Wine Glossary T

Tanky: Term used to describe the dull and damp qualities that show up in wines that are aged too long in tanks.

Tannin: Bitter substance that is derived primarily from grape skins, seeds and stems as well as oak barrels that provide red wines with that mouth puckering sensation. It also acts as a natural preservative that helps wine age and develop.

Tart: A term used to describe that sharp taste in wine due to its acidity.

Tartaric Acid: The principal acid usually found in wine.

Tartrates: Harmless crystals of potassium bitartrate that can be seen forming in a wine cask or bottle that comes from the tartaric acid in wine.

Terroir: The term for the overall environment within which a given grape varietal grows.

Texture: The term that describes how the wine feels in the mouth.

Thin: Term to describe a wine lacking in body and depth.

Tight: Term that is used to describe a wine’s structure, concentration and body.

Tired: Term for describing wines with limp, feeble, lackluster qualities.

Toasty: A term used to describe a flavor taken from the oak barrels where wines are aged.

Triage: The term used for the sorting of grapes.