Wine Word of the Week: Viscosity



By Kori ~ February 13th, 2010.

This week’s Wine Word of the Week is viscosity.

Official definition from Jancis Robinson’s The Oxford Companion to Wine:
Viscosity, the quality of being viscous, is the extent to which a solution resists flow or movement. Honey is more viscous than sugar syrup, for example, which is considerably more viscous than water. Viscosity, which approximates to what wine tasters call body, can be sensed by the human palate in the form of resistance as the solution is rinsed around in the mouth.

Layman’s terms from Kori:
Viscosity generally describes the “thickness” of a wine on your palate. A sweet dessert wine is more viscous, or thicker, than a dry table wine.


Filed under: Wine Word of the Week

Reader's Comments

  1. Jerry Arni | February 15th, 2010 at 12:08 pm

    Kori’s “layman’s terms” captures the essence of all of the words that make wine tasting interesting.

  2. Kori | February 16th, 2010 at 10:21 am

    Thanks so much, Jerry. Glad you enjoy my “layman’s terms”. Cheers!