Appellation - is a designated wine producing area where laws govern the types of grapes grown and the vinification processes. This word can refer to both a wine region as a whole (such as Burgundy) or an individual wine village within the region (such as Volnay or Pommard of Burgundy).
Body- is the perceived “weight” of a wine. A full bodied wine will feel thicker or heavier compared to a medium or light bodied wine. Some contributing factors to the body are:
The alcohol level of a wine has the same kind of influence on the “body” of a wine that fat has in different kinds of milk. Milk with lower levels of fat content such as skim milk has less perceived weight and tastes thinner than half and half does. The same relationship is true with the level of alcohol in and wine and the body of that wine. The lower the level of alcohol the thinner and lighter the perception of that wine will be and the higher the level of alcohol the fuller and weightier the perception of the wine will be. It is important to note that alcohol level is not the only thing that influences or determines the body of a wine. Factors such as acid levels, amount of tannins, and carbonation are also contributing factors.
Alcohol: direct relation, the more alcohol the heavier the wine will feel
Sugar: direct relation, the more residual sugar in the wine the heavier it will feel. Think about the weightiness of a dessert wine compared to a dry wine.
Tannins: direct relation, the higher the tannin level the heavier the wine. Tannin levels can be increased through extended maceration
Acidity: indirect relation, the higher the acidity levels the lighter and brighter the wine will seem
Carbonation: decreases the weight of wine and will feel lighter bodied Scale: light, med, or full bodied.
Botrytis Cinerea - (“Bo-try-tis”) - also known as “Noble Rot” is a mold that grows on grapes that are still on the vine as a result of high humidity in the vineyard. This mold pierces the skin of the grapes causing the water content to slowly drip out leaving behind shriveled up, highly concentrated, raisin like grapes on the vines. This can impart flavors like honey, mushroom, and saffron and add complexity to a wine. Due to the low water content and degree of sugar concentration remaining in the grapes, this can be a highly desirable effect in creating delicious sweet wines. Botrytis is responsible for some the most well known sweet wines in the world such as France’s Sauternes, Germany’s Trockenbeerenausleses, and Hungray’s Tokaji.
Brix Scale - measures the amount of sugar in grapes while they are still on the vine
Château - is a castle or manor house. For the purposes of wine it is an estate with single ownership. Châteaux is the plural for of Château
Cold Stabilization - this is a process of rapidly chilling a wine which causes harmless tartaric acid crystals to precipitate out of the wine so they can be removed.
“Corked” Wine - is a defect in wines that occurs when a bacterial called Trichloroanisole (TCA) comes in contact with a cork. This taints the wine causing it to smell like wet dog or mildew. When doing wine service at a table, the point of giving the cork and a small taste to the host is so that they can check the wine for defects such as this before the wine is served to their guests or fully poured out. A wine that is defective and still full can usually be returned and replaced at no cost to the consumer. However, if the bottle is half empty this may make it more difficult to have the bottle replaced. Think about it in terms of food. If someone doesn't like their meal or something is wrong with it they’ll know within the first bite or two (hence the rule of checking back in two bites or two minutes) at which point it can easily be fixed. However, if they wait until they eat two thirds of it before saying something, it becomes more difficult to correct.
Côte - French for hillside or slope
Dry Wine - the dryness of a wine is the degree to which the sugars of the grapes have been converted to alcohol. The more the sugars have been converted to alcohol the less residual sugar there will be in the wine and the dryer that wine will be. This is not to be confused with the drying sensation in the mouth that occurs in a tannic wine. Residual sugar in a wine can balance out the acidity levels in a wine in the same way that adding sugar to lemonade balances out the acidity. Residual sugar can also balance out the bitterness of a wine in the same way that adding sugar balances out the bitterness of dark chocolate and coffee.
Estate Bottling - these are wines where the grapes are grown, the wine is produced, and the bottling process all occurs at the same vineyard.
Fermentation - is the process by which yeast cells convert sugar to alcohol, CO2 (CO2 typically allowed to escape when producing still wine), and heat.
When fermentation occurs many people think that sugar is simply converted into alcohol or some may even realize that alcohol and CO2 are the results. However that is only partially true, the byproduct of fermentation is actually alcohol, CO2, heat, and flavors and aromas being imparted into the wine. This is not merely semantics. It is important because both the alcohol and heat interact with the skins of the grapes pulling out the flavors. This process is called extraction and just like with a tea bag the warmer the temperature and longer the contact the greater the amount of color and flavor extraction there will be. When there is no contact with the skins, the juice of all grapes (the ones used to make red and white wines) are pale yellow. When white wines are made the skins are separated from the juice preventing them from imparting any color into the wine.
Secondary Fermentation - is a second round of fermentation that typically takes place once the initial wine has been bottled. When fermentation occurs in the bottle, the CO2 gasses get trapped and are absorbed into the wine. This is how sparkling wine is made in the traditional method.
Fruitiness - not to be confused with sweetness, is a characteristic of young wines which diminishes or changes as the wine ages and matures.
GSM blend - a red wine made from a blend of Grenach, Syrah, and Mourvedre made famous in the the Southern Rhône Valley.
Ice wine - is wine that is produced from grapes that have frozen on the vines. This happens when the temperature in the field drops to a certain point (roughly -6 or -7 degrees celsius), typically at night, which causes the water (but not the sugars) within the grapes to crystallize. The grapes are then picked and pressed (while still frozen), extracting the sugars and leaving the water behind. This produces a highly concentrated sweet syrup in the same way that sucking on an ice pop pulls out all the sugary goodness leaving behind a flavorless piece of ice. There is no botrytis influence in these wines.
Wine Terms & Definitions (J - R)
Lees - are dead or leftover yeast cells.
Yeast cells die when the alcohol by volume (ABV) level reaches 16.5 percent. At this point the alcohol level becomes poisonous to the yeast cells, ironically killing them off.
Sur Lie Aging - means “on the lees” and refers to wine that has been aged while in contact with yeast cells to impart flavors (of yeast or baked bread) and a creamy texture into the wine. This is a practice that is found in places like Champagne and Burgundy.
Maceration - the process of soaking pressed grape solids, which include the skins, seeds, and stems, in grape must to impart colors, flavors, and tannins into the must. This can occur before or during fermentation.
Most Common Bottle Sizes -
Split - 187.5mL (¼ of a standard bottle)
Demi / Half - 375 mL (½ of a standard bottle)
Standard - 750 mL
Magnum - 1.5 L or 1,500 mL ( 2x a standard bottle)
Must - is unfermented grape juice and is the result of pressing or crushing the grapes.
Phylloxera - (“Phil-lox-er-ra”) - is a small vine louse that feeds on the roots of vitis vinifera vines. In the process of feeding on the internal sap it infects the roots causing them to swell, preventing the sap from flowing within the plant, eventually killing the vine.
The Punt - is the upward semicircular indentation on the bottom of a wine bottle. It was originally the result of pushing the pontil mark (a sharp scar left behind when a piece of hand blown glass is cut off of the pontil rod) up into the bottle so it could stand upright on a table without scratching it. However, once mold blown glass bottles were introduced, the punt remained because it increased the strength of the bottles which is especially important for sparkling wines where the contents are under added pressure as compared to still wines. The punt was never intended to be a thumb hold for pouring even though many people use it that way.
Rain Shadow - an area of nice weather that exists on one side of a mountain range creating better vine growing conditions because the mountains block the incoming bad or harsh weather coming in from the opposite side.
Residual Sugar - is any sugar that is left in the wine because it has not been converted to alcohol during the fermentation process.
Ripening - As a grape ripens on the vine, the sugar levels within the grape rise, the acidity levels fall, and the tannins mature and soften. Sugar levels and acidity levels in a grape exist on opposite ends of a sliding scale and the amount of sunlight exposure is what slides the scale from acid to sugar content. Acidity —> Sugar level
Wine Terms & Definitions (S - Z)
Tannins -are a compound found in red wines that create a drying or astringent sensation when drunk. Tannins in wine are the result of the grape must coming into contact with the skins, stems, and seeds of the grapes also known as maceration. The longer maceration goes on for the higher the tannin levels of the wine will be.
Tannins are a natural preservative. They contribute to the structure and body of a wine and are essential for a wine's ability to be aged.
White wine is nearly tannin free
Tannins are not only imparted into wines from contact with the grape skins, seeds, and stems. When wine is aged in wood barrels, contact with the oak imparts tannins as well.
American oak is less porous than french oak and imparts less tannins however it imparts stronger vanilla flavors and sometimes coconut flavors as well.
French oak imparts more subtle vanilla flavors however it is more porous and imparts more tannins than American oak.
New barrels will have a greater impact on wines and will impart more flavors than used barrels will the same way that a tea bag has the most impact the first time it is used and will decrease its influence with each subsequent use.
Scale: low, medium (-), medium, medium (+), high
Tartrates or Tartaric Crystals - sometimes called wine crystals, are a naturally occuring acid in grapes that can precipitate out of a wine in the form of crystals in a wine that has not undergone cold stabilization. These crystals often gather on the bottom of the cork and look like they are the result of a flaw or defect with the wine. However, they are perfectly harmless, tasteless, and odorless.
Terroir - (“Ter-whar”) - is typically described as “a sense of place” and is used to describe an expected taste of essence in a wine that is synonymous with the specific region, sub-region, or vineyard that the wine comes from. This is a very difficult term to nail down because it is mysterious in nature. The best way I can describe it is to liken it to NY bagels. When you have a bagel from NY it tastes different than a bagel from anywhere else, yet no one really knows exactly why. Maybe it's the water, maybe it's the texture or consistency, maybe it's something else. Whatever the reason, you know when you’re having a NY bagel. Similarly, this is how terroir works in wine. Maybe it’s the soil, the water, the climate, or something else. Whatever the reason, there is an essence of the place it is from that comes through in the taste of the wine.
Vinification - is the act of wine making and encompasses all of the decisions made in the winery between the point of harvest and the final product. This includes everything from the type of wine that will be made (as in a red, white, rosé, sparkling, or blend), to the fermentation process, to if and how the wine will be aged.
Vintage - a year that, when marked on a wine bottle’s label, indicates the year in which the grapes used for that wine were harvested (not when the wine itself was produced or bottled).
Viticulture - is the science of growing grapes and refers to all of the decisions made about what happens in the vineyards.
Vitis Vinifera - “vitis” is the genus for grape producing vines. Vinifera is a species of vine. The vast majority of wine grapes we know today (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and so many more) are all varieties of the Vitis Vinifera grape.
An example of another species of grape vine is Vitis Labrusca which is responsible for the well known Concord grape found in areas of the US such as New York.
Volatile Acidity (VA) - is an acid formed by a bacteria that when mixed with oxygen can make wine taste and smell like vinegar.
