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Aroma Dictionary - Wines glossary Category: Food and Drink > Wines Date & country: 28/10/2013, USA Words: 242

yeast
A single celled organism that converts sugar into alcohol during fermentation. The yeast also produce aroma and flavour substances which add to wine character. The yeast species that are normally used for wine fermentations are Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Saccharomyces bayanus.

yeasty
A bready like aroma created by yeast usually resulting from the wine having been aged on its lees. For some wine styles such as full bodied Chardonnay wines, a low level of yeastyness is desirable while in others it is considered a taste defect.

b
A winemaking process of stirring the lees back into the wine following barrel fermentation of white wines. Imparts cheesy complexity and a creamy texture.

volatile acidity
A wine fault caused by microbial spoilage and/or oxidation. It has the characteristic aroma of either vinegar and/or nail polish remover. A low level of volatile acidity is acceptable in some wine styles including full bodied dry red table wines. Synonym volatile.

vintner
A wine merchant.

viticulture
The science and practice of growing grapes.

Vitis
The botanical name for the grape vine family. Most of the worlds vines are of the species Vitis vinifera. The other variety used for table wine production is the American species Vitis labrusca. Other species of Vitis and their hybrids are used for rootstocks.

vintage port
A style of port. Vintage ports are effectively fortified full bodied sweet red wines. Vintage ports unlike other fortified wines improve with age and are usually cellared before consumption.

vintage
The harvest of grapes and the making of wine, or the year a wine's grapes were harvested.

vinification
The process of making wine.

vinifera
The species name for the European grape vine, Vitis vinifera.

vin santo
(Italian) A dessert wine made from dried grapes and barrel aged for a significant length of time. In Tuscany where it originated the wine is made from Trebbiano and Malvasia.

vermouth
A fortified wine flavoured with various herbs and primarily used as a cocktail ingredient.

vertical tasting
A structured winetasting involving the tasting of a number of vintages of the same wine.

vigna
(Italian) vineyard vignoble (French) vina (Spanish) Weinberg (German)

vigneron
(French) vine grower.

vin
(French) wine vinho (Portuguese) vino (Italian and Spanish)

varietal
A wine made from a single grape variety.

vegetal
The flavour and aroma of vegetables. Some grape varieties such as Cabernet sauvignon can produce wines with a pronounced vegetal characters particularly if they are grown in cool climates and their grape vine canopies are dense and shady.

vendange
(French) vintage vendemmia (Italian) vindemia (Spanish)

vendange tardive
(French) Late harvest.

veraison
A stage in the ripening process of grapes whereby the grape begins to soften and starts to accumulate colour, flavour and tannin.

ullage
Any airspace above a wine when in tank or barrel. Ullage is avoided by topping up.

typicity
A subjective term used to indicate the degree to which a wine typifies the style of wine that it is supposed to represent. Unclear as to who determines what constitutes the typical wine.

triage
(French) One of the steps of the methode champenoise process whereby some fermentable sugar and yeast is added to the base wine in bottle to induce the secondary fermentation.

topping up
The winemaking process of adding of wine to a barrel to replace that lost to evaporation. If barrels are not topped up they will oxidise or become volatile.

toasting
Refers to the process of burning the inside of a partially constructed wine barrel with an open flame. The level of toast is achieved by either varying either temperature or length of time of firing. Toasting affects the type of aroma and flavours that the barrel will impart to the wine.

Tokay
A botrytised dessert wines from north east Hungary. Australian wines named Tokay are fortified wines made from the Muscadelle variety.

TCA
Shorthand for 2,4,6 trichloroanisole. TCA is the key compound responsible for cork taint in wine. TCA is very potent with many people being able to detect its characteristic mouldy, musty dank like aroma at around 5 parts per trillion.

terroir
(French) The definition of which seems to change regularly so as to justify its existence in the face of new scientific findings. Currently

terroir
The interacting factors of climatic, viticulture and winemaking which influence the character of the wine. Perhaps the most clich

thin
Describes a wine lacking in body, flavour and alcohol.

tartaric acid
The primary acid in grapes and wine. It contributes to the acidic taste in wine.

tartrates
Potassium bitartrate is an insoluble by-product of tartaric acid. It can form as a harmless but aesthetically undesirable crystalline deposit in bottle. Winemakers usually induce the crystals to form in the wine tank prior to bottling ensuring that they do not form in bottle.

tawny port
A style of port that is aged for long periods of time in old oak to enable them to build complexity in the form of rancio character.

tannic
Describes a red wine that is strongly astringent due to the presence of tannins.

tannins
A diverse group of naturally occurring substances found in the skins and sees of grapes and oak wood, and which are extracted during fermentation and barrel aging. Tannins produce astringency in wine, but depending on type can also elicit bitterness and coarseness.

tart
A wine that is high in acidity.

tank method
An inexpensive method used to make sparkling wine whereby the secondary fermentation occurs in a pressurised tank. Also known as the Charmat method.

table wine
Any wine that would normally be consumed with a meal. This includes dry red and white wines.

sulphur dioxide
Synonyms SO2 and sulfites. An indispensable additive used in winemaking (although yeast naturally produce small quantities during fermentation). It is added to inhibit the growth of undesirable bacteria and yeast, and to prevent premature oxidation. It is referred to on wine labels as preservative 220.

supple
Yet another subjective wine tasting term referring to a wine which has good fruit, and a soft pleasing astringency.

sur lie
(French) Refers to the practice of leaving white wine in contact with yeast lees following fermentation. The practice which usually occurs in barrel, results in greater flavour complexity and a soft creamy mouth-feel.

stuck ferment
A ferment which ceases prematurely, leaving insufficient alcohol and excessive residual sugar in the wine. Due to remaining sugar, the wine will be prone to further fermentation while in bottle. Therefore, winemakers will always attempt to restart stuck ferments by either warming the wine and/or by adding more yeast. Depending on the time taken to restart the ferment the resultant wine may have yeasty and nutty flavours and lack overall freshness.

structure
A highly subjective wine tasting term which refers to the balance between flavour intensity, acidity, tannin (in reds) and alcohol. A poorly structured wine will either be lacking in, or be dominated by one or more of these attributes.

spatlese
(German) A late harvest wine which usually has a perceptible level of sweetness.

spritzig
A wine with a perceptible level of dissolved carbon dioxide. These wines have a light

spumante
(Italian) Italian sparkling wine, usually white, and ranging from dry to very sweet. The most famous is Asti Spumante from north west Italy which is produced from the Moscato grape variety.

stalky
A herbaceous character which may derive from fermentation in the presence of grape stalks as is sometimes done with Pinot Noir.

still wine
Any wine that is not effervescent.

short
A wine that lacks persistent flavour following swallowing.

solera
A system employed in the production of fortified wines whereby wines of different ages are blended to achieve consistency of style.

sommelier
An adviser to restaurant owners and patrons regarding appropriate food and wine matches.

sparkling wine
An effervescent wine made using various methods.

Sekt
(German) Usually a simple sweet sparkling wine made using the transfer method.

Selection de Grains Nobles
(French) Late harvest sweet botrytised white wines from Alsace.

Sercial
A grape variety used in the production of Maderia. Also refers to a particular style of Maderia made from that variety.

sherry
Fortified white wines of different styles made in the Jerez region of southern Spain. Other countries produce wines of a similar style. They vary from being light bodied delicate wines with flor character to deep rich complex wines dominated by rancio character.

Rose
A pale and light bodied red(ish) wine made by allowing only a short fermentation on skins. Made for immediate consumption, these wines are generally fruity, high in acidity, and with light to moderate sweetness and light astringency.

sec (French secco (Italian)
Seco (Spanish) Dry.

secondary fermentation
A fermentation that takes place in bottle so as to produce effervescence. The term my also refer to malolactic fermentation as this weak fermentation usually occurs after the primary yeast fermentation.

rootstock
The roots of another species of vine (usually an American grape vine) to which a European vine (Vitis vinifera) can be grafted. This is done either to increase grape yield and/or to afford protection from attack from root borne pests such as Phylloxera.

Riserva
(Spanish) A quality standard. Riserva wines are derived from excellent vintages and are aged longer (both in oak and bottle) before release.

residual sugar
The sugar that is left in the wine after the completion of fermentation. Residual sugar may comprise both fermentable and non-fermentable sugars. Dry wines have less than 7 grams per litre of residual sugar.

remuage
Synonym riddling. A sparkling winemaking process undertaken after secondary fermentation whereby the bottles are twisted and gradually inverted. Remuage is done so as to move the yeast lees produced during secondary fermentation into the neck of the bottle so that it can be removed.

reserve
May imply a high quality wine, but as it is not specifically defined in Australian wine law it may also mean very little.

punt
The indentation in the bottom of most wine bottles. Deeper punts provide extra strength to the bottle.

rancio
A unique character found in fortified wines which have spent a significant time in old oak barrels. The character is best described as a lifted blend of butterscotch and old wood aromas.

ratafia
A sweet wine made from fermented dried grapes and added marc.

powdery mildew
A fungal disease that attacks both the leaves and fruit of vines significantly affecting both grape yield and wine quality.

pressing
The act of mechanically extracting juice from the skins of white grapes following crushing, or mechanically extracting the remaining wine from the skins of red grapes following fermentation.

pressings wine
The red wine pressed off skins following fermentation. Compared with free run wine, pressings wine has deeper colour, more flavour and tannin, but often is more bitter. Various fining agents are used to reduce the bitterness so that the wine can be used to increase the volume, colour and astringency of the final blend.

Phylloxera
A devastating root-born pest of the grape vine, Vitis vinifera. Due to strict quarantine procedures, Phylloxera has been effectively controlled in Australia. In contrast, it is widely distributed throughout European vineyards. Vines are often planted on American rootstocks as they are largely resistant to damage caused by the pest.

pomace
Synonym marc. The skins seeds and stems remaining after winemaking.

port
A fortified wine originating from the Douro Valley in northern Portugal. Other countries such as Australia have a long history of producing wines of a similar style. Three major styles of port exist

phenolic
A negative wine tasting term which refers to coarseness and bitterness in white wine.

phenolics
A diverse group of naturally occurring chemical compounds derived from the skins and seeds of grapes and to a lesser extent from oak wood. Some members of this family contribute to wine colour (anthocyanins), others to astringency (the tannins) and others to wine flavour and aroma (the volatile phenols). Other phenolic substances are also thought to contribute to harshness and bitterness in both white and red wines.

peppery
Either the aroma of black pepper as found in cool climate Shiraz wines or the hot tingling sensation experienced in wines with very high levels of alcohol.

pH
While technically a measure of acidity the acidic taste of a wine is not strongly related to its pH. Wines at the lower end of the pH scale display better colour, are more microbiologically stable and are more resistant to browning. Therefore lower pH wines have better aging potential than high pH wines.

palate
The overall impression of flavour, tastes and textures produced by the wine in the mouth.

oxidised
A negative term indicating that a wine that has suffered oxidation. Such wines are brown in colour, lack overall freshness and be harsh on the palate.

open fermentation
A fermentation conducted in vessels which are open to the air. Many feel that these fermentations produce the highest quality red wines as the exposure to air allows the fermenting wines tannins and colour to react, softening and filling out the wine.

oxidation
The chemical reaction between wine components and oxygen. In white table wines oxidation is rarely beneficial resulting in brown coloured wines lacking fresh fruit character. In other wine types including red table wines and (notably) fortified wines the introduction of oxygen during winemaking is necessary for their maturation. The exact role of oxygen in winemaking and bottle maturation is still a hotly debated topic.

oily
A wine with a viscous texture. Some varieties of grape such as Gew

oloroso
A style of sherry made by aging a fortified white wine in old oak barrels for an extended period of time. The result is a complex rich wine with significant amounts of rancio character. Oloroso sherries range from dry to sweet.

open
A wine that readily releases its aroma and flavour.

oenology
Pronounced eenology. It is the science of wine and wine-making. A practitioner is called an oenologist.

oak barrel
Can be used to hold wines either after or during fermentation. Barrels impart oak flavours and by doing so contribute additional characters to the wine. Oak maturation also facilitates the slow chemical reactions necessary for the wine to soften and for the fruit, oak and malolactic fermentation derived characters to integrate.

oak alternatives
Include oak chips, shavings, cubes, powder, innerstaves and planks. These products are used to impart oak flavours and aromas to the wine. While the quality of oak character arising from their use in rarely of the standard produced by barrel maturation, their cost effectiveness makes them necessary alternatives in the production of low cost commercial wines.

noble rot
A name given to the grape mould Botrytis cinerea which under certain climatic conditions can result in grapes suited to making high quality late harvest wines.

nose
The smell of a wine.

nouveau
(French) A fresh fruity and youthful red wine ready for consumption soon after harvest/production.

oak
Wood from the tree Quercus sessilis (European oak) or Quercus alba (American oak) used to make wine barrels.

negociant
(French) A wine merchant who purchases parcels of wine from various sources before blending them and bottling them to sell under their own label.

muzzle
(French) The wire basket that holds sparkling wine corks in place.

mistelle
(French) A wine made by fortifying grape juice with alcohol before any fermentation can take place.

mousse
(French) The foam produced by sparkling wine.

mouth feel
The texture of the wine.

must
The mixture of grape skins, seeds and juice as it awaits or undergoes fermentation.

musty
An unpleasant