Showing posts with label WINE GLOSSARIES. Show all posts
Showing posts with label WINE GLOSSARIES. Show all posts

Sunday, September 20, 2015

WINE GLOSSARIES (U-V-W-Y-Z)

UC (Fr.) Short for Union Coopérative or other titles
denoting a local or regional cooperative.
UC DAVIS The University of California’s oenology
department at Davis.
ULLAGE (Fr.) 1. The space between the top of the
wine and the head of the bottle or cask. An old
bottle of wine with an ullage beneath the shoulder
of the bottle is unlikely to be any good. 2. The
practice of topping off wine in a barrel to keep it
full and thereby prevent excessive oxidation.
ULTRAPREMIUM A marketing term for a quality
Category.
UMAMI,UNAMI The fifth basic taste (after sweetness,
sourness, bitterness, and saltiness is the eastern concept of umami (asatisfying taste of completeness prompted by the amino acid glutamate, hence the use of monosodium
glutamate as a taste enhancer in Chinese cuisine).
Umami dates back to the early 1900s, but was given
scientific credence in 2002, when Charles Zuker and
Nick Ryber identified a taste receptor in the palate
for amino acids. The concept of umami as a basic
taste is contested by some scientists who argue
that it is artificial and created out of a complex
continuum of perceptions. Other scientists claim that
this explains all basic tastes, including sweetness,
sourness, bitterness, and saltiness. Still others
propose further basic taste sensations, such as the
taste of free fatty acids and the metallic sensation.
UNDERTONE A subtle and supporting characteristic
that does not dominate like an overtone. In a fine
wine, a strong and simple overtone of youth can
evolve into a delicate undertone with maturity,
adding to a vast array of other nuances that give
the wine complexity.
UNGENEROUS A wine that lacks generosity has little
or no fruit and also far too much tannin (if red) or
acidity for a correct and harmonious balance.
UNRIPE ACID Malic acid, as opposed to tartaric
acid or ripe acid.
UPFRONT This term suggests a wine with an
attractive, simple, immediately recognizable quality
that says it all. Such a wine may initially be
interesting, but it will not develop further and
the last glass would say nothing more about its
characteristics than the first.
UVAGGIO (It.) Wine that has been blended from
various grape varieties.
VA The abbreviation for volatile acidity.
VA LIFT A winemaking “trick” whereby the volatile
acidity is elevated to enhance the fruitiness of wine,
but it is never allowed to rise anywhere near the
level where the wine becomes unstable. Acceptable
only in wines that are ready to drink, since this
phenomenon does not improve with age.
VALUE-FOR-MONEY The difference between
penny-saving and penny-pinching, true value-formoney
can exist in a wine that costs $50 (or fifty
pounds, euros, et. al.) as much as it can in one
that costs $5, and the decision whether to buy will
depend on how deep your pocket is. It is,
however, facile to ask if the first wine is 10 times
better than the second. You can still get value-formoney
when buying a house for $1,000,000, but
will it be ten times better than a $100,000 property?
VANILLA,VANILLA-OAK Often used to describe
the nose and sometimes the palate of an oak-aged
wine, especially Rioja. It is the most basic and
obvious of oak-induced characteristics.
VANILLIN An aldehyde with a vanilla aroma that is
found naturally in oak to one degree or another.
VARIETAL,VARIETAL AROMA,VARIETAL CHARACTER
The unique and distinctive character of a single
grape variety as expressed in the wine it produces.
VC (Sp.) Short for vino comarcal, which literally
means a “local wine” and can be compared to the
vin de pays of France.
VDL A common abbreviation of vin de liqueur, a
fortified wine that is normally muted with alcohol
before fermentation can begin.
VDLT (Sp.) Short for vino de la tierra, which
literally means a “country wine,” but is closer to
the VdQS of France than its vin de pays.
VDN A common abbreviation for vin doux naturel.
This is, in fact, a fortified wine, such as Muscat de
Beaumes de Venise, that has been muted during
the fermentation process, after it has achieved a
level of between five and eight percent alcohol.
VDQS A common abbreviation for vin délimité de
qualité supérieure, which is a quality-control system
below AOC, but above vin de table and vin de pays.
VDT (It.) Short for vino da tavola. Supposedly the
lowest rung in Italy’s appellation system, it does,
however, in practice, encompass some of the
country’s greatest wines.
VEGETAL Applied to wines of a certain maturity,
often Chardonnay or Pinot, that are well rounded
in style and have taken on a bouquet pleasingly
reminiscent of vegetation, rather than fruit.
VENDANGE TARDIVE (Fr.) Late harvest.
VÉRAISON (Fr.) The ripening period, during which
the grapes do not actually change very much in
size, but do gain in color (if black) and increase in
sugar and tartaric acid, while at the same time
decreasing in unripe malic acid.
VERMOUTH An aromatized wine. The name
vermouth originates from Wermut, the German for
wormwood, which is its principal ingredient. The
earliest examples made in Germany in the 16th
century were for local consumption only, the first
commercial vermouth being Punt-é-Mes, created
by Antonio Carpano of Turin in 1786. Traditionally,
Italian vermouth is red and sweet, while French is
white and dry, but both countries make both styles.
Vermouth is made by blending very bland base
wines (they are two or three years old and come
from Apulia and Sicily in Italy and Languedoc-
Roussillon in France) with an extract of aromatic
ingredients, then sweetening the blend with sugar
and fortifying it with pure alcohol. Chambéry, a
pale and delicately aromatic wine made in the
Savoie, France, is the only vermouth with an
official appellation.
VIERTELSTÜCK (Ger.) A small oval cask with a
capacity of 300 liters (80 gallons).
VIGNERON (Fr.) Vineyard worker.
VIGNOBLE (Fr.) Vineyard.
VIGOR Although this term could easily apply to
wine, it is invariably used when discussing the
growth of a vine, and particularly of its canopy. In
order to ripen grapes properly, a vine needs about 8
square inches (50 square centimeters) of leaf surface
to every gram of fruit, but if a vine is too vigorous
(termed “high vigor”), the grapes will have an
overherbaceous character, even when they are
theoretically ripe.
VIN DE CAFÉ (Fr.) This category of French wine is
sold by the carafe in cafés, bistros, and so on.
VIN DE GARDE (Fr.) Wine that is capable of
significant improvement if it is allowed to age.
VIN DE GLACE (Fr.) French equivalent of Eiswein.
VIN DE GOUTTE (Fr.) Free-run juice. In the case of
white wine, this is the juice that runs free from the
press before the actual pressing operation begins.
With red wine, it is fermented wine drained off
from the manta or cap before this is pressed.
VIN DE L’ANNÉE (Fr.) This term is synonymous
with vin primeur.
VIN DE PAILLE (Fr.) Literally “straw wine,” a
complex sweet wine produced by leaving latepicked
grapes to dry and shrivel in the sun on
straw mats. VIN DE PAYS (Fr.) A rustic style of country wine
that is one step above vin de table, but one
beneath VdQS.
VIN DE TABLE (Fr.) Literally “table wine,” although
not necessarily a direct translation. It describes the
lowest level of wine in France and is not allowed to
give either the grape variety or the area of origin on
the label. In practice, it likely consists of various
varieties from numerous areas that have been
blended in bulk to produce a wine of consistent
character, or lack thereof, as the case may be.

VIN D’UNE NUIT (Fr.) A rosé or very pale red
wine that is allowed contact with the manta or cap
for one night only.
VIN GRIS (Fr.) A delicate, pale version of rosé.
VIN JAUNE (Fr.) This is the famous “yellow wine”
of the Jura that derives its name from its honeygold
color that results from a deliberate oxidation
beneath a sherrylike flor. The result is similar to
an aged Fino sherry, although it is not fortified.
VIN MOUSSEUX (Fr.) This literally means “sparkling
wine” without any particular connotation of quality
one way or the other. But because all fine sparkling
wines in France utilize other terms, for all practical
purposes it implies a cheap, low-quality product.
VIN NOUVEAU (Fr.) This term is synonymous with
vin primeur.
VIN ORDINAIRE (Fr.) Literally “an ordinary wine,”
this term is most often applied to a French vin de
table, although it can be used in a rather derogatory
way to describe any wine from any country.
VIN PRIMEUR Young wine made to be drunk
within the year in which it is produced. Beaujolais
Primeur is the official designation of the most
famous vin primeur, but export markets see it
labeled as Beaujolais Nouveau most of the time.
VINIFICATION Far more than simply describing
fermentation, vinification involves the entire
process of making wine, from the moment the
grapes are picked to the point at which the wine
is finally bottled.
VINIMATIC This is an enclosed, rotating
fermentation tank with blades fixed to the inner
surface, that works on the same principle as
a cement-mixer. Used initially to extract the
maximum color from the grape skins with the
minimum oxidation, it is now being utilized for
prefermentation maceration.
VINO DA TAVOLA (It.) Vin de table, table wine.
VINO DE MESA (Sp.) Table wine, vin de table.
VINO NOVELLO (It.) The same as vin primeur.
VINOUS Of, or relating to, a characteristic of wine.
When used to describe a wine, this term implies
basic qualities only.
VINTAGE 1. A wine of one year. 2. Synonymous
with harvest: a vintage wine is the wine of one
year’s harvest only (or at least 85 percent
according to EU regulations) and the year may be
anything from poor to exceptional. It is, for this
reason, a misnomer to use the term vintage for the
purpose of indicating a wine of special quality.
VITICULTURE Cultivation of the vine. Viticulture is
to grapes what horticulture is to flowers.
VITIS VINIFERA A species covering all varieties of
vines that provide classic winemaking grapes.
VIVID The fruit in some wines can be so fresh, ripe,
clean-cut, and expressive that it quickly gives a vivid
impression of complete character in the mouth.
VOLATILE ACIDS These acids, sometimes called
fatty acids, are capable of evaporating at low
temperatures. Too much volatile acidity is always a
sign of instability, but small amounts do actually
play a significant role in the taste and aroma of a
wine. Formic, butyric, and proprionic are all
volatile acids that may be found in wine, but acetic
acid and carbonic acid are the most important.
VOLATILE PHENOLS Almost one-third of all French
wines tested have volatile phenols above the level
of perception, so they are clearly not always bad.
Some volatile phenols such as ethyl-4-guaiacol
(smoky-spicy aroma) and, to a lesser degree, vinyl-
4-guaiacol (carnation aroma) can actually contribute
attractive elements to a wine’s bouquet. However,
volatile phenols are generally considered to be
faults, and the amount of ethyl and vinyl phenols
present in a wine is increased by harsh methods
of pressing (particularly the use of continuous
presses), insufficient settling, use of particular
strains of yeast, and, to a lesser extent, increased
skin-contact. Ethyl-4-phenol is responsible for the
so-called Brett off-aromas (stables, horsey, sweatysaddles—Brettanomyces), while vinyl-4-phenol
has a Band-Aid off-aroma.
VOLUPTUOUS A term used to describe a succulently
rich wine, often a red wine, which has a seductive,
mouthfilling flavor.
VQPRD A common abbreviation for vin de qualité
produit dans une région délimitée.
VR (Port.) The abbreviation for vinho regional, the
lowest rung in Portugal’s appellation system. A VR
can be compared to the regional vin de pays
category in France.
WARM,WARMTH Terms suggestive of a goodflavored
red wine with a high alcoholic content; if
these terms are used with an accompanying
description of cedary or creamy, they can mean
well-matured in oak.
WATERSHED A term used for an area where water
drains into a river system, lake, or some other
body of water.
WATERY An extreme qualification of thin.
WEISSHERBST (Ger.) A single-variety rosé wine
produced from black grapes only.
WINE LAKE A common term for the EU surplus
of low-quality table wine.
WINKLER SCALE A term synonymous with the heat
summation system.
WOOD LACTONES These are various esters that are
picked up from new oak; they may be the source of
certain creamy-oak and coconutty characteristics.
WOOD-MATURED This term normally refers to a
wine that has been aged in new oak.
YEAST A kind of fungus that is absolutely vital in
all winemaking. Yeast cells excrete a number of
yeast enzymes, some 22 of which are necessary to
complete the chain reaction that is known as
fermentation.
YEAST ENZYMES Each yeast enzyme acts as a
catalyst for one particular activity in the fermentation
process and is specific for that one task only.
YEASTY This is not a complimentary term for most
wines, but a yeasty bouquet can sometimes be
desirable in a good-quality sparkling wine,
especially if it is young.
YIELD 1. The quantity of grapes produced from a
given area of land. 2. How much juice is pressed
from this quantity of grapes. Wine people in Europe
measure yield in hl/ha (hectoliters per hectare—a
hectoliter equals 1,000 liters), referring to how much
juice has been extracted from the grapes harvested
from a specific area of land. This is fine when the
amount of juice that can be pressed from grapes is
controlled by European-type appellation systems, but
in the New World, where this seldom happens, they
tend to talk in terms of tons per acre. It can be
difficult trying to make exact conversions in the field,
particularly after a heavy tasting session, when even
the size of a ton or gallon can become quite elusive.
This is why, as a rough guide, I multiply the tons
or divide the hectoliters by 20 to convert one to
the other. This is based on the average extraction
rates for both California and Australia, which makes
it a good rule-of-thumb. Be aware that white wines
can benefit from higher yields than reds (although
sweet wines should have the lowest yields of all)
and that sparkling wines can get away with relatively
high yields. For example, Sauternes averages 25
hl/ha, Bordeaux 50 hl/ha, and Champagne 80 hl/ha.
ZESTY A lively characteristic that is suggestive of
a zippy tactile impression combined, maybe, with a
distinctive hint of citrus aroma.
ZING, ZINGY, ZIP, ZIPPY Terms that are all indicative
of something that is noteable for being refreshing,
lively, and vital in character, resulting from a high
balance of ripe fruit acidity in the wine.
VIN DE PRESSE (Fr.) Very dark, tannic, red wine
pressed out of the manta or cap, after the vin de
goutte has been drained off.



WINE GLOSSARIES (S-T)

SACCHAROMETER A laboratory device used for
measuring the sugar content of grape juice, based
on specific gravity.
SAIGNÉE (Fr.) The process of drawing off surplus
liquid from the fermenting vat in order to produce
a rosé wine from the free-run juice. In cooler wine
regions, this process may be used to produce a
darker wine than would normally be possible from
the remaining mass of grape pulp because the
greater ratio of solids to liquid provides more
coloring pigment.
SASSY Should be a less cringing version of the
cheeky, audacious character found in a wine with
bold, brash but not necessarily big flavor.
SEC (Fr.) Dry. When applied to wine, this means
without any sweetness, but it does not mean there
is no fruit. Dry wines with plenty of very ripe fruit
can sometimes seem so rich they may appear to
have some sweetness.
SECOND or SECONDARY FERMENTATION The
fermentation that occurs in bottle during the Méthode
Champenoise. The term is sometimes also used,
mistakenly, to refer to malolactic fermentation.
SEKT (Ger.) Sparkling wine.
SELECTION DE GRAINS NOBLES (Fr.) In Alsace, a
rare, intensely sweet, botrytized wine.
SEMICARBONIC MACERATION An adaption of
the traditional macération carbonique method of
fermentation, in which whole bunches of grapes
are placed in a vat that is then sealed while its air
is displaced with CO2.
SHARP This term applies to acidity, whereas
bitterness applies to tannin and, sometimes, other
natural solids. Immature wines may be sharp.
However, if used by professional tasters, the term
is usually a derogatory one. The opposite to sharp
acidity is usually described as ripe acidity, which
can make the fruit refreshingly tangy.
SHEET FILTRATION Synonymous with pad filtration.
SHERRYLIKE This term refers to the odor of a
wine in an advanced state of oxidation, which is
undesirable in low-strength or unfortified wines.
It is caused by excessive acetaldehyde.
SHORT Refers to a wine that may have a good
nose and initial flavor, but falls short on the finish,
its taste quickly disappearing after the wine has
been swallowed.
SKIN-CONTACT The maceration of grape skins
in must or fermenting wine can extract varying
amounts of coloring pigments, tannin, and
aromatic compounds.
SMOKINESS, SMOKY, SMOKY COMPLEXITY,
SMOKY-OAK Some grapes have an inherent smoky
character (particularly Syrah and Sauvignon Blanc).
This charcter can also come from well-toasted oak
casks, but may also indicate an unfiltered wine.
Some talented winemakers do not rack their wines
and sometimes do not filter them in a passionate
bid to retain maximum character and create an
individual and expressive wine.
SMOOTH The opposite of aggressive and more
extreme than round.
SO2 A commonly used chemical formula for sulfur
dioxide, an antioxidant with aseptic (antibacterial)
qualities that is used in the production of wine. It
should not be noticeable in the finished product,
but sometimes a whiff may be detected on
recently bottled wine. A good swirl in the glass or
a vigorous decanting should remove this trace and
after a few months in bottle it ought to disappear
altogether of its own accord. The acrid odor of
sulfur in a wine should, if detected, be akin to the
smell of a recently extinguished match. If it has a
rotten egg aroma, the sulfur has been reduced to
hydrogen sulfide and the wine may well have
formed mercaptans that you will not be able to
remove. SOFT Interchangeable with smooth, although it
usually refers to the fruit on the palate, whereas
smooth is more often applied to the finish. Softness
is a very desirable quality, but “extremely soft” may
be derogatory, inferring a weak and flabby wine.
SOLERA (Sp.) A system of continually refreshing an
established blend with a small amount of new wine
(equivalent in proportion to the amount of the blend
that has been extracted from the solera) to effect
a wine of consistent quality and character. Some
existing soleras were laid down in the 19th century,
and whereas it would be true to say that every bottle
of that solera sold today contains a little of that first
vintage, it would not even be a teaspoon. You would
have to measure it in molecules, but there would
be infinitesimal amounts of each and every vintage
from the date of its inception to the year before
bottling. SOLID This term is interchangeable with firm.
SOLUMOLOGICAL The science of soil and, in the
context of wine, the relationship between specific
soil types and vine varieties.
SORBIC ACID A yeast-inhibiting compound found
in the berries of mountain ash, sorbic acid is
sometimes added to sweet wines to prevent
refermentation, but it can give a powerful geranium
odor if the wine subsequently undergoes
malolactic fermentation.
SOUPED-UP, SOUPY Implies a wine has been
blended with something richer or more robust. A
wine may well be legitimately souped-up, or use
of the term could mean that the wine has been
played around with. The wine might not be
correct, but it could still be very enjoyable.
SOUS MARQUE (Fr.) A marque under which
wines, usually second-rate wines, are offloaded.
SOUTHERN-STYLE This term describes the obvious
characteristics of a wine from the sunny south
of France. For reds, it may be complimentary at an
honest basic level, indicating a full-bodied, fullflavored
wine with a peppery character. For
whites, it will probably be derogatory, implying a
flabby wine with too much alcohol and too little
acidity and freshness.
SOUTIRAGE (Fr.) Synonymous with racking.
SPARGING A process in which carbonic gas is
introduced into a wine before bottling, often simply
achieved through a valve in the pipe between the
vat and the bottling line.
SPÄTLESE (Ger.) A QmP wine that is one step
above Kabinett, but one below Auslese. It is
fairly sweet and made from late-picked grapes.
SPICY 1. A varietal characteristic of some grapes,
such as Gewürztraminer. 2. An aspect of a complex
bouquet or palate, probably derived from bottle-age
after time spent in wood.
SPICY-OAK A subjective term describing complex
aromas derived from fermentation or maturation in
oak that can give the impression of various
spices—usually “creamy” ones such as cinnamon or
nutmeg—and that are enhanced by bottle-age.
SPRITZ, SPRITZIG (Ger.) Synonymous with pétillant.
SPUMANTE (It.) Fully sparkling.
STABILIZATION The process by which a heaving
broth of biochemical activity becomes firmly fixed
and not easily changed. Most wines are stablized
by tartrate precipitation, filtration, fining, and the
addition of SO2 (sulfur dioxide).
TERPENE Any one of a class of unsaturated
hydrocarbons that are found in the essential oils
of many plants. Terpenes and terpene alcohols
are responsible for some of the most aromatic
characteristics in wine; these range from the
floral aromas of Muscat to the gasoline or kerosene
character of a wonderfully mature Riesling. In
sparkling wine, a terpene character may indicate
Riesling in the blend, but is more likely to be due
to part or all of the base wine being kept unduly
long in tank prior to the second fermentation.
TERROIR (Fr.) This literally means “soil,” but in a
viticultural sense terroir refers in a more general way
to a vineyard’s whole growing environment, which
also includes altitude, aspect, climate, and any other
significant factors that may affect the life of a vine,
and thereby the quality of the grapes it produces.
TÉTE DE CUVÉE (Fr.) The first flow of juice during
the pressing of the grapes, and the cream of the
cuvée. It is the easiest juice to extract and the
highest in quality, with the best balance of acids,
sugars, and minerals.
THIN A term used to describe a wine that is
lacking in body, fruit, and other properties.
TIGHT A firm wine of good extract and possibly
significant tannin that seems to be under tension,
like a wound spring waiting to be released. Its
potential is far more obvious than that of reticent
or closed wines.
TOAST 1. A slow-developing, bottle-induced
aroma commonly associated with Chardonnay, but
that can develop in wines made from other grapes
(including red wines). Toasty bottle aromas are
initially noticeable on the aftertaste, often with no
indication on the nose. 2. A fast-developing oakinduced
aroma. 3. Barrels are toasted during their
construction to one of three grades: light or low,
medium, and heavy or high.

STAGE A period of practical experience. It has
long been traditional for vineyard owners to
send their sons on a stage to a great château in
Bordeaux. Now the Bordelais send their sons on
similar stages to California and Australia.
STALKY 1. The herbaceous-tannic varietal
characteristic of Cabernet grapes. 2. Applies literally
to wines made from grapes which were pressed with
their stalks. 3. Could be indicative of a corked wine.
STERILIZATION The ultimate sterilization of a very
cheap, commercial wine may be pasteurization or
flash pasteurization.
STICKIES Common parlance for very sweet wines,
usually fortified or botrytized.
STRETCHED This term describes a wine that has
been diluted or cut with water (or a significantly
inferior wine), which is usually illegal in an official
appellation. It can also refer to wine that has been
produced from vines that have been “stretched”
to yield a high volume of attenuated fruit.
STRUCTURE The structure of a wine is literally
composed of its solids (tannin, acidity, sugar, and
extract or density of fruit flavor) in balance with
the alcohol, and how positively they form and feel
in the mouth.
STÜCK (Ger.) A large oval cask with a capacity of
1,200 liters (317 gallons).
STUCK FERMENTATION A stuck, literally halted,
fermentation is always difficult to rekindle and,
even when done successfully, the resultant wine
can taste strangely bitter. The most common causes
for a stuck fermentation are: 1. temperatures of 95°F
(35°C) or above; 2. nutrient deficiency, which can
cause yeast cells to die; 3. high sugar content,
which results in high osmotic pressure, which
can cause yeast cells to die.
STYLISH Describes wines possessing all the
subjective qualities of charm, elegance, and finesse.
A wine might have the “style” of a certain region
or type, but this does not mean it is stylish. A wine
is either stylish or it is not—it defies definition.
SUBTLE Although this description should mean a
significant yet understated characteristic, it is often
employed by wine snobs and frauds who taste a
wine with a famous label and know that it should
be special, but cannot detect anything exceptional.
They need an ambiguous word to get out of the
hole they have dug for themselves.
SUMMER PRUNING Synonymous with green pruning.
SUPERPREMIUM A marketing term for a quality
category;
SUPER-SECOND A term that evolved when Second-
Growth (Deuxième Cru) châteaux, such as Palmer
and Cos d’Estournel, started making wines that
came close to First-Growth (Premier Cru) quality
at a time when certain First Growths were not
always performing well. The first super-second
was Palmer 1961, although the term did not evolve
until some time during the early 1980s.
SUPER-TUSCAN This term was coined in Italy in the
1980s for the Cabernet-boosted vini da tavola
blends that were infinitely better and far more
expensive than Tuscany’s traditional Sangiovesebased
wines.
SUPPLE Describes a wine that is easy to drink, not
necessarily soft, but the term suggests more ease
than round does. With age, the tannin in wine is
said to become supple.
SUPPLE TANNIN Tannins are generally perceived
to be harsh and mouth-puckering, but the tannins
in a ripe grape are supple, whereas those in an
unripe grape are not.
SUR LIE (Fr.) Describes wines, usually Muscadet,
that have been kept on their lees and have not
been racked or filtered prior to bottling. Although
this practice increases the possibility of bacterial
infection, the risk is worth taking for those wines
made from neutral grape varieties. In the wines of
Muscadet, for example, this practice enhances the
fruit of the normally bland Melon de Bourgogne
grape and adds a yeasty dimension of depth that
can give the flavor of a modest white Burgundy. It
also avoids aeration and retains more of the
carbonic gas created during fermentation, thereby
imparting a certain liveliness and freshness.
SÜSSRESERVE (Ger.) Unfermented, fresh grape
juice commonly used to sweeten German wines
up to and including Spätlese level. It is also added
to cheaper Auslesen. Use of Süssreserve is far
superior to the traditional French method of
sweetening wines, which utilizes grape
concentrate instead of grape juice. Süssreserve
provides a fresh and grapey character that is
desirable in inexpensive medium-sweet wines.
TABLE WINE A term that often implies a wine is
modest, even poor-quality, because it is the literal
translation of vin de table, the lowest level of
French wine. Yet it is not necessarily a derogatory
term as it may also be used to distinguish between
a light (unfortified) and a fortified wine.
TAFELWEIN (Ger.) Table wine or vin de table.
TALENTO (It.) Since March 1996, producers of
Italian Méthode Champenoise wines may use the
new term “Talento,” which has been registered as a
trademark by the Instituto Talento Metodo
Classico—established in 1975 and formerly called
the Instituto Spumante Classico Italiano. Talento is
almost synonymous with the Spanish term Cava,
although to be fully compatible it would have to
assume the mantle of a DOC and to achieve that
would require the mapping of all the areas of
production. However, it will take all the talento
they can muster to turn most Italian Spumante
brut into an international class of sparkling wine.
TANNIC,TANNIN Tannins are various phenolic
substances found naturally in wine that come from
the skin, seeds, and stalks of grapes. They can also
be picked up from oak casks, particularly new
ones. Grape tannins can be divided into “ripe” and
“unripe,” the former being most desirable. In a
proper balance, however, both types are essential
to the structure of red wines, in order to knit the
many flavors together. Unripe tannins are not
water-soluble and will remain harsh no matter
how old the wine is, whereas ripe tannins are
water-soluble, have a suppleness or, at most, a
grippy feel from an early age, and will drop out as
the wine matures. Ripe grape tannin softens with
age, is vital to the structure of a serious red wine,
and is useful in wines chosen to accompany food.
TART Refers to a noticeable acidity somewhere
between sharp and piquant.
TARTARIC ACID The ripe acid of grapes that
increases slightly when the grapes increase in
sugar during the véraison.
TARTRATES,TARTRATE CRYSTALS Deposits of
tartaric acid look very much like sugar crystals at
the bottom of a bottle and may be precipitated
when a wine experiences low temperatures.
Tartrates are also deposited simply through the
process of time, although seldom in a still or
sparkling wine that has spent several months in
contact with its lees, as this produces a
mannoprotein called MP32, which prevents the
precipitation of tartrates. A fine deposit of glittering
crystals can also be deposited on the base of a
cork if it has been soaked in a sterilizing solution
of metabisulphite prior to bottling. All are
harmless.
TASTEVIN (Fr.) A shallow, dimpled, silver cup
used for tasting, primarily in Burgundy.
TbA (Ger.) A commonly used abbreviation of
Trockenbeerenauslese, this category is for wines
produced from individually picked, botrytized grapes
that have been left on the vine to shrivel. The wine
is golden-amber to amber in color, intensely
sweet, viscous, very complex and as different from
Beerenauslese as that wine is from Kabinett.
TCA Short for trichloroanisole, the prime (but by no
means only) culprit responsible for corked wines.
TCA is found in oak staves as well as in cork.
TEINTURIER A grape variety with colored (red), as
opposed to clear, juice.
TOBACCO A subjective bouquet/tasting term often
applied to oak-matured wines, usually Bordeaux.
TOTAL ACIDITY The total amount of acidity in
a wine is usually measured in grams per liter
and, because each acid is of a different strength,
expressed either in terms of sulfuric or tartaric acid.
TRANSFER METHOD Synonym of transvasage.
TRANSVASAGE (Fr.) In what is also known as
the transfer method, non-Méthode Champenoise
sparkling wines undergo a second fermentation
in bottle, and are then decanted, filtered, and
rebottled under pressure to maintain the mousse.
TRIE (Fr.) This term usually refers to the harvesting
of selected overripe or botrytized grapes by
numerous sweeps (tries) through the vineyard.
TYPICAL Overused, less-than-honest form of honest.
TYPICITY A wine that shows good typicity is one
that accurately reflects its grape variety and soil type.