Wine Glossary

Acid:A key element of wine present in all grapes. When acid is balanced, wine is fresh and has a long life.

Age:The process of maturing in wines. As white wines age, they tend to turn from a greenish hue to a yellowish tone to a golden amber color. Reds usually begin with a purple tone, turning to a deep red brick red color depending on the grape. Rosés should be pink without any other color.

Alcohol:Alcohol is the natural by-product of fermentation. It is one of the main components of taste, the others being acid, residual sugar and tannin. The presence of these components defines a wine that has "good balance."

Aroma:What gives a wine its distinctive “nose” or “bouquet.” Applied to the grape itself.

Astringent:High tannic acid content giving a furry feeling on the tongue.

Balance:All elements of a wine are in harmony, with no one element dominating. Acid is balanced against the sweetness, fruit is in balance with oak and tannin, and alcohol is balanced against both acidity and flavor.

blending:no desc

Blind tasting:Wine tasting term for tasting wine from bottles with hidden labels.

Blush wine:Light, slightly sweet wine, either white or rosé, made from dark grapes.

Bottle-aging:Maturing a wine directly in the bottle as opposed to a tank or barrel.

Corked:Flavor of a wine tastes of cork.

Creamy:Refers to the silky taste of wines, usually white, subjected to malolactic fermentation as opposed to the tart or crisp taste of the same wine lacking the treatment.

Crisp:A term used when wine has a pronounced but pleasing tartness, acidity. Generally used to describe white wines only

Cru:A term for a particular wine, type of wine, vineyard or the wine produced at that vineyard.

Cuvée (coo-vay):A term for the initial pressing of the grape, and also a term for a blend of high-quality wines.

Decanting:Pouring wine slowly from the bottle into a carafe, which can add oxygen or separate the wine from the sediment.

Dégustation:A term meaning the lack of sweetness in a wine

Méthode champenoise:Combining the words “merit” and “heritage,” a cuvée made from several varieties of quality grapes.

Must:Raw, unfermented, grape juice.

Non-vintage:A blend of different grape varieties from different areas and different years.

Nose:The overall scent of a wine.

Oenology:see Enology.

Oxidation:The result of too much oxygen in the wine, causing color change and loss of freshness.

pH value:The result of too much oxygen in the wine, causing color change and loss of freshness.

Phenolics:Substances extracted from grape skins that provide the color and texture for red wine, specifically, anthocyanins, flavones and tannins.

Polyphenol:Substances extracted from grape skins that provide the color and texture for red wine, specifically, anthocyanins, flavones and tannins.

Pressing:The process which separates the grape solids from the juice.

Racking:A natural clarification that removes sediment by transferring the wine from one cask to another until it is clear.

Residual sugar:The natural sweetness of a wine, produced from the sugar not converted to alcohol during fermentation.

Rosé:Pink champagne or wine, usually made from black grapes with little skin contact, or from a blend of red and white wines and often fruitier than white champagne or wine.

Sediment:The accumulation of tannin and pigment deposits in a bottle of wine. Can be removed by decanting.

Solera:System for making brandies, sherry, port and other fortified wines that ensures the same quality year after year.

Sommelier (soh-mal-lee-ay):French term for a professional wine server.

Specific gravity:The degree of ripeness of the grapes.

Stabilization:A condition reached when a wine has all the undesirable sediment removed and is clear in the bottle with no further fermentation.

Tannin:Provides the astringent effect in wines, important in the aging of red wines. Tannin decreases as a wine ages.

Taste:four basic tastes detected by the tongue - sweet, salty, sour and bitter.

Anthocyanin:One of the phenolics present in wine; the red and blue pigments found in the skins of dark grape varieties.

Assemblage (ah-sem-blage):The process of blending high-value wines.

Appellation (app-el-ay-shun):The region where a specific grape is grown. Geography and climate combine to produce flavors and style characteristics, which are unique to a region.

Bottle Sizes:split 187.5 ml
1/2 bottle 375 ml (aka Fillette)
bottle 750 ml
magnum 1.5 liter (2 bottles)
Marie-Jeanne 2.25 liters (3 bottles) (Red Bordeaux)
double magnum 3 liters (4 bottles)
jeroboam 4.5 liters (6 bottles)
imperial 6 liters (8 bottles)

Bouquet (boo-kay):The combination of aromas given off by a wine.

Breathe:When wine is poured from the bottle into another container, such as a wineglass it mixes with air, releasing aromas which become more pronounced as time passes.

Breed:Also described as complex or elegant, a term denoting a wine made from the best grape varieties.

Buttery:The taste of a very good white wine, usually a Chardonnay wine.

Case:12 (750 ml) bottles of wine.

Cedar:The term denoting the aroma found in fine red wines.

Chambrer:A term describing opening a bottle of wine so it can come into contact with the air and reach room temperature. From the French meaning “Allow to breathe.”

Citrusy:An aroma and flavor of citrus fruits, often of grapefruit, generally found in white wines made from grapes grown in cooler regions of California.

Clarification:The process of clearing a wine that involves binding cloudy substances and particles, which then settle on the bottom, becoming sediment.

Cloudy:Opposite of clear; generally an undesirable quality in a wine.

Enology:The science of wine production. Also spelled Oenology

Dry:A term meaning the lack of sweetness in a wine

Fermentation:The process of winemaking that turns the sugar in the grape into alcohol and carbonic acid. Grapes on the vine are covered with yeast, mold and bacteria. By putting the grape juice, or must, into a container at the right temperature, the yeast will turn the sugar in the juice into alcohol and carbon dioxide.

Fining:Same as clarification, the process of clearing a wine that involves binding cloudy substances and particles, which then settle on the bottom, becoming sediment.

Finish:Same as clarification, the process of clearing a wine that involves binding cloudy substances and particles, which then settle on the bottom, becoming sediment.

Flat:A wine-tasting term denoting very low acid and lacking flavor.

Flavones:One of the phenolics found in wine; the yellow pigments in small amounts in all pale and dark skinned grape varieties.

Floral:A wine-tasting term indicating the aroma or taste of flowers in the wine, mostly applied to white wines.

Forward:Wine-tasting term indicating that the fruitiness of a wine is immediately apparent, and is at perfect maturity for drinking.

Fresh:Describes the lively fruity acidity of good young red, white and rosé wines.

Full-bodied:A wine-tasting term denoting a wine that fills the mouth and weights on the tongue.

Glycerin:A natural by-product of the fermentation process, giving the wine a sweet taste on the tongue, and a smooth sensation in the mouth.

Growth:A term for a particular wine or type of wine.

Lees:The sediment remaining in the tank after fermentation.

Legs:Swirling a wineglass filled with wine will produce rivulets, or legs, indicating the amount of alcohol present in the wine. Generally, the higher the alcohol content, the more impressive the legs.

Maceration:Part of the fermentation process where grape skins, seeds and stems are steeped for hours or weeks before pressing.

Marc:The residue left in the winepress after pressing or fermentation.

Mash:The pulp of the grape, including skins and seeds, that settles in a fermentation tank or barrel.

Maturing:The process of ripening in the bottle.

Meritage:Combining the words “merit” and “heritage,” a cuvée made from several varieties of quality grapes.

Varietal (Vah-rye-ah-tall):The grape variety used to make a champagne or wine. In Europe, wines are usually named after the region in which the grapes are grown (i.e. Bordeaux, Chianti, Burgundy). Elsewhere, wines are usually labeled with the name of the grape variety that the wine is made from (i.e. Cabernet, Chardonnay, etc.).

Veraison (ve-ray-zon):The phase of growth where the grape begins to turn color and the sugar begins to form.

Vinification:The production of wine from the harvest to the bottling.

Vitis Vinifera:The premier grape species used for the world's most admired wines.

Vintage:A term referring to a wine from an exceptional year; can also refer to the year in which the grapes were grown.

Wine-tasting:How soil, climate, and weather affect different varieties of grapes, and how those factors are manifested in the taste of the wine. Wine-tasting breaks down into four basic steps:

1. Color of the wine
2. Clarity of the wine when viewed against a light source
3. Smell which is referred to as the “nose”
4. Taste

Yeast:Micro-organisms, some of which make grape juice ferment.

Yield:The amount of grapes produced from a particular crop.