05/15/06 Back to Basics

Welcome to Vine to Wine, this is your host Linda Moran and I have spent a considerable amount of time tasting wine with the masses during Spring Barrel Tasting weekends in the different regions of Washington & Oregon Wine Country. I have realized that we need to spend some time focusing on wine evaluation or at least using the correct terminology when we are all describing wine. If we all speak the same language, it will be easier to understand our preferences. So this week we are going to spend all five programs addressing wine tasting terminology. Of the many terms used to describe wine, the one I hear most often misused is the term Body. The Body has nothing to do with the flavor of the wine. Rather, it refers to the actual weight of the wine. The texture of the wine, and how it feels in your mouth, is the body. One analogy that might help you is to consider the differences in texture of milk; nonfat milk feels light and thin in your mouth, as compared to whole milk, which has a more substantial feeling, followed by cream, which is even thicker and lingers in your mouth much longer. In short, Body is the viscosity of the wine, it is the thickness and the texture of the wine in your mouth. With just a little practice, you will see how easy it is to find the body in your next glass of wine. Join me tomorrow as we discuss more of the terms used to describe wines. And thanks for joining me on today's Vine to Wine.