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Pronounced K'yahn-tee. A regional red wine produced in the appelation of Chianti in the Tuscany region of Italy.

The tasting of wine with, typically, no knowledge of the identity of the wine. At times, the tasters will know the type but not the winery they originate from.

A particulary strong, meaty, savory flavor, in aged or fermented wine. Cooking with wine increases the umami.

In reference to wine making, "skin" is the outer layer of the grape that contains the pigments, flavonoids, and tannins essential to the production of red wine.

An Italian sparkling wine that provides a delicate but crisp flavor with a light effervescence. Named for the Prosecco variety of grape used to produce this wine, Prosecco is a white wine that is slightly lighter and somewhat fruiter tasting than Champagne, offering a hint of pear, apple and peach overtones as its consumed, rather than a complex mixture of flavors and aromas.

Descriptor of wine that exhibits a mothball or rubbery aroma. Typically this aroma is the consequence of poor winemaking, the use of excessive sulfur dioxide.

A term that describes a hint of wooden barrel, caramel, and/or toffee characteristics typically associated with dry white wines.

A descriptor of wine. See “sharp” and “acidic”.

Descriptor of wine that is flavorful and full bodied, they are said to have “stuffing”.

In reference to wine making, the "seed" is the segment of a grape that contains tannins.

In reference to wine making, "pulp" refers to the flesh of the grape. The pulp contains a majority of the water, sugar, and acid that forms the grape juice extracted from the grapes.

Descriptor of wine that is nearly a synonym for “fat”, though considered a step below when describing fullness in the mouth.

Solids, a result of fermentation, that are found on the bottom of a vat. These solid particles are comprised of grape skins, pulp, and yeast.

A wine fortified by adding grape alcohol partway through the fermentation. The wine is kept in oak for a relatively short time, then fortified and aged in bottles.

Any type of utensil or piece of equipment that is used to keep wine chilled. Depending on function, wine coolers may be a simple as a table top containers to cool wine as well as hand held totes to carry chilled wine or as elaborate as refrigerated units that hold many bottles of wine that can be maintained at specific temperatures.

A white grape varietal primarily grown in the Southern Rhône and Languedoc regions of France. Clairette is one of thirteen grape varietals allowed in Châteauneuf-du-Pape wines.

An unpleasant "nose" that presents itself when a bottle of wine is initially opened. The offensive odor is an indication that the wine is unfit for consumption.

An unpleasant "nose" that presents itself when a bottle of wine is opened. The odor is caused by metal contamination during the ageing or wine making process.

The term used to describe the foam that forms after a sparkling wine or champagne has been poured out of the bottle.

A 2000 year old grape varietal believed to have originated in the southwest area of Turkey and the islands between Turkey and Greece (around the Aegean Sea), it is used in the production of white wine.