WINE LOVERS GLOSSARY There are many different terms and words used relating to wine and wine production, the following is a glossary of some of these. For ease of access I have created different pages for the various letters of the alphabet.
| Decanting : | To decant a wine into a carafe illuminated by a candle at the neck. The idea behind decanting is to separate the sediment from the wine. | | |
Delicate : | Designates the subtle taste of a wine with less than 12% alcohol. | | |
Denatured : | A spirit to which a substance is added to render it unsuitable for consumption, with the aim in mind to avoid the heavy taxes which are imposed. | | |
Deposit : | In white wines, this is generally a trace of colourless tartaric acid which has no taste and is in no way dangerous. On the other hand, in red wines, the same deposit generally contains a bitter tannin and a pigment; it should be left as it is in the bottle so as not to disturb the wine. | | |
Diluted : | Signifies that the wine has been diluted (mixed) with water. | | |
Disgorging : | Principal phase in the champagnization which consists of eliminating the deposit in the bottles caused by the “riddling” on the cork, by elimination or freezing. Depending on the case, this deposit is replaced by either one of the following: wine or the dosage(=sugar based preparation). | | |
Douro : | Area where Port is produced in the North of Portugal | | |
Dry : | Designates white wines without sugar | | |
Dur : | Said of a wine which is too acidic |
| | Elegant : | Harmonious wine. | | |
Elevage sur lies : | Conservation of a wine without removing the sediments during the ageing process | | |
England : | The climate is favourable to white grape varieties which are able to ripen in these regions. The most widely known are the “müllerurgau” and the “reichensteiner”. | | |
Epaule : | Corresponds to the part of a bottle where the neck widens | | |
Erinose : | Sickness caused by very small insects which only destroy certain varieties of vine plant. | | |
Eudemis : | Microscopic butterfly which destroys the grape. | | |
Fatty : | A full unctuous wine. | | |
Filtration : | Technique which consists of making the wine clearer by passing the wine through a filter (soil, a membrane or a plate) | | |
Finesse : | Delicate and elegant wine | | |
Firm : | A wine with a lot of body and bite. Very rich in tannin. | | |
Fish Glue : | Coming from the bladder of certain fresh-water fish, in particular from the sturgeon. This whitish, jelly-like, translucent substance is used as fining agent for wine and beers. | | |
Floral : | Wine with an aroma of accacia flowers, violets, jasmin… | | |
Fresh : | Said of a young fruity wine with moderate acidity, such as Muscadet and red wines from the Gamay grape. | | |
Fruity : | A young wine which has aromas of fresh fruits. | | |
Funnelling : | The action of putting the wine in barrels | | |
Click the relevant letter below for other terms and words Copyright © 2000-2020 Hints and Things All Rights Reserved. No portion of this site may be reproduced or redistributed without prior written permission from Hints and Things. All trademarks & copyrights throughout Hints and Things remain the property of their respective owners. Hints and Things cannot be held responsible for any information given on this site nor do they necessarily agree with, or endorse, the views given by third parties. |