What wine terminology makes you cringe?

WINE TALK
41

Yeah.Why not?

Old Barolo and Burgundy can easily be mistaken…or at least show similar flavor profiles and yes…mouthfeel.
Some Unoaked Cali chardonnay can easily be mistaken for some white Burgundy…

42

A lot of people on this thread seem very sensitive. Other than variety/varietal none of the above make me cringe.

43

[winner.gif]

Most useless and yet overused description of a wine.

44

What synonym do you prefer? I find it to be a nice and concise way to describe the attributes of an aged wine in general terms. Especially since many of the flavors and aromas of aged wines are unique to themselves and don’t have anything to compare them to.

45

The colloquial usage of the term has won. You guys need to admit defeat.

46

Not among wine pros it hasn’t (I was off and on ITB for 7 years).

47

Actually I disagree. I notice both growers and winemakers mention say varietal all the time. It makes me think of Fleming each time.

48

Really? I think that’s a great descriptor. Love that quality in wines.

49

Wow. After reading through the first 15 posts or so I gave up in disgust. While I had few illusions about the general level of actual olfactory acuteness or general tasting ability on this board, the above still made my jaw drop to the floor.

Moreover, the general “knock whatever happens to be too difficult for you”-attitude made me cringe. I have kept quiet for a long time, but this is one pitiful thread I will not shut up about. Let the shit storm begin.

50

“dribble” heh!

Sir OP, I must rise in protest. While there’s certainly no dearth of dribble, drivil, or drivel in TNs - I’ve contributed my share - a note that lacks a description of “mouthfeel” is one that’s so lacking as to be nearly meaningless to me. I may put more emphasis on this aspect than many, but characteristics that we tend to associate with mouthfeel - like weight, texture, viscosity, energy, etc. - tell me more about the experience of a given wine than, say, red or black fruit, spice of this or that sort, a particular herb or grass, etc.

I wondered if the term “mouthfeel” might bother you in the way certain words like “moist” or “panties” apparently rub a majority of American speakers the wrong way, but you clearly say you are specifically turned off by the “non descriptive dribble” used to describe mouthfeel. Which certainly exists. Of which I’m almost certainly guilty.

But today I sanctimoniously rise to defend the custom of describing mouthfeel . . . [snort.gif]

So I hope you don’t chortle when I refer to a wine’s mouthfeel as “glycerol” or “lattice-like” (I’ve used both in the past week), but I suppose one could rightly disparage my invocation of “froot soup” (another recent note) as dribble, drivil, or drivel - soups, after all, boast a wide variety of varying textures, and exactly which did I mean?

(for the record, it was chowda)

But I also hope we’re not disparaging a properly rendered note regarding mouthfeel. Cause that shit’s important.

51

Berry and Bill,

My comments were more aimed at wineries and winemakers who make these claims - not with consumers who find comparisons like this. Yes, it certainly is possible to try a wine and have it ‘remind’ me a of a wine from another region. Just don’t like it used for ‘marketing purposes’ - that’s all.

Cheers

52

The choice of wording has little to do with the level of olfactory acuteness or general tasting abilities of any one person, or group of people.

53

How come? “Burgundian” is an archetype that conveys a lot of meaning in one word. Ive used it in conversations when trying to describe what Im trying to achieve with my wines and people seem to know what Im saying.

Of course in reality, a lot of Burgundies (even great ones) don’t match the archetype but I think we as a wine community all have a general sense of what the term means. Whats wrong with using a word that increases the ease of communication? Or do you disagree with premise that it is a well understood archetype?

54

Oh, I may as well mention “it’s just grape juice”. It isn’t, it’s a fascinating complex beverage with equally fascinating details and history. And it is often delicious. And it has alcohol. I don’t think anyone on this board participates in any grape juice discussion boards?

55

Yup, Beau…and to that I would add: “warm days and cool nights make…”
They don’t necessarily make me cringe…but they do cause me to roll my eyes and mutter “Yeah/sure”. Friggin’ marketing dolts.
Tom

56

They’re wrong. Period. I don’t hesitate in correcting people on this, even in person.

57

Crushed flowers.

What KIND of flower?! There millions of different floral scents. This is a useless descriptor in my view.

58

Id love to see that conversation with some of the growers Ive talked to recently. Some of them are just pure farmers and not “wine people” at all. I remember I was talking to one guy and he was talking about the differences between two vineyards and I kind of interrupted him and offered “one has more character than the other?”. He looked at me like I was crazy and said “I don’t have the faintest f*cking idea what that means.” I thought that was pretty funny.

59

If they’re not wine people, ok. But if you are, get it right.

60

Okay, I’ll bite. What are you saying exactly? I read your comment to mean that very proficient tasters somehow prefer to come across as idiots, but can’t believe that is what you intended.