|
WORD |
DEFINITION |
| Aging |
the process of keeping wine at the
proper tempature and humidity to allow it to reach
it’s fullest potential |
| Apertif |
The french word used in a general
way to describe almost any alcoholic beverage consumed
before a meal to “whet” the appetite |
| Appellation controlee |
two words seen on (almost) French
wine meaning “controlled Place name” used as a guide
to the origin and quthenticity of the wine whose
label bears those names |
| Blending |
mixing wines from different grape
varities, different origins, different vintages,
or similar wines with differing characteristics |
| Blush |
wines whose color varies from pale
pink to dark pink and are simple, light-bodied,
and somewhat sweet |
| Bouquet |
the smell of a wine |
| Breathing |
aerating wine before drinking it
– best done by decanting |
| Chateau |
synonymous with vineyard |
| Cru |
the french word meaning growth,
and A specific vineyard |
| Domaine |
french word for estate |
| Enology |
the science of wine production from
harvest to bottling |
| Hybrid |
the result of a cross between two
different grape varities |
| Late harvest |
used to describe wines made from
especially ripe grapes or from grapes infested with
noble rot |
| Micro climate |
refers to the combination of soil,
altitude, angle of slope, drainage, orientation
of the sun and their influences on wine quality |
| Napa |
most popular wine region in california |
| Noble rot |
“BOtrytis cinerea” a beneficial mold
responsible for the taste of some wines most notably
sauternes. the mold forms on the skins of ripe
grapes under specific conditions – humidity alternating
with dry heat – sending filaments into the grapes,
perforating the skin |
| Oak |
the one wood in which wine can be
counted on to imporve and is used for small to medium
containers such as barrels, casks, pipes |
| phylloxera |
a devastating insect which destroys
grape crops |
| Reserve |
word used on wine labels with no
legal meaning |
| Sediment |
deposit most red wines throw as they
age in the bottle, not to be confused with cloudiness,
haziness, or lack of clarity |
| Tannin |
a group of non-organic compounds,
known as phenolic compounds, that exist in bark,
wood, roots, seeds and stems of plants. in red
wines, they are extracted from skins, seed, and
possibly stems during fermentation and they impart
structure, flavor, texture, and complexitity. since
it is also an antioxidant, it also enables a wine
to age |
| Vinifera |
the most important ot the 40 odd
species that make up the genus vitis. named “wine
bearer”, vitis vinifera is responsible for almost
all of the world’s finest wine |
