Navarre (na-var)
A wine producing area in north central Spain, just south of Pamplona. It's best known for its rosada (rosé) and its increasingly fine Cabernet based wines.

Nebbiolo (neh-b'yoh'-lo)
One of the world's top red wine grapes, Nebbiolo is planted mainly in northern Italy's Piedmont area. Wines made solely from Nebbiolo grapes include Barolo, Gattinara, and Barbaresco and they're characteristically full-bodied, rich and chewy. They're usually tannic with powerful fruit flavors and a high alcohol content (13% or more), and they definitely benefit from aging which helps soften them. Curiously, the grape is not often grown in the U.S. and rarely cultivated at all outside of Italy.

New World
Broadly speaking, the wine world is divided into the New World and the Old. The New World refers to places outside of the classic wine making countries of Europe, like Australia, New Zealand, and North and South America. Over the past several decades, consumers have benefited greatly from the tremendous expansion of the wine industries in the New World and the excellent wines they are producing. New World is a bit of a misnomer because wine making in New World countries often has an Old World heritage: the Italians and Spanish in Argentina and Chile or the Dutch in South Africa, for example.

Noble
A tasting term that describes a superlative wine of outstanding character. The term has also been used to describe several traditional grape varieties known for producing fine wines: Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Merlot, Riesling, and Pinot Noir.

Noble Rot
See Botrytis Cinerea

Nose
A term referring to how a wine smells. The term nose is also used in place of bouquet or aroma. Some use nose in an attractive way to describe a very powerful and robust bouquet, while others may use the term "off nose" to describe unpleasant odors in a wine. Its connotation can be either positive or negative.

Nouveau (noo-vo) (France)
Nouveau simply means "new" in French. However, when paired with Beaujolais, as in "Beaujolais Nouveau", the phrase connotes a wine that's light and fruity and above all, young. Beaujolais Nouveau is shipped just a few weeks after its grapes are harvested in late October/early November. Most of the wines are produced using a method called Carbonic Maceration, which is much quicker than traditional wine making methods. The result, however, is a wine without much depth or complexity. One could say the marketing efforts are much richer than the wine that is celebrated and distributed worldwide.

Nutty
A tasting term usually used to describe a wine like Port or Sherry that has nut-like flavors - especially of walnuts or hazelnuts. An overly nutty flavor in most wines is looked upon as a flaw.

Oak
Most barrels employed to store and age wine are made of oak, which contributes both tannins and flavor to the contents and are especially crucial when trying to successfully produce long-lived red wine. The oak flavor should be subtle and never the overwhelming characteristic of a wine.

Oaky
Tasting term describing the flavor and aroma of oak imparted from aging the wine in containers made of that wood. This flavor is often characterized as being smoky with hints of spices such as clove or vanilla.

Oenology
Also spelled enology, it's the science or study of wine production or viniculture. Two top universities offering the major include the University of California at Davis and the University of Bordeaux in France. Students would be taught by experts in the field called oenologists or enologists.

Off-dry
A tasting term describing a wine with just a hint of sweetness. An off-dry wine isn't dry, but the sweet flavor is so subtle it can't be called sweet, either.

Off-flavors (also off-aromas or off-nose)
Term describing a wine in which the flavors or aromas are uncharacteristic or unpleasant. It's defective, with incorrect flavors for the type of wine that it is.

Old World
In the wine universe, the Old World refers to Europe (Italy, France, Spain, Germany, etc.) where there's an ancient tradition of growing grapes and making wine. Some places, especially in Italy, have been cultivating grapes expressly for wine production for literally millennia. Some Old World vineyards have been maintained by the same families for hundreds of years.

Open
A wine that reveals its complete depth and character and is ready to drink.

Organic Viticulture
Winemakers are not immune to the desire among consumers for organic products. Some grow grapes without the use of chemically altered fertilizers or pesticides in which case they may advertise their wine with the phrase "organically grown grapes". The wine itself may be made without the addition of sulfites, in which case a label is permitted to read "organically processed wine". When wine labels are without the phrase "Contains Sulfites", it indicates the wine has a SO2 (sulfur dioxide) content of below 10 ppm, and most likely has been organically processed. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) regulates the marketing and distribution of wines and, as of this writing, doesn't allow the specific phrase "organic wine" to be used on labels.

Oxidized
Wine that has undergone chemical changes via prolonged exposure to air, often giving off a stale aroma not unlike Sherry. The result is considered unwanted in a red or white table wine, which may have a brownish color as a result, but oxidation is desirable and inherent in wines like Madeira and Sherry. The oxidation process is the same that occurs with fruit. Leave half an apple, pear, or avocado lying around for a half hour and it will turn brown from exposure to air.

Passito (pah-see'-toe) (Italy)
A wine production method used in Italy whereby grapes are dried, either on mats or by hanging, until they become raisins. As a result, wine made in this manner has a lot more sugar than is typical. Thus these grapes are used mostly for dessert wines which are called "Passito," after the method. One notable exception is the red and dry Amarone della Valpolicella, which is made the same way and benefits similarly from the concentrated flavors that desiccated grapes can provide.