A survey has revealed the 10 wine terms that customers are least likely to understand when deciding what wines to buy. Here we shine some light on the 25 silliest wine terms and try to make some sense of it all!
Wine shopping can feel intimidating when faced with terms like unctuous, herbaceous, or terroir. At Forest Wines, we believe wine should be approachable, not alienating. Wine isn’t about passing a test or knowing the right words, it’s about pleasure, curiosity, and discovery.
This beginner wine guide breaks down the 25 most confusing and least understood wine tasting terms you’ll see on bottles, shelves, and wine lists. Think of it as a living wine glossary: practical, human, and jargon-free.
1. Terroir
What does terroir mean?
Terroir is one of those terms we hear so often yet it's so little understood. Terroir is combination of climate (hot or cold), soils (sandy, clay, limestone etc.), aspect (slope terrain or other flora growing in the area) and broader agricultural practice. Nowadays, the term is used to describe various wine regions: Bordeaux's terroir or Napa's terroir.
So how do all these different aspects effect wine?
Climate is really straight forward: warm climates generate higher sugar levels (which produce higher alcohol wines), whereas cooler climate wine grapes generally have lower sugar levels and retain more acidity.
Whilst soil types can be counted in their hundreds, there are about 5-6 main soil types that most vineyard soils can be sorted into that affect the flavour of wine.
Terroir has become a key focus for quality vineyards around the world: there's elevation, geological features (mountains, valleys and being located far inland) and other flora (plants, microbes and trees) that all effect how a wine from particular region tastes.
Terroir is why the same grape tastes different when grown in Burgundy versus Chile. In plain terms: terroir is a wine’s accent.
2. Minerality
Minerality is one of the most debated wine tasting terms. It doesn’t mean the wine literally contains minerals, but that it evokes sensations like wet stone, chalk, flint, or sea spray.
Often used for crisp white wines, especially from cooler climates.
Some people love the term, others hate it, but when someone says a wine is mineral, they usually mean it feels fresh, precise, and not fruity or sweet.
3. Phenolic
Phenolic refers to compounds found in grape skins, seeds, and stems. They affect bitterness, texture, and grip.
In red wines, phenolics are closely linked to tannins. In white wines, especially skin-contact or orange wines, phenolics can create a grippy, tea-like, or slightly bitter sensation.
If a wine feels slightly bitter, structured, or grippy (especially white wines with skin contact), you’re probably tasting phenolics.
4. Unctuous
Unctuous wines are rich and lush in texture with soft, velvety tannins that are caressing and deep. They have a rich mouth feel. However, it is possible to hear the term used in the opposite way, when you have too much of the good thing, sometimes unctuous wine can be perceived as heavy, or even oily.
Think honeyed whites or full-bodied dessert wines. It’s about texture, not sweetness, though the two often overlap.
5. Herbaceous
Savoury or earthy wines can sometimes be referred to as "herbaceous". These wines can still be loaded with fruit flavours, however they are most likely going to be in the tart / sour / bitter spectrum. Next time you mow the lawn or trim your hedge, take a good sniff of the cuttings, the smell you will pick up is usually described as "herbaceous".
Herbaceous wines often smell or taste like these fresh herbs: grass, thyme, bell pepper, or tomato leaf. It’s common in varieties like Sauvignon Blanc or Cabernet Franc.
Depending on balance, it can feel refreshing or overwhelming.
6. Natural wine
Natural wine generally refers to wine made with minimal intervention: native yeasts, little or no additives, and often no filtration. There’s no single legal definition, which is why the term can feel confusing.
Natural wines can taste wildly different from one another, some are clean and precise, others more rustic or "funky." What they share is transparency in farming and winemaking.
Natural doesn’t mean faulty, but it can mean expressive, alive, and sometimes surprising.
👉 Browse our Natural wine selection
7. Low-intervention wine
Low-intervention wine sits close to natural wine but is a broader, softer term. It suggests the winemaker intervenes as little as possible while still guiding the wine when needed.
This might include gentle filtration, small sulphur additions, or modern equipment, all used thoughtfully rather than automatically.
Think of it as hands-off, but attentive.
8. Lutte raisonnée
A French term meaning “reasoned struggle.” It refers to farming that avoids chemicals unless absolutely necessary.
Similar to low-intervention wine, it’s a pragmatic middle ground between conventional and organic viticulture.
9. Orange wine / skin-contact wine
Orange wine is made from white grapes fermented with their skins, like red wine. This skin contact gives colour, tannin, and texture.
Flavours often lean towards dried fruit, tea, herbs, nuts, and spice rather than fresh citrus. Orange wine can feel structured, savoury, and sometimes slightly bitter.
👉 Browse our Orange wine selection
10. Pet Nat
Short for pétillant naturel, Pet Nat is a sparkling wine bottled before fermentation finishes. The remaining sugars ferment in bottle, creating natural bubbles.
Pet Nats are usually lightly sparkling, sometimes cloudy, and often capped rather than corked. Expect freshness, fruit, and a sense of spontaneity.
Expect something less polished than Champagne, but more fun on a picnic.
👉 Browse our Pet nat wine selection
11. Organic wine
Organic wine is made from organically farmed grapes, meaning no synthetic pesticides or herbicides in the vineyard.
Organic certification focuses on soil health, biodiversity, and long-term sustainability. Some organic wines may still use small amounts of sulphur in winemaking.
Organic doesn’t dictate taste, but it often supports healthier vineyards and clearer expression.
👉 Browse our Organic wine selection
12. Biodynamic wine
Biodynamic wine goes beyond organic, treating the vineyard as a living ecosystem. It follows lunar cycles and holistic farming principles.
Practices can sound mystical, but many biodynamic producers are highly rigorous and detail-oriented. Some of the world’s most respected estates follow biodynamics.
The aim is vitality in the soil, the vine, and the wine.
👉 Browse our Biodynamic wine selection
13. Vegan wine
Surprisingly, not all wine is vegan. Some wines are clarified using animal products like egg whites or fish bladder.
Vegan wine uses plant-based or mineral alternatives: same wine, different process.
👉 Browse our Vegan wine selection
14. Maceration & carbonic maceration
Maceration is the process of soaking grape skins in juice to extract colour and flavour.
Carbonic maceration is a specific technique where whole grapes ferment in a carbon dioxide-rich environment, producing juicy, fruity, low-tannin wines (think Beaujolais).
15. Oxidative wine vs reductive wine
Oxidative wines are exposed to oxygen during winemaking, leading to nutty, savoury flavours.
Reductive wines are protected from oxygen, resulting in fresher, more precise aromas, sometimes with flinty or struck-match notes.
16. Funky wine
“Funky” is an informal term often used for wines with wild, earthy, or unconventional aromas.
Think barnyard, cider, kombucha, leather, spice, or farmy notes. Funky wines are common in natural winemaking but not exclusive to it.
Polarising, expressive, and deeply loved by some.
17. Unfiltered wine
Unfiltered wines haven’t been stripped of particles before bottling. They may look cloudy but often retain more texture and flavour.
Cloudy doesn’t mean faulty.
18. Sur lie
Sur lie means the wine has been aged on its lees: the dead yeast cells left after fermentation.
This ageing adds texture, richness, and sometimes bready or creamy flavours. It can also protect the wine from oxidation.
Common in Muscadet, Champagne, and many modern whites.
19. Blouge wine
Blouge is a playful term for wines made somewhere between red and white, often by blending or very short maceration.
It might be a short skin-contact red, a blend, or an experimental style that doesn’t fit traditional categories.
Untraditional, experimental, and increasingly popular.
20. Bouquet
Wines owe their bouquet to the post-fermentation (after the grapes turn into alcohol) and the maturing process in barrels, for example. The bouquet continues to develop in the wine bottle itself as the fruit acids and alcohol come in contact with air. A bouquet takes time very long time, we are talking years, to develop. So a good, mature wine will have a complex bouquet. Some examples of the common bouquet aromas found in wines are prune, mushroom, liquorice, leather, caramel or coffee. And if you ever come across the term used in relation to young immature wines, they might be of such exceptional vintage that they are already starting to show, quite prematurely, their bouquet.
21. Nose
Nose is a commonly term used to describe how wine smells in the glass. Different wines and grape varieties will produce different aromas. Smelling a wine is an important step in the wine tasting process. In fact, most of our perception of taste comes through our sense of smell.
Our nose can pick up on thousands of different scents. So to get your nose really involved in wine tasting, swirl your wine in a glass to release the aromas and place your nose into the glass, taking several, quick sniffs, the aromas become apparent. And here are some common aromas you might recognize in your favourites:
- Pinot Noir: spicy, violets.
- Riesling: citrus, cantaloupe, apples.
- Sauvignon Blanc: melons.
22. Tart
Sharp, acidic wines are called tart. They might have been made with unripe fruit and you can detect by mouth watering sensation.
It can feel zesty, mouth-watering, or slightly sour. When balanced, tart wines feel refreshing and lively. When unbalanced, they can feel aggressive.
23. Quaffable
If an alcoholic drink is quaffable, it is easy and pleasant to drink, especially in quantity. It’s a compliment. These are wines you drink without overthinking.
24. Legs
Wine legs or "tears" are little droplets of wine on the inside of a wine glass. What's actually happening in your glass as you swirl the wine, coating the surface of the glass, the alcohol from the wine starts to evaporate and the leftover water-wine mix creates little droplets that fall back into the glass.
It's mistakingly understood that "legs" indicate quality wine. It's really just an indication of higher alcohol wines. Also sweeter wines with more viscous consistency will flow slower down the sides of the glass.
25. Hollow
Hollow wines are missing the middle between the first sensation of flavour and the finish. Also known as shallow they generally lack depth, concentration and sense of fruit.
Final thoughts: wine education without the snobbery
Wine vocabulary should help you describe what you like, not make you feel excluded. Whether you’re just starting out or deep into wine education, the best guide is still your own taste.
If a word feels confusing, ask. If a wine feels exciting, trust that. That’s the only rule that really matters.
Still confused? Come chat to us in store, we promise no jargon unless you ask for it.
