Wine Vocabulary That Actually Helps You Pick a Bottle

Wine is delicious, yet complicated and intimidating.

I imagine you’ve been in one of these scenarios: ordering a bottle of wine in a nice restaurant and listening to the sommelier telling you about the terroir, and that the wine smells like barnyard, and somehow, you’re supposed to love it. Or maybe you're in a wine shop, staring at a wine label that shows a picture of a castle and boasts about making wine for five generations, without telling you any of the info you actually care about.

It doesn’t feel great. You want to enjoy wine, but you don’t always know how to pick a bottle. And even when you get professional help, it can feel like you’re speaking two totally different languages.

But here’s the thing—you don’t need a list of 50 wine terms to choose a good bottle or describe your taste. You just need a few keywords that actually help. Let’s go through them.

The Dry and Sweet Problem

First thing: don’t just say dry or sweet.

Being a wine professional for so many years, I never questioned these two terms. But when I started leading wine tasting tours with tourists—normal people who don’t study wine but enjoy a glass regularly—I started to notice something surprising: we don’t mean the same things when we say “dry” or “sweet.”

For wine professionals, “dry” or “sweet” has an absolute, measurable meaning. It’s about residual sugar in the wine. In most cases, anything under 9g/L of sugar is considered dry. So even a fruit-forward white wine packed with ripe peach and passionfruit can still be totally dry.

But most people tend to use these two words a lot, often in ways that don’t align with the technical definitions. For non-professionals, “sweet” is more about how the wine feels or smells, not the actual sugar. Even when tasting two technically dry wines, someone might say, “This one is sweet, that one is dry.” That creates a huge barrier between wine professionals and regular consumers. We’re not just using different vocabularies, we’re speaking different languages.

Here’s what happens: you want a Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough instead of a Sancerre, because it feels “sweeter” to you. But you ask for something sweet, and you get a Moscato. I’ve heard it countless times: “I like a wine that’s sweet—but not too sweet.” What they really meant was that they enjoy an aromatic, fruity dry wine. 

So, instead of saying "sweet" (unless you mean it—like Coca-Cola sweet), try:

• Aromatic / Fragrant – for wines with bold, expressive aromas that feel sweet, even when they’re dry. Think of strawberries vs. pears: a strawberry might smell sweeter even though it's technically not. Pear is sweeter in taste, but strawberry jumps out on the nose. Same thing happens in wine.

  
  

And instead of “dry,” try:

• Subtle / Delicate – for wines that are more restrained in aroma and flavor

Using the right words helps bridge the gap and gets you the wine you actually want to drink.

A Few Other Words to Describe Wine Taste

Now let’s go beyond the dry/sweet divide. One of the biggest challenges when describing wine is knowing how to talk about flavor—and texture.

Let’s start with flavor profile:

Fruity vs. Mineral vs. Earthy

Do you prefer wines that taste like a fruit bomb? With juicy red berries, tropical citrus, or ripe stone fruit? Or are you into wines with less fruit and more subtlety—like ones that taste like the sea, or smell like the forest after it rains?

• Fruity – expressive and fruit-forward wines, often juicy and easy to enjoy

• Mineral – wines with salty, chalky, or flinty notes

• Earthy – wines that smell like mushrooms, forest after the rain

These help paint a clear picture of the wine’s personality.

Soft, Smooth… Not As Useful As You Think

Texture is another area where words like “soft” or “smooth” get thrown around, but they’re often too vague.

Here’s why: “soft” can mean low acidity, or it could mean low tannins. It could even just mean easy to drink. But none of those are precise, and that leads to confusion.

Let’s look at the three elements that really define how a wine feels in your mouth:

1. Acidity

This is the zingy, fresh feeling. The “bite.” High-acid wines make your mouth water. If that’s not your thing, you can say:

• Low acidity

• Mellow / smooth

If you do like freshness and zing, say:

• Crisp

• Bright

• Zesty

2. Body

Think of body like milk: skim, whole, or cream. That’s light, medium, and full-bodied in wine.

You can say:

• Light-bodied – delicate, refreshing

• Bold / Rich / Round – fuller texture, more depth

3. Tannins

Tannins are what give red wines that drying, puckering feeling known as astringency, like drinking over-steeped tea.

If you want a wine that doesn’t dry out your mouth:

• Low tannin

• Smooth / Velvety

If you like that structure(like I do):

• Structured

• Firm tannins

• Grippy

This kind of language helps you move away from saying “dry” when what you mean is “harsh” or “too intense.”

A Few More Words That Make You Sound Like a Wine Pro

These are words wine professionals use all the time—and now you can too.

• Crisp – usually white wines, light with high acidity and freshness

• Elegant – subtle, balanced, not too bold

• Savory – meaty or salty

• Balanced – everything (fruit, acidity, tannin) is in harmony

• Clean – no funk, clear flavors, easy to enjoy

• Oaky – notes of vanilla, toast, baking spices, or coconut

• Spicy – flavors like black pepper, clove, cinnamon

Use these next time you're describing a wine you love or asking for one you hope to find.

How to Use This Vocabulary When Picking a Bottle

Even when you know the right words, it can still feel intimidating to pick a bottle. Here are a few quick tips to help you use your vocabulary and get what you want:

• At a restaurant, don’t be afraid to describe what you like. Use the words we’ve just talked about. It’s more helpful than saying “something good.”

• In a wine shop, tell them what wines you usually drink and how you’d like to feel—light and fresh? Bold and juicy? They’ll get it.

• Look at the back label. That’s often where the tasting notes or key descriptors are

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You Don’t Need Fancy Words—Just the Right Ones

The wine world can feel like a maze, but it really doesn’t have to be. You don’t need to memorize obscure terminology or fake your way through a wine list. You just need a few words that actually say what you mean.

Once you know how to talk about wine in your own language, one that still makes sense to a sommelier or a wine shop salesperson, everything gets easier. You’ll stop ending up with wines you didn’t want. You’ll stop feeling awkward asking for help. And most importantly, you’ll actually enjoy the bottle you bring home.

So the next time you’re handed a wine list or staring down a shelf of bottles, don’t panic. Think fruity or subtle? Crisp or round? Aromatic or elegant? Say it out loud. You’re not trying to impress anyone, you’re just trying to drink something you love.

And that, honestly, is what wine should be about.