CEFR A2 · 5 min
I became a sommelier at The Ivy in Sydney. My job was to describe wine to people who could not see the bottle — only taste it. That forced me to learn that food and drink words are the most sensory vocabulary in English. One wrong adjective and the guest orders the wrong bottle.
Today's focus: Food and drink vocabulary + key adjective collocations
Food adjectives travel in pairs with specific nouns — these are called collocations. They are patterns, not rules.
| Food/Drink | Common adjectives |
|---|---|
| Wine | dry, crisp, full-bodied, velvety, oaky, tannic |
| Coffee | strong, bitter, smooth, rich, aromatic |
| Bread | crusty, soft, dense, airy, fresh |
| Sauce | rich, tangy, silky, spicy, creamy |
Examples in context
Try it — click to reveal the answer
▶ Which adjective goes with WINE? (a) crusty (b) dry (c) silky
‘Crusty’ belongs to bread. Context tells you which adjective fits which food.
▶ Complete: ‘The espresso was _____ and _____.’ (choose 2 from: crisp / strong / silky / crusty)
Espresso is never described as ‘crisp’ — that word belongs to wine and pastry.
▶ What does ‘full-bodied’ mean when describing wine?
Body = texture weight in the mouth. Light-bodied wines feel thin; full-bodied feel heavy and rich.
Learn food adjectives in context pairs: dry wine, crusty bread, strong coffee, rich sauce. Never memorise adjectives alone — always with their partner noun.
Independent project; not affiliated with, endorsed by, or accredited by Cambridge University Press & Assessment. Confers no qualification. Cambridge CELTA course completed — 120 supervised teaching hours and four written assignments validated to the required standard.