Wine Word of the Week: Finish



By Kori ~ January 10th, 2012.

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

Official definition from Jancis Robinson’s The Oxford Companion to Wine:
Since this is an oft used wine tasting term, I was surprised to find that there was no entry for “finish” is The Oxford Companion to Wine. However, I did locate entries for “long” and “short” that seem the closest to explaining this term. Long is a much-derided tasting term for wines whose impact on the palate is particularly persistent. A wine that is long is usually of high quality. Short is a tasting term for a wine whose impact on the palate is not persistent; the opposite of long.

Layman’s terms from Kori:
The finish is how long a wine’s flavor lingers in your mouth. A well-made wine has a pleasant and lingering finish (sometimes as much as 30 seconds or more.)


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