Do you speak wine?

A cheat sheet to plonk parlance

OLD WORLD V NEW WORLD

This rivalry predates Westeros. Old World wines are produced in the traditional wine-making areas of Europe, and New World is everywhere else (mostly South Africa, Australia and the Americas). New World tends to be more alcoholic, FYI.

BODY Basically describes “how a wine feels in your mouth”, says Lucy Stevenson, teacher at Wine And Spirits Education Trust. Think more light, medium or full – rather than thin, fat, or covered in Lycra. SWIRLING Not an official term, but our name for that thing wine folk do before tasting. There is science to it, as it helps break down the chemical bonds in the wine and release its aroma – key to unlocking its flavour. Plus: looks great on a first date.

CORKED Means wine has come into contact with a fungus on the cork that spoils it. Corked wine smells like wet dog and affects under 5% of bottles, so rarer than us saying, “No, we’ll just have one glass,” and sticking to it.