Cork versus screwcap. If you ask me the jury is still out on that one. But what if you open a twenty-year-old vintage wine and find that the screwcap wasn't up to the task? To be honest, that happens with corks as well.
ScrewcapsScrewcaps are an alternative to sealing a wine with a cork. The advantage of using screwcaps is that they eliminate wine bottle spoiling because of a faulty cork. One disadvantage of using screwcaps is that they eliminate the romantic bottle opening procedure. The jury is still out on their ability to conserve a fine wine for decades.
Sediment consists of small, usually colored particles, that settle to the bottom as the wine ages. While sediment is harmless, it is often removed by decanting to improve the wine’s appearance.
Shallow
A shallow wine is watery and weak.
Sharp
Immature wines are often sharp, overly acidic.
Short A short wine lacks a persistent taste.
Silky Silky wines are soft and velvety.
Smoky
A smoky wine has probably seen the inside of an oak barrel. Examples include Pouilly-Fumé, Sauvignon Blanc, and Champagnes.
Smoothness The palate may detect smoothness in the presence of alcohol, glycerol, and sugar.
Soft A soft wine is one that is round and fruity, low in acidity, and is missing aggressive, hard tannins.
Southern style In this case southern refers to the south of France. A southern-style red is a full-bodied, spicy, unpretentious wine. A southern-style white has too much alcohol and not enough acidity.
Sour
A sour wine is excessively acidic.
Spicy Spicy wines’ aroma reminds one of cinnamon, cocoa, coffee, pepper, or other pungent foodstuffs.
Spritzy
A spritzy wine releases tiny bubbles when uncorked. This is usually considered a minor flaw.
Stale
A stale wine is dull and lifeless, perhaps it sat too long in a container before being bottled.
Stalky A stalky wine is vegetal, and probably has had excessive contact with grape stems.
Steely
A wine that has picked up some flavor from being fermented in steel containers.
Still A still wine has no bubbles.
Stoney
A highly acidic, young white wine made from not overripe grapes fermented under cold conditions may be stoney. The classic example is Chardonnay from the Chablis region of France.
Stretched A stretched wine has been cut with water or with a low quality wine. Growing too many grapes in a vineyard leads to similar negative results.
Structure
The structure is the wine’s backbone supporting its fruit. It is composed primarily of acidity and tannins.
Style A winemaker’s style is his or her unique approach to creating wine. It is technique plus that certain something absent in most people.
Stylish
A stylish wine is lively and invigorating. This term often describes wines from Australia or New Zealand.
Sugar
Sugar is a group of sweet organic compounds found in many foods including grapes. In the process known as fermentation , yeasts transform sugar into alcohol and carbon dioxide.
Sugar Residue This refers to a wine’s unfermented sugar.
Sulfury
Sulfury refers to the odor of a burning match emitted by white wines containing sulfur as a preservative. A light odor disperses when the wine is aired.
Supple A young, good but unagressive red wine.
Sweet
A sweet wine contains perceptible residual sugars and/or glycerol.