Fundamentals: Glossary Flashcards
Spanish for ‘wall’
Abrigo
What is Albariza?
A kind of soil. 30-80% chalk with limestone, sand, clay. Water-retentive, found in sherry country and DO Montilla-Moriles
What is Albero?
Two meanings:
Absorbent sand flooring in sherry bodegas.
The name for albariza in DO Montilla-Moriles.
What is Aloque?
A semi-red wine unique to DO Valdepeñas. Also known as clarete.
Traditionally red and white wines were blended and aged/stored in tinajas: large earthernware jars. Today it’s a red and white field blend fermented in temperature-controlled stainless steel. Usually Cencibel and Airén.
What is the Spanish for ‘vintage’, used on sherry labels?
Añada
What is Añejo? How is the term applied in Cariñena?
Spanish for ‘mature’ with 24 months ageing.
For example, añejo in DO Cariñena is for intensely oxidised wines of minimum 15% alcohol, with 24 months in barrel (no bottle ageing requirement). The DO also permits the usual ageing designations.
What is Arenas?
Sand. A soil in sherry country.
What is Arrope?
A dark syrup made by heating grape must over a low fire until it reduces to one-fifth volume. Used in making vinos de color.
What is Barros?
Clay. A soil in sherry country.
What are Botas?
Spanish for barrels
What are Bodegas?
Spanish for wineries
What are Brisats?
Orange wines made in Cataluña, for instance in DO Terra Alta
What is Cabeceo?
The process of blending dry and sweet sherries to produce cream sherry.
What is Calatayud Superior? (3)
A designation in DO Calatayud for wines made from:
low yielding vines
at least 50 years old
with minimum 85% Garnacha
What is Call Vermell?
A soil found on Mallorca. Reddish clay, often mixed with limestone gravels or stones.
What is Cava?
Spanish sparkling wine produced using método tradictional
What is Cava de Paraje Calificado?
Spanish for ‘Qualified Single Vineyard Cava’?, the highest quality designation in DO Cava. Requirements include:
hand harvested grapes
from a single vineyard
minimum 10 year old vines
aged on lees for minimum 36 months
vintage dated
Brut, Extra Brut, or Brut Nature
(as amended in SWS corrections)
What is the highest quality designation in DO Cava?
Cava de Paraje Calificado
What is Cierzo?
A wind. Strong, dry, cooling, north/northwest wind blowing through Rioja, Navarra, Aragón, Cataluña in winter
What is Clarete?
Wine made by crushing red and white grapes together, and vinifying like red, to make a pale red wine.
What is Clàssic Penedès?
A cava designation in DO Penedès. Regulations include:
100% organic
sourced within DO Penedès
método tradicional
minimum 15 months lees ageing
What cava quality designation is available in DO Penedès?
Clàssic Penedès
What is a Colleiteiro?
A boutique winery in Ribeiro, Galicia. Annual production below 60,000L using estate-grown grapes.
What is a Consejo Regulador?
Spanish for the ‘regulating council’ of a DOP, which regulates viticulture and winemaking, sets quality standards, and provides proof of origin.
What is Cordón Trenzado?
A grape training technique unique to Las Islas Canarias. Vines are braided into long ropes, so they can be moved to allow other crops (mainly potatoes) to be grown on the same land.
What is Consecha?
Spanish for ‘harvest’ or ‘vintage’. Also a category of wine with no ageing requirement.
What are Consecheros?
Grape growers in Rioja, uniquely using carbonic maceration and wild yeast fermentation to make red wine
What are Costers?
Spanish for the banks of a river or steep slopes
What are Criaderas?
Spanish for ‘nurseries’: in sherry ageing, the butts in a solera system (other than the butts that the wine is bottled from, which is the solera).
What is Crianza?
An ageing category. Minimum times in total (in barrel):
Vinos tintos: 24 (6)
Vinos rosados: 18 (6)
Vinos blancos: 18 (6)
Longer in some regions like DOCa Rioja and DO Ribera del Duero
(amended in SWS corrections)
What does DO stand for and what does it mean?
Denominación de Origen
A legally defined area of grape/wine production. Also seen as DOP or PDO
What does DOP stand for?
Denominación de Origen Protegida
Also seen as DO or PDO
What does PDO stand for?
Protected Designation of Origin
What do DOCa and DOQ stand for, and what do they mean?
Denominación de Origen Calificada
Denominació de Origen Qualificada
(Denomination of Qualified Origin)
DOs that have attained the highest quality levels for at least 10 years
What is Destilado?
Spanish for ‘distilled’. Also, a distilled wine used in sherry production, usually from Airén
What is Doble Pasta?
Spanish for ‘double pulp’. Unique to DO Utiel-Requena and DO Manchela. Skins and pulp left from Bobal vino rosado production, are added to fermenting Bobal must to make a double-macerated red wine with high extract and tannin
What is Embat?
A soft, humid sea breeze in Mallorca. Blows in the sunniest part of the day, starting at noon and tapering off at sunset. Carries actual salt which lands on the grapes and ends up in the wine.
What is En Cabeza?
A vine training system. The head is trained downward, so the leaf canopy protects the fruit.
What is En Rama?
Spanish for ‘on the branch’. In sherry production, a biologically aged sherry that is lightly filtered, and not clarified or stabilised.
What is En Vaso?
Vine training also known as ‘bush vines’ or (in French) ‘gobelet’. The trunk is head-pruned and kept short.
What is Espaldera?
Vine training for vertical shoot positioning. One or permanent cordons are trained on support wires.
What designation is available to cava producers in Rioja who do not wish to label their wines as DO Cava, or are outside the DO Cava area?
Espumosos de Calidad de Rioja
(Quality Sparkling Wines of Rioja)
11-13% abv
método tradicional
only Brut Nature/Extra Brut/Brut
minimum 15 months sur lie (24 for Reserva, 36 plus vintage labeling for Gran Añada)
What is Flor?
Spanish for ‘flower’. In biological sherry ageing, a film of yeast comprising many yeast strains (the most abundant is Saccharomyces Beticus). Also known as Velo de Flor.
What is the Foehn effect?
Wind rises up a mountain, cools, loses its moisture as rain, and then descends on the other side as a warm, dry wind.
What is Fondillón?
Famous non-fortified sweet wine from DO Alicante. Only made in favourable years with long summers and low humidity. Overripe Monastrell grapes ferment to at least 16% abv with residual sugar, and are aged oxidatively for at least 10 years (optionally in a solera system, usually large oak casks up to 1,200 L).
What are Foudres?
Large wooden casks of at least 300 L
What is Garnacha de Empordá?
Red wine of DO Empordá, aged for at least 2 years, minimum 90% Garnacha Tinta/Peluda.
What is Genérico?
Spanish for ‘generic’. DOCa Rioja category (previously called Joven or Consecha) that covers about 40% of wine, and guarantees only origin and vintage. No minimum ageing. Includes wines that do not meet Crianza, Reserva or Gran Reserva requirements for any reason.
Also: a DOCa Rioja zonal classification for wines that are not single zone / municipality / vineyard.
What is a Girasol?
1970s prototype of mechanical riddling, precursor of gyropalette
What is Gran Añada?
Espumosos de Calidad de Rioja with extended lees ageing (at least 36 months) and vintage labelling.
What is Gran Reserva?
Ageing category. Minimum months in total (barrel, bottle):
tintos: 60 (18, -)
rosados: 48 (6, -)
blancos: 48 (6, -)
tintos in DOCa Rioja: 60 (24, 24)
What is Gran Reserva Cava?
Cava with at least 30 months on lees, Brut Nature/Extra Brut/Brut.
What is Gran Vinya Classificada?
A single-vineyard classification in DOQ Priorat, similar to Grand Cru in Burgundy. Supersedes ‘Vi de Finca’.