Whether biodynamic techniques result in superior wine may be debated, but there is no doubt they require an intellectual, emotional and physical commitment, placing high demands, risks and costs on the wine grower. A fungus, botrytis cinerea, that thrives in humid environments and has a dual personality.
In its harmful form for grape growers, botrytis bunch rot or grey rot sometimes called "vulgar" rot , the fungus attacks ripe grapes and can spread rapidly through bunches and other parts of the vine. Under certain conditions of alternating humidity and dry, sunny periods, it takes a benign or noble form, especially on green or pale-skinned grapes, enabling the production of intensely sweet, concentrated and long-lived wines.
See noble rot. If aroma describes the smell of young wines, bouquet commonly refers to the more developed and altered aromatic expression of a wine which has matured in bottle.
Brett, as it is commonly known, is viewed as a spoilage yeast decried by tasters for causing offensive odors described as wet dog, barnyard, horse, burnt plastic or boiled cabbage.
Many wine professionals are unaware of the research published by the University of California-Davis in following extensive analysis of Brettanomyces yeast strains and their by-products. The findings are presented in the form of an aroma impact wheel. Tasters who believe the consequences of Brett are only negative will discover that many are viewed positively; among these are aromas classified as fruity tropical fruit, citrus , savory nutty, smoked meat , floral violet, rose and woody cedar, tobacco, graphite.
A method, widely employed in the U. A Sherry cask. There are as well casks of smaller and larger capacities used in Jerez. The casks are made of American oak. See bodega, solera. The French term for the precise, official map of vineyards which sets out their exact dimensions and borders together with ownership. A critical and invaluable reference when parcels are subdivided into small, irregular shapes and slivers, each owned by different proprietors, as is the case in Burgundy.
See climat, lieu-dit. A term referring to soils containing calcium carbonate and varying degrees of active lime. Calcareous soils can offer better drainage and nutrient supply to the vine, but their worth to wine growers may have been romanticized by the prevalence of limestones in some of the fabled vineyards of Burgundy.
Often found in association with clays, calcareous soils are also present in Champagne, St. The French term for calcareous clay is argilo-calcaire. See limestone, marl. A sparkling wine produced primarily in Catalonia, Spain by the traditional Champagne method using Macabeo, Xarel.
A top tier dedicated to single-vineyard examples, Cava de Paraje Calificado CPC , has recently been incorporated in the legislation. These wines must meet stricter requirements as to vine age, yield and aging on the lees min. Chalk is a form of limestone and is considered desirable for viticulture because of its high porosity and ability to limit fast draining while also facilitating drainage if saturated.
Although many insist chalk is present in vineyards in numerous parts of the world, in fact only one region of note, Champagne, can legitimately claim pure chalk. Here, a small, dart-shaped mollusk or Belemnite has given its name to the chalky soils along the rises and slopes; another form, Micraster, is more prevalent on the plains. Vineyards planted on chalk or other limestones need to utilize rootstocks that tolerate high levels of active lime.
See limestone. The process of adding sugar to grape must to increase a wine's alcoholic strength. Takes its name from its foremost promulgator, Jean-Antoine Chaptal, who advocated its use in the early s.
In the European Union, chaptalization is strictly regulated and may only be employed in specific zones. Often decried as overly manipulative, boosting alcohol by small increments may yield more balanced wines; in hot climates, alcohol may be removed from wine to the same end. Adding sugar is as well the mirror image of acidification. This form of enrichment or amelioration is becoming less common with rising global temperatures which result in riper grapes with higher sugars. The English word for red Bordeaux.
A corruption of the French clairet, which described the clear, pale red wines produced in Bordeaux in the late medieval period when England became a principal customer for the region. A specific vineyard site or grouping of sites given a name, especially in Burgundy, where there are 1, such recognized vineyards.
Under appellation laws, they may be the ensemble of numerous lieux-dits or encompass only a certain part of a lieu-dit,or parts of several lieux-dits. In other words, the definition of climat is the very essence of Burgundian complexity.
See lieu-dit. A vine derived from a single parent that is identical in genetic terms. Clones have been developed in France, Germany and other countries. They tend to be identified by a unique code or number. In practical terms, clonal selection allows for slightly varied traits within a single grape variety, providing growers with security and diversity under the same name.
Clones are the mainstay of modern viticulture. In France, a vineyard enclosed by stone walls at this time, or at some earlier period. The word is associated with Burgundy in particular; e.
In French, pollination failure: flowers fail to develop into fruit. This condition may result from wet, poor weather during the normal flowering period. See millerandage. Portuguese term for vintage or harvest. It also refers to a style of Port, effectively a Tawny with a vintage date aged for a minimum of seven years in cask.
It is a style produced in small quantities by a limited number of shippers and can be of exceptional quality. The tasting term for a musty, moldy odor which is caused by various chloroanisoles, of which TCA is the principal culprit. The improvement has been brought about by more rigorous sterilizing treatments, and the increased usage of alternative closures from synthetic corks to conglomerates such as Diam. Taints from other sources may be mistaken for "corkiness.
A French word that appeared in the 19th century in reference to vineyards of a higher stature; its English equivalent is "growth" though that does not fully or clearly explain its usage.
Thus the meaning and application of cru differ significantly. Hence cru as a term also exists independently of AOC rules and may or may not be synonymous with the uppermost quality. A term that has various meanings in France and in other countries as well. It might refer to a single vat or lot, but more commonly to a blend.
Official wine regulatory system and terminology employed in Italy, Spain and Portugal, respectively. Equivalent to France's AOC although rules differ significantly by country. Spain, for example, places particular emphasis on the period of aging before release.
The process of opening a bottle of Champagne, or other classic method sparkling wine, to expel the sediment resulting from the secondary fermentation, in which the wine takes on its sparkle. The addition of cane or beet sugar to a sparkling wine after it has been disgorged, and prior to insertion of the final cork. After they become sparkling, Champagne and equivalent wines are completely dry, all fermentable sugar having been depleted.
The dosage, a precisely calibrated mixture, will determine the sugar content of the final product. A minority of traditional sparkling wines may be released without a dosage. Individual vineyard site in Germany. There are around 2, registered Einzellagen. As a rule, grapes for Eiswein are not touched by noble rot and must achieve the sugar concentration must weight of a Beerenauslese.
The resulting wine also possesses exceptionally high acidity and flavor concentration. Eiswein is also produced in Austria. Icewine is the Canadian term for wines meeting even higher standards for sugar ripeness; Canada is the largest producer of this style. The term in French for the "upbringing" or maturation of a wine in the cellar prior to bottling. The French word for the mix of grape varieties planted in a vineyard.
It is an important term because it serves as the foundation of all AOC regulations. The percentages of authorized varieties stipulated in the rules are established on the basis of plantings, not the composition of a finished wine, even if the two are usually fairly close.
The process of clarifying a wine in barrel or tank with an agent that will remove solubles such as tannins and other phenolics. Commonly used coagulants include powdered minerals and proteins including egg whites, isinglass or casein. The objective of fining is to improve clarity and stability; fining serves to polish the wine as well. A mineral present in soils in many wine regions; it is odorless and tasteless.
The perception of a wine as "flinty" is not determined by flint in the vineyard and has been linked to benzene methane thiol, a highly odoriferous, volatile chemical compound. The film of yeast that accumulates on the surface of particular wines, notably Fino Sherry and Vin Jaune from Jura, France.
Casks are only partially filled to encourage growth of flor yeasts, which differ from those associated with alcoholic fermentation. Sherry under flor undergoes biological aging resulting in chemical changes such as a decrease in alcohol, glycerol and both total and volatile acidity, together with an increase in acetaldehyde.
May also be used in a more general sense to imply a top-class wine, but this is at the discretion of the maker and is not subject to official controls; e. The French word for gravel as well as the eponymous Bordeaux district which, in places, has a gravelly soil.
Known as GG, such wines are produced in Grosse Lage vineyards; yields are limited and the wines are dry. The German wine law does not categorize vineyards in a quality hierarchy; rather, wines are ranked by must weight sugar concentration. The term in Bordeaux for a large-format bottle holding 6 liters or 8 standard bottles.
It contains the same volume as the Methuselah in Champagne, but has the typical straight-sided shape used for Bordeaux wines. A large format bottle containing 3 liters or 4 standard bottles of Champagne. This same size is called a double magnum in Bordeaux. For other still wines, a jeroboam could contain either 4 or 6 bottles 4.
Typically, semi-dry, light-bodied, elegant; can also be dry Trocken. Portuguese for the traditional open, shallow fermentation vat used in the Douro, in which grapes are crushed by foot.
These were made of granite or marble. Today, this process can be done mechanically. Tanks have largely replaced the lagar for maceration. The solid deposits or sediment which collects at the bottom of a vat or cask. Some wines, notably Muscadet, are bottled directly from the tank still containing these deposits and are labeled sur lie. Interaction of the wine with the lees may have specific advantages, and they may be agitated or stirred to enhance their contribution. A named site or place.
A term employed in many parts of France, Burgundy foremost among them, perhaps because of the extreme fragmentation of vineyards in that region. A lieu-dit tends to be the smallest defined vineyard unit to bear a name. See climat. As they weather, they create clay, silt or sand to varying depths. It is estimated that calcium carbonate soils underpin as much as two-thirds of France; hence a discussion of French viniculture tends to include reference to limestone, an alkaline, lime-rich soil.
See calcareous. A soil type present in many wine regions characterized by a mix of sand, silt and clay in varying ratios resulting in lighter, more porous or heavier, water-holding soils.
In an ideal mixture, loam possesses adequate water holding capacity yet drains freely. May stimulate vine vigour and growth. Wind-blown fine silt and sand providing permeability and facilitating root growth.
Loess soils can be highly fertile. Found in some parts of Germany, Austria and Washington State. The "malo" or MLF is a secondary fermentation or, more accurately, conversion that normally follows the alcoholic fermentation whereby sharper malic acid is converted to softer lactic acid and carbon dioxide.
It is provoked by lactic acid bacteria, occurring naturally in older regions and cellars or via inoculation with cultures in new ones. The malo is considered essential for red wines but may be allowed only partially, or blocked entirely, in the case of certain white and sparkling wines; for example, many Rieslings and a few Champagnes. The traditional practice of selecting wood or shoots from the healthiest and often oldest vines in a vineyard for planting purposes. Such vines were planted prior to the adoption of clones.
The preferred approach of a small minority of growers in France. Two types of cryptogamic or fungal diseases are a frequent threat to vines in some parts of the world.
Both were inadvertently brought to Europe in the mid- to late s, causing widespread problems. Lime and copper sulfate mixed with water, called the "Bordeaux mixture" or bouillie bordelaise,was developed in the s as a control.
Fungicides are commonly used today. A condition of incomplete fruit set leaving a number of seedless berries in each bunch. Previously called shot berries. Typically occurs with poor weather at flowering. While yields are consequently reduced, millerandage may improve the quality of red wines owing to a high skin-juice ratio of affected berries. See coulure. Scientists advise that minerals in wine have a distant, indirect and complex relationship with geological minerals in soil.
See sommelier courses in America. See: the seven types of corkscrews. See wine tasting See winemaking Tart-tasting malic acid occurs naturally in many fruits, including apples, cherries, plums, and tomatoes. Malolactic fermentation — a secondary fermentation in which the tartness of malic acid in wine is changed into a smooth, lactic sensation.
See wine ratings See how to become a sommelier. See what is a supertaster? See understanding tannin. See understanding terroir. Ullage — the space left in bottles and barrels as wine evaporates. See: know your wine bottle. Vegetal — tasting term describing characteristics of fresh or cooked vegetables detected on the nose and in the flavors of the wine. Vinification — the process of making wine. Vinology — the scientific study of wines and winemaking.
Also, the website for the Wine School. Vintage — the year a wine is bottled—the yield of wine from a vineyard during a single season. Wine — fermented juice from grapes. See what is wine? Wine glass — a drinking vessel specially designed to tasting wine.
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