Wine A to Z

Tannic

A term used to describe wines with a high tannin impression.

Tarry

Displaying aromas or flavours that suggest tar. A tarry smell is usually a positive indication of a wine with a solid ripe fruit tannins structure.

Tart

A term for the flavours and aromas associated with under-ripe fruit or a term for wine with a high acid impression.

Tartaric acid

One of the essential organic acids found in wine.

Tartrates

Salts of tartaric acid that can form crystals when combined with potassium in un-stabilised wine and are often found in traditionally made “old world” white wines. They are tasteless and harmless.

Taste

A general term for the total impression a wine gives in the mouth. Also refers to the primary tastes found in wine: sweetness, sourness and bitterness.

Terroir

French term for the particular environment in which a wine originates that is used as an explanation for the distinctive characters of a wine. Terroir is often taken to refer simply to the physical elements of the environment (soil, climate, topography etc), although human aspects of that environment (shared knowledge, history, traditions etc) must also be acknowledged.

Texture

A wine's feel or consistency in the mouth.

Thin

A term to describe wines that seem lacking in substance.

Topping

A winemaking technique to control oxidation of wines aging in barrels where wine is added periodically to replace wine lost through evaporation.

Total acid

The measure or the amount of all acids present in a wine.

Trockenbeerenauslese

Translated “dry berry selection”, a designated term for the sweetest German wines, traditionally made from single berry selections (shrivelled, usually botrytis infected grapes), which must reach a certain minimum sugar level. Batches as little as 40 to 50 litres are considered commercial quantities and are some of the rarest wines money can buy.