Wine Styles

I received a great question today, and I wanted to share it and my answer with you:

Q) I have a quick question. I see marketing-described “style” becoming more and more important in consumer’s purchasing decisions. However, I see “style” being used so very differently by different establishments. For example, a place called “Best Cellars” here uses a total of 8 style categories “soft, luscious, smooth, fresh, fizzy, big, sweet, juicy” and a raw food restaurant (Pure Food and Wine) uses 3 “aromatic, big, lean”.
My question is, what is the industry standard for style? Is it simply “light-, medium-, and full-bodied” or is it something else? Please let me know your thoughts to this perplexing question. -SS from NYC-


A) Styles such as you are asking about, are one of those nebulous things in wine speak that have no real meaning, or agreement.

Each of the categories you list have merit, but as you can see, the lack of any standardization leads to confusion.

In my book Juice Jargon I attempt to deal with this very issue, by simplifying the way we talk about wine. I feel that wine is all about balance, and the words we use to describe wine should concentrate on what the balance of the wine is like.

To that end I emphasize the following general traits:

Aroma (how much smell it has)
Acid (the tart flavors)
Tannin (the bitter flavors)
Fruit (everything else)

The words I use to describe a wine have to do with the perceived balance of the wine. So I might describe a (red) Zinfandel as having: a Fruity nose, and jammy fruit, with balanced acidity and light tannins.

Of “soft, luscious, smooth, fresh, fizzy, big, sweet, juicy” only Fizzy has anything approaching an universal meaning (a cute term for sparkling wines). Soft and smooth both usually relate to wines with few tannins. Smooth has a specific technical meaning as well, but it is unlikely that they are using it the same way. Fresh usually implies a young wine with a tart acid balance. Luscious really has no meaning in wine at all - it implies the wine is pleasing to the senses, but I for one would not want any wine that is not pleasing. Big usually infers that the wine has notable tannins (I use the term "hard"). Sweet should only be used for wines with residual sugars, such as dessert wines. Juicy is a really tough one. The term for a wine that tastes like grape juice is "foxy" and it is a bad thing to say about wine. Perhaps they mean it the way I mean "jammy" in that the wine has abundant fruit.

“aromatic, big, lean” is a not a very generous list. Aromatic would be a wine with more than average aromas, and big, as we touched on, would mean tannic. Lean presumably means acidic, without much tannin (although lean usually means lacking in acidity).

“light-, medium-, and full-bodied” only refers to the amount of the tannins in the wine. It leaves out everything else about the wine, and while it is a good start for a restaurant wine list, it is not very descriptive.

I have always used grape varieties rather than styles for the wine lists I have produced, but should I want to create a list based on styles, I would probably stick to Fruity, Acidic (or the less intimidating term "Tart") , and Tannic.

Fruity wines are great by themselves, or with food preparations that include fruit. An example would be Zinfandel (a red wine) served with Turkey and cranberry sauce, or Gewurztraminer (a white wine) with Orange Roughy with a mango chutney.

Tart wines are great with most foods, especially those that have more natural oils (fats). For example, a Sauvignon Blanc (a white wine) with Veal Piccatta (a butter sauce), or Pinot Noir (a red wine) with Poached Salmon with lemon.

Tannic wines are harder to put with food, but certainly the classic Rare Roast Beef and the red wine Cabernet Sauvignon (or a Bordeaux) works well, as does the white Chardonnay (tannins here are from oak barrel aging) and Raw Oysters.

Styles are hard to assign to wine, not only because they are subjective, but because few wines fall into only one style. It is a question of degrees - a question of balance.

Wine Glasses

There is a lot of myth surrounding which glass to use with which wine. Here is a simple truth; Almost every shape and style of glass will make a wine taste or smell different. This is easy to test for yourself, simply try the same wine out of several different types of glass at the same time.

So does this mean that those expensive fine crystal glasses that are a different shape for each type of wine really make a difference? Yes and no. Certainly they make a difference, but it is a more subjective question to ask if they actually make the wine better. Does each glass really correspond to a type of wine? Not in my opinion from the tests I have conducted. Different manufacturers have different shapes for the same wine types. Some have shapes for wines that are of similar style. Shape does matter, but the perfect shape for any given wine seems to be a myth in concert with the statement that there is a perfect food accompaniment for any given wine.

The problem always comes down to the fact that wine, like everything we experience, is subjective. I may prefer x, and you may prefer y. Just because I have decades of experience in tasting and teaching wine does not make my preference any more true or accurate than yours. So it is with wine glasses. For some wines I may prefer one type of glass, and you another.

What then should you look for in a wine glass?

A stem is a good start. Assuming you are drinking wine, and not tasting (there are special tasting glasses that have no stem, which I use) the stem allows you to hold the glass without getting your finger prints all over the bowl (top part of the glass) or warming the wine. It also makes swirling the wine a little easier.

Shape. No matter what the glass shape is, it should have a smaller opening than the widest point of the bowl. This will help to keep the aromas in the glass, making it easier to smell the wine.

Glass vs. Crystal is a question of budget, and preference. Crystal allows the wine glass to be thinner, and to have a more elegant feel. Glass is much less expensive and easier to clean. Crystal also rings better when toasting (remember to hold the glass by the stem when toasting, to allow the glass to ring). This is a small thing, but the cheerful ringing sound of a glass raised and a toast made, almost always brings a smile to my face.

Special tasting glasses exist for those of us that are looking to examine a wine, as opposed to drinking and enjoying it. A French company may have started the craze for specific glasses by first releasing a set of these specialized glasses, back in the 80s. The point of these tasting glasses, and the copies that followed, was to break the wine down to its elements and to emphasize any faults that might be hiding in the wine. For this reason these original French wine tasting glasses were called the "Pitiless." The original glasses have long since disappeared from the market, but I recently discovered that Ravenscroft is making glasses that are very similar, at a much more reasonable price. [UPDATE] Read the comment from Ravenscroft Crystal.

One last suggestion for wine glasses. Have several different sizes and shapes. Not so much because they may be the perfect glass for the type of wine you are serving, but to allow you to have several wines on your table at once, and to make it easier for the guest to remember which is which.

Looking for stem and barware?

Large Selection of Martinis, Pilsners, Wine and Other Crystal Stems

Bar Accessories

Wine Clubs

Learning about and enjoying wine is an adventure. There are always new wines to try, and new vintages of old favorites. Wines can conjure up images of far away lands and peoples, and they can remind us of special occasions and times far past.

The allure of having a new wine delivered to your doorstep, is strong for many people. It allows them to enjoy the adventure of wine, without the planning and effort. Enter the Wine Club.

At its best, a Wine Club can offer a tantalizingly easy way to discover new wines. At their worst, Wine Clubs can be an expensive way to learn which wines to avoid.

Choice is an important deciding factor. The more choices the club gives you, the more likely you are to be able to tailor a program that fits your needs. A quick Google search will reveal many choices, so take your time and shop wisely.

Shipping is problem for wine enthusiasts. In the US we are essentially 50 different countries, each with their own rules about shipping wine. A handful of states allow shipping without much hoopla, but most do not. Be sure that the wine club you chose can ship to your location.

One of the ways that has been used, with varying success, to circumvent the problem of shipping wine, is for the wine club to have a presence in your state. This means the wine club is only shipping inside the state, and regulations for this tend to be more relaxed. If you live in one of the states that prohibit the personal importation of wine, look for one of these "affiliate" wine clubs.

Here are some links for you to check out:

wine.com
Join one of our wine clubs: International Wine Cellars
The Best Beers, Wines, and Coffee - Every Month
800wine.com
Wine-of-the-Month Club at Geerlings & Wade Wine Shop

How to talk about wine

Have you ever been at a lost of words when tasting wine? Do you wish there was an easy way to describe a wine?


My book, "Juice Jargon - How to talk about wine" can help the freshest neophyte sound like an old pro in one simple lesson. In the time it takes to enjoy a single glass of wine, you can learn to speak about wine with confidence, without even having to learn a new vocabulary.

Once you are comfortable with the basics you can move on and explore the rich language that surrounds wine. These terms are not necessary to simply describe a wine, but they can add nuance and subtlety to your wine notes.

For those who wish to study about wine, the sections on regions of the world, winemaking, and grape growing offer insight into each of these endeavors. Finally, the book contains over 100 pages of wine words listed alphabetically.

To learn more, including how to order, visit HowToTalkAboutWine.com.

It begins

An introduction seems to be in order.

I fell in love with wine when I was in my 20s. I loved the complexity of it. I loved the fact that no one person could ever know all there was to know about wine.

Over time I did my best to learn what could. I traveled the world. I competed in wine tasting contests. I read everything I could get my hands on. I eventually sat for various exams to prove to myself and the world, what I had learned.

What had I learned?

I had learned that wine is fun, easy, and something that everyone can enjoy. I had learned that wine does not have to be scary, it does not have to be confusing, and it does not have to be expensive.

I started teaching about wine in 1984, on the Internet; but it would not be until 1997 that I formalized my classes into a wine school, the Aspen Wine Program.

I have worked with countless numbers of people, who have various levels of wine confidence and knowledge, and I have developed over the years what many feel to be the easiest way to talk about wine.

I wrote the book "Juice Jargon - How to talk about wine" and I am working on a new book, which will make buying wine just as painless.

I hope to share with you my wine tasting notes, buying tips and much more through this Blog. I look forward to your visits, and please feel free to leave comments.