WSET Glossary Flashcards
What are the 4 primary acids found in wine?
Tartaric, lactic, malic, and citric.
What is acidulation?
The addition of organically-derived tartaric acid to the must prior to fermentation or to the wine before bottling to balance the level of acidity.
Why are additives occasionally added to wine?
To modify or negate the influence of environmental, harvesting and winemaking factors
What is the Agricultural Preserve Ordinance
Passed in 1968, the “Ag Preserve”, preserved open space and prevented future over-development by offering a lower tax on agricultural land, based on its ag-value, as opposed to its market value. It also increased the minimum parcel size of those lands from one acre to forty(…)
What is ampelography?
The study of botany that classifies and identifies grapevines.
Amphora
A large, usually two-handled oval storage jar traditionally made in clay and used for storing and transporting wine and oil.
angular
An angular hits specific places with a high impact and usually has high acidity.
Describe the annual growth cycle
budburst in the spring, culminating in autumn followed by winter dormancy.
anther
Part of the stamen, the male organ of the flower, that produced the pollen.
anthesis
Otherwise known as flowering - the timing and opening of flowers.
anthocyanins
The pigments that contribute the red and purple colours to their wine
antioxidants
Any chemical added by the winemaker which impedes oxidation (often ascorbic acid)
astringency
The puckering quality of high tannin wines, which often dries out the mouth
austere
Usually, the wine has very high acidity and very little fruit flavours. An austere wine is not fruit-forward nor opulent.
autolysis
The decomposition of yeast cells remaining after fermentation which often results in more complex wines with creamier textures.
autolytic
A yeasty taste commonly associated with wines that have been aged for some time on their lees (spent yeast cells)
Balance
Balance in a wine is the harmony between all the various elements: the fruit, acids, and tannins.
basket press
A cylindrical cage that can be filled with the grape skin and wine mixture, that then allows the wine to drain out leaving the skins (and seeds) behind. Pressure is then applied from the top via a pneumatic ram, that gently squeezes the remaining wine.
bâtonnage
The process of stirring the lees back into the wine following the barrel fermentation of white wines. This imparts a cheesy complexity and a creamy texture.
Baume
Developed by French pharmacist Antoine Baume in 1768, the Baumé scale is a pair of hydrometer scales used to measure the density of various liquids. A way to measure the sugar in grapes.
bilateral cordon training
A vine training system that utilizes two arms, or cordons, extending horizontally from the trunk in two different directions along support wires.
Biturica
An ancient red grape variety named after the tribe of the Bituriges from Bordeaux.
Bordelais
A collective noun for people or things from Bordeaux.
Botrytis
A mold responsible for many of the world’s great dessert wines including Sauternes, Hungarian Tokaji, and Trockenbeerenauslese from Germany and Austria. Botrytis influence in wine smells and tastes like honey/honeysuckle, ripe/overripe stone fruits, marmalade, toffee, ginger, and button mushroom.
Botrytis bunch rot
Fungus that affects wine grapes. Also referred to as grey rot.
Botrytis cinerea
This mold is a common viticultural disease that if left untreated can completely destroy an entire grape crop. Wine made from badly Botrytis-infected grapes will have moldy and sour flavor characteristics. However, is some rare cases Botrytis affected grapes can be made into sweet luscious wine with distinctive honey and dried apricot flavors. To mirror this effect and produce these sweet dessert wines, some producers use the “cane cut” technique, whereby grapevine canes are cut before the fruit has been harvested, and the grapes allowed to dry on the vine, concentrating the sugars and changing the flavor, without any influence of the mold.
bouquet
The complex aromas perceived in aged wines.
Brettanomyces
Brettanomyces, or the related Dekkora, is a yeast that originates in vineyard soils and can also be found in the winery environment in barrels, tanks, and other equipment. Brett, as it’s often called, smells like earth, barnyard, horse stable, antiseptic, medicinal, sweaty, cheesy, and rancid. Sensitivity—and tolerance—to Brett and Dekkera varies widely. Some tasters are ultra-sensitive to it while others can tolerate—even prefer—high concentrations. Before bottling, Brett can be removed by crossflow filtration, sterile filtration, or reverse osmosis.
bright
Wines that are higher in acidity.
brilliance
When describing the visual appearance of the wine, this term refers to high clarity, very low levels of suspended solids. When describing fruit flavours, brilliance refers to noticeable acidity and intensity.
budburst
The emergence of new leaves on a grapevine at the beginning of each growing season.
bunch-thinning
The removal of undersized, poorly set or tangled bunches.
bung
In cooperage, a wooden or rubber stopper used to seal the cask, keg or barrel.
Burdigala
the Roman name for the city of Bordeaux.
bush vine
An old form of vine training which is low to the ground without the use of a trellis.
Burdigala
the Roman name for the city of Bordeaux.
C.I.V.B.
Conseil des Vins de Bordeaux – The Bordeaux Wine council.
Cabernet Franc
A black grape that is often blended with other so-called Bordeaux varieties and similar to Cabernet Sauvignon yet showing less color and tannin.
Cabernet Sauvignon
A black grape variety prized all over the world for producing rich, full-bodied wines with deep color, high levels of acid and tannin, and intense aromas.
cane
The mature, brown and woody shoot of the grapevine after leaf fall.
cane pruning
After winter pruning, one or two canes with between 8 to 15 buds of 1 year old wood is left on the vine.
canopy
Includes the parts of the vine visible aboveground - the trunk, cordon, stems, leaves, flowers, and fruit.
canopy management
A range of viticultural techniques applied in vineyards to manipulate the vine canopy. This is performed for vine shape, limiting direct sunlight and disease control, in order to create an optimal growing environment.
capfall
Detachment of the cap (calyptra), opening of flower
Carbonic Maceration
Carbonic maceration is a winemaking technique commonly associated with the wines of Beaujolais. Whole clusters of Gamay grapes are placed in stainless steel tanks after which CO2 is pumped in to create an anaerobic environment (lack of oxygen). In time, fermentation takes place inside the grapes extracting maximum color and fruit–but little tannin. Wines made using carbonic maceration are known for having a candied, artificial fruit quality.
Cepage
Grape Variety
Chaptalization
A winemaking process of adding sugar to fermenting must to increase alcohol in the finished wine. Chaptalization is legal and widely used in European countries. It is largely illegal in the U.S. and other New World countries.
chewy tannins
The sense of tannins that is not overwhelming, but is a little drying. This sensation is not necessarily a negative attribute for wine.
chocolatey
Typically associated with rich red wines, chocolaty refers to the flavours and mouthfeel associated with chocolate.
Clarity
The degree of a wine’s clarity–or lack thereof–which is largely determined by the amount of fining and filtering the wine undergoes before bottling.
climate
Climate is the statistics (usually, mean or variability) of weather, usually over a 30-year interval. It is measured by assessing the patterns of variation in temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind, precipitation, atmospheric particle count and other meteorological variables in a given region over long periods of time. Climate differs from weather, in that weather only describes the short-term conditions of these variables in a given region.
clone
A vine that has developed differently from other vines of the same grape variety. The clone may have developed through natural selection by adapting to its environment or was artificially bred and developed in a control environment in order to advance favorable characteristics.
closed
Wine that is not very aromatic.
cloying
A sticky or sickly sweet wine without balanced acidity.
cold settling
A non-mechanical process of clarifying juices at low temperatures (< 5°C).
cold soak
Pre-fermentation cold maceration involves the aqueous extraction of compounds from the fruit flesh/pulp/skins/seeds into the must (as opposed to the alcoholic extraction).
cold stabilisation
Chilling wine to –2°C to precipitate tartrate crystals.
Cold Stabilization
The process of removing excess tartaric acid (tartrates) in wine before bottling by chilling it to approximately 30 degrees fahrenheit over 24-30 hours. During that time, excess tartrates precipitate out of solution and the wine is then filtered (or not) and then bottled.
Complexity
Defined as the number of aromas and flavors combined with how much—or little—the wine changes on the palate. The degree of complexity is largely determined by the vineyard origin, quality of the fruit, timing of the harvest, and winemaker’s skill–or lack thereof.
compound bud
Compound (or dormant) buds occur at each node along a vine shoot and comprise primary, secondary and tertiary latent buds. Compound buds that develop in one season can burst in the subsequent season to give a primary shoot, if their node is retained after winter pruning. (If the primary latent bud is damaged, for example, due to frost, the secondary latent bud may burst instead).
continentality
A climate attribute that is inversely related to the degree of water moderation.
cordon
The outward extensions or “arms” of a grapevine extending from the trunk which carries the fruiting grape shoots or spurs.
cordon cut
Wines made from grapes which have partially dessicated (becoming significantly sweeter) on the vine.
coulure
The result of metabolic reactions to weather conditions that causes a failure of grapes to develop after flowering.
Cross-flow filtration
A form of extreme filtration that involves wine being forced under great pressure across a horizontal filtration system with micron-sized pores in the filter pads. Cross-flow is is an effective, economical method used for stabilization purposes as well as to remove certain faults including Brett, VA, and sulfur compounds.
crusher-destemmer
A device that crushes grapes (generally with rollers) and then removes stems with beaters revolving in a perforated cylinder.
crust
The bottle sediment of red wines as they age. This is usually associated with sediments in port.
cultivar (cultivated variety)
A grapevine selected for desirable characteristics that can be maintained by propagation.
dense
Dense often describes bold red wines, but isn’t always a positive characteristic in other wines because it implies that it is unbalanced.
depth
An aspect of complexity. I.e. a wine with several layers of flavor.
Desiccated
Desiccated is best defined as the state of extreme dryness or the process of extreme drying. In older wines, desiccation is a common term used to describe fruit quality.
developed
A tasting term referring to the maturity of a wine.
diacetyl
Diacetyl is a byproduct of malolactic fermentation/conversion responsible for the butter/cream/dairy notes in Chardonnay. Detecting diacetyl is important to recognize not only Chardonnay-based wines but Chardonnay-treatment winemaking used with other grapes as well.
Diurnal Temperature
Difference between day and night temperatures.
dormancy
The period during a grapevine’s growing season where there is no photosynthetic and very little metabolic activity going on
downy mildew
A major disease of grapevines caused by the fungus Plasmopara viticola which is unique to grapevines.
draining
The operation consisting of leaving the juice of the crushed, harvested grapes to flow, before pressing.
Dry Extract
Dry extract refers to grape solids present in wine. The higher the dry extract, the richer and more full-bodied the wine. Dry extract is measured in grams per liter.
elegance
A well balanced wine that has subtle complexity.
Esters
Esters are a group of volatile aromatic compounds derived from fermentation that are responsible for the general “fruity” smell in wines.
extended maceration
Leaving young red wine in contact with skins and seeds on completion of primary fermentation.
extracted
A wine with concentrated flavors which are often derived from extended skin contact.
extraction
The release of substances, mostly derived from grape skins and just under the skin surface, that contribute tannin, colour, glycerol and flavour in wine.
fat
A wine that is full in body and has a sense of viscous.
FEW
Fruit, Earth, and Wood
Filtration
The process by which wine is passed through a filter pad to clarify it while also removing potentially problematic microbes, yeasts, and other solids. The degree of filtration, as in the size of filter pad pores, ranges dramatically, from light “polish” filtration to cross flow filtering and reverse osmosis both of which are used to remove water or alcohol in the finished wine.
Fining
The process by which a substance (fining agent) is used to clarify wine by collecting and ultimately removing grape solids. Fining agents include egg whites, bentonite (a fine white clay), and isinglass, a kind of gelatin substance derived from fish bladders.
fino
A style of sherry that has a distinctive tangy flavour that comes from being aged under a layer of ‘flor’ yeast cells.
