society of Wine Educator guidelines. ( Mostly their material with some editorializing by me. I left out some areas, and added some comments, errors and omissions are mine. Otherwise it is close. )

Clarity:
Brilliant : the color jumps out.
Clear : not brilliant, not hazy
Hazy : observable cloudiness

Intensity or Depth
pale : most whites are in this range. If a red, then darker than a rose but still light red.
medium : a well aged or botrytized white. If a red, you can read a newspaper through it when tilted.
deep : you can see the newspaper but can't read it.
opaque : you can't even see the newspaper.

Hue / Color (whites)
platinum : colorless
lemon green : light yellow with a touch of green ( think cool climate Sauvignon blanc )
lemon : pure bright lemon yellow
gold : deeper and darker. You may be wearing a gold ring. It is that color.
amber : almost cola colored with hints of gold.
brown : caramel to molasses. No gold in it.

Hue / Color (rose')
pink : not hot pink, but not quite red. The color of the traffic light you just went through in a hurry.
salmon : pink with a yellow hue. Salmon color is quite descriptive.
orange : some rose wines oxidize and give a light orange color. Grenache is known to do this.

Hue / Color (reds)
purple : a bright plum color.
ruby : deep rich red
garnet : red, but lighter and tending towards brown
tawny : light brown, light cola colored, brick colored
brown : brown is brown. Root beer color.

Other observations
gas, bubbles :
rim variation : should be a broad rim with enough variation to be significant.
many legs / few legs / no legs :

Condition
Clean / unclean : if calling a wine unclean, it must be part of style, and should be a noticeable fault.

Maturity
youthful / young : fruit aromas dominant
developing : some fruit but more tertiary flavors, oak tending to show more
fully developed : fruit is essentially gone. More oak, leather. 'Maturity' should not be confused with 'quality.'
past its prime : oxidation showing. Pruney.

Alcohol I use the "inhale" test. If I inhale with wine in my mouth and :
low : < 11% : don't notice any alcohol
medium (-) : 11-12% : can sense some alcohol
medium : 12-13% : strong alcohol - perhaps some burn.
medium (+) : 13-14% : I usually choke and can't catch my breath
high : > 14%

Acidity
low : not noticeable.
medium (-) : light tartness. Tingle on side of tongue
medium : definite saliva inducing tartness
medium (+) : tart. saliva producing. you are practically drooling
high : they say searing. I say don't confuse it with tannins, though that is easy to do.

Bitter They use the example of Gewurztraminer. To me: A sweet Muscat after taste is often very bitter.
none : they claim most wines don't show bitterness. ( to me unripe tannins are often bitter )
low : a tingle at back of throat
low to high : back of the throat sensation ruins the rest of the flavors.

Tannins (although generally described as astringent / drying. Unripe tannins are also bitter / harsh)
none : most white wines will fall in here
light : a dryness on the finish
medium (-) : some texture, powdery, drying
medium : grainy texture, drys the gums
medium (+) : sensation of texture and graininess all over mouth. ( I often notice some burn )
high : extremely drying. ( I would add harsh, painful )

Note: WSET also qualifies tannins by level of dryness and also by texture: eg 'silk', 'velvet', 'dusty', 'coarse'.
I included some of their terms above.

Sweetness
dry : no perceptible sugar
off Dry : just perceptible sweetness ( some chenin blanc, kabinett level riesling )
medium : noticeable residual sugar ( spatlese riesling, late harvest wines )
medium sweet : ( most Madeiras, Ports, Sweet Sherries )
sweet : Botrytized wines. Sweet Madeira, Pedro Jimenez.

Length ( they only define 'short" after that they say use your best judgment. So I added rest.
short : 1 to 3 seconds
medium : 5-10 seconds
long : 30 seconds or more.

Somebody totally new to wine tasting might wonder why we go all through this work.

There are a couple of reasons :

1) If you don't think about these characteristics - you often don't even notice them or enjoy them.
2) You can actually use this to describe a wine to somebody who understands the terms.
3) Many of these characteristics are "hints" towards what to expect from the wine.
4) Sommeliers combine several of these characteristics to deduce where and how a wine was made.

For example:
A "cloudy" wine may be unfiltered, or may have a yeast or bacteria bloom, leaving bad aromas.
A dark "white" wine may be well past its prime and nasty nasty nasty.
Bubbles in the wine ( assuming it is not meant to be sparkling ) can mean it is turning to vinegar.
A purple wine may be soft, low acidity, easy drinking A red red wine may be acid and require food with it.
A high acid wine is often made in a cooler climate. Riesling is a good example. Champagne is another.
A light colored red is often also a cool climate wine. Pinot noir is a good example.
A light color and high acid often go together. When they don't this tells you something.
( a hint towards the grape variety for example )

So what do you think ? Do you agree with these descriptors ?
Are there some that I missed, or examples that you think we need ?

Leave a comment, and I will include them into the post. Let's make this document useful.

john