wine dictionary

Each and every wine, whether it's red, white, or sparkling, needs acidity.  It needs to be balanced though.  So too much acidity will make a wine sharp and not enough will make it dull and flat in the mouth.  A wine some good acidity can be described as being crisp.

The amount of alcohol expressed in percent by volume of the total liquid.  Table wines are 8-15%; sparkling wines are 8-12%; and fortified wines are 17-22%.  Scotch and Cognacs are usually around 40%.

A pre-dinner drink that stimulates the appetite.  Some common drinks are Champagne/sparkling wine, beer, Campari, and even fortified drinks like sherry and port.  Stick to something light, refreshing, and stimulating; dry but not too acidic.

wine growing region

Abbreviated AOC, this is the French Government's quality control standards over wine, cheese, and butter.  Seeing this label on a French wine means it has passed certain standards and the land, or appellation the wine comes from, is totally up to par.  Very similar to Italia's DOCG.

Another type of brandy produced in the Armagnac region of France.  Usually distilled in column stills instead of copper, and is traditionally distilled once (as opposed to twice for Cognac), resulting in a less polished wine than Cognac, which uses double distillation. However, the long aging in oak barrels softens the taste of Armagnac and results in more complex flavors and a darker colour.

This is what you have when the acids, the alcohol, the fruit, and the tannins all come together and make music in your mouth.  Combined wth the bouquet, the taste, the finish, the elegance, and the complexity, these are all factors one should consider when tasting wines.

Wines produced without the use of chemical or synthetic sprays, fertilizers, and pesticides.  They are also made with natural yeast and a minimal use of filtration, sulfur dioxide, and chaptalization (adding sugar to the fresh grape juice to artifcially raise the alcohol content).

A style of Champagne or sparkling wine that is made only with white grapes, Chardonnay.  Literally translated white from white.

A style of Champagne or sparkling wine that's made only with dark grapes: Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier.  Literally translated white from black.  The skin is removed prior to fermentation hence the white color.

The impression of the weight of a wine in the mouth.  For light-bodied, think of skim milk.  For medium bodied, think of regular milk.  For a big-bodied wine, think of cream.

A region in the western part of France where the best wines in the world are made.  These are the wines that command the highest prices in the world and are collector's pieces for some.  They are age-worthy, some people won't even think about opening a Bordeaux that is under 15 years old.  Often refereed to as Left Bank wines or Right Bank wines, depending on which side of the Girondes River the appellations are situated.

A particular style of making wines.  Bordeaux regios will generally use 3-5 different grapes to make their wines: cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc, merlot, petit verdot, and malbec.  This style of wine-making produces a wine with more elegance and complexity than just single varietal wines, such as California cabernet sauvignons or Argentine malbecs.

These are also AOC wines from Bordeaux, but they're much more speacial due to the fact that they are harvested from older vines and lead to less yields.  They are more often aged in oak barrels, and result in much more complex, powerful, flavorful, and structured wines.  They also have tremendous ageing potential, more so than regular Bordeaux wines.

In 1855, Emperor Napolean III requsted an official classification system for the best wines of Bordeaux from the Left Bank only.  He left out the Right Bank for some reason.  They were ranked in importance from First Growths to Fifth Growths.  They covered the region from Medoc all the way down the left of the Girondes River to Sauternes, where some of the world's best dessert wines are made.  The original four First Growths are Chateau Latour, Chateau Margaux, Chateau Lafite Rothschild, and Chateau Haut-Brion.  Several years later in 1973, due to heavy campaigning by the very powerful, rich, and influential Phillippe de Rothschild, Chateau Mouton Rothschild was elevated from a Second Growth to a First Growth, and this is the only change that's taken place at the top since 1855.

How a wine smells; also called the nose or aroma.  A nice bouquet can be referred to as having a nice perfume too.

Sparkling wine usually made by Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier, and Chardonnay.  Sparkling wine that comes specifically from the Champagne region in France.  ANY other sparkling wine from ANY other region of the world CANNOT be called Champagne.  Surprisingly, there are actually two different regions of Champagne in France, one that produces the sparkling wine that we all know and love, and the other smaller Champagne region in the western part of France that produces Cognac.

Unlike the 1855 Classification of Bordeaux, this one is updated every 10 years or so.  It was last updated in 2006, but it was declared invalid due to some surrounding controversy, and we're following the 1996 Classification as of now for the 2006-2009 Vintages.  It only covers the Right Bank wines of St. Emilion (so not Pomerol).  It's broken down into Premiers Grands Crus Classés A (only two wines Chateau Cheval Blanc and Chateau Ausone), Premiers Grands Crus Classés B (Angélus, Beauséjour, Beau-Séjour Bécot, Belair Monange, Canon, Figeac, Clos Fourtet, La Gaffeliére, Magdelaine, Pavie, and Trottevieille).  The third rung is simply referred to as Grands Crus Classés, of which there are 53 different wines.

The most popular and expensive brandy in the world comes from here.  Again, it's called Cognac because it comes from the Cognac region of France.  In order to be called a Cognac, French law dictates that the 300 year old production process of Cognac remains very controlled and unchanged.  It must be distilled twice in copper pot stills and aged a minimum of two years in French oak barrels.  Armagnac, another type of brandy, only needs to be distilled once, but in column stills.  The official quality grades of Cognac and Armagnac are as follows:  VS (Very Special and aged at least two years in cask);  VSOP (Very Special Old Pale and stored at least four years in cask); XO (Extra Old and stored for at least six years but often much longer).  Napolean can be between VSOP and XO.

A term characterized by the spoilage of wine.  The main cause of cork taint is the presence of the chemical compund (TCA) in the wine, which in many cases will have been transferred from the cork, but which also can have been transferred through the cork. Corked wine has a characteristic odor, often described as smelling musty like a moldy newspaper, wet dog, damp cloth, or a damp basement.  A corked wine is quite undrinkable.  This can happen with old wines and new wines, cheap wines and expensive wines.  Happens in about 8% of all wines.

Referring to a blend of grapes, as is used in the final product for many Champagnes.  Don't use this term with Bordeaux wines or Bordeaux blends though.

A veseel, often glass, that's used to separate the sediment from the wine, or more often to aerate the wine, allowing it to breathe and "open up".  There's usually not too much sediment in today's wines.  It mimics the effect of swirling wine in a glass, and is recommended for bigger, heavier wines such as Barolo, Bordeaux, Cabernet Sauvignon, Port, and Rhône wines.  See also Breathing.

Abbreviated DOCG and seen on many Italian wine labels, it's the seal of quality assurance by the Government of Italia.  These wine are analyzed and tasted by government officials prior to being bottled.  DOC is one rung down.  DOCG is similar to France's AOC, or Appellation d'origine Controlée.

A post-dinner alcoholic drink that aids in digestion.  Usually have a higher alcohol content than pre-dinner drinks, and can consist of fortified wines (sherry, port, and madeira) or stronger drinks such as Cognac, Scotch, grappa, and tequila

Quite literally, "Water of Life".  This is the truest expression of wine for some, but it refers to a grape-derived spirit.

Sweet wine made from grapes frozen on the vine, usually allowed to stay on the vine much longer than normal wines.  They are harvested and pressed while frozen, resulting in a wine with great sweetness, acidity, balance, and extract.  German, Austrian, and Canadian specialties.

The main alcohol in wine

The basic chemical process by which grape juice is turned into wine.  The basic formula is Sugar + Yeast= Alcohol + Carbon Dioxide

Wine made stronger by extra spirit (77-98%) added at some point during the wine producing process.  It can be added before fermentation (as in Pineau des Charentes), during fermentation (as in port), or after fermentation (as in sherry).

Lirerally means Great Growth.  The best wines in Burgundy, Champagne, and Alsace are labelled by this term.  It means nothing in Bordeaux.  There, the Premier Cru are the best, of which there are five: Latour, Margaux, Haut Brion, Lafite Rothschild, and Mouton Rothschild.

Usually refers to Bordeaux wines.  The best bottles of a certain producer are Grand Vin, but the same producer may have other bottles that are their second, third, and fourth wines.  For example, for Chateau Latour, their Grand Vin is Chateau Latour, their second wine is Les Forts de Latour, and their third wine Pauillac.

A Canadian specialty that is very similar to Eiswein.

Style of wine, usually sweet, that is made by riper grapes kept on the vine much longer

Any wine from a region that's not Old World, such as Napa, Chile, Argentina, Australia, New Zealand.

Often refers to Champagnes and is characterized by blending grapes from many different years.

The most common wood that is used to ferment or age wines in barrels/ casks.   There are two main types, French oak and American oak.  Oak sometimes gives a vanilla flavor to wines because there's something called vanillin in there, which is also present in vanilla beans.  French oak is noted to be more refined and complex, while American oak gives a wine more bold and powerful upfront flavors.

Refers to wines mostly form Europe, typically France, Italy, Spain, Germany, Portugal, Austria.  Anything else is New World, including Napa, South America, and Australia.  Old World wines will usually name their wines according to the region where the grapes are grown, and New World wines usually name their wines according to the grapes that are used to make the wine.

A grape louse that nearly killed all the world's vineyards in the epidemic of the 1870's, including Europe's.  The roots of some native American roots, however, were resistant to this disease, and after the epidemic, the Euorpean vines were pulled and grafted onto phylloxera-resistant American rootstocks.  It's quite ironic that this louse originated from America

A region along the Right Bank of the Girondes River in the Bordeaux region of France where some of the best wines in the world are produced.  There is no official classification system for Pomerol, but the best wines are recognized to be Chateau Pétrus and Chateau Le Pin.

First Growth.  Napolean called for a classification system of the best wines of Bordeaux in 1855, and they were called Premier Cru, or First Growths.  There were initally only four: Latour, Margaux, Haut-Brion, and Lafite Rothschild.  Several years later in 1973, the owner of Mouton Rothschild campaigned heavily to be classified as a First Growth also, and it was.  There are five growths overall: first, second, third, fourth, and fifth.

There is no official classification system for Pomerol on the Right Bank, but they are also often times collectors' wines and command as high or higher prices than their neighbors on the Left Bank.  There is a classification system for the Right Bank wines of St. Emilion.

Wine that is made pink by brief contact with red, black, or purple grape skins.  It's not made by mixing red wine and white wine!

Refers to Italian wines that are laced with Cabernet Sauvignon, making them better and more expensive than their only-Sangiovese-based counterparts.

A natural substance that comes from the skin, stems, and pips of grapes.  It's a preservative, and this is what allows certain wines to improve with age.  In some younger wines, the tannins can make the wine very astringent and bitter.  In older wines, it can add yo the character and complexity of wines.  Red wines generally have higher tannins than white wines.  Tannin is a tactile sensation, not a taste, so you'll experience it in bigger, heavier wines such as cabernet sauvignons, Bordeaux, Malbecs.

The physical environment that determines how a wine is made.  Often refers to the land and the soil, elevation, climate, and other topographical attributes.  Combined with temperature, which of course varies from year-to-year, the terroir, the grape varietal, and the wine-making technique have the most influence on how a wine will taste in its finality.

The specific grape type that is used to make a wine.  Sometimes it's one grape, sometimes it's 3-5 grapes, which makes it a blend.  There are thousands of different grapes across the world that are used for making wine.

The specific year in which the grapes for a wine were harvested.

There are certain descriptors that are often times associated with certain varietals.  The following is a list of the most common ones:  Bordeaux (wet, fallen leaves), red Burgundy (gamey foods and mushrooms), white Burgundy (chalky), Cabernet Sauvignon (chocolate), Chablis (minerals), Chardonnay (buttery), Rhone (black pepper), Sancerre (gunflint), Zinfandel (spicy).

When tasting a wine, it's important to realize the overall taste and what it does for you.  A white wine can be acidic, which can be described as crispy.  A wine can be sweet or dry, these are at opposite ends of the spectrum.  Also pay attention to the way a wine finishes (its aftertaste); does the taste end abruptly or does it continue to linger in the mouth?  Finally, what flavors if any do you think about?  Berries, lemons, limes, pineapples, honey, grapefruit, vanilla, cassis, blackcurrant, chocolate, peppers, guava, mangos, oranges, apples, oak, cedarwood are only some of the things that may come into mind.