| Backbone |
| A wine with structure, not flabby or insipid. This is often from acid or tannin content. |
| Baked |
| 'Hot', earthy quality. Usually from scorched grapes, or from too warm a barrel fermentation, especially in some whites. |
| Balance |
| When the wine's components - alcohol, acid, tannin, fruit and wood (where used) - are in harmony. |
| Barrel Aging |
| Leaving wine in oak barrels to allow flavour and aromatic compounds to develop. |
| Barrel Character |
| The flavour and aromatic compounds an oak barrel contributes to the wine. Barrel character varies by the type of wood, coopering techniques including toasting and length of oak aging, and the age of the barrel. |
| Barrel Fermentation |
| The conversion of grape juice into wine by yeast in an oak barrel. Barrel fermentation gives wines complexity and integrated oak flavour. |
| Bead/Mousse |
| Bubbles in sparkling wine; a fine, long-lasting bead is the most desirable. |
| Bitter |
| Sensation often perceived in the finish of a wine. Sometimes more positively associated with the taste of a specific fruit or nut, such as cherry-pip or almond. |
| Blend |
| A wine made from two or more different grape varieties, vintages, vineyards or containers. Some of the world's finest wines are blends. |
| Bloom |
| Flowering of the grapevines. Bloom is also a waxy substance found on the skins of grapes. |
| Body |
| A sensation of fullness on the palate. |
| Botrytis |
| Botrytis is caused by a fungus that attacks ripe grapes. The benevolent form is known as "noble rot" which is responsible for the world's finest sweet wines. |
| Bottle-age |
| The development of aromas/flavours (i.e. complexity) as wine matures after bottling. As a negative, bottle-age means a wine with stale, empty, or even off odours. |
| Bud |
| A small protuberance on a stem or branch, often enclosed in protective scales and containing an undeveloped shoot, leaves or flowers. |
| Bud Break |
| When the first shoots emerge on a vine after winter dormancy. |
| Buttery |
| Flavour and texture associated with barrel-fermented white wines, especially Chardonnays; a rich, creamy smoothness. |
