A lexicon for describing Chinese cereal vinegars (CCVs) was developed using trained panels of tasters that defined and referenced 23 significant olfactory descriptors, in concert with taste and trigeminal sensation. The sensory analysis was performed on 27 samples, representative of the five well-known Chinese provinces producing vinegar: Shanxi, Jiangsu, Sichuan, Fujian and Tianjin. Several aromatic descriptors define the sensory lexicon, e.g.: licorice, chocolate, meat broth, toasted, walnut, yogurt, coffee; together with five basic tastes, such as acid, sweet, salty, umami and bitter; and four for trigeminal sensations, astringent, pungent, metallic, and piquant (spicy). This preliminary study will be useful to CCVs producers because this lexicon reliably differentiates and characterizes this kind of vinegar.