BITTERNESS
Bitterness comes from excess tannin and can be caused by poor winemaking or an extremely dry season.

BLANC DE BLANCS
A white wine, especially champagne, made from only white grapes.

BLANC DE NOIRS
A white or blush wine made from dark grapes.

BLENDING
The primary task of a wine maker. Wines from different lots or barrels are blended together to produce the final product. Tradition and regional laws dictate what grape varieties may be blended together to make a certain wine. The wine maker selects the percentages of each type of grape for the final blend.

BODY
Used to describe the "weight" of a wine. Wines can be categorized as light-, medium-, or full-bodied. A Cabernet Sauvignon is an example of a full-bodied wine; a Sauvignon Blanc is a light- or medium-bodied wine.

BOTRYTIS CINEREA (noble rot)-
A mold that is responsible for the character of dessert wines from Sauternes (France) and much of Germany. A naturally occurring mold that extracts water from the grapes, leaving the juice that remains sweet and highly concentrated, with a honeyed character. The climatic conditions necessary to produce botrytis are unpredictable and cannot be reproduced artificially.

BOTTLE SHOCK
A condition that can affect wines immediately after bottling or shipment. The wine can be flat or off, or smell of sulfur dioxide. Stored properly this condition will disappear in two or three weeks.

BOTTLE SIZES

Magnum=2 bottles
Jeroboam=4 bottles
Rehoboam=6 bottles (no longer made)
Methuselah= 8 bottles
Salmanazar=12 bottles
Balthazar=16 bottles
Nebuchadnezzar=20 bottles

BOUQUET
Term for the aroma of a wine. The first indicator of a wine's quality.

BREATHING
To allow a wine to mix with the air. Aeration occurs by decanting the wine ia a large container or large wineglass. Breathing can be beneficial for many wines especially reds. Breathing enables oxygen to mix with the wine, which speeds the aging process. To let a wine breathe or not before serving depends on the wine. It is not always beneficial to let older wines breathe prior to drinking.

BRILLIANT
A clear and bright appearance. Brut- French term meaning "raw". Used to describe champagne or other sparkling wines that are very dry, containing no more than 1.5 percent residual sugar.

CAPSULE
The protective sheath over the cork and neck of a wine bottle. This keeps the cork from drying out and letting air into the bottle.

CELLAR
Refers to any area for the storage of wine, not necessarily underground. Ideally conditions are dark, with a controlled, cool temperature, and high humidity. Wine bottles should be stored on their sides to keep the corks from drying out.

CHABLIS
An area of northern Burgundy famous for its dry, full-flavored whites. Chablis Grand Cru and Chablis Premier Cru are among Burgundy's finest white wines.

CHAI
French term for an aboveground structure used for wine storage and aging.

CHAMPAGNE
75 miles northeast of Paris, the region has over 300 villages and produces the best-known sparkling wines in the world. Only wines produced here can legally be called champagne.

CHAPTALIZATION
Adding sugar to fermenting wine to raise the alcohol level. Used in France to raise low alcohol levels by 1 to 2 percent. The sugar is converted to alcohol, and does not add sweetness to the wine. Illegal in California, Italy, and Germany.

CHARACTER
The things that make a wine distinctive. A region's tradition, soils, and grapes combine to produce a wine's character.

CHARDONNAY (SHAR-doe-nay)
The world's most popular dry white; it's medium-to full-bodied, with rich apple and citrus flavors and sometimes a buttery tone from fermentation and aging in oak barrels; a good choice for simply prepared seafood and poultry dishes.

CHARMAT PROCESS
Producing sparkling wines in tanks rather than bottles. Used to mass-produce inexpensive sparkling wines.

CHARTEAU BOTTLED
A wine that is bottled at the chateau whose name is on the label. Chateau-bottled wines are not necessarily superior to other wines.

CHENIN BLANC
A very versatile white wine grape known in many areas of the world and called Steen in South Africa. It is the most famous white wine made in the Loire Valley of France. The grape is known for its high acidity and can be fermented dry or medium-sweet. The finest French Chenin Blancs can age for many years.

CHIANTI
A fruity, light ruby-to-garnet-colored red from Tuscany (Italy) , formerly bottled in a characteristic straw-covered flask. When aged three years or more, it can be called Chianti Riserva. Made from a blend of grapes.

CLOUDY
Opposite of clear or brilliant. May be the result of sediment being stirred up during shipping.

CLOYING
Overly sweet, lacking the proper amount of acidity to give the wine balance.

COLOR
The skins of the grapes give a wine its color. The longer the juice is in contact with the skins, the more color will be imparted to the wine. Pink or rosé wines are made from red grapes that ares only allowed brief contact with the skins.

CORK
Produced from the bark of cork trees, mainly grown in Spain and Portugal. Corks are airtight and have for years been the best way to seal bottles. Cork should not let air into a wine bottle over time. It is intended to create an airtight seal. However any closure that seals airtight is a perfect one for wine. Recently many new closures have been tested , but the use of non-cork has been resisted by traditionalists.

CORKED
Term meaning the wine has gone bad. An unpleasant, musty, moldy smell imparted by a flawed cork. Cork may contain bacteria that will cause odd flavors in the wine. Almost one out of twelve bottles will have some corky flavors.

CRISP
Wine with a lively acidity level.

CUV'EE
French term meaning a vat or tank. Used to refer to the best wine by a producer.

DECANT
To pour wine from its bottle into a larger container toleaving any sediment behind, also to allow a wine breathe.

DRY
Dryness is determined by the residual sugar in a wine, the drier the wine, the less sugar it contains. Most table wines are dry.

ENOLOGY (Oenology)
The study of wine and wine making.

FERMENTATION
The action of yeast by which the transformation of sugar into alcohol and carbon dioxide gas takes place.

FINESSE
The complexity and elegance, subtlety and delicacy of a wine.

FINING
Process of clarifying wine by teh introduction of additives that cling to the suspended particles and fall to the bottom. Egg whites are commonly used.

FINISH
see Aftertaste

FLINTY
Tastes reminiscent of gunflint. Wines from Chablis and Sancerre are associated with a flinty smell and taste from the calcareous soil. These wines are generally dry and austere.

FORTIFIED
Wines to which a neutral spirit has been added. Examples of fortified wines are Port, Sherry, Marsala and Madeira.

FRAGRANT
Wine that is aromatic and flowery. Common fragrances are floral, spice, and fruit such as pineapple, blackberry, peach, apricot and apple. The grape variety is primarily responsible for a wine's fruit fragrances.

FRASCATI
A fruity, golden white wine from the hills around Rome; can be dry to sweet.

FRUITY
A wine in which fruit flavors dominate the aroma and taste. These wines are usually easy-drinking and light.

FUMÉ BLANC
The two names are used interchangeably. The term "Fumé" has come into use because of the grape's distinctively aromatic, sometimes smoky character.

GEWURZTRAMINER (Guh-VERTZ-tra-meener)
Another aromatic variety of German origin with aromas of rose petals, peaches, grapefruit, lychees, and allspice, and full, fruity, spicy flavors ideal with Asian food, ham, pork and grilled sausages.

GRAPPA
An Italian spirit distilled from pomace. Dry and high in alcohol, it is typically consumed after dinner.

HERBACEOUS
Wine that smells or tastes grassy or green. A characteristic of Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon grapes. Also found in young wines that will change flavor as they age. A function of grape variety, not soil or climate.

LATE HARVEST
Wines made from grapes picked very ripe and affected by Botrytis Cinerea. Often very sweet and served as dessert wines.

LEES
Term used for the sediment that settles to the bottom of tanks and vats after the fermentation process. It is made up of grape seeds, pulp, stems, and skins, and is not transferred when the wine is moved to a different container.

LIEBFRAUMILCH
A blended German white, semisweet and fairly neutral, which accounts for up to 50 percent of all German wine exports.

LIGHT
Term used to describe the body or color of a wine. Usually easy to drink and not high in alcohol.

LIQUEUR (cordial)
Sweet, alcoholic after-dinner drink. Limousin- A province and a large forest in France near Limoges. The major source of French oak for barrels.

MARSALA
A Sicilian wine, which may be dry or sweet and is commonly used in cooking. Made from Grillo, Catarratto, or Inzolia grapes.

METHODE CHAMPENOISE
French term for the method used to make champagne, which is fermented in the bottle. Monk Dom Pérignon is credited with inventing this method. Microclimate- The climate of a small, defined area. Can dramatically affect the character of the wine produced there.

MSE EN BOUTEILLE AU DOMAINE
French term for a wine produced and bottled at the property where the grapes are grown.

MULLED WINE
Red wine that has been mixed with sugar, lemon, and spices, usually including cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. Served hot.

MUSCAT (MUSS-cat)
A very flowery dessert-style wine, with floral and peach/apricot aromas and flavors; great with desserts of fresh fruit or fruit/nut tarts. Other white varieties of note include

MUST
The mixture of grape juice or crushed grapes that is fermented into wine.

NOSE
A term used to describe the smell of a wine.

OAK
Popular wood for constructing wine barrels. Oak gives flavors and tannin to wines during aging process.

OENOLOGY see Enology.

OXIDIZED
White wines that are oxidized turn dark golden in color, lack freshness, and have a sherried nose and flavor. Usually considered a flaw except in Sherries and Madeira.

PHYLLOXERA
Native to the eastern United States, an insect that attacks the roots of grapevines, killing the vine. A vine will die within several years of the attack.

PINOT BLANC/font>
This white wine grape has in the past been mistaken for Chardonnay. The two varieties look very much alike. Grown in a variety of regions - Italy, France, California, Germany, Austria - the Pinot Blanc is a light, smooth, easy-quaffing white. Drink young.

PINOT GRIS
Grown in Alsace, Germany, Italy, and very successfully in Oregon, this grape variety can produce round, flavorful, dry white wines. Known as Tokay in Alsace, Tocai in Italy.

POMACE
The mass of skins, seeds, pulp, and stems left in the fermenting vat. Used in the distillation of marc and grappa.

RIESLING (REES-ling)
A light-bodied wine of German origin with flowery aromas of honeysuckle, apples, and peaches; Rieslings range from slightly to very sweet and can be either table or dessert wines. Drier versions go well with chicken and pork dishes, as well as spicy foods.

RIOJA/font>
Region of northern Spain that produces most of the country's best wines.

SAUTERNES
France's most renowned sweet wine, made in one of five specified villages. It is a blend of mostly Sémillon and Sauvignon Blanc grapes that have been affected by Botrytis cinerea, which concentrates the wine's sweetness and alcohol.

SAUVIGNON BLANC (SO-vin-yawn BLONK)
Generally lighter than Chardonnay, with bright melon and citrus aromas and a herbal character suggesting bell pepper or freshly mown grass; a versatile food wine for shellfish, lighter fish and chicken dishes, pasta with pesto and Caesar sala.

SEDIMENT
A part of the natural aging process of red wines. Sediment is composed of tannins and pigments that precipitate out of solution and is not a flaw in the wine. Decant older wines to separate the wine from its sediment.

SHERRY
Fortified wine from a district in southern Spain, Jerez de la Frontera. Styles, ranging from dry to very sweet, are: Manzanilla, Fino, Amontillado, Oloroso, Pale Cream, Cream, Palo, and Pedro Ximénez. The principal grape variety is Palomino, with a small planting of Pedro Ximénez for the sweet, heavy wines. The drier Sherries are best served chilled; the medium-sweet to sweet are best at room temperature.

SOFT
A wine that is not harsh, overly tannic, or acidic.

Spätlese
German for "late harvest".

SPICY
Flavors reminiscent of clove, cinnamon, nutmeg, pepper, or other spices. Can be found in both red and white wines.

SPLIT
A quarter bottle of champagne (or wine) containing six ounces.

STRUCTURE
A wine with good structure has the proper proportions of acid, tannin, and fruit that make a well-balanced wine.

TANNIC
Term used to describe wine in which the tannins overpower. A tannic wine is not well-balanced.

TANNINS
Chemical components of wine that give it an astringent quality. They occur naturally in grapes, black tea, the bark of many trees, and some fruits. They are a natural preservative critical to the wine aging process.

TARTsee Acidic Tartar-
Harmless substance, tartaric acid, that sometimes precipitates as crystals in some white wines.

TEMPERATURE
Wines generally should be served at one of three temperatures:
40ºF= sparkling wines and light-bodied whites
50ºF= medium-bodied whites, most dessert wines (except Port), and a few light-bodied reds.
65ºF= (Room temperature) red wines and port.

TERRIOR
Term for the combination of soil type and microclimate that gives wines their character.

THIEF
Syringe for taking wine samples through the bunghole of a barrel.

THIN
A wine that is light-bodied and lacks flavor.

TUN
Large cask for storing wine. Some may hold enough for 300,000 bottles. Varietal- A wine named for the principal grape from which it is made.

VARIETAL
A wine named for the principal grape from which it is made.

VERDICCHIO
An Italian white wine grape that produces a pale, light-bodied, crisp wine.

VIN
French for wine.

VIN DE PAYS
French term that means "wine of the region or country". Category of ordinary table wines.

VINO
Spanish or Italian for wine.

VIN SANTO
An amber-colored Italian white wine, usually sweet and generally consumed with dessert. Grapes that produce Vin Santo are Trebbiano and Malva

VINTAGE
A single season's yield of grapes or wine from a vineyard or winery, also a wine made from grapes grown in a single year.

WEIN
German for wine.

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