You’ve read and heard wine tasters (including us) describe wines in various different ways. There are terms which almost always make their way into a wine drinker’s vocabulary. It is not because they are always trying to show off that they are superior or know more but because there are some terms which simply cannot be replaced.

From many such wine terms, we’ve picked the 10 which can cause a lot of confusion and consternation.

1. Dry Wine
Wines with no or very little residual sugar is known as dry wines. When yeasts convert all of grape sugars into alcohol, it leads to the creation of dry wines. Many wineries specialize in this style of winemaking.

2. Off Dry Wine
Wines which have a little and balanced residual sugar content they are known as off-dry wines. Here yeasts are not able to convert all of the grape sugars into alcohol.

3. Acidity
Think tartness when you bite into a green apple and the sensation on the front and sides of your tongue – that is acidity in wine and it is not a bad thing. It is a subjective choice whether you like high acidity or low. Higher acidity makes the wine zingy with a refreshing quality to it while low acidity makes the wine rich, soft and rounded.

4. Minerality
Minerality is direct offset of the terroir on which grapes are grown. Minerality on nose and palate reminds you of a rocky terrain varying from chalk, slate to schist and wet stone. You don’t really taste stones but there is an unmistakable influence which cannot be explained anyway else.

5. Aftertaste
After you swallow your sip of wine, aftertaste is the sensations and tastes that are left behind. The longer the aftertaste stays the better it is, it is a sign of a quality wines.