Amontillado: A style of Spanish sherry, darker than fino with a slightly nutty
flavour
Barrica: Wine barrel.
Blanco: White.
Bodega: A wine estate, wine cellar, wine tavern or wine store.
Cava: Spanish Spanish sparkling wine produced in many regions
of the country but mostly in Catalonia around Barcelona. First produced
in the 19th century, cava is made using the méthode champenoise,
and was in fact originally called champaña, though the name
was changed in 1970 to appease French authorities. Recent years have
seen increased plantings of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, the grapes
of Champagne, in addition to the traditional local varieties, Macabeo,
Xarel-lo and Parellada, which provide cava with its distinctively
fruity and earthy aromas.
Copita: A traditional tulip-shaped glass used for sherry.
Cosecha: Spanish Vintage.
Spanish Wine terminology- Dallas Bartenders
Denominación
de Origen: Abbreviated to DO, the designation of geographic
origin and quality of Spanish wines as laid out by Spanish wine law.
The system was instituted during the 1980s.
Denominación
de Origen Calificada: Abbreviated to DOCa, the highest
category of Spanish wines, modelled after the Italian Denominazione
de Origine Controllata e Garantita, and intended to recognize the
country's finest wine regions.
DO: Abbreviation of Spain's Denominación de Origen.
DOCa: Abbreviation of Spain's Denominación de Origen Calificada.
Dulce: Sweet.
Gran
Riserva: Designation limited to wine from an excellent
vintage that has been well-aged before release. See also Riserva.
Manzanilla: A style of sherry made in the seaside town of Sanlúcar de Barrameda.
It is similar to a fino sherry, pale and dry, and ferments with the
same film-forming flor yeast. Manzanilla tends to be more acidic however,
and is usually made to a slightly lower percentage of alcohol.
Spain's Wine Glossary- Dallas Bartenders
Manzanilla: A style of sherry made in the seaside town of Sanlúcar de Barrameda.
It is similar to a fino sherry, pale and dry, and ferments with the
same film-forming flor yeast. Manzanilla tends to be more acidic however,
and is usually made to a slightly lower percentage of alcohol. Manzanilla
Pasada is similar to a fino amontillado.
Mistela: A fortified wine made from grape juice to which alcohol
is added before any fermentation can take place.
Rancio: A style of wine, usually fortified wine or vin doux naturel, that
involves deliberate maderization and/or oxidation. It is made primarily
in France and Spain.
Reserva: Spanish, Portuguese designation used for a wine from
a good vintage. In Spain the term also denotes longer ageing, while
in Portugal it means that the wine has a higher than normal alcohol
content.
Rosado: Rosé.
Seco: Dry.
Spanish Wine Glossary- Dallas Bartenders
Sherry: A fortified wine from Spain's Jerez de la Frontera region, or a wine
of this style. The word is an anglicization of "Jerez".
Wine has been produced in the region for 3000 years. Sherry has the
potential to be among the driest of the fortified wines because it
is strengthened after fermentation is complete. The two primary types
of sherry, pale-coloured fino and dark Oloroso are both dry wines.
Sweeter variations are made in a number of ways, from simply adding
coloring and sweetening agents, to blending with specially-made very
sweet wines.
Solera: A system employed in the production of Spanish sherry whereby older
and younger wines are blended to achieve consistency of style and,
in the case of fino sherry, to rejuvenate the flor yeast that would
otherwise die out.
Tinto: Red, when used in reference to wine.
Tintorera: Meaning literally "dyer", any of a number of grape varieties
having red flesh and juice, rather than the usual white. Most red
wines get their colour by extracting pigment from the skins of dark
grapes, but teinturier varieties can be used to boost the colour of
pale wines.
