Have you ever heard a wine described as hot? It makes me think immediately of temperature (i.e. ‘hmm this soup is too hot’). But you’d be a little concerned if your wine turned up simmering away! So what does hot mean in wine, and is it a good thing?
In Wine Terms Explained we dive into the weird and wonderful world of wine. There are so many random terms out there, and it can be hard to work out what means what. So by unpacking these weird wine terms, we can all taste our wine with confidence. And perhaps with plainer language – we say it how it is here!
What does hot mean in wine?
via Giphy
When someone describes a wine as hot, they aren’t describing the temperature of the wine. They are also not describing the climate it was grown in (cool vs warm climate). And finally, has to be said, the wine is also not simply good looking (although it definitely could be if it has a fancy label).
A wine described as hot is a wine that is simply perceived as high in alcohol. The hot feeling comes from the perception of excessive alcohol. This feeling as you sip the wine gives a burning sensation both in the back of the throat and as the wine goes down. Sort of like taking a shot of vodka, but less burny (thank goodness). That burny feeling is what you are getting when you find a hot wine.
Do all high alcohol wines come in hot?
via Giphy
So you might be thinking now, well if a wine is hot that doesn’t sound very nice. And you’d be right. But do all high alcohol wines come across as hot?
The answer is no. Not all wines that have a higher alcohol percentage will come across as hot. This perception comes from a few things.
Firstly, there is the balance of the wine. If the alcohol content is balanced out by other elements like flavour, tannins and body, you won’t get a hot feeling from the wine. These factors all combine together from the vintage to picking the grapes and final winemaking to ensure the wine doesn’t come across as hot.
However, that hot feeling can also be impacted by the serving temperature. The warmer the wine is served, the more the alcohol is emphasised. So serving your wine at the right temperature is crucial.
The final word
So now you know what this weird wine term means, you’ll know how to approach a wine like this next time. It isn’t the most pleasant thing to find in wine (refer to shot of vodka comment earlier) and so finding balanced wines is the way to go! Don’t avoid high alcohol wines altogether though – there are so many great higher alcohol wines that don’t have this note at all. You just have to crack open a bottle and see!