That dry, grippy feeling after a sip of red wine — like your mouth is wearing a turtleneck. Common in Cabernet. Some people love it. Some people hate it. Both are valid.

Not sweet. At all. Confusingly named, we know. A "dry" wine has no residual sugar — which has nothing to do with how thirsty it makes you. English is a mess.

Made with as little human meddling as possible. Wild fermentation, nothing added, nothing taken away. Often comes in a funky-looking label. Usually delicious. Sometimes tastes like a barn (in a good way, allegedly).

Farmed like organic, but the winemaker also follows lunar cycles and treats the vineyard like a living ecosystem. You don't have to believe in the moon stuff. The wine is usually great anyway.

A preservative that keeps wine stable. Almost all wine has them. Some people blame them for headaches (the jury's still out scientifically, but if it happens to you, it happens to you). Lower sulfite options exist.

A French word that basically means "it tastes like where it came from." Soil, climate, the attitude of the farmer — all in your glass. You don't need to say it out loud.

Heavy and rich. Like whole milk vs skim milk. A full-bodied red coats your mouth and lingers. Great with steak. Maybe not your Tuesday afternoon vibe.

The taste that sticks around after you swallow. A long finish is a compliment. Unlike most things that linger, this one's welcome.

Wine from Europe — France, Italy, Spain, etc. Tends to be more restrained, less fruit-forward, more "where it came from" than "what grape it is." The wine snob's natural habitat.