Glossary
Acidity
Natural tartness in grapes and an essential component in a balanced wine.
AC. Appellation Controlee
Highest quality category in the French wine system. The AC designation covers regulations regarding a delimited production area, grape varieties, alcohol level and winemaking and viticultural practices.
Barrel
Usually barrels are made from oak often from France or America. Wines can be fermented and/or matured in oak barrels of varying sizes. Some, especially small new oak barrels impart particular flavours to a wine. See Barrique, Oak and Toast.
Barrique
225L oak barrel.
Blanc de Blancs
Sparkling white wine or Champagne made from white grape varieties. Usually Chardonnay.
Blanc de noirs
Sparkling white wine or Champagne made from black grape varieties. Usually Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier.
Bodega
Spanish term for cellar or winery.
Body
Tasting term to describe the ‘weight’ and mouthfeel of a wine. High alcohol and extract indicate more body.
Bouquet
Tasting term to describe the smell of a wine. Usually used in the context of older wines which have some bottle age.
Botrytis
Also known as Botrytis cinerea. This is the fungus which causes ‘noble rot’ on grapes in humid conditions. Water evaporates shrivelling the grapes and concentrating the remaining sugar. The process is necessary for some of the great sweet wines of Sauternes, Austria, Germany and Hungary. The presence of Botrytis can, on occasion, also be highly undesirable leading to grey rot which causes the grapes to spoil.
Brut
French term for ‘very dry’, usually found on the labels of Champagne and sparkling wines. (Up to 15g/l of residual sugar).
Claret
English term for red wine from Bordeaux.
Classico
Italian term for the best sub-region within a DOC or DOCG zone. Eg Chianti or Soave.
Corked
Tasting term meaning a wine that is ‘off’. Badly corked wines have a stale, mouldy cardboard smell caused by the chemical comound Trichloroanisole.
Cremant
French term for a sparkling wine made in France but outside of Champagne. Eg Alsace, Burgundy or the Loire.
Cru Bourgeois
A Bordeaux classification of chateaux in the Medoc region, below cru classe level.
Cru Classe
‘Classed growth’. The top classification of Bordeaux Chateaux in the Medoc, determined in 1855. There are five categories from premier cru (first growth) to cinquiemes cru (fifth growth). Sauternes, St Emilion and the Graves also operate different cru classe classifications.
Demi-sec
French term for a medium dry wine. Used in Champagne or Loire wines with up to 50g/l of residual sugar.
Denominacion de Origen (DO)
Guarantee of origin used for Spanish wines. Also legislates for permitted grape varieties and style of wine.
Denominazione di Origine Controllata (DOC)
Guarantee of origin used for Italian wines. Also legislates for permitted grape varieties and style of wine.
Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita (DOCG)
Highest category of wine in Italy with stricter controls than DOC.
Domaine
French, Burgundian term for a wine estate belonging to a grower or negociant.
Dosage
French term for the addition of sugar to a Champagne and other methode traditionnelle sparkling wine, following disgorgement. The amount of dosage also determines the final level of sweetness in the finished wine.
Doux
French term for sweet to very sweet wines with over 50g/l of residual sugar. Often used in Champagne and the Loire.
Eiswein
German and Austrian term and category for intensely sweet wine made from frozen grapes.
Fermentation
The conversion of sugar into alcohol by the action of yeast enzymes.
Finish
Tasting term to describe the intensity of a wine once it has been swallowed or spat out.
Fortified
A wine which has had brandy (or neutral grape spirit) added to it. Eg Port, Sherry, Madeira and Vin Doux Naturel.
Grand Cru (Burgundy and Alsace)
French term meaning ‘great growth’ attributed to a designated, named vineyard site. Grand Crus in the Cote d’Or of Burgundy have their own Appellation Controlee.
Kabinett
A white wine category used in Germany and Austria to describe wines in the first level of the Pradikat hierarchy. The wine is light and delicate in style.
Left Bank
Expression for part of the Bordeaux wine region situated on the left bank of the Garonne river. It includes the Graves, Sauternes, Barsac, Pessac-Leognan and all the appellations of the Medoc. Mainly used in the context of red wines to describe wines from these regions whose predominant variety is Cabernet Sauvignon.
Right Bank
Expression for the regions of Bordeaux on the right bank of, or the north of the Dordogne river. It includes the main red wine regions of St Emilion and Pomerol where the Merlot grape variety is the most dominant.
Late Picked
Refers to very ripe grapes which have been picked late and so have high sugar content.
Length
Tasting term which describes the duration of the final taste sensation in the mouth after a wine has been swallowed or spat out.
Methode traditionnelle
Formerly known as the Methode Champenoise, Methode traditionnelle means the traditional (ie Champagne) method of making sparkling wine using the second fermentation in bottle technique.
Mis en bouteille par
French term for ‘bottled by’.
Mousse
French term to describe the bubbles in a glass of Champagne or sparkling wine.
Negociant
Burgundian term in origin for an individual or company (usually French) who buys and sells wine. A negociant may also make and mature wine.
Noble Rot
See Botrytis Cinerea
Non vintage (NV)
A wine or champagne made from a blend of wines of different years. As a result, no year of harvest is specified on the label.
Nose
Tasting term for the smell, aroma or bouquet of a wine.
Oak
Usually used in a wine context to describe the oak treatment given to a wine. For instance, the wine could have been fermented and/or aged in oak barrels. Alternatively, it could have been treated with oak chips. Often this imparts a range of flavours depending on the type of oak used, the age of the barrels and the degree of toast (see below). These flavours include cedar, vanilla and cinnamon. See Barrels and Oak Chips.
Oak Chips
Small bits of oak, usually the size of a cashew nut. They are a cheap way of adding oak flavours to wine prior to or during fermentation.
Premier Cru
French term which translates as ‘first growth’. Confusingly though, in Burgundy, it refers to the second highest category of a named vineyard.
pH
A measure of hydrogen ions or acidity in wine. The higher the pH, the lower the acidity.
Organic Wine
A wine which has been made with grapes which were largely untreated by synthetic chemicals (eg fungicides, pesticides, herbicides or artificial preservatives.) For a wine to be deemed organic, it must also be approved by a recognised certification body. Some wines do show organic symbols on their labels.
Qualitatswein
German term meaning quality wine.
Qualitatswein mit Pradikat
The German term for the highest level of quality wines categorised in ascending order according to the sugar levels and condition of the grapes when harvested. The various categories of Pradikat wines in ascending order are: Kabinett, Spatlese, Auslese, Beerenauslese, Trockenbeerenauslese and Eiswein.
Quinta
Portuguese term for a wine estate which produces its own grapes.
Reserva
Spanish term meaning ‘reserve’. It denotes Spanish wines, which have been aged for minimum periods in particular ways. Red wines must spend at least one year in oak casks and two years in bottle. White or rose wines must be aged for a minimum of six months in cask and one and a half years in tank or bottle. Gran Reserva reds must be aged for a minimum of two years in oak casks and three in bottle. Whites or roses require four years ageing of which six months must be in oak.
Sec
A French term for ‘dry’. However, with Champagne or cremant wines it means medium dry with 17-35 g/l of residual sugar.
Sekt
German or Austrian term for sparkling wine.
Solera
Spanish method of ageing Sherry using a fractional blending system.
Spatlese
German and Austrian quality category for white wines. See Qualitatswein mid Pradikat. Translates as ‘late harvest’.
Superieur
French term on wine labels designating a higher minimum alcohol content.
Superiore
Italian wine term meaning higher alcohol and sometimes, more ageing.
Sur lie
A French term found on some French wines, usually Muscadet. This denotes that the wine has been aged on its lees (dead yeast cells) and then bottled directly without being racked or filtered. The wine can develop a yeasty complexity and may contain a prickle of Carbon dioxide (CO2).
Tannin
A natural chemical substance found in wine (especially red wines) which contributes to the wine’s structure, mouth-feel and ageing capacity. Tannin is found in grape skins together with the pigments that give red wine its colour. Tannin can also be used in a tasting context when referring to the level and quality of a wine’s tannins. It is usually perceived as a dry sensation on the roof and gums.
Toast
A process in barrel making which involves ‘toasting’ the inside staves over an open flame. The heat source toasts the wood to a degree which varies according to the heat and length of time the barrel is exposed to it. As a result, barrels can be light, medium or heavy toast which in turn impart different flavours to wines which are fermented or matured in them.
Trocken
German term for dry.
Varietal
Grape variety.
Vegetarian and Vegan Wines
A wine which has not used animal, gelatin or fish-based products in the fining process. (Fining clears a wine a fermented wine of solid particles.) For vegans, the wine must also have been ‘fined’ without the use of egg white or a milk-based products. Some wines do carry vegetarian and vegan symbols, but not many.
Vieilles Vignes
French term sometimes found on wine labels meaning ‘old vines’. The term is somewhat loose as there is no specified age at which a vine can be termed ‘old’. However, older vines tend to yield less fruit, but more concentrated flavours.
Vin de Pays
French quality level meaning ‘country wine’. The category sits above vin de Table and below Appellation Controlee in the French hierarchy system. A Vin de Pays wine can have some regional characteristics and have fewer restrictions on its production compared to an AC wine.
Vin de Table
The lowest category of French wine with no indication of regional origin.
Vin doux naturel
French term for a sweet wine made by adding alcohol (grape spirit) to a partially fermented wine.
Vinifera
A grape variety which belongs to the European Vitis Vinifera family.
Vinification
The process of making wine.
Viticulture
The cultivation of vines.
Vintage
A wine from a particular year. Ie the year in which the grapes were harvested.
Yeast
Generic term for a group of bacteria which produce the enzymes responsible for converting sugar into alcohol during fermentation. Wild yeasts occur naturally on the skins of grapes and can be used to start fermentation. Cultured yeasts are laboratory bred strains of natural yeasts which can also be used in fermentation to produce more predictable results.
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