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Wine Glossary M
Maceration: During the process of fermentation, this is the steeping of the grape skins as well as solids that are in the wine wherein the alcohol acts as a solvent to extract the tannin, aroma and the color from the skins. Made And Bottled By: Signifies only that the winery crushed, fermented and bottled a minimum of 10 percent of the wine in the bottle. This is quite misleading. Maderized: This ... [Read More]
Wine Glossary L
Late Harvest: This is on the labels and it means that the grapes that make up the wine were picked very much later than normal also with a higher sugar level than normal. This is most commonly associated with botrytized and dessert-style wines. Leafy: This describes the mildly herbaceous and vegetal quality of wines that is reiniscent of leaves. This can be a positive or a negative and is de... [Read More]
Wine Glossary I
Imperial: An oversized bottle holding 4 to 6 liters; the equivalent of eight standard bottles.Intricate: This signifies the wine as being especially complex.Isabella: This is a type of French-American hybrid grape that is grown in the state of New York as well as the other colder regions of Eastern Europe. A French-American hybrid grape grown in New York state, and colder regions of eastern Europe... [Read More]
Wine Glossary H
Half-bottle: This only means a bottle which holds 375 milliliters or about 3/8 of a liter. Hard: Means "firm". It is a characteristic that commonly comes from wines having acidity and tannin which are quite high. It is often one of the ways that you can describe red wines. Harmonious: This means that a wine is well-balanced as well as no other not lacking in anything or not having anythi... [Read More]
Wine Glossary G
Graceful: What one would call a wine which is harmonious as well as enjoyable in a subtle way.Grapey: Characteristic of the flavor and the aromas of grapes-more particular the fresh table grapes. There are other more complex fruit flavors which are reminiscent of other fruits such as black cherry, currant, fig or apricot. Grassy: This is a type of unique characteristic for Sauvignon Blanc which is... [Read More]
Wine Glossary F
Fading: Denotes a wine that is slowly losing flavor, fruit or color because of age.Fat: Signifies a wine which is "full-bodied". The high alcohol wines which have low acidity are able to give a "fat" impression on one's palate. This characteristic can be an advantage for those wines which have ripe, bold and rich flavors although this can also suggest that the wine's structure ... [Read More]
Wine Glossary E
Early Harvest: This means that the wine comes from early-harvested grapes which have been usually lower than average on the alcoholic scale or sweetness.Earthy: The term that denotes the good and the bad characteristics of wine. At its best, a clean and an agreeable quality adds density to the aroma and the taste of the wine. The flipside is that it is a lively character that is treading on being ... [Read More]
Wine Glossary D
Decanting: This is a method of taking away the sediment that is present in a wine before drinking it. It is achieved by carefully and surely pouring out the wine from its original bottle into another bottle or container altogether.Delicate: This is a term that is often used to characterize wines of medium and light weight which have pleasing flavors. This is a desirable attribute to have in specif... [Read More]
Wine Glossary C
Carbonic Maceration: This refers to the process of fermentation as a whole and is characterized by uncrushed grapes that are placed in a carbon dioxide atmosphere. In essence, what will happen is that the weight of the upper layers of grapes contained in a vat will eventually break the skins of the grapes that are located in the lowest layer. The wine that one gets from this particular process is ... [Read More]
Wine Glossary Z
Zymase: The name for the enzymes given out by the yeast during fermentation. Zymurgy: The science and study of fermentation.... [Read More]