Tasting Notes

From Cork Dorks to Cougar Juice: The Wine World’s Lingo

Photo: iStockphoto

Ben Schott delivers another installment of shorthand and slang with a few dozen wine words used by industry professionals. A veritable assortment of all-star sommeliers — including L’Apicio’s Joe Campanale, Corkbuzz’s Laura Maniec, and Eleven Madison Park’s Dustin Wilson — contributed various code words and such used by the folks who pour your wine in restaurants. So-called “cork dorks” revel in the weirdest lines on the list, “grandma wines” are safe bets, a few sommeliers consider prized or cherished list wines their “kids.” “Cougar juice,” it turns out, doesn’t denote the start of a long and torrid night, it’s just lingo used to describe California Chardonnays and Malbecs. [NYT]

From Cork Dorks to Cougar Juice: The Wine World’s Lingo