a wine connoisseur

Meanings

1. 1phrasecountable

   a person who knows a lot about wine and can judge its quality

   Grammar: Countable phrase; you can say a wine connoisseur or wine connoisseurs, and it often takes of: a connoisseur of French wines.

   Patterns

   • a wine connoisseur
   • a connoisseur of something
   • an expert wine connoisseur

   As a wine connoisseur, she can tell which region a bottle comes from.

   He asked a wine connoisseur to choose the wine for the dinner.

   The restaurant's owner is a wine connoisseur with a large private collection.

2. 2phrasecountable

   a person with deep, refined knowledge of any subject, especially art or food

   Grammar: Used with of: a connoisseur of modern art. The noun after 'of' names the subject.

   Patterns

   • a connoisseur of something
   • an art connoisseur

   She is a connoisseur of Italian cooking.

   Only a connoisseur would notice the difference between these two paintings.

Common combinations

a wine connoisseur's choice

This bottle is a wine connoisseur's choice.

a true wine connoisseur

A true wine connoisseur never drinks too quickly.

a connoisseur of fine wine

He is a connoisseur of fine wine from small vineyards.

an expert wine connoisseur

They hired an expert wine connoisseur for the event.

Synonyms and how they differ

expert

Expert is a general word for someone with special knowledge; connoisseur adds the idea of refined taste and judgment.

enthusiast

An enthusiast enjoys something a lot but may not have expert judgment; a connoisseur is more knowledgeable.

aficionado

Aficionado is similar but often used for sports or hobbies; connoisseur is more formal and suggests critical taste.

Opposites

Word family

connoisseurship noun

The skill or knowledge of a connoisseur.

Commonly confused: a wine connoisseur or connoisseur / connoisseur?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “a wine connoisseur”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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