Wine Tasting
Bordeaux Wines.
You happen to participate to a wine tasting party and you’d like to sound relevant and use the appropriate expressions. First off, you absolutely need to know this word trinquer which means to drink to, to toast to a special occasion. During fun and casual gatherings, you often hear:
French people always find great occasions to celebrate and to give a toast… 😄
There are even multiple ways to cheer:
Now that you’re familiar with the custom of trinquer, let’s go through some top wine tasting terms in case you want to demonstrate your skills in wine tasting. La dégustation de vin, or wine tasting, can be summed up into three steps.
La robe - Appearance
Before you take even one sip, look at the wine and consider its color, clarity, and consistency. Here are some French terms to help you describe what you see.
La couleur - Color
In addition to obvious colors like rouge (red) and blanc (white), you might see
| French | English |
|---|---|
| ambré | amber |
| brun | brown |
| carmin | crimson |
| cuivré | coppery |
| doré | golden |
| jaunâtre | yellowish |
| orangé | orangey |
| paille | straw |
| pourpre | scarlet |
| rose saumon | salmon pink |
| rubis | ruby |
| verdâtre | greenish |
| violacé | purplish |
And you might want to modify the colors with
| French | English |
|---|---|
| clair | light |
| foncé | dark |
| pâle | pale |
| profond | deep |
La clarté - Clarity
| French | English |
|---|---|
| brillant | brilliant |
| brumeux | misty |
| clair | clear |
| cristallin | crystal-clear |
| opaque | opaque |
| un reflet | glint |
| terne | dull |
| trouble | muddy |
La consistance - Consistency
You’ll consider this again in the tasting phase, but while looking, you might notice things like
| French | English |
|---|---|
| des bulles | bubbles |
| des dépôts | sediment |
| des jambes, larmes | “legs” or “tears”; how the wine flows down the sides of the glass |
| de la mousse | foam, bubbles |
Le nez - Smell
After describing the appearance of the wine, it’s time to sniff and smell, then discuss les arômes. This is where wine tasters get really creative.
If the wine is fruité (fruity) or végétal (vegetal), you might sense fruits and vegetables like agrumes (citrus), fruits rouges (red berries), pamplemousse (grapefruit), artichaut (artichoke), or champignons (mushrooms).
If it’s floral (flowery), it might be scented with lavande (lavender), jasmin (jasmine), or violette (violet), whereas if it’s nutty (for which there is no generic term in French), it might have un goût de châtaigne, noisette, or noix (a taste of chestnuts, hazelnuts, or walnuts).
A wine can be épicé (spicy), with hints of poivre (pepper), cannelle (cinnamon), or muscade (nutmeg), or it might be herbacé (herbaceous) and taste like réglisse (licorice), thym (thyme), or menthe (mint).
Other possible aromas:
| French | English |
|---|---|
| boisé | woody |
| brûlé | burnt taste |
| cacao | cocoa |
| café | coffee |
| cèdre | cedar |
| charnu | meaty |
| chocolat | chocolate |
| foin | hay |
| fumé | smoky |
| médicinal | medicinal |
| minéral | mineral |
| musqué | musky |
| parfumé | fragrant |
| pin | pine |
| résiné | resinous |
| tabac | tobacco |
| terreux | earthy |
| thé | tea |
| vanille | vanilla |
At this point, you might also discover that there is un défaut (a flaw). The wine is bad if it smells
| French | English |
|---|---|
| bouchonné | corked |
| mildiousé | mildewed |
| moisi | moldy, musty |
| oxydé | oxidized |
La bouche - Taste
Finally, it’s time to taste the wine. Much of the above vocabulary is also useful during this phase, along with
| French | English |
|---|---|
| acerbe | tart |
| acide | acidic |
| aigre | sour |
| aigu | sharp |
| amer | bitter |
| un arrière-goût | aftertaste |
| bien équilibré | well balanced |
| doux | sweet |
| frais | fresh |
| fruité | fruity |
| un goût | taste |
| la longueur / persistance en bouche | time the flavor remains in your mouth after swallowing |
| moelleux | sugary |
| une note | hint |
| plat | flat |
| rond | mild |
| rude | harsh |
| salé | salty |
| une saveur | flavor |
| sec | dry |
| sucré | sweet |
French wine tasting verbs:
| French | English |
|---|---|
| apercevoir | to perceive |
| avaler | to swallow |
| boire | to drink |
| cracher | to spit out |
| faire tourner le vin dans le verre | to swirl the wine in the glass |
| incliner | to tilt (the glass) |
| remarquer | to notice |
| siroter | to sip |
| voir | to see |
Sources: www.thoughtco.com