DOSAGE: In bottle-fermented sparkling
wines, a small amount of wine (usually sweet) that is added
back to the bottle once the yeast sediment that collects in
the neck of the bottle is removed.
DRY: Having no perceptible taste of sugar. Most wine
tasters begin to perceive sugar at levels of 0.5 percent to
0.7 percent.
DRYING OUT: Losing fruit (or sweetness in sweet
wines) to the extent that acid, alcohol or tannin dominate the
taste. At this stage the wine will not improve.
DUMB: Describes a phase young wines undergo when
their flavors and aromas are undeveloped. A synonym of closed.
EARLY HARVEST: Denotes a wine made
from early-harvested grapes, usually lower than average in
alcoholic content or sweetness.
EARTHY: Used to describe both positive and negative
attributes in wine. At its best, a pleasant, clean quality
that adds complexity to aroma and flavors. The flip side is a
funky, barnyardy character that borders on or crosses into
dirtiness.
ELEGANT: Used to describe wines of grace, balance
and beauty.
EMPTY: Similar to hollow; devoid of flavor and
interest.
ENOLOGY: The science and study of winemaking. Also
spelled oenology.
ESTATE-BOTTLED: A term once used by producers for
those wines made from vineyards that they owned and that were
contiguous to the winery "estate." Today it indicates the
winery either owns the vineyard or has a long-term lease to
purchase the grapes.
ETHYL ACETATE: A sweet,
vinegary smell that often accompanies acetic acid. It exists
to some extent in all wines and in small doses can be a plus.
When it is strong and smells like nail polish, it's a defect.
EXTRA-DRY: A common Champagne term not to be taken
literally. Most Champagnes so labeled are sweet.
EXTRACT: Richness and depth of concentration of
fruit in a wine. Usually a positive quality, although high
extract wine can also be highly tannic.
FADING: Describes a wine that is
losing color, fruit or flavor, usually as a result of age.
FAT: Full-bodied, high alcohol wines low in acidity
give a "fat" impression on the palate. Can be a plus with
bold, ripe, rich flavors; can also suggest the wine's
structure is suspect.
FERMENTATION: The process by which yeast converts
sugar into alcohol and carbon dioxide; turns grape juice into
wine.
FIELD BLEND: When a vineyard is planted to several
different varieties and the grapes are harvested together to
produce a single wine, the wine is called a field blend.
FILTERING: The process of removing particles from
wine after fermentation. Most wines unless otherwise labeled
are filtered for both clarity and stability.
FINING: A technique for clarifying wine using agents
such as bentonite (powdered clay), gelatin or egg whites,
which combine with sediment particles and cause them to settle
to the bottom, where they can be easily removed.
FINISH: The key to judging a wine's quality is
finish, also called aftertaste--a measure of the taste or
flavors that linger in the mouth after the wine is tasted.
Great wines have rich, long, complex finishes.
FLABBY: Soft, feeble, lacking acidity on the palate.
FLAT: Having low acidity; the next stage after
flabby. Can also refer to a sparkling wine that has lost its
bubbles.
FLESHY: Soft and smooth in texture, with very little
tannin.
FLINTY: A descriptor for extremely dry white wines
such as Sauvignon Blanc, whose bouquet is reminiscent of flint
struck against steel.
FLORAL (also FLOWERY): Literally, having the
characteristic aromas of flowers. Mostly associated with white
wines.
FORTIFIED: Denotes a wine whose alcohol content has
been increased by the addition of brandy or neutral spirits.
FOXY: A term used to describe the unique musky and
grapey character of many native American labrusca varieties.
FREE-RUN JUICE: The juice that escapes after the
grape skins are crushed or squeezed prior to fermentation.
FRENCH OAK: The traditional wood for wine barrels, which supplies vanilla,
cedar and sometimes butterscotch flavors. Used for red and
white wines. Much more expensive than American
oak, it can cost more than $500 per barrel, as opposed to
$250 for American.
FRESH: Having a lively, clean and fruity character.
An essential for young wines.
FRUITY: Having the aroma and taste of fruit or
fruits.
GRACEFUL: Describes a wine that is
harmonious and pleasing in a subtle way.
GRAPEY: Characterized by simple flavors and aromas
associated with fresh table grapes; distinct from the more
complex fruit flavors (currant, black cherry, fig or apricot)
found in fine wines.
GRASSY: A signature descriptor for Sauvignon Blanc
and a pleasant one unless overbearing and pungent.
GREEN: Tasting of unripe fruit. Wines made from
unripe grapes will often possess this quality. Pleasant in
Riesling and Gewürztraminer.
GREEN HARVEST: The trimming of unripe grapes to
decrease crop yields, thereby improving the concentration of
the remaining bunches.
GRIP: A welcome firmness of texture, usually from
tannin, which helps give definition to wines such as Cabernet
and Port.
GROWN, PRODUCED AND BOTTLED: Means the winery
handled each aspect of wine growing.
HALF-BOTTLE: Holds 375 milliliters or
3/8 liter.
HARD: Firm; a quality that usually results from high
acidity or tannins. Often a descriptor for young red wines.
HARMONIOUS: Well balanced, with no component
obtrusive or lacking.
HARSH: Used to describe astringent wines that are
tannic or high in alcohol.
HAZY: Used to describe a wine that has small amounts
of visible matter. A good quality if a wine is unfined and
unfiltered.
HEARTY: Used to describe the full, warm, sometimes
rustic qualities found in red wines with high alcohol.
HEADY: Used to describe high-alcohol wines.
HERBACEOUS: Denotes the taste and smell of herbs in
a wine. A plus in many wines such as Sauvignon Blanc, and to a
lesser extent Merlot and Cabernet. Herbal is a synonym.
HOLLOW: Lacking in flavor. Describes a wine that has
a first taste and a short finish, and lacks depth at
mid-palate.
HOT: High alcohol, unbalanced wines that tend to
burn with "heat" on the finish are called hot. Acceptable in
Port-style wines.
IMPERIAL: An oversized bottle holding
4 to 6 liters; the equivalent of eight standard bottles.
JEROBOAM: An oversized bottle holding
the equivalent of six bottles. In Champagne, a jeroboam holds
four bottles.
KELVIN: A temperature scale used for
measuring fermentation temperatures under certain circumstances.
LATE HARVEST: On labels, indicates
that a wine was made from grapes picked later than normal and
at a higher sugar (Brix) level than normal. Usually associated
with botrytized
and dessert-style wines.
LEAFY: Describes the slightly herbaceous, vegetal
quality reminiscent of leaves. Can be a positive or a
negative, depending on whether it adds to or detracts from a
wine's flavor.
LEAN: A not necessarily critical term used to
describe wines made in an austere style. When used as a term
of criticism, it indicates a wine is lacking in fruit.
LEES: Sediment remaining in
a barrel or tank during and after fermentation. Often used as
in sur lie aging, which indicates a wine is aged "on its
lees." See also sur
lie.
LEGS: The viscous droplets that form and ease down
the sides of the glass when the wine is swirled.
LENGTH: The amount of time the sensations of taste
and aroma persist after swallowing. The longer the better.
LIMOUSIN: A type of oak cask from Limoges, France.
See also French oak.
LINGERING: Used to describe the flavor and
persistence of flavor in a wine after tasting. When the
aftertaste remains on the palate for several seconds, it is
said to be lingering.
LIVELY: Describes wines that are fresh and fruity,
bright and vivacious.
LUSH: Wines that are high in residual sugar and
taste soft or viscous are called lush.
MACERATION: During fermentation, the
steeping of the grape skins and solids in the wine, where
alcohol acts as a solvent to extract color, tannin and aroma
from the skins.
MADE AND BOTTLED BY: Indicates only that the winery
crushed, fermented and bottled a minimum of 10 percent of the
wine in the bottle. Very misleading.
MADERIZED: Describes the brownish color and slightly
sweet, somewhat caramelized and often nutty character found in
mature dessert-style wines.
MAGNUM: An oversized bottle that holds 1.5 liters.
MALIC: Describes the green apple-like flavor found
in young grapes which diminishes as they ripen and mature.
MALOLACTIC FERMENTATION: A secondary fermentation
occurring in most wines, this natural process converts malic
acid into softer lactic acid and carbon dioxide, thus reducing
the wine's total acidity. Adds complexity to whites such as
Chardonnay and softens reds such as Cabernet and Merlot.
MATURE: Ready to drink.
MEATY: Describes red wines that show plenty of
concentration and a chewy quality. They may even have an aroma
of cooked meat.
MERCAPTANS: An unpleasant, rubbery smell of old
sulfur; encountered mainly in very old white wines.
MERITAGE: An invented term, used by California
wineries, for Bordeaux-style red and white blended wines.
Combines "merit" with "heritage." The term arose out of the
need to name wines that didn't meet minimal labeling
requirements for varietals (i.e., 75 percent of the named
grape variety). For reds, the grapes allowed are Cabernet
Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petite Verdot and Malbec;
for whites, Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon. Joseph Phelps
Insignia and Flora Springs Trilogy are examples of wines whose
blends vary each year, with no one grape dominating.
METHODE CHAMPENOISE: The
labor-intensive and costly process whereby wine undergoes a
secondary fermentation inside the bottle, creating bubbles.
All Champagne and most high-quality sparkling wine is made by
this process. See also charmat.
METHUSELAH: An extra-large bottle holding 6 liters;
the equivalent of eight standard bottles.
MURKY: More than deeply colored; lacking brightness,
turbid and sometimes a bit swampy. Mainly a fault of red
wines.
MUST: The unfermented juice of grapes extracted by
crushing or pressing; grape juice in the cask or vat before it
is converted into wine.
MUSTY: Having an off-putting moldy or mildewy smell.
The result of a wine being made from moldy grapes, stored in
improperly cleaned tanks and barrels, or contaminated by a
poor cork.
NEBUCHADNEZZAR: A giant wine bottle
holding 15 liters; the equivalent of 20 standard bottles.
NEGOCIANT (NEGOCIANT-ELEVEUR): A French wine
merchant who buys grapes and vinifies them, or buys wines and
combines them, bottles the result under his own label and
ships them. Particularly found in Burgundy. Two well-known
examples are Joseph Drouhin and Louis Jadot.
NOBLE ROT: See Botrytis
cinerea.
NONVINTAGE: Blended from
more than one vintage. This allows the vintner to keep a house
style from year to year. Many Champagnes and sparkling wines
are nonvintage. Also, Sherry and the nonvintage Ports, the
tawnies and the rubies.
NOSE: The character of a wine as determined by the
olfactory sense. Also called aroma; includes bouquet.
NOUVEAU: A style of light, fruity, youthful red wine
bottled and sold as soon as possible. Applies mostly to
Beaujolais.
NUTTY: Used to describe oxidized wines. Often a
flaw, but when it's close to an oaky flavor it can be a plus.
OAKY: Describes the aroma or taste
quality imparted to a wine by the oak barrels or casks in
which it was aged. Can be either positive or negative. The
terms toasty, vanilla, dill, cedary and smoky indicate the
desirable qualities of oak; charred, burnt, green cedar,
lumber and plywood describe its unpleasant side. See also American
oak, French
oak.
OFF-DRY: Indicates a slightly sweet wine in which
the residual sugar is barely perceptible: 0.6 percent to 1.4
percent.
OXIDIZED: Describes wine that has been exposed too
long to air and taken on a brownish color, losing its
freshness and perhaps beginning to smell and taste like Sherry
or old apples. Oxidized wines are also called maderized or
sherrified.
PEAK: The time when a wine tastes its
best--very subjective.
PERFUMED: Describes the strong, usually sweet and
floral aromas of some white wines.
PH: A chemical measurement of acidity or alkalinity;
the higher the pH the weaker the acid. Used by some wineries
as a measurement of ripeness in relation to acidity. Low pH
wines taste tart and crisp; higher pH wines are more
susceptible to bacterial growth. A range of 3.0 to 3.4 is
desirable for white wines, while 3.3 to 3.6 is best for reds.
PHYLLOXERA: Tiny aphids or root lice that attack
Vitis vinifera roots. The disease was widespread in both
Europe and California during the late 19th century, and
returned to California in the 1980s.
POTENT: Intense and powerful.
PRESS WINE (or PRESSING): The juice extracted under
pressure after pressing for white wines and after fermentation
for reds. Press wine has more flavor and aroma, deeper color
and often more tannins than free-run juice. Wineries often
blend a portion of press wine back into the main cuvée for
added backbone.
PRIVATE RESERVE: This description, along with
Reserve, once stood for the best wines a winery produced, but
lacking a legal definition many wineries use it or a spin-off
(such as Proprietor's Reserve) for rather ordinary wines.
Depending upon the producer, it may still signify excellent
quality.
PRODUCED AND BOTTLED BY: Indicates that the winery
crushed, fermented and bottled at least 75 percent of the wine
in the bottle.
PRUNY: Having the flavor of overripe, dried-out
grapes. Can add complexity in the right dose.
PUCKERY: Describes highly tannic and very dry wines.
PUNGENT: Having a powerful, assertive smell linked
to a high level of volatile acidity.
RACKING: The practice of moving wine
by hose from one container to another, leaving sediment
behind. For aeration or clarification.
RAISINY: Having the taste of raisins from ultra-ripe
or overripe grapes. Can be pleasant in small doses in some
wines.
RAW: Young and undeveloped. A good descriptor of
barrel samples of red wine. Raw wines are often tannic and
high in alcohol or acidity.
REDUCED: Commonly used to describe a wine that has
not been exposed to air.
REHOBOAM: Oversized bottle equivalent to 4.5 liters
or six regular bottles.
RESIDUAL SUGAR: Unfermented grape sugar in a
finished wine.
RICH: Wines with generous, full, pleasant flavors,
usually sweet and round in nature, are described as rich. In
dry wines, richness may be supplied by high alcohol and
glycerin, by complex flavors and by an oaky vanilla character.
Decidedly sweet wines are also described as rich when the
sweetness is backed up by fruity, ripe flavors.
ROBUST: Means full-bodied, intense and vigorous,
perhaps a bit overblown.
ROUND: Describes a texture that is smooth, not
coarse or tannic.
RUSTIC: Describes wines made by old-fashioned
methods or tasting like wines made in an earlier era. Can be a
positive quality in distinctive wines that require aging. Can
also be a negative quality when used to describe a young,
earthy wine that should be fresh and fruity.
SALMANAZAR: An oversized bottle
holding 9 liters, the equivalent of 12 regular bottles.
SMOKY: Usually an oak barrel byproduct, a smoky
quality can add flavor and aromatic complexity to wines.
SOFT: Describes wines low in acid or tannin
(sometimes both), making for easy drinking. Opposite of hard.
SPICY: A descriptor for many wines, indicating the
presence of spice flavors such as anise, cinnamon, cloves,
mint and pepper which are often present in complex wines.
STALE: Wines that have lost their fresh, youthful
qualities are called stale. Opposite of fresh.
STALKY: Smells and tastes of grape stems or has
leaf- or hay-like aromas.
STEMMY: Wines fermented too long with the grape
stems may develop this quality: an unpleasant and often
dominant stemmy aroma and green astringency.
STRUCTURE: The interaction of elements such as acid,
tannin, glycerin, alcohol and body as it relates to a wine's
texture and mouthfeel. Usually preceded by a modifier, as in
"firm structure" or "lacking in structure."
SUBTLE: Describes delicate wines with finesse, or
flavors that are understated rather than full-blown and overt.
A positive characteristic.
SUPPLE: Describes texture, mostly with reds, as it
relates to tannin, body and oak. A positive characteristic.
SUR LIE: Wines aged sur lie
(French for
"on the lees") are kept in contact with the dead yeast
cells and are not racked or otherwise filtered. This is mainly
done for whites, to enrich them (it is a normal part of
fermenting red wine, and so is not noted). Originated in
Burgundy, with Chardonnay. Popular in Muscadet, Alsace,
Germany (Riesling and Pinot Gris) and California. Adds
complexity to Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc; can occasionally
be overdone and lead to a leesy flavor that is off-putting.
TANKY: Describes dull, dank qualities
that show up in wines aged too long in tanks.
TANNIN: The mouth-puckering
substance--found mostly in red wines--that is derived
primarily from grape skins, seeds and stems, but also from oak
barrels. Tannin acts as a natural preservative that helps wine
age and develop.
TART: Sharp-tasting because of acidity. Occasionally
used as a synonym for acidic.
TARTARIC ACID: The principal acid
in wine.
TARTRATES: Harmless crystals of
potassium bitartrate that may form in cask or bottle (often on
the cork) from the tartaric acid naturally present in wine.
TERROIR: The over all environment within which a
given varietal grows. Derived from the French word for Earth,
"Terre."
THIN: Lacking body and depth.
TIGHT: Describes a wine's structure, concentration
and body, as in a "tightly wound" wine. Closed or compact are
similar terms.
TINNY: Metallic tasting.
TIRED: Limp, feeble, lackluster.
TOASTY: Describes a flavor derived from the oak
barrels in which wines are aged. Also, a character that
sometimes develops in sparkling wines.
VEGETAL: Some wines contain elements
in their smell and taste which are reminiscent of plants and
vegetables. In Cabernet Sauvignon a small amount of this
vegetal quality is said to be part of varietal character. But
when the vegetal element takes over, or when it shows up in
wines in which it does not belong, those wines are considered
flawed. Wine scientists have been able to identify the
chemical constituent that makes wines smell like asparagus and
bell peppers.
VELVETY: Having rich flavor and a silky, sumptuous
texture.
VINICULTURE: The science or study of grape
production for wine and the making of wine.
VINOUS: Literally means "winelike" and is usually
applied to dull wines lacking in distinct varietal character.
VINTAGE DATE: Indicates the year that a wine was
made. In order to carry a vintage date in the United States,
for instance, a wine must come from grapes that are at least
95 percent from the stated calendar year. See also nonvintage.
VINTED BY: Largely meaningless phrase that means the
winery purchased the wine in bulk from another winery and
bottled it.
VINTNER: Translates as wine merchant, but generally
indicates a wine producer/or winery proprietor.
VINTNER-GROWN: Means wine from a winery-owned
vineyard situated outside the winery's delimited viticultural
area.
VITICULTURAL AREA: Defines a legal
grape-growing area distinguished by geographical features,
climate, soil, elevation, history and other definable
boundaries. Rules vary widely from region to region, and
change often. Just for one example, in the United States, a
wine must be 85 percent from grapes grown within the
viticultural area to carry the appellation name. For varietal
bottling, a minimum of 75 percent of that wine must be made
from the designated grape variety. See also appellation
d'origine côntrolée.
VITICULTURE: The cultivation, science and study of
grapes.
VITIS VINIFERA: Classic European wine-making species
of grape. Examples include Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay.
Compare Vitis labrusca, North American grape species used
mainly for New York state wines. For example, Concord.
VOLATILE (or Volatile Acidity): Describes an
excessive and undesirable amount of acidity, which gives a
wine a slightly sour, vinegary edge. At very low levels (0.1
percent), it is largely undetectable; at higher levels it is
considered a major defect.
YEAST: Micro-organisms that produce
the enzymes which convert sugar to alcohol. Necessary for the
fermentation of grape juice into wine.