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The Wine Doctor - Vintner terms Category: Food and Drink > Wine terms Date & country: 01/02/2011, USA Words: 146

oldworld
In wine-speak the Old World refers to the European nations - France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Austria and so on - with a long history of viticulture. In some instances, particularly in Burgundy and the Mosel, grapes have been grown for the express purpose of making wine for over a thousand years. In many cases we have the local monasteries and noble...

oloroso
(Spain) A style of Sherry - rich and flavoursome, although it may be dry or sweet if Pedro Ximénez has been added. An Oloroso Sherry never developed the coating of flor which protects a Fino Sherry from oxidation and keeps it so pale and dry. The exposure to oxygen causes the wine to darken and develop rich, nutty flavours.

organic
Like any other branch of agriculture, some winemakers wish to rely less on fertilisers, pesticides and other chemicals. Those that meet certain criteria may be labelled as organic. It is often compared to biodynamic viticulture, although this is much more extreme.

oxidation
The degrading action of oxygen on a wine (or any other substance) is known as oxidation. Hence exposure of the wine to oxygen in the winery is carefully controlled, although not necessarily completely avoided. Exposure to oxygen during racking and ageing in barrel can be of benefit to the wine. Once a bottle of wine has been opened for some time, o...

palocortado
A rare style of dry Sherry. It is the result of failure of complete development of the flor, so it starts life as neither Fino nor Amontillado. What flor there is subsequently dies, and as a consequence the eventual wine develops a character midway between an Amontillado and an Oloroso.

passito
(Italy) The passito method describes the drying of grapes prior to fermentation. The dehydration results in an increased sugar concentration. The practice is traditional in Veneto, Italy, particularly in the production of Amarone della Valpolicella and Recioto della Valpolicella, but also for Recioto di Soave and other sweet wines. Traditionally th...

photosynthesis
The biological process in which plants, by virtue of chlorophyll and energy derived from the sun, convert carbon dioxide and water into sugar and oxygen. The result is the accumulation of sugar in the plant, including the fruit. The accumulation of sugar continues until the fruit is eventually considered ripe, although this only refers to sugar rip...

phylloxera
A vine louse which devastated the vineyards of Europe in the late 18th Century. The cause of the disease was initially uncertain, but eventually the Phylloxera vastatrix louse was identified on the roots of the affected vines. It was imported from North America, where the indigenous American Vitis labrusca vines are resistant to the effects of the ...

physripeness
This refers to the ripening of substances other than sugar in the grapes, such as tannins. Picking grapes that have sugar ripeness ensures the wine will reach a sufficient alcohol content as the sugar is converted, but if the grapes are not physiologically ripe they will impart a green, harsh character to the wine. The onset of physiological ripene...

pigeage
(France) This is one method of submerging the cap of skins and grape solids, which is kept in contact with the fermenting wine to increase extract during the cuvaison. Pigeage à pied is the process of pushing it down with the foot. The same may be achieved by pumping the fermenting wine over the cap, or be submerging it using boards laid across th...

potentialalcohol
The potential alcohol depends on the must weight. The more sugar there is in the juice prior to fermentation, the greater the amount of alcohol in the final wine, hence it has a higher potential alcohol.

pradikat
(Germany, Austria) The Prädikat is a classification of wine depending on the must weight, which may be reported in a variety of units including KMW, Oechsle, Baumé and Brix. The classification includes three basic levels, Kabinett, Spätlese or Auslese. Additional categories include Beerenauslese, Trockenbeerenauslese and Eiswein. This is the only ...

presswine
During the winemaking process the wine must be taken from the grape solids - pips, skins, pulp and stalks. First it may be run off - this is the free-run wine and is of higher quality than the wine obtained by pressing the cap, which is the press wine. Press wine has more tannin. It may be blended back in in varying proportions according to the pra...

puttonyos
(Hungary) A 25kg basket used in the harvest of grapes, puttonyos have become a measure of the addition of sweet nobly rotten grapes known as Aszú to Tokay wine. The more puttonyos are added per gönc of dry wine, the sweeter the final wine will be. Generally wines range from three to six puttonyos. A wine made from harvested grapes where the Aszú ar...

px
An important Sherry grape, which produces an intensely sweet juice. It may be bottled as an unblended PX Sherry - so obviously a very sweet wine - or may be blended with other wines to produce a sweet style.

qba
(Germany) The labelling term QbA (Qualitätswein bestimmter Anbaugebiete) literally describes a "quality wine from a designated region". It is a lower quality category than QmP, permitting the addition of süssreserve. Wines classified as QbA are occasionally of interest, but frequently are not!

qmp
(Germany) The term QmP is an abbreviation for Qualitätswein mit Prädikat, which literally interprets as "quality wine with distinction". The distinction is the Prädikat, which contains a number of categories which depend on must weight. This is the classification for the vast majority of German wines of any interest.

racking
The process of racking involves transfer of wine from one container, such as a barrel, to another. Carefully done, the lees may be left behind in the first barrel, resulting in a partial clarification of the wine.

rehoboam
A large format Burgundy and Champagne bottle, equivalent to six standard bottles. In Bordeaux this size is known as a Jeroboam - although in Burgundy and Champagne a Jeroboam contains only four bottles. Confusing! See my advisory page on wine bottle sizes for more information.

remuage
(France) An essential step in the production of Champagne. The remuage or riddling process involves gradual turning and inversion of the bottle, bring the lees into the neck prior to their removal. For more information see my wine guide to Champagne.

reserva
(Spain) In Spain, red wines designated as reserva have received a minimum of three years ageing prior to release, of which at least one must be in oak. Related terms include Gran Reserva and Crianza.

residual
Refers to any substance that remains after the fermentation. Typically used in relation to sugar (see below).

rightbank
A collective term for the communes of the right bank of the Gironde in Bordeaux. For more information, see my guide to Bordeaux wine.

rootstock
The use of separate rootstock - essentially a clump of roots - onto which the vines are grafted was made necessary by the arrival of Phylloxera. The great Vitis vinifera varieties, such as Chenin Blanc and Cabernet Franc, quickly keel over and die in the presence of Phylloxera infestation. The American Vitis labrusca species, however, are resistant...

screwcaps
The new alternative to sealing a wine with cork which, in case you hadn't realised, is tree bark. Another alternative is to use a synthetic cork. Why? Because cork, being a biological material, cannot be sterilised, and the fungal infections it harbours result in tainted ('corked') aromas which ruin about (figures vary) 5% of all bottles. One popul...

sec
(France) This term describes a dry wine.

spatlese
(Germany, Austria) A Prädikat classification based on must weight.

specificgravity
The density of any substance, such as fermenting must, relative to the density of water. Measuring specific gravity provides information about the must weight. My article on must weight in my Sweet Wine series gives more information.

spinningcone
Another term used to describe a centrifuge.

sugar
A large collection of organic compounds present in grapes as a result of photosynthesis. Sugar is the substrate utilised by yeast in the production of alcohol, a process known as fermentation.

sugarripeness
When the grapes reach a certain sugar concentration, sufficient for alcoholic fermentation and meeting the demands of the winemaker, this is sugar ripeness. It is distinct from physiological ripeness which involves other aspects of grape maturity.

sulphur
This is an important element in winemaking, with a wide variety of uses, often as part of the compound sulphur dioxide. It is widely used in the vineyard as a prophylactic for Oidium, whereas in the winery it may be used as a disinfectant in between vintages, and may be added to must and finished wines as an antibacterial agent to prevent spoilage....

synthetic
The posh phrase for plastic cork. The intention is to prevent cork taint. For more information see my information pages on corks and screwcaps and faulty wines

szamoridni
(Hungary) A Tokay Szamoridni is one where no distinction has been made between healthy and nobly rotten grapes. They are all fermented together, and as the proportion of the latter grapes is usually small the wines are most commonly dry.

tannin
Found in grape skins, pips and stalks, tannins are harsh, bitter compounds which if present in large amounts make a wine difficult to drink as they leave a dry, puckered sensation in the mouth - rather like drinking stewed tea, which is also very tannic. The amount of tannin can be increased by enhancing extraction, achieved by prolonging the cuvai...

tartaric
One of a number of naturally occurring grape acids which contribute to the acidity of a wine. Other important acids include acetic, malic, lactic, citric and carbonic acid.

tawny
(Portugal) A wood-aged style. Prolonged periods of ageing in wood result in loss of pigment so this is a much paler, tawny-coloured style of Port, hence the name. Although such wines may be bottled as single-vintage colheita Ports, they are usually blended as a tawny of either 10, 20, 30 or 40 years of age, each comprising a blend of wines which a...

texture
The texture of a wine describes how the wine feels in the mouth - is it silky, velvety, rounded, or smooth? It is a more specific term than body, which describes the general impact of the wine.

trock
(Germany, Austria) A sweet Prädikat category which translates literally as "dry berry selected". Essentially it refers to wines made using selected grapes affected by noble rot.

vdp
(France) Essentially 'country wines', there are many very good wines to be found in this category. The category lies below Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée and the rapidly disappearing Vin Délimité de Qualité Supérieure, but is distinctly superior to the usually awful Vin de Table.

vdqs
(France) This is a classification for French wine one step above Vin de Pays, and certainly above the lowly Vin de Table. Many regions classified as VDQS are being upgraded to Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée, and so it is now infrequently seen.

vdt
(France) The lowest category for French wine. By law such wines may not even declare grape varieties or vintage on the label - that is if they ever get as far as being bottled. These are the wines that you still see dispensed by the petrol pump appliances en vrac at lowly co-operatives.

vendange
(France) Harvest.

vignoble
(France) Vineyard. Are you seeing a pattern emerge here?

vitislabrusca
The fruit of the vine Vitis labrusca itself may be used in the production of wine, but is more often used for grape jelly or similar products. An American vine species, it was once an important source of rootstock for Phylloxera-sensitive Vitis vinifera.

vitisvinifera
This is the one. The vinifera species includes all our favourites - Cabernet Franc, Chenin Blanc, Mourvèdre, Gewurztraminer, and so on. The species from which all the world's fine wines are made - even if they have to be grafted onto other rootstock in order to survive.