Oenophile: meaning, pronunciation and how to become one

The short answer: an oenophile is a lover of wine, usually one who knows a good deal about it too. Merriam-Webster defines it as “a lover or connoisseur of wine”. Say it EE-nuh-file.

How to pronounce oenophile

Three syllables, with the weight on the first: EE-nuh-file. The “oe” sounds like the “ee” in “see”, and the end rhymes with “mile”. In dictionary terms it is /ˈiː.nəʊˌfaɪl/ in British English and /ˈiː.nəˌfaɪl/ in American English, so a British speaker may say “EE-noh-file”.

Where the word comes from

From Greek: oinos, wine, and philos, loving. French speakers put the two together, and English borrowed oenophile from French in the mid-1800s. The same Greek root gives the other wine words that start with oeno-.

Oenophile or enophile?

Both are correct. Oenophile is the standard spelling. Enophile is an alternative, mainly American, in the same way that enology is now the more common American spelling of oenology. The pronunciation does not change.

Words in the same family

Oenophile, connoisseur or sommelier?

• An oenophile loves wine. Knowledge usually follows the love, but the love comes first.
• A connoisseur has the trained palate and the knowledge to judge quality.
• A sommelier does it for a living, for other people's pleasure, on a restaurant floor.

One person can be all three. The full story of the last two: wine connoisseur vs sommelier.

Are you an oenophile? A quick check

• You remember the bottles you loved, and why.
• You read the whole label: grape, region, producer, vintage.
• You have a favourite region, and a list of places you want to taste next.
• You plan a meal around a bottle, or a bottle around a meal.
• Friends ask you what to bring to dinner.
• You would rather have one glass you remember than three you don't.

Three or more? Welcome. Being an oenophile is about curiosity, not the price of your bottles.

How to grow from wine lover to oenophile

• Taste with attention. Look, smell, sip, and name one thing about each. My book Wine Easy has a simple five-step system for it.
• Compare two at a time. Two Chardonnays from two countries teach you more than one bottle on its own.
• Keep notes. A photo of the label and one line in your phone is enough.
• Learn the map. One region a month, with one bottle from it.
• Serve it well. A good universal glass changes more than you would expect: see the best wine glasses.
• Take a course when you are ready. WSET or the Court of Master Sommeliers' Introductory: here is how the sommelier levels work, and WSET vs CMS.

Questions people ask