Used to describe both positive and negative attributes in wine. At its best, a pleasant, clean quality that adds complexity to aroma and flavours, especially of reds. The negative side is an unpleasant, farmyard-like character that borders on or crosses into dirtiness.
A descriptor for wines that have aromas and flavors reminiscent of the soil and its minerals, an important component of the wine's flavor balance.
Describes a wine in which tastes or scents are characteristic of the soil in which the grapes were grown.
A term used to describe and grade coffee. It is used to indicate coffees that have a spicy taste.
A wine tasting term. It means just what it sounds like, a slight taste of soil. The French use a term "gout de terroir" that is often used to mean the same thing; although it can also mean that the wine has typical tastes for the region.
a description for a wine that offers wet clay, barnyard or forest floor characters. Despite the name, earthy wines can be delicious.
A term used to describe aromas and flavors that have a certain soil-like quality. A bit of earthiness can be appealing; too much makes the wine coarse.
Smell suggestive of soil and earth. In small amounts it is appealing, but too much of it can make the wine too coarse.
not far removed from or suggestive of nature; "the earthy taste of warm milk fresh from the cow"; "earthy smells of new-mown grass"
Tasting term for a flavor note reminiscent of clean, fresh-turned earth.
A flavor characteristic reminiscent of soil. Often used in a positive manner to describe the taste of Sumatran or Sulawesi coffee; used as a pejorative to describe other coffees.
A coffee described as "earthy" was likely dry-processed while laying on the ground. Coffee beans absorb flavors from their surroundings so beans that were dried on the earth often pick up an "earthy" flavor. Some prefer and appreciate this quality; most see it as a defect.
Earthiness is good when it describes a clean, complex smell and taste that reminds one of fresh garden soil; and bad when used to indicate a funky, livestock/farm-like character.
A musty or savoury flavour found in some wine (often referred to in tasting notes as 'barnyard'characters).
This term (referred to as 'terroir' in Europe) can mean many things to many people. It usually describes a pleasant, clean quality that adds complexity to aroma and flavors and hints of rich-earth. It usually comes from certain young varietal grapes grown on old farming land. If a wine is too earthy, it can give the impression of eating barnyard dirt.
This aromatic cue shows as an undesirable dirt odor and flavor taint. Sometimes called groundy or perhaps musty.
An unpleasant aroma perceived when warmed in the mouth upon tasting. It is difficult to properly describe. How much of this phenomenon is soil, climate, time of harvest, processing, or microbial in origin is not known.
a description for a wine that offers wet clay, barnyard or forest floor characters. Used to describe both positive and negative characteristics in wine.
sensory evaluation term for wine with a taste or smell reminiscent of soil, mushrooms or mustiness.
An unpleasent liquor taste found in tea stored under damp conditions.
A descriptive term for wine when it has a smell or taste like the earth or something growing in soil. Earthy wines can be reminiscent of mushrooms.
A term used to describe a certain, earthy flavor of some teas. This is usually the result of the soil and other growing conditions in a particular tea-growing region, which is not necessarily undesirable, or the result of improper storage in a damp place.
Describes an elemental character of some teas likened to damp forest soil. A natural trait of tea from certain regions, but can also result from storage in moist conditions.
An unclean smell or taste that can be specific, such as sourness or mustiness, or a more generalized taint that reminds one of eating dirt.
The smell within the coffee bean that produces a mineral-like taste sensation. This happens when fats in the coffee beans absorb organic materials from the ground in the drying process during harvesting.
Describes a particular taste of coffee. Can be a bad thing meaning dirty or muddy flavour.
A dirt odor and flavor taint picked up by coffee when dried on the ground; also called groundy; can be considered desireable or undesireable (see musty).
A liquor taste found in tea which was stored under damp conditions.
Often associated with grapes grown in heavy soils. It is the smell and imaginary taste of fresh earth.
A certain amount of earthiness can be appealing but too much makes the wine too harsh, used positively it denotes aromas of fresh, rich, clean soil, more intense than woody or truffle scents.
An undesirable odor and taste that resembles freshly turned soil. It is found in low grade coffee and usually due to poor preparation conditions.
A scent that reminds you of freshly turned garden soil, mushrooms or truffles-it rarely exists on its own, but is an element that contributes to the wines' complexity. As an off aroma, it might be described as funky or reminiscent of livestock.
A vegetative, damp earth smell.
The taste of soil, usually a characteristic of some red wines.
A groundy, wet earth flavour after storage with damaged coffees.
An odor taint in coffee beans that produces a dirt-like taste sensation. Results from fats in the coffee beans absorbing organic materials from the ground in the drying process during harvesting. Also referred to as dirty and groundy.
An odor taint in the coffee beans that produces an mineral-like taste sensation. Results when fats in the coffee beans absorb organic materials from the ground in the drying process during harvesting.
The taste that soil imparts to grapes and is passed on to the wine.
Aroma / flavor reminiscent of damp black earth, organic, mushroomy, cellar-like (can be found, for example, in some Javan or Sumatran coffees "gone wrong").
Smell or flavor reminiscent of earth. A certain earthiness can be appealing; too much makes the wine coarse.
is the adjective used to describe the fragrance impression of earth, forest-soil, mold, dust, etc. Vetiver and patchouly are well-known essential oils possessing earthy characteristics. Earthy accents in perfumes are not pronounced, always subtle.
Another term that can either be a taint or quality. Generally this is a grainy, almost musty taste. Common in Sumatra.
A taste of the earth, similar to dirty.
wines described as "earthy" will have aromas and flavors of soil, minerals, leather, and/or wet leaves. Believe it or not, many people find earthiness to be a positive element to find in a wine. Usually, Cabernet Sauvignon and similarly "big" red wines will exhibit earthy character.
This is actually a positive term denoting flavors derived from the soil in which the grapes have been grown.
The spicy "of the earth taste" of Indonesian coffees.
Having interesting smells or flavors of the outdoors such as mushrooms or damp earth.
A characteristic smell that suggests the soil in which the grapes were grown.
A complimentary term when applied to dry processed coffees. It is the herbal, musty, vegetative-like range of flavors characteristic of Indonesian varieties. For coffees that are washed, tasting "earthy" is considered a defect.
May be used in both a negative and a positive sense; however, I prefer to use earthy to denote a positive aroma of fresh, rich, clean soil. Earthy is a more intense smell than woody or truffle scents.
The smell of rich earth or minerals. A positive comment
Smelling of rich earth and minerals and found in Barolo. A positive comment.
Tasting of the soil in which the grapes were grown; sometimes implying imbalance or a fault, "earthy" wines tend to be controversial, and a little bit is usually enough.
A positive attribute; a smell like that of rich soil.
not actually referring to a dirty or soil-like smell or taste, but to a characteristic of the wine derived from its special soil and climate. The iodine-like quality that many relate to red Graves wines, or the rubbery character many associate with Mayacamas Mountain Cabernets is called earthy, or possessing goût de terroir (taste of the ecosystem, if you will).
Describes a wine that tastes of the soil in which it was grown. Red wines most often have this characteristic.
perceived as a positive wine taste and aroma in the right balance.
Flavors and aromas of mushroom, soil and mineral
A wet-earth flavor after storage with damaged coffees.
The characteristic odour of fresh earth, wet soil or humus. Sometimes associated with moulds and reminiscent of raw potato flavour, considered as an undesirable flavour when perceived in coffee.
Describes a wine that tastes of soil, most common in red wines. Can be used both positively (pleasant, clean quality adding complexity to aroma and flavour) and negatively (barnyardy character bordering on dirtiness)
An unfavorable characteristic generally caused by storing tea under damp conditions.
Normally caused by damp storage of tea but can also describe a taste that is sometimes 'climatically inherent' in teas from certain regions.
What the French call Goût de terroir. The peculiar taste that the soil of certain vineyards gives to their wine. Disagreeable when too noticeable.
Wine that has the smell or slight taste of fresh earth. Pinot Noirs are often described as earthy.
A wine is described by a wine taster as earthy if it tastes of mushrooms, mustiness, or soil. (Do you know what soil tastes like?)
Can either describe a clean, complex taste and aroma that reminds one of fresh garden soil; or a funky, livestock and farm-like connotation that is not a compliment. As a positive example, earthy is often used to describe the wonderful flavor of red Graves wines such as Chateau Haut Brion.
Refers to the herbal-musty-mushroom range of flavors characteristic of Indonesian coffees.
A smell reminiscent of soil, mushrooms or mustiness in the wine.
Can be a component of complexity deriving from the wine's distinctive soil character.
A description of rustic wine, but also the soil quality that gives the wine its distinctive flavour.
A slightly undesirable dirt odor and flavor taint picked up by coffee when dried on the ground.
Describes wines with aromas or flavours of soil or earth. In small amounts the aromas or flavours can add complexity and be positive characteristics, but become negative as the intensity increases. Frequently associated with Pinot Noir. European wines are more apt to be earthy than wines from other continents.
Used to describe both positive and negative attributes in wine. At its best, a pleasant, clean quality that adds complexity to aroma and flavors. The flip side is a funky, barnyardy character that borders on or crosses into dirtiness.
Notes that give the impression of earth, soil, the forest floor, mould and moss. Earthy notes are clearly discernible in Oakmoss Absolute, Vetivert and Patchouli Oils.
Itâ€(tm)s the adjective used to describe the fragrance impression of earth, forest-soil, mold, dust, etc. Earthy accents in perfumes are not pronounced, always subtle.
Covers situations where a "mother-earth" component is present. Earth is soil-dirt, but an earthy wine is not dirty as in "dirty" above. The term appears to be applicable to wine thought, by some, to be made from certain young varietal grapes obtained from vines planted on land previously used for growing vegetables containing components which "marked" the soil in some way. European tasters use the term in a broader sense to describe "terroir" characteristics (see also nose, stoney, vegetal, yeasty / yeastlike).
Earthy is a term used by perfumers to describe notes that resemble earth, dirt, moss, and other such scents.
Wine with soil-derived flavour/characteristics; mineral, damp leaves, mushrooms etc.
May be inherent to the leaf, or caused by damp storage.
