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
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