| Glossary
|
|
Acidity – Naturally occurring in grapes, acidity indicates the quality of tartness or sharpness of a wine. Acids in proper proportion give wine balance and character. Generally, the cooler the region, the higher the level of acid in the grapes.
|
| Aftertaste - A tasting term for the taste left on the palate after wine has been swallowed.
|
| Appellation – A recognized wine-growing region governed by the rules and regulations established by its federal and/or local government. In the U.S., appellations are referred to as American Viticultural Areas (AVA).
|
| Balance – The interplay between sugar, acid tannin and alcohol. In a well-balanced wine, none of these elements dominate the wine.
|
| Blending - The mixing of two or more different parcels of wine together by winemakers to produce a consistent finished wine that is ready for bottling. Laws generally dictate what wines can be blended together, and what is subsequently printed on the wine label.
|
| Body - The sense of weight imparted by a wine to the mouth of a taster. A wine may be light- or full-bodied.
|
| Bouquet - A tasting term for the complex aromas of an aged wine. The term is generally not applied to young wines.
|
| Brix – The measurement of sugar content in unfermented grape juice.
|
| Brut - A French term for a very dry champagne or sparkling wine. Drier than extra dry.
|
| Cuvee - The pressing, or a blending of several wines.
|
| Decanting - The process of pouring wine from its bottle into a decanter to separate the sediment from the wine.
|
| Dégorgement - The disgorging or removal of sediment from bottles that results from secondary fermentation.
|
| Dry/Off Dry – Indicates a style of wine, no sugar = dry, a little residual sugar = off dry.
|
| Fermentation – (Primary) The process by which grape juice becomes wine; a chain reaction of chemical processes whereby sugars in the grape juice are converted by enzymes in yeasts into alcohol an carbon dioxide. (Secondary) Also called malolactic fermentation, turns malic acid (think apples) into lactic acid (think cream, vanilla, butter and milk) adding another dimension to the wine. Red wines go through a secondary fermenation, white wines do not. The winemaker controls this process.
|
| Ice Wine – Wine made from grapes frozen on the vine and then pressed before they thaw. The juice from these grapes is very concentrated, high in sugar and acid resulting in wines sweet, intense and rich in flavor with excellent aging potential.
|
| Late Harvest – Grapes picked late in the season for maximum sugar content and typically for sweet or dessert wines.
|
| Legs -The viscous rivulets that run down the side of the glass after swirling or sipping, a mingling of glycerin and alcohol.
|
| Noble rot - Another name for the Botrytis cinerea mould that can pierce grape skins causing dehydration. The resulting grapes produce a highly prized sweet wine, generally dessert wine.
|
| Oak – Wines fermented and/or aged in oak barrels take on toasty qualities and flavors of butter and vanilla in white wines, coffee and tobacco in reds.
|
| Palate - A tasting term for the feel and taste of a wine in the mouth.
|
| Residual Sugar – Natural grape sugar that is either unfermented at the end of the fermentation process or added back into the wine as with dosage for sparkling wine. Residual sugar (RS) ranges from 0.1-0.2% in dry wines to as high as 28-30% in late harvest wines.
|
| Sommelier - A trained wine expert that often works in fine restaurants.
|
| Steel – Wines fermented and/or aged in steel tanks typically have clean, bright flavors emphasizing fresh fruit.
|
| Tannin – Comes from the skin, seeds and stems of the grapes, adding longevity, structure and complexity to wine.
|
| Varietal - Wines made from a single grape variety.
|
| Vinifera – Vitis Vinifera is the vine species that produces wine grapes.
|
| Vintage - The year in which a particular wine's grapes were harvested. When a vintage year is indicated on a label, it signifies that all the grapes used to make the wine in the bottle were harvested in that year.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
