H as in...
Click to access wine tasting glossary pages:
A B
C D
E F
G H
I J
L
M N
O P
Q
R S
T U
V W
Y Z
Mead is wine made from honey, in other words it's not wine. You may like it. As mentioned
below, there are wines that taste of honey. Am I prejudiced? I like wines that taste of honey and I don't
like mead.
Hard
Hard wines have too much
acidity and
tannins. This
characteristic may be a sign that a young wine is suitable for
aging.
Harsh
Very astringent wines, usually with high
alcohol component,
often have a
rough, rustic taste. A harsh wine has so
much
tannin
that it will probably not improve sufficiently
with
age.
Hazy
Hazy wines show suspension when examined in strong light. A
bit of suspension may indicate an unfiltered wine, which many wine lovers
prefer. Pronounced haziness is often a sign of a
flawed wine.
Heady
A heady wine contains enough
alcohol to be perceived by smelling it.
Hearty
A hearty wine is a
full-bodied red with a high
level of
alcohol. In general,
this term is reserved for jug wines and other inexpensive wines.
Herbaceous
A wine with a herblike
aroma or
taste is known as herbaceous. This characteristic commonly occurs with Cabernet Sauvignon,
and sometimes with Merlot and Sauvignon Blanc grapes. Among the herbal smells are basil,
fennel, lavender, oregano, rosemary, and thyme.
Hollow
A hollow wine starts well and ends well
but has a disappointing middle. This may be a sign that the vines weren’t
pruned adequately; too many grapes shared the available taste.
Honest
An honest wine expresses its grape variety and region fairly
well. It hasn’t been altered, but is, frankly, not that great.
Honeyed
A honeyed wine really tastes of honey. Well-known examples
include Sauternes and very ripe Chardonnays.
Horizontal tasting
A horizontal tasting compares wines of a given region or
grape variety for a single
vintage.
Contrast this term with a
vertical tasting.
Hot
A hot wine contains excessive
alcohol
and gives a burning or
prickly sensation on the
palate or in the throat.
While this may be tolerable
in
fortified wines, it is usually felt to be a
flaw in other wines.
Click to access wine tasting glossary pages:
A B
C D
E F
G H
I J
L
M N
O P
Q
R S
T U
V W
Y Z
Return to www.theworldwidewine.com home page