Table Wine
In the U.S., "table wine" is a legal name for a broad category of wines: all still wine that contains between 7 and 14 percent alcohol. This does not connote poor quality; it simply relates to alcohol content.
In Europe, the phrase refers to wine that wasn't produced according to the prescribed rules of the region from which it hails. While that often indicates poor quality wine, there are notable exceptions. Wine producers who, for the sake of creativity, wish to bend the rules of production and stray from the officially sanctioned grape types and vinification methods of the region, must label their wines as table wine instead of with the typical wine name of the region. In many cases these wines are of exceptional quality, making the labeling quite confusing, especially for those outside the region.
Table Wines Include:

• The majority of wine sold in the United States


• Wines of lesser quality or merit


• High quality wines that do not conform to a prescribed regional standard


• In France: vin de table or vin ordinaire


• In Italy: vino da tavola


• In Germany: tafelwein

Tafelwein (tah'-fel-vine)
Tafelwein translates as "table wine" in German.

Tannin
Known collectively as "phenolic compounds", tannins are natural components of grapes that are critical to the wine making process. They are found in the skins, seeds (pips), stalks, and stems of grapes. Most prominent in red wine, tannins are also introduced to wine via the oak barrels used for aging. Tannins are bitter, harsh, and astringent chemicals. In excess, they cause a puckering feeling in the mouth similar to what happens when drinking very strong tea, which also contains a lot of tannins. Tannins are necessary to age red wine, and in proper amounts, the chemicals supply a framework on which wine develops into the wonderful, complex beverage so many of us love. White wines have little tannin because they have little or no contact with the skins and stems of grapes.

Tart
A wine tasting term for a wine that produces a prominent, yet not excessive, acidic impression on the palate. Too much acid moves the wine into negative territory, on a continuum of harsh to downright sour. Dessert wines can be described as both sweet and tart if the residual sugars and acids are in balance.

Tawny Port (Portugal)
A pale port aged in wood sufficiently long for it to lose its red pigment, hence the name. In addition to imbuing a tawny color, extensive barrel aging also gives the wine a nutty aroma. The finest tawny ports are typically labeled by their age, such as ten, twenty, or even forty years old. Lower quality and less expensive versions are produced through a blend of white and ruby ports, and there's no comparison in quality to real tawny ports.

Tears
A synonym for the term "legs", meaning the viscous film that runs down the side of the glass after swirling. There is some disagreement about whether tears are a function of the glycerin in wine, thus indicating wine with a good body, or if it is simply related to the amount of alcohol.

Tempranillo
One of Spain's most important red wine grapes, Tempranillo is the dominant varietal in that country's famous Rioja and Ribera del Duero regions. It produces full-bodied wines of relatively low acidity and alcohol, thus it is often blended with modest amounts of other varietals to augment its structure, like Graciano, Garnacha (Grenache), and Carignan. Tempranillo wines are characterized by a gorgeous dark ruby color and flavors of berry, tobacco, spice, plum, leather and vanilla. In most cases Tempranillo based wines can be drunk while still young, but many of the finest examples of the varietal undergo barrel aging for three years or more prior to bottling. In Portugal's Douro region, Tempranillo is named Tinta Roriz and it is an important varietal used in Port wine blends.

Terroir (France)
A French term that technically translates as "soil," but is actually used to describe a vineyard's geographical universe. It encompasses all of the important natural factors affecting the growth of the grapes: the vineyard's soil, position in relation to the sun, hillside angle, altitude, exposure to wind, the local climate, water drainage, and more. American producers are likely to employ the English terms "microclimate", "mesoclimate", and "macroclimate" to refer to the same range of factors. Terroir is also used with the French word for "taste" in the term gout de terroir,which describes an earthy flavored wine.

Tete de Cuvee (tet duh coo-vay)
The phrase translates from French as "head blend." Unofficially, it's used to refer to the top sparkling wine blend within a given Champagne house. For instance, Moet & Chandon's tete de cuvee is Dom Perignon, a vintage Champagne and Moet's finest production.

Texture
The tactile sensation of a wine on one's palate, "texture" is more specific than "body", which is a more general term for a wine's impression. Wines with pleasing textures are often described as velvety, silky, or smooth.

Thick
A wine tasting term describing wines which are dense, rich, and somewhat heavy, typically with low acid levels.

Thin
A tasting term for a wine that does not have much body and, thus, feels somewhat watery in the mouth. This is not necessarily a flaw; certain wine styles, like champagne for instance, strive more for balance and refinement than dense, full-bodied power.

Tignanello (tee-n'ya-nell'-oh)
An Italian Bordeaux-style red wine produced in the Chianti region of Tuscany. When introduced in 1971 by the esteemed Antinori firm, the wine broke with the heritage (and the rules) of the Chianti producing region by adding Cabernet Sauvignon grapes to the Sangiovese blend. They also flouted the DOCG regulations requiring a small percentage of white wine grapes in the Chianti blend thus taking Tignanello even farther from its Chianti heritage. The wine was one of the very first trailblazers in the popular category now called "Super Tuscans".

Tired
A descriptor used for wines that are rather boring and dull due to being old and beyond their prime.

Toasty
A term used when tasting wine to describe a pleasing aroma of toast. In many cases, it describes a sparkling wine or Chardonnay that has been stored in an oak barrel that was purposely charred on the inside during its construction.