Glossary

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Oaky:

The taste or aroma of freshly sawn oak. A wine, especially a red, is considered as correctly "oaked" when the "nose" carries a bare whiff of vanilla aroma. Sometimes oak flavors overpower other component wine flavors in which case it is considered overoaked. Oak flavor is introduced from contact with storage barrels made from that wood. New oak barrels contribute stronger flavor to a wine than older storage barrels. The "oaky" components encountered include "vanillin", and so-called "toasty", "charred" or "roasted" elements. "Vanillin" comes from the character of the hardwood. The three others derive from the "charring" of the barrel that occurs from heating the broad iron rings which hold the barrel staves in place after contraction and the flaming of the interior.

Oily:

Describes the vaguely fat, slippery sensation on the palate in contact with the combination of high glycerin and slightly low acid content. Mostly encountered in high quality Chardonnays and late harvest sweet wines (see also fat, glycerin/glycerol).

Open-up / Opening-up:

Some bottled cellar-aged red wines possess the peculiarity that, when the cork is first pulled and the wine poured, the full flavors do not immediately make an appearance. However, after the passage of several minutes in an open glass goblet, the wine develops unsuspected flavor characteristics that can verge on the sublime. This phenomenon is referred to as "opening-up". Conversely, these flavors can disappear just as fast in just 30 minutes, leaving a subsequent impression of a flat, stale, "over-the-hill" and/or mediocre wine (see also closed-in).

Overipe:

A grape precondition necessary for making certain styles of Californian Zinfandel wines. Left on the vine to dry in the sun, certain grape varietals will develop the desirable "raisiny" character and concentrated sugar necessary for making specialty wines such as the Hungarian "Tokay".

Oxidation:

Group of chemical reactions which occur when wine comes into contact with air. Slight oxidation results in a loss of fruit and freshness and browning in white wines. More severe oxidation results in a high level of volatile acidity and, eventually, transformation of the wine into vinegar.

Oxidized:

Tasting term indicating that the wine has suffered from contact with air, resulting in browning in white wines, loss of fruit and freshness, and possibly a high level of volatile acidity.