Acetaldehyde:
One of a number of chemical compounds called aldehydes produced by
the oxidation of alcohol. In some wines it can add to the complexity
of the wine and heighten its bouquet, though the presence of too much
is a sign of spoilage.
Acetic
acid: The acid which gives vinegar its distinctive
sour taste, it is produced by the oxidation of alcohol. In small amounts
it may enhance the flavour of a wine.
Acid:
A class of chemical compounds, typically corrosive and sour-tasting,
some of which appear naturally in wine. A certain amount of acid is
vital to the preservation of wine.
Acidification:
The process of adding natural fruit acids to wine to increase its
overall acidity. This practice is allowed in some regions and not
in others.
Acidity:
Not to be confused with sourness, it is the appealing bite and tartness
of fruit, otherwise the taste would be unappealing or flat.
Aeration:
The deliberate exposure of wine to air. During fermentation a certain
amount of oxygen is required to activate the yeast, but too much could
result in oxidation. Aeration prior to serving can sometimes bring
out qualities in a wine that otherwise would be hidden.
Aftertaste:
A synonym for finish.
Amabile:
An Italian term to denote a wine is pleasing and often is sweet.
Ampelography:
The branch of botany concerned with the classification of the vine
species Vitis and its cultivars.
Wine Glossary- Dallas Bartenders
Aroma:
The smell of a young wine that reveals its grape but
does not duplicate the grape flavor and develops a bouquet as it ages.
Aromatized
wine: Wine whose basic grape flavour has been augmented
with the addition of flavoring like spices, herbs, flowers, nuts,
honey or in the case of the Greek wine Retsina, pine resin.
Astringency:
a desirable quality produced by tannin; found in dry red wines and
mellows as the wine ages.
Austere:
Descriptive term for a wine that is out of balance with too little
fruit to compensate for an abundance of tannin and/or acidity.
Autolysis:
As it relates to wine, this is the decomposition of dead yeast cells
after fermentation. Through lees contact the process can impart complex
flavours to wine.
AVA:
American Viticultural Area.
B
Wine Terminology- Dallas Bartenders
Back-blending:
A winemaking technique where sweet reserve is added to a wine to sweeten
it or to soften high acidity.
Backward:
A wine that is late developing.
Baked:
Descriptive term for a wine that is alcoholic due to an overly hot
harvest.
Balance:
Term is to denote that the characteristics of a wine are in check
with each other in regards to sweetness or tartness and its body,
bouquet, smoothness and other qualities that make up its characteristics.
Balthazar:
Large bottle used in Champagne and Burgundy equivalent to 16 standard
bottles (12 litres, 3.168 US gal. and 2.64 UK gal.).
Barrel
ageing: The technique of storing wine in wooden barrels
for a period after fermentation and before bottling. Barrel-ageing
imparts some of the character of the wood into the wine, adding flavor,
tannins and deepening the color. Quality barrels are expensive and
their use is limited to finer wines.
Barrel
fermented: Used primarily for certain fine white wines,
this is the technique of fermenting the must in wooden barrels rather
than in large vats. Because fermentation draws certain chemicals from
the wood, wines made in this way are likely to have much more complex
flavours than wines that have experienced only barrel ageing or have
spent no time at all in wood.
Baumé
scale: System commonly used in Europe and Australia
to measure the sugar in unfermented grape juice.
Big
wine: Term used to describe a full-bodied wine with
a good depth of flavour.
Wine Glossary- Dallas Bartenders
Blackcurrants:
Describes the smell and taste of these berries, detectable in some
red wines.
Blending:
A winemaking technique where wines from different
grape varieties and/or different vintages are combined to obtain a
specific effect in the final wine. There are many reasons for blending
wines ranging from creating a wine of a consistent, established quality
or character or to bring about a desired color or degree of sweetness.
Blind
tasting: A winetasting where the identities of the
wines are unknown to the taster.
Blush:
A term used primarily in the U.S. for a very pale rosé wine
produced from red grapes without maceration. It is also used in general
terms for any rosé.
Body:
Not the quality of flavor but the intensity; opposite of bland.
Bone
dry: When a wine is absolutely void of sweetness.
Botrytis:
A shortening of Botrytis cinerea.
Botrytis
cinerea: The Latin name for a specific strain of grape
mold that under the right climatic conditions will have a pronounced
effect on certain varieties of white grapes. The result is the concentration
of the natural sugars in wine that is rich with a honeyed sweetness.
Bottle
fermented: Refers to wine that has undergone a secondary
fermentation in bottle. This technique is used in the production of
sparkling wine.
Wine Terminology- Dallas Bartenders
Bouquet:
The finished fragrance of wine in the glass.
Breathing:
Refers to the practice of letting a wine stand for
a time after opening and before serving.
Breed:
Refers to a variety of grapes and the great heritage it comes from.
Brettanomyces:
An undesirable yeast variety that can impart unpleasant odors to wine;
sometimes described as mousy.
Brix
scale: A system of measurement, given in degrees,
of the amount of sugar present in grape juice.
Burnt:
Generally used to mean the same thing as baked.
Butt:
Traditional cask used to in the making of sherry, with a capacity
of 600 to 650 litres (158.4 to 171.6 US gal., 131.9 to 142.9 UK gal.).
Buttery:
A desirable rich, fat quality characteristic of some white wines,
usually as a result of malolactic fermentation.
