The top category of French wines, defined by regulations covering vineyard yields, grape varieties, geographical boundaries, alcohol content and production method. Guarantees origin and style of a wine, but not its quality. See here.
Naturally present in grapes and essential to wine, providing balance and stability, a refreshing tang in white wines and appetizing grip in reds. Too much can make a wine taste sharp, too little and it will be flabby.
Portuguese for winery.
May take place in vat, barrel or bottle, and may last for months or years. It has a mellowing effect on a wine, but if a wine is stored for too long it may lose its fruit.
The alcoholic strength of wine, expressed as a percentage of the total volume of the wine. Typically in the range of 7–15%.
The process whereby yeasts, natural or added, convert the grape sugars into alcohol (ethyl alcohol, or ethanol) and carbon dioxide.
Traditionally dry style of sherry. See Sherry in main A–Z.
German for growing region; these names will appear on labels of all QbA and QmP wines (see here). There are 13 Anbaugebiete: Ahr, Baden, Franken, Hessische Bergstrasse, Mittelrhein, Mosel, Nahe, Pfalz, Rheingau, Rheinhessen, Saale-Unstrut, Sachsen and Württemberg.
See blending.
Austrian Prädikat category used for sweet wines from the town of Rust.
German and Austrian Prädikat category meaning that the grapes were ‘selected’ for their higher ripeness. The wines will generally be sweet.
System of appellations of origin for US wines.
Italian for estate or farm. It also indicates wine made from grapes grown by the proprietor.
Time spent maturing in wood, usually oak, during which wine may take on flavours from the wood if new barrels are used.
Oak barrels may be used for fermentation instead of stainless steel to give a rich, oaky flavour to the wine.
The barrique bordelaise is the traditional Bordeaux oak barrel of 225 litres (50 gallons) capacity, used for aging and sometimes for fermenting wine.
A scale measuring must weight (the amount of sugar in grape juice) to estimate potential alcohol content.
German and Austrian Prädikat category applied to wines made from ‘individually selected’ berries (i.e. grapes), almost always affected by noble rot (Edelfäule in German). The wines are rich and sweet. Beerenauslese wines are only produced in the best years in Germany, but in Austria they are a regular occurrence.
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CHAMPAGNE |
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Magnum |
1.5 litres |
2 bottles |
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Jeroboam |
3 litres |
4 bottles |
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Rehoboam |
4.5 litres |
6 bottles |
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Methuselah |
6 litres |
8 bottles |
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Salmanazar |
9 litres |
12 bottles |
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Balthazar |
12 litres |
16 bottles |
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Nebuchadnezzar |
15 litres |
20 bottles |
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BORDEAUX |
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Magnum |
1.5 litres |
2 bottles |
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Marie-Jeanne |
2.25 litres |
3 bottles |
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Double-magnum |
3 litres |
4 bottles |
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Jeroboam |
4.5 litres |
6 bottles |
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Imperial |
6 litres |
8 bottles |
German for region or district within a wine region or Anbaugebiet. Bereichs tend to be large, and the use of a Bereich name, such as Bereich Bingen, without qualification is seldom an indication of quality – in most cases, quite the reverse.
This approach works with the movement of the planets and cosmic forces to achieve health and balance in the soil and in the vine. Vines are treated with infusions of mineral, animal and plant materials, applied in homeopathic quantities. An increasing number of growers are turning to biodynamism, with some astonishing results, but it is labour-intensive and generally confined to smaller estates.
White wine made from one or more white grape varieties. Used especially for sparkling wines; in Champagne, denotes wine made entirely from the Chardonnay grape.
White wine made from black grapes only – the juice is separated from the skins to avoid extracting any colour. Most often seen in Champagne, where it describes wine made from Pinot Noir and/or Pinot Meunier grapes.
The art of mixing together wines of different origin, style or age, often to balance out acidity, weight etc. Winemakers often use the term assemblage.
Spanish for winery.
See noble rot.
A scale used in the USA and New Zealand to measure sugar levels in grape juice. See Baumé.
French term for dry sparkling wines, especially Champagne.
Winemaking method used to produce fresh fruity reds for drinking young. Whole (uncrushed) bunches of grapes are fermented in closed containers – a process that extracts lots of fruit and colour, but little tannin.
Traditional method used for nearly all of the world’s finest sparkling wines. A second fermentation takes place in the bottle, producing carbon dioxide which, kept in solution under pressure, gives the wine its fizz.
Legal addition of sugar during fermentation to raise a wine’s alcoholic strength. More necessary in cool climates such as Germany, where lack of sun produces insufficient natural sugar in the grape.
See cuve close.
French for castle; widely used in France to describe any wine estate, large or small.
Italian for a rosé wine of very light pink colour from around Lake Garda.
English term for red Bordeaux wines, from the French clairet, which was traditionally used to describe a lighter style of red Bordeaux.
Term covering any winemaking process (such as filtering or fining) that involves the removal of solid matter either from the must or the wine.
Strain of grape species. The term is usually taken to mean laboratory-produced, virus-free clones, selected to produce higher or lower quantity, or selected for resistance to frost or disease.
French for a walled vineyard – as in Burgundy’s Clos de Vougeot – also commonly incorporated into the names of estates (e.g. Clos des Papes), whether they are walled or not.
Long, slow fermentation at low temperature to extract maximum freshness from the grapes. Crucial for whites in hot climates.
Aged tawny port from a single vintage. See Port in main A–Z.
A French village and its surrounding area or parish.
In a co-operative cellar, growers who are members bring their grapes for vinification and bottling under a collective label. In terms of quantity, the French wine industry is dominated by co-ops. They often use less workaday titles, such as Caves des Vignerons, Producteurs Réunis, Union des Producteurs or Cellier des Vignerons.
Wine fault derived from a cork which has become contaminated, usually with Trichloroanisole or TCA. The mouldy, stale smell is unmistakable. Nothing to do with pieces of cork in the wine.
Spanish for vintage.
French for slopes. Many, but not all, of the country’s best vineyards are on hillside sites.
Failure of the fruit to set after flowering, often a result of cold, wet or windy weather.
French term for traditional-method sparkling wine from regions other than Champagne, for example Crémant de Limoux.
Spanish term for the process of aging a wine; also used as the youngest official category of matured wine. A red Crianza wine must be aged for at least 2 years (1 in oak, 1 in bottle) before sale, a white or rosé, 1 year.
French for growth, meaning a specific plot of land or particular estate. In Burgundy, growths are divided into Grands (great) and Premiers (first) Crus, and apply solely to the actual land. In Champagne the same terms are used for whole villages. In Bordeaux there are various hierarchical levels of Cru referring to estates rather than their vineyards. In Italy the term is used in an unofficial way, to indicate a single-vineyard or special-selection wine.
Term for a group of châteaux (over 200) in the 8 appellations of Bordeaux’s Médoc, ranked below the Crus Classés (Classed Growths) and revised annually after official tastings.
The Classed Growths are the aristocracy of Bordeaux, ennobled by the Classifications of 1855 (for the Médoc, Barsac and Sauternes), 1955, 1969, 1986, 1996, 2006 and 2012 (for St-Émilion) and 1953 and 1959 (for Graves). Curiously, Pomerol has never been classified. The modern classifications are more reliable than the 1855 version, which was based solely on the price of the wines at the time of the Great Exhibition in Paris, but in terms of prestige the 1855 Classification remains the most important. With the exception of a single alteration in 1973, when Ch. Mouton-Rothschild was elevated to First Growth status, the list has not changed since 1855. It certainly needs revising.
A bulk process used to produce inexpensive sparkling wines.
The second fermentation, which produces the bubbles, takes place in tank rather than in the bottle (as in the superior Traditional Method). Also called Charmat.
French for the contents of a single vat or tank, but usually indicates a wine blended from either different grape varieties or the best barrels of wine.
Stage in the production of Champagne-method wines when the sediment, collected in the neck of the bottle during remuage, is removed.
French for medium-dry.
Spain’s quality wine categories, regulating origin and production methods.
Portugal’s top quality wine classification.
Italy’s quality wine categories, regulating origin, grape varieties, yield and production methods.
French term for wine estate.
A sugar and wine mixture added to sparkling wine after dégorgement which affects how sweet or dry it will be.
Blended wine from Alsace, usually bland.
German for an individual vineyard site which is generally farmed by several growers. The name is preceded on the label by that of the village: for example, the Wehlener Sonnenuhr is the Sonnenuhr vineyard in Wehlen. The mention of a particular site should signify a superior wine.
Rare, chiefly German and Austrian, late-harvested wine made by picking the grapes and pressing them while frozen. This concentrates the sweetness of the grape as most of the liquid is removed as ice.
See also Icewine.
In Germany’s Mosel, this term is used to indicate outstanding sites.
An official classification used in the Rheingau in Germany. Top sites were chosen by a kind of popular vote. Growers tend to use the label only for their best wines. See also Grosses Gewächs.
Portuguese for selection.
Refers to the extraction of colour, tannins and flavour from the grapes during and after fermentation. There are various ways in which extraction can be manipulated by the winemaker, but over-extraction leads to imbalance.
Disliking the term Halb-trocken, some producers prefer to use Feinherb. No legal definition but usually applies to wines with 9–25g per litre of residual sugar.
Removal of yeasts, solids and any impurities from a wine before bottling.
Method of clarifying wine by adding a coagulant (e.g. egg whites, isinglass) to remove soluble particles such as proteins and excessive tannins.
The lightest, freshest style of sherry. See Sherry in main A–Z.
A film of yeast which forms on the surface of fino sherries (and some other wines) in the barrel, preventing oxidation and imparting a tangy, dry flavour.
Term coined in the late 1980s to describe enologists, often Australian-trained, brought in to improve the quality of wines in many underperforming wine regions.
Wine that has high-alcohol grape spirit added, usually before the initial fermentation is completed, thereby preserving sweetness.
Italian for semi-sparkling wine.
See vin de garage.
Portuguese term for wine from an outstanding vintage, with 0.5% more alcohol than the minimum required, and 2 years’ aging in vat or barrel followed by 1 year in bottle for reds, and 6 months of each for whites. Also used by merchants for their best blended and aged wines. Use of the term is in decline as producers opt for the more readily recognized ‘Reserva’.
Top category of Spanish wines from a top vintage, with at least 5 years’ aging (2 of them in cask) for reds and 4 for whites.
French for great growth. Supposedly the best vineyard sites in Alsace, Burgundy, Champagne and parts of Bordeaux – and should produce the most exciting wines.
A vineyard classification in Germany, devised by the VDP growers’ association and now widely adopted. Wines must meet both quality and stylistic criteria: essentially for Riesling, dry and very sweet wines.
German term for a grouping of vineyards. Some are not too big, and have the advantage of allowing small amounts of higher QmP wines to be made from the grapes from several vineyards. But sometimes the use of vast Grosslage names (e.g. Niersteiner Gutes Domtal) deceives consumers into believing they are buying something special. Top estates have agreed not to use Gross-lage names on their labels.
German for medium dry. In Germany and Austria medium-dry wine has 9–18g per litre of residual sugar, though sparkling wine is allowed up to 50g per litre. See Feinherb.
A speciality of Canada, produced from juice squeezed from ripe grapes that have frozen on the vine. See also Eiswein.
European classification of regional wines, increasingly replacing terms such as Vin de Pays in France, and other regional designations elsewhere. Both premium and everyday wines may share the same appellation.
The lowest level of QmP wines in Germany.
German or Austrian ‘country’ wine. The wine must have a territorial definition and may be chaptalized to give it more alcohol.
Grapes are left on the vines beyond the normal harvest time to concentrate flavours and sugars. See also Vendange Tardive.
The storing of wine which will improve with age.
Sediment – dead yeast cells, grape pips (seeds), pulp and tartrates – thrown by wine during fermentation and left behind after racking. Some wines are left on the fine lees for as long as possible to take on extra flavour.
See dosage.
Important winemaking process for red wines whereby colour, flavour and/or tannin are extracted from grape skins before, during or after fermentation. The period lasts from a few days to several weeks.
Secondary fermentation whereby harsh malic acid is converted into mild lactic acid and carbon dioxide. Normal in red wines but often prevented in whites to preserve a fresh, fruity taste.
The tangiest style of sherry, similar to fino. See Sherry in main A–Z.
Term for the beneficial aging of wine.
American term for red or white wines made from a blend of Bordeaux grape varieties.
The climate of a specific geo-graphical area, be it a vineyard or simply a hillside or valley.
A loose geographical term, virtually synonymous with Languedoc-Roussillon, covering the vast, sunbaked area of southern France between the Pyrenees and the Rhône Valley.
French for soft or mellow, used to describe sweet or medium-sweet wines, particularly in the Loire.
French for sparkling wine.
Mixture of grape juice, skins, pips and pulp produced after crushing (prior to completion of fermentation), which will eventually become wine.
An indicator of the sugar content of juice – and therefore the ripeness of grapes.
Movement originating in France and catching on in Italy, California and elsewhere as a counterpoint to the mass of ‘industrial’ wine. (Artisan) members seek to bring out the true expression of the soil ‘naturally’, i.e. by minimal intervention both in the vineyard and in the winery, notably without the addition of sulphur dioxide. This process is not yet regulated, resulting in a broad range of quality, from the exceptional to vinegar.
French term for a merchant who buys and sells wine. A négociant-éléveur is a merchant who buys, makes, ages and sells wine.
When used as a geographical term, New World includes the Americas, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. By extension, it is a term used to describe the fruity, upfront style which is now in evidence all over the world, but pioneered in the USA and Australia.
(Botrytis cinerea) Fungus which, when it attacks ripe white grapes, shrivels the fruit and intensifies their sugar while adding a distinctive flavour. A vital factor in creating many of the world’s finest sweet wines, such as Sauternes and Trockenbeerenauslese.
The wood most commonly used to make barrels for fermenting and aging fine wines. It adds flavours such as vanilla, and tannins; the newer the wood, the greater the impact.
German scale measuring must weight (sugar content).
Fungal disease, also called powdery mildew, attacking vine leaves and shoots.
The darkest, most heavily fortified style of sherry. See Sherry in main A–Z.
A new style of wine from white grapes, popular with supporters of the ‘natural’ wine movement, that has ancient origins. The earliest winemakers would very likely have fermented their grapes whole – skins, pips and stalks all thrown in together. From white grapes, the resulting wine would have an orange colour and a rustic flavour. And that’s the way some modern winemakers like it. Alternatively a white wine may be aged in clay amphoras before bottling, which also gives an ‘orange’ wine. Producers in Georgia prefer to call their clay-pot-fermented wines ‘amber’. A subtler variation is the copper-coloured wine made from darker-skinned white grapes such as Pinot Gris, where the juice is left in contact with the skins for a short time before fermentation; this style is traditional to Friuli in north-eastern Italy, where it is known as ramato, meaning ‘coppery’; some US producers now use this term.
Over-exposure of wine to air, causing loss of fruit and flavour. Slight oxidation, such as occurs through the wood of a barrel or during racking, is part of the aging process and, in wines of sufficient structure, enhances flavour and complexity.
Italian term for wine made from dried grapes. The result is usually a sweet wine with a raisiny intensity of fruit.
German for a lightly sparkling wine.
French for a lightly sparkling wine.
The vine aphid Phylloxera vastatrix attacks vine roots. It devastated vineyards around the world in the late 1800s soon after it arrived from America. Since then, the vulnerable Vitis vinifera has generally been grafted on to vinously inferior, but phylloxera-resistant, American rootstocks.
Grades defining quality wines in Germany and Austria. These are (in ascending order) Kabinett (not considered as Prädikat in Austria), Spätlese, Auslese, Beerenauslese, the Austrian-only category Ausbruch, and Trockenbeerenauslese. Strohwein and Eiswein are also Prädikat wines.
A higher quality category than QbA, with controlled yields and no sugar addition. It covers 6 levels based on the ripeness of the grapes: see Prädikat.
First Growth: the top quality classification in parts of Bordeaux, but second to Grand Cru in Burgundy. Used in Champagne to designate vineyards just below Grand Cru.
French term for a young wine, often released for sale within a few weeks of the harvest.
Beaujolais Nouveau is the best-known example.
German for quality wine from designated regions. Sugar can be added to increase the alcohol content. Usually pretty ordinary, but from top estates this category offers excellent value. In Austria Qualitätswein is equivalent to German QbA.
See Prädikatswein.
Portuguese for farm or estate.
Gradual clarification of wine: the wine is transferred from one barrel or container to another, leaving the lees behind.
See orange wine.
Fortified wine deliberately exposed to the effects of oxidation, found mainly in Languedoc-Roussillon and parts of Spain.
Process in Champagne-making whereby the bottles, stored on their sides and at a progressively steeper angle in pupitres, are twisted, or riddled, each day so that the sediment moves down the sides and collects in the neck of the bottle on the cap, ready for dégorgement.
Spanish wines that have fulfilled certain aging requirements: reds must have at least 3 years’ aging before sale, of which one must be in oak barrels; whites and rosés must have at least 2 years’ age, of which 6 months must be in oak.
French for what is, in theory, a winemaker’s best wine. The word has no legal definition in France.
A method used in Valpolicella to make wines with extra depth. Wine is passed over the lees of Recioto or Amarone della Valpolicella, adding extra alcohol and flavour, though also extra tannin and a risk of higher acidity and oxidation.
An Italian term for a special selection of wine that has been aged longer before release. It is only a promise of a more pleasurable drink if the wine had enough fruit and structure in the first place.
Rosé wine takes its colour from the skins of red grapes: the juice is bled off (saignée) after a short period of contact with the skins.
French for dry. When applied to Champagne, it means medium-dry.
A second selection from a designated vineyard, usually lighter and quicker-maturing than the main wine.
Usually refers to residue thrown by a wine, particularly red, as it ages in bottle.
German sparkling wine. The best wines are made by the traditional method, from 100% Riesling or 100% Weissburgunder (Pinot Blanc).
A superripe category for sweet Alsace wines, now also being used by some producers of Coteaux du Layon in the Loire Valley.
The top of the three categories of wine from the Wachau in Austria, the lower two being Federspiel and Steinfeder. Made from very ripe and usually late-harvested grapes.
Spanish system of blending fortified wines, especially sherry and Montilla-Moriles. When mature wine is run off a cask for bottling, only a quarter or so of the volume is taken, and the cask is filled up with similar but younger wine taken from another cask, which in turn is topped up from an even younger cask, and so on.
German for late-picked (riper) grapes. Often moderately sweet, though there are dry versions.
Italian for sparkling. Bottle-fermented wines are often referred to as metodo classico or metodo tradizionale.
Term coined in the 1980s for top-quality wines that did not conform to local DOC regulations (usually Chianti) and were therefore classed as vini da tavola (table wine). Many are now sold under the regional IGP Toscana.
French for a wine with a slightly higher alcohol content than the basic AC.
Italian DOC wines with higher alcohol or more aging potential.
French for on the lees, meaning wine bottled direct from the cask/fermentation vat to gain extra flavour from the lees. Common with quality Muscadet, white Burgundy, similar barrel-aged whites and, increasingly, bulk whites.
Harsh, bitter, mouth-puckering element in red wine, derived from grape skins and stems, and from oak barrels. Tannins soften with age and are essential for long-term development in red wines.
A French term used to denote the combination of soil, climate and exposure to the sun – that is, the natural physical environment of the vine.
See Champagne method.
German for dry. In most parts of Germany and Austria, Trocken matches the EU definition of dryness – less than 9g per litre residual sugar.
German for ‘dry berry selected’, denoting grapes affected by noble rot (Edelfäule in German) – the wines will be lusciously sweet although low in alcohol.
Wine made from, and named after, a single or dominant grape variety.
German organization recognizable on the label by a Prussian eagle bearing grapes.
Portuguese for old. Legally applied only to wines with at least 3 years’ aging for reds and 2 years for whites.
French for late harvest. The term is traditional in Alsace. The Italian term is vendemmia tardiva.
French term for a wine made from vines at least 20 years old. Should have greater concentration than wine from younger vines.
Wines made on so small a scale they could be made in a garage.
Such wines may be made from vineyards of a couple of hectares or less, and are often of extreme concentration.
Sweet wine found mainly in the Jura region of France. Traditionally, the grapes are left for 2–3 months on straw (paille) mats before fermentation to dehydrate, thus concentrating the sugars. The wines are sweet but slightly nutty.
The term gives a regional identity to wine from the less renowned districts of France. Gradually being converted to new IGP classification.
French for table wine; phased out after the 2008 vintage.
French for a fortified wine, where fermentation has been stopped by the addition of alcohol, leaving the wine ‘naturally’ sweet, although you could argue that stopping fermentation with a slug of powerful spirit is distinctly unnatural.
A speciality of the Jura region in France, made from the Savagnin grape. In Château-Chalon it is the only permitted style. Made in a similar way to fino sherry but not fortified and aged for 6 years in oak. Unlike fino, vin jaune ages well.
Spanish for vineyard.
The process of turning grapes into wine.
The Italian term for table wine, officially Italy’s lowest level of production – now called simply ‘Vino’ – is a catch-all that until relatively recently applied to more than 80% of the nation’s wine, with virtually no regulations controlling quality.
The year’s grape harvest, also used to describe wines of a single year.
Vine-growing and vineyard management.
Vine species, native to Europe and Central Asia, from which almost all the world’s quality wine is made.
Canadian equivalent of France’s AC system, defining quality standards and designated viticultural areas.
German rosé wine, a speciality of Baden.
South African system of appellations which certifies area of origin, grape variety and vintage.
The amount of fruit, and ultimately wine, produced from a vineyard. Measured in hecto-litres per hectare (hl/ha) in most of Europe, and in the New World as tons per acre or tonnes per hectare. Yield may vary from year to year, and depends on grape variety, age and density of the vines, and viticultural practices.