Decant: Transferring wine from the bottle to another container. Most often done to aerate the wine.

Deep or Depth: Describing wines with layers of taste. Often refers to a more mature wine.

Delicate: Restrained flavors and aromas that are neither strong nor intense.

Developed: A mature quality of wine.

Dilute: A description of a wine whose aromas and flavors are thin and watery.

Distinctive: A wine with qualities that set it apart from others.

Dry: Opposite of sweet. A wine that leaves the mouth parched or dehydrated.

Dull: Lacking liveliness and proper acidity.

Earthy: The pleasant aroma or flavor reminiscent of soil or earth.

Elegance: Wines that that are delicate and not intense.

Fat: Robust or full-bodied in flavor and aroma.

Fermentation: The natural process by which sugar in grape juice is transformed into alcohol through the action of yeasts.

Finish: The total impression of a wine after you have swallowed it. The finer the wine, the longer lingering the finish.

Fleshy: Robust and ripe in fruit flavor, texture, and aroma.

Flinty: A dry, mineral character that’s suggestive of limestone. Typical found in French Chablis and Loire Valley Sauvignon Blancs (Sancerre).

Flowery: An aroma that is highly suggestive of flowers.

Fortified Wine: Usually sweet wine, in which the alcoholic fermentation is stopped before all the sugar has been consumed, by the addition of brandy. The alcohol kills the yeast, leaving a sweet wine with high alcohol.

Forward: Full of robust fruit flavor.

Foxy: The distinctive flavor that is found in wine made from native American grapes.

Fruity: An Aroma and/or flavor of grapes; most common to young, light wines but refers to wine with sych fruit flavors as peaches, cherries, apples, pears, raspberries, citrus, currants, strawberries, and more.

Full-bodied: Indicating strong character, in terms of flavor and alcohol.

Generous: A wine whose characteristics are expressive and easy to describe.

Graceful: A description for a wine that is harmonious and pleasing in a subtle way.

Grapy: Characterized by simple flavors and aromas associated with fresh table grapes; distinct from the more complex fruit flavors (currant, black cherry, fig or apricot) found in fine wines.

Green: A tart flavor found in wines that are lacking fruit and are made from unripe grapes.

Hard: A quality that is taut from high acidity. Often a description for young red wines

Harmonious: Well balanced, with no obtrusive flavors in terms of all its components—fruit, acid, and tannin.

Harsh: A negative characteristic describing a bitter, unpleasant, or offensive taste or sensation, usually from excessive tannins or acidity.

Heady: A full-bodied robust wine that is high in alcohol.

Herbaceous: A herbal flavor or aroma that is suggestive of herbs, leaves, or plants.

Herby: A herbal flavor or aroma that is suggestive of herbs like sage, mint, or thyme.

Honest: A wine that has no unfavorable qualities about it.