A real sample booklet

The real pages

Rendered straight from the sample PDF. The cover illustration is the one every wine booklet gets; each of the ten categories has its own.

The vocabulary cheatsheet, in full

The booklet opens with a category-general cheatsheet so every taster starts with the same words. It covers the category and audience level, not tasting notes or claims about the individual bottles.

• Tannin

  A drying, slightly bitter sensation on your gums and tongue, mainly from grape skins and seeds or barrels.

• Acidity

  The tart, mouth-watering quality that makes a wine feel fresh, crisp, or tangy.

• Body

  How light or heavy a wine feels in your mouth, similar to comparing skim milk to cream.

• Finish

  The flavors and sensations that linger in your mouth after you swallow or spit.

• Aroma

  The smells you notice by sniffing the wine before tasting, like fruit, flowers, or spice.

• Nose

  A tasting term for the overall smell of a wine, including all its aromas together.

• Sweetness

  The perception of sugar, ranging from bone-dry with none to noticeably sweet.

• Oak

  Flavors like vanilla, toast, or spice that come from aging wine in wooden barrels.

• Legs

  The streaks that slide down the inside of the glass after swirling, related to alcohol and sugar.

• Balance

  How well a wine's acidity, tannin, sweetness, and body work together without one overpowering the rest.