Body
Body describes the weight and fullness a wine feels in your mouth. Think of the difference between skim milk (light), whole milk (medium), and cream (full). In wine, body comes mainly from alcohol level and dissolved solids from the grape. A 1–2/5 light-bodied wine feels refreshing and almost watery — think Muscadet or Riesling Kabinett. A 4–5/5 full-bodied wine feels weighty and viscous — think oaked Chardonnay or Viognier. Body is not a quality indicator.
Acidity
Acidity is the crisp, tart quality in wine that makes your mouth water. It comes from naturally occurring acids in grapes — primarily tartaric and malic acid. High-acid wines feel bright and refreshing; low-acid wines feel soft, round, and sometimes flat. Acidity is one of wine's most important structural elements — it provides freshness, makes wine food-friendly, and enables long aging. On this 1–5 scale, 1/5 means very low acidity (think ripe Gewürztraminer — broad and soft), while 5/5 means very high acidity (think Muscadet or Riesling — mouth-wateringly tart).
Dryness / Sweetness
Dryness refers to how much residual sugar remains in the wine after fermentation. Bone dry (1/5) means essentially no residual sugar. Sweet (5/5) retains significant sugar you taste directly. An important distinction: a wine can smell sweet due to ripe fruit aromas while being completely dry on the palate. Riesling is the classic example — intensely aromatic with peach and apricot notes, but many bottles are bone dry. The rating here reflects what you actually taste on your palate, not what you smell.
Oak
Oak influence refers to flavors and texture imparted by aging or fermenting wine in oak barrels. New oak adds the most character — vanilla, toast, coconut, caramel, and baking spice. Older or neutral oak adds less flavor but still oxygenates the wine gently. On this 1–5 scale, 1 means no oak at all (stainless steel or concrete), while 5 means heavily oaked with dominant vanilla and toast. Oak is neither good nor bad — Chablis at 1/5 and a richly oaked Napa Chardonnay at 5/5 are both valid expressions of the same grape.
Alcohol
Alcohol percentage (ABV) comes from yeast converting grape sugar to ethanol during fermentation. On the 1–5 scale: 1 = very low, under 10% ABV (Mosel Riesling Kabinett, Moscato d'Asti); 3 = medium, 12–13.5% (most table wines); 5 = high, above 14.5% (big Californian whites). Alcohol contributes body and warmth — a slight heat at the back of the throat. In hot climates grapes accumulate more sugar and produce higher alcohol. In cool climates they ripen more slowly, producing lighter wines.
Tannin
Tannin is a polyphenol found in grape skins, seeds, and stems — and in oak barrels. It creates the drying, astringent sensation on your gums and inner cheeks, like strong black tea or an unripe banana. Tannin is essentially absent in conventional white wines because the skins are removed immediately after pressing. It becomes significant in orange and skin-contact wines, where juice ferments with the skins for days, weeks, or months. The easiest way to detect it: run your tongue across your gums after a sip — if they feel dry and slightly rough, that's tannin.
Oxidative character
Oxidative character describes intentional exposure to oxygen during winemaking or aging. Small amounts add complexity — nutty, honeyed, sherry-like notes. High oxidation produces walnut, dried apple, marmite, and aged cheese rind flavors. On the 1–5 scale: 1 = fresh and non-oxidative (most conventional whites); 3 = noticeable oxidative notes (many amphora-aged wines); 5 = highly oxidative (Vin Jaune, some Georgian amber wines). The easiest reference point is dry Sherry — if you enjoy Fino or Manzanilla, you'll likely appreciate oxidative wine styles.
Skin contact duration
Skin contact means leaving white grape juice in contact with the grape skins during fermentation, instead of pressing them off immediately. The skins contain color pigment, tannins, and phenolic compounds that transfer to the juice over time. A few hours gives a slight copper tint and added texture with almost no tannin. A few days gives amber color and noticeable grip. Weeks gives deep amber and significant tannin. Months — as in traditional Georgian qvevri or serious Friuli producers — gives deep amber to red-orange color, firm tannin, and oxidative complexity.
Primary / Secondary / Tertiary aromas
These tiers describe where aromas come from, not their quality. Primary aromas come directly from the grape — fruit, floral, and herbal notes inherent to the variety. Secondary aromas come from fermentation — brioche, cream, butter, and yeasty notes. Tertiary aromas develop from aging in oak or bottle over time: vanilla, toast, petrol, beeswax, honey, mushroom, and dried fruit. For tasting notes, the same framework applies differently: Entry describes first impressions on the palate, Mid-palate describes texture and structure, and Finish describes what lingers — with skin contact and oxidation as the primary source for orange wines rather than oak and age.
Style codes
LW (Light White) — light-bodied, high-acid, refreshing: Muscadet, Picpoul, Albariño. MW (Medium White) — medium-bodied, balanced: Vermentino, Grüner Veltliner, Falanghina. FW (Full White) — full-bodied, often oaked: Chardonnay, Viognier, Sémillon. AW (Aromatic White) — defined by intense floral or spice aromatics: Gewürztraminer, Muscat, Torrontés. DS (Dessert) — significant residual sugar: Sauternes, Eiswein, Tokaji Aszú. SP (Sparkling) — marks styles that are typically sparkling. OW (Orange / Skin-contact) — made with extended skin maceration. A wine can carry multiple codes — Riesling is both LW and DS because it spans dry and dessert styles.
Quality, Value, and Upside
Quality ceiling (1–5) is the absolute best a grape can achieve in its finest regions — a 5 means world-class potential. Value score (1–5) measures how much quality you get relative to price — QPR. A wine can score 5/5 quality but 2/5 value if the best bottles cost hundreds. Conversely, 3/5 quality with 5/5 value means reliable excellence at $12–18. Price score (1–5) reflects affordability — 5 means very affordable, 1 means expensive. Upside (1–5) measures aging potential — how much better the wine can get with cellar time.
Natural wine
Natural wine has no single legal definition, but generally means: grapes grown organically or biodynamically, fermented with only ambient wild yeast, little or no added sulfites, and no additives like commercial tannins or enzymes. Minimal intervention means the winemaker interferes as little as possible — no heavy filtering or fining, no acid or sugar adjustment. Results can be more complex and alive — or more variable. Natural wines are often cloudy, occasionally slightly fizzy from residual CO₂, and can show unusual flavors from wild fermentation. Most serious orange wine producers work in a natural or low-intervention style.
QPR — Quality-to-Price Ratio
How much quality you get for what you spend. A wine with high QPR delivers complexity and enjoyment well above what its price would suggest — a $20 bottle that drinks like a $50 bottle. A low QPR wine is technically good but overpriced relative to what else you could buy for the same money. Most of this tool's value recommendations are built around QPR.
Sparkling — Sweetness Scale
Sparkling wines use a different sweetness scale than still wines, based on grams of residual sugar per litre (g/L): Brut Nature / Zero Dosage (0–3 g/L, bone dry) · Extra Brut (0–6 g/L, very dry) · Brut (0–12 g/L, dry — the most common style) · Extra Dry / Extra Sec (12–17 g/L, off-dry, slightly perceptible sweetness) · Sec / Dry (17–32 g/L, noticeably sweet) · Demi-Sec (32–50 g/L, sweet) · Doux (50+ g/L, very sweet). Confusingly, "Extra Dry" is sweeter than "Brut" — the terminology evolved historically and the logic is not intuitive.
Sparkling — Production Methods
Traditional method (méthode champenoise / méthode classique / Cap Classique): second fermentation happens inside the individual bottle, creating bubbles and autolytic notes (brioche, toast, biscuit) from extended lees contact. Used for Champagne, Cava, Crémant, Franciacorta. Tank method (Charmat / Martinotti): second fermentation in a large pressurised tank rather than individual bottles. Faster, cheaper, preserves fresh fruit aromatics. Used for Prosecco and most Moscato d'Asti. Ancestral method (méthode ancestrale / pét-nat): bottled mid-fermentation so the original fermentation finishes in bottle — one fermentation only, no dosage. Often slightly hazy and lower in alcohol. The oldest sparkling wine method.
Dosage
In traditional method sparkling wine, dosage is the small addition of wine and sugar (the "liqueur d'expédition") added after the dead yeast cells are removed. It determines the final sweetness level of the wine and can also be used to balance acidity or add complexity. Zero dosage means no sugar was added — the wine's sweetness comes entirely from the base wine itself.
Lees Aging
After fermentation, dead yeast cells (lees) settle in the bottle or tank. Aging on lees — especially in traditional method sparkling wines — creates autolytic flavors: brioche, toast, biscuit, and pastry notes. The longer the lees aging, the more complex and toasty the wine. Non-vintage Champagne requires minimum 15 months on lees; vintage Champagne minimum 36 months. Prestige cuvées are often aged 5–10 years on lees before release.
NV (Non-Vintage)
A sparkling wine blended from multiple harvest years to achieve a consistent house style. Most commercial Champagne is NV — the blend maintains the producer's signature character regardless of annual weather variation. Vintage Champagne, by contrast, comes from a single exceptional year and is only made when conditions warrant it. NV is not inferior to vintage — it's a different philosophy.