Wine Tips for the Novice Wine Lover
Just because your wine loving friends use a lot of complicated lingo, that doesn't mean that you can't enjoy (and understand) what you're drinking. Knowing a few simple terms can help you through even the most formal dinner!
Bouquet: Also called the "nose" this refers to how the wine smells. You've seen people swirl wine around in a glass. This exposes more of the wine to oxygen, allowing its bouquet to develop.
Decant: To pour wine into a decanter - usually a clear glass bottle with a wide opening at the top - before serving. This is especially important for older red wines, which contain sediment at the bottom.
Legs: the streams of wine that run back down the side of the glass after you've taken a sip, or when you swirl the wine around in the glass. The higher the alcohol content, the wider the legs.
Body: Wine can be as thin as water or as viscous as cream. Thin-bodied wines are more like the former, while full bodied wines feel heavy on your tongue.