Wine Terms Flashcards
Aperitif wine
Wine served prior to a meal. (French for appetizer) Normally fortified wine, some flavored with herbs and spices
Bouquet
A combination of smells from a wine.
Brix
Sugar content. Brix * 0.55 = percent alcohol. Grapes are ready for harvest at 20-25 Brix.
Carbonation method
The process of forcing carbon dioxide into the wine under pressure. Creates short-lasting large bubbles (cheap)
Chaptalization
The process of adding sugar to the must
Charmat method
Wine is put into a pressurized tank; sugar and yeast are added, and fermentation begins. After several weeks, it is then pumped into a second tank and clarified, with additional wine and sugar added, and is then bottled
Chateau
a large French country house or castle often giving its name to wine made in its neighborhood.
Classic Champagne
When different years of production are blended
Cru
A vineyard or group of vineyards, especially one of recognized quality.
Cruvee
The process of blending
Desert wine
Served at the end of a meal. Sweet wines that are usually fortified. Those not fortified are made from over-ripened grapes with an extremely high sugar content
Dosage
The addition of wine and/or brandy and sugar in place of champagne lost during the process of removing lees
Estate bottled
Wine bottled at the winery
Fining
A process that removes any remaining microscopic solids after racking. Usually achieved by using filters
Flor
A film that develops during the aging process on sherry. Slows the oxidation process and gives the sherry flavor. The longer the film stays, the finer the sherry.
Fortified wine
Higher alcohol content. Usually additional alcohol (i.e. brandy) is added during fermentation.
Generic wine
When a large blend of grape varieties is used
Lees
Sediment in the wine
Meritage
Cab: A blend of various grapes, including Cabernet Sauvignon, with no one grape being predominant.
Methode Champenoise
Method of bottling and infusing bubbles
Must
The liquid that results from grapes being crushed
Natural wine
Wines made without additional alcohol or sugar.
Noble rot
A mold that grows on the grapes, causing evaporation, the grape shrivels and the sugars are concentrated
Racking
The process of bleeding off the wine and putting it into a new cask where lees will settle more
Solera system
Sherry: The aging of the first pressing.
Sparkling wine
Wines containing bubbles. Made by double fermentation. Most expensive bottling: Fermentation takes place in the bottle. 2: filtered and transferred to another bottle. 3: double fermenting in a large vat, filtering it, and then transferring it to the bottles
Still wine
Contains no bubbles
Table wine
Largest classification of wines. Often served at the table with food. Red, white, rose.
Terroir
All of the variables (soil, moisture, temperature, weather conditions, fertilizer, climate, skill of the farmer) coming together to produce a good, or bad, harvest
Topping off
The process of adding more wine to the casks during the aging process to prevent oxidation
Transfer method
wine is placed in a pressurized vat where it settles and is then clarified by filtering and rebottled. additional wine and sugar is added and the bottle is corked, wired, and foiled
Triple Trinity
The three characteristics that identify Marsala: Sweetness, Color, Quality
Varietal
The variety of grape used to produce the wine.
Vintage Champagne
When one year is used exclusively, and the harvest is of high quality
Vintner
The person who processes the grapes into wine
