Acidity
The fresh, tart or crisp quality in wine that makes your mouth water. Think of the brightness you taste in citrus fruit.

Aerate
To expose wine to air, which can sometimes help its aromas and flavors become more expressive. Swirling your glass is a simple form of aeration.

Appellation
A legally defined geographic area where wine grapes are grown. Depending on the country, an appellation may also have rules governing which grapes can be grown and how wines are produced.

AVA (American Viticultural Area)
A designated wine-growing region in the United States with identifiable geographic or climatic characteristics. Napa Valley is an AVA, for example, and smaller AVAs such as Oakville and Stags Leap District exist within it.

Blend
A wine made using more than one grape variety. Bordeaux-style blends, for example, may combine Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and other grapes.

Body
How light or substantial a wine feels in your mouth. Think about the difference between skim milk, whole milk and cream: wines can similarly feel light-, medium- or full-bodied.

Bordeaux
A major wine region in southwestern France. Its famous red wines are generally blends built from grapes including Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Bordeaux also produces white and sweet wines.

Brut
A term commonly found on sparkling wine indicating a relatively dry style rather than a noticeably sweet one.

Burgundy (Bourgogne)
A renowned wine region in eastern France. Its best-known red wines are primarily Pinot Noir and its white wines primarily Chardonnay. Burgundy labels frequently emphasize where the wine comes from rather than the grape variety.

Cellar / Cellaring
Storing wine under appropriate conditions, often with the intention of allowing it to develop over time. Not every wine is meant to be cellared; many are made to be enjoyed relatively young.

Champagne
Sparkling wine from the Champagne region of France produced according to the region's rules. Not every sparkling wine is Champagne, although Champagne is sparkling wine.

Chablis
A wine region in Burgundy, France, known for Chardonnay. A bottle labeled Chablis is Chardonnay, typically made in a fresh, mineral-driven style.

Corked / Cork Taint
A wine fault most commonly associated with a compound called TCA. A corked wine may smell musty or reminiscent of damp cardboard. It does not simply mean there are bits of cork floating in your glass.

Crémant
French sparkling wine made using the traditional method but produced outside Champagne in designated regions such as Alsace, Burgundy and the Loire Valley.

Decant
To pour wine from its bottle into another vessel, usually a decanter. This may help separate an older wine from sediment or give a younger wine greater exposure to air.

Dessert Wine
A broad category of wines typically enjoyed with or instead of dessert. They are often sweet, but styles vary considerably.

Dry
A wine with little or no perceptible sweetness. Dry doesn't mean a wine can't taste fruity.

Finish
The flavors and sensations that remain after you swallow or spit the wine. A “long finish” means those impressions linger.

Fortified Wine
Wine to which a distilled spirit has been added. Port, Sherry and Madeira are well-known examples. Fortified wines can be dry or sweet.

Fumé Blanc
A name some producers, particularly in California, use for Sauvignon Blanc. It isn't a different grape variety.

Lees
The yeast and other particles that remain after fermentation. Some wines are aged in contact with their lees to add texture, richness or complexity.

Legs / Tears
The streaks that form on the inside of a glass after wine is swirled. They're influenced largely by alcohol and surface tension and aren't a reliable indication of wine quality.

Magnum
A 1.5-liter wine bottle, equivalent to two standard 750-milliliter bottles. Also an excellent way to make an entrance at dinner.

Minerality
A term often used to describe sensations or flavors reminiscent of stone, chalk, slate or saline qualities. It doesn't mean you're literally tasting minerals from the soil.

New World Wine
A broad shorthand for wines from countries outside Europe's traditional wine regions, including the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, Chile and South Africa. Labels often make the grape variety more prominent.

Non-Vintage (NV)
A wine, particularly a sparkling wine, made using wines from more than one harvest year rather than a single vintage. You'll often see NV on sparkling-wine descriptions or labels.

Oaked / Unoaked
Whether oak played a role in making or aging the wine. Oak can contribute aromas or flavors such as vanilla, toast, spice or smoke and can affect texture. Unoaked wines generally emphasize fruit, freshness and other characteristics without significant oak influence.

Old World Wine
A broad shorthand for wines from traditional European wine-producing countries such as France, Italy, Spain, Germany and Portugal. Old World labels often emphasize place more than grape variety.

Prosecco
An Italian sparkling wine produced primarily from the Glera grape, most famously in northeastern Italy. It is generally made using a different production method than Champagne.

Reserve / Reserva
A term that can indicate special selection or additional aging, but its meaning depends on where the wine was produced. In some countries and regions, terms such as Reserva have specific legal requirements; elsewhere, “Reserve” may simply be a producer's designation.

Rioja
A major Spanish wine region particularly known for red wines based on Tempranillo. You may also encounter aging classifications such as Crianza, Reserva and Gran Reserva.

Rosé
Pink wine generally produced from red grapes with relatively short contact between the juice and grape skins. Rosé can range from very pale to deeply colored and from dry to sweet.

Sancerre
A wine appellation in France's Loire Valley. White Sancerre is made from Sauvignon Blanc. That's why you may see Sancerre prominently on a bottle without seeing “Sauvignon Blanc” on the front label.

Sommelier
A wine professional, traditionally associated with restaurants, with expertise in wine selection, service and pairing. And no, you don't need one sitting beside you to choose a bottle you enjoy.

Tannins
Compounds found primarily in grape skins, seeds and stems, as well as oak, that can create a drying or slightly gripping sensation in your mouth. Tannins provide structure and can help some wines age.

Terroir
A French term describing the combination of place-related factors that influence wine, including climate, soil, elevation, exposure and the surrounding environment. You'll hear this one a lot in the wine world.

Varietal
A wine identified primarily by the grape variety from which it is made, such as Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon or Pinot Noir.

Vintage
The year in which the grapes used to make a wine were harvested. Vintage can matter because growing conditions change from year to year.