Glossary
Acetic Acid Present in small amounts in all wines. In excess causes sharp vinegary aroma and taste.
Acidity General term for the fresh, tart or sour taste produced by the natural organic acids present in wine. Contributes flavour and freshness to wine when it is in proper balance.
Alcohol Common name for ethanol.
Antioxidants Phenolic compounds present in grape colour and tannin that provide protection to the human body.
Appearance Refers to clarity of a wine. Wines should usually be free of cloudy and suspended particles when evaluated in a glass.
Appellation French system for designating and controlling the regions and geographical based names, not just of wines, but also of spirits and certain food products.
Aroma Smells associated with young wines and sometimes varietal characteristics.
Aspect The direction in which a slope faces, relevant to vineyard sites, especially in cool climates.
Astringency Tactile, bitter sensation that makes the mouth pucker. Wines with high levels of astringency may be described as course, harsh, and rough or too much tannin.
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Bag-in-Box Alternate wine package comprised of a collapsible laminated bag inside a strong carton with handle. Wine is drawn from a tap specially designed to minimise the ingress of oxygen and preserve wine left in the bag.
Balance Pleasant harmony of the elements and components of a wine. A balanced wine is one whose components of sugar, fruit, tannin, acid, alcohol, wood and extract are evident, but do not mask or dominate each other.
Blends A wine deliberately made from more than one grape variety rather than a single varietal, to obtain uniform quality and style from year to year.
Blind Tasting Form of wine tasting in which the taster attempts to evaluate and/or identify wines without knowing their identity. Most professional tastings are conducted blind.
Body Tasting term for the perceived 'weight' - the sensation of fullness, resulting from density or viscosity - of a wine on the palate. Wines at either end of the scale are described as Full bodied and light bodied.
Bottle Ageing The process of deliberately maturing a wine after bottling, whether for a few weeks or as a conscious effort on the part of the bottler to allow the wine to settle or mature.
Bouquet Complex aromatic compounds which result from wines of extended bottle age.
Bud Name given to a small part of the vine shoot which rests between the leaf stalk or petiole and the shoot stem.
Bud Burst (Bud Break) A stage of annual vine development during which small shoots emerge from vine buds in the spring.
Bulk Wine Wine that is ready to drink but has not been put into smaller containers such as bottles.
Buyers Own Brand (BOB)
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Cane The stem of a mature grapevine shoot after the bark becomes tan-coloured at veraison and starts its overwintering form.
Canopy The part of the vine above the ground, which includes stems, leaves and fruit.
Charmat (Tank Method) Consistent, cheap, labour saving method of making sparkling wine in bulk. The second fermentation takes place in the vat, not the bottle.
Climate Long term weather pattern of an area.
Cold Settle Natural clarification of white grape juice after pressing and before the commencement of fermentation.
Cover Crop A crop of plants other than vines established in the vineyard, typically between the rows, generally for the benefit of the vineyard soil.
Cultured Yeasts Laboratory-bred strains of natural yeast.
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Decanting An optional process when serving wine, involving pouring wine out of its bottle into another container called a decanter.
Degree Days Unit of measure in heat summation calculation, equal to the difference of one degree between the mean outdoor temperature on a certain day and a reference temperature.
Destemming The winemaking process of removing the stems, or stalks, from clusters of grape berries.
Dormancy The normal state of vines during winter, between leaf fall and bud burst.
Dosage The final addition to a sparkling wine which may top up a bottle in the case of champagne method wines, and also determines the sweetness, or residual sugar, of the finished wine.
Dry Adjective often used to describe wines in which there is no perceptible sweetness.
Dynamization Energizing through dilution in water which is stirred to create a vortex.
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Elevation The height either above sea level or above some local base altitude, such as that of a valley floor.
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Fermentation As applicable to wine, fermentation is the process of converting sugar to ethanol and carbon dioxide effected by the anaerobic metabolism of yeast.
Ferrongenous Associated with or containing iron
Fertility Viticultural term for the fruitfulness of buds or shoots, and also of vineyard soils.
Filtration Sieving process to remove suspended particles. Less gentle clarification than fining.
Fining Wine making process whereby a range of special materials (fining agents) are added to the wine, with the aim of removing small particles for clarification and stablisation of the wine.
First Pressing
Flavour Most of what is described as flavour in wine, is actually aroma. Flavour is used to describe the overall sensory impression of both aroma and the taste components.
Flavour Profiling The use of a sensory panel of trained experts to describe the aroma and flavour attributes of a set of wines.
Flowering The sequence of events including the opening of individual flowers, with the petals being shed, pollen being liberated, and ovules becoming fertilised. Fertilisation leads to subsequent development of flowers into berries, or fruit set.
Free-run Juice which runs out of the vat under the natural weight of the fruit. Widley considered to be of better quality than press wine.
Frost The ice crystals formed by freezing of water vapour on objects which have cooled below 0 degrees C or 32 degrees F
Fruit Driven A tasting term used to convey the fact that a wine has a dominance of grape derived fruit flavour. For a wine to merit this description, the dominance of fruit overrides flavours in the wine that originate from other processes or treatments which the wine has undergone.
Fruit Set The transition of vine flowers into grape berries, where only fertilised flowers grow into berries from which wine is made.
Full Bodied Description of a wine that is high in alcohol and viscosity.
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Geographical Indication (GI) A Geographical Indication (GI) is an official description of an Australian wine zone, region or sub-region. It takes the form of a textual description (ie a list of grid references, map coordinates, roads and natural landmarks which can be traced to outline the regional boundary) along with a map. Its main purpose is to protect the use of the regional name under international law, limiting its use to describe wines produced from winegrape fruit grown within that GI.
Green Tasting term for a wine made from grapes that did not reach full ripeness.
Green Harvest Viticultural practice to selectively remove some bunches from the vine, in an attempt to concentrate flavour and colour of remaining crop. Also referred to as crop or bunch thinning.
Growth Cycle The annual cycle of a vine's development, which begins at bud break in the sprink, and concludes at leaf fall in the autumn.
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Hang Time American expression for the growing season, or total period between flowering and harvest.
Hard Tasting term applied to wine that is high in astringent tannins and apparently lacking in fruit.
Harvest Both the process of picking ripe grapes from the vine and transferring them to the winery.
Herbaceous Tasting term for the leafy or grassy aroma of crushed green leaves or freshly cut grass.
Humidity Moisture content of the atmosphere, that can have considerable implications both for vine growth and for the storage of barrels and wine.
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Latitude Angular distance north or south of the equator; measured in degrees and minutes.
Leaf Fall The process which occurs naturally in autumn, marking the start of the harvest cycle.
Lees Sediment comprising dead yeast cells, grape seeds, pulp, stem and skin fragments, that settles at the bottom of the container in the wine making process. Red wine is racked off this sediment. Some whites are left on their lees to add flavour and complexity.
Lifted Tasting term for a wine with a high but not excessive level of volatile acidity.
Lignify To turn into wood or become woody through the formation and deposit of lignin in cell walls.
Lignin A complex polymer, the chief noncarbohydrate constituent of wood, that binds to cellulose fibers and hardens and strengthens the cell walls of plants.
Long Tasting term referring to the persistence of wine impact on the palate. A wine that is long is usually considered of high quality.
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Maceration Refers to period during which the must or wine remains in contact with the grape skins. Alcohol acts as a solvent, extracting colour, tannin and aroma from the skins.
Macro-climate (Regional Climate) A climate broadly representing an area or region on a scale of tens to hundreds of kilometres.
Malic Acid Component of wine. Accounts for green and sour taste of wine made from unripe grapes.
Malolactic Fermentation Conversion by bacteria (not yeast) of malic acid, naturally present in new wine, into lactic acid and carbon dioxide. This process softens wine and reduces overall acidity.
Mature Tasting term for a fine wine that sems to have enjoyed sufficient ageing for it to have reached the peak of its potential.
Meso-climate A term of climatic scale between Macro-climate and the very small scale Micro-climate. The usual scale for a mesoclimate is in tens or hundreds of metres, such as the size of a particular vineyard.
Micro-climate The climate within a defined and usually very restricted space or position. In viticulture it might be at specified positions between rows of vines, or distances above the ground.
Mouthfeel (Texture) Non-specific tasting term, used particularly for red wines, to indicate those textural attributes, such as smoothness, that produce tactile sensations on the surface of the oral cavity.
Must Freshly crushed grape juice (with or without skins) from the crushing/destemming of the grapes at the start of the winemaking process, prior to fermentation.
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New World A collective term describing the wine producing countries outside of the traditional wine growing areas of Europe and North Africa. These include Agrentina, Australia, Chile, New Zealand, South Africa, USA.
Node The part of a plant's stem at which a leaf is attached.
Non-vintage (NV) A blended wine, particularly champagne or sparkling wine, which may contain the produce of several different vintages.
Nose Used as a synonym for the smell, aroma, or bouquet of a wine.
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Old World A collective term describing European and other Mediteranean countries with a longer tradition (4th Century) of viticulture and winemaking. (France, Italy, Portugal, Spain)
Oxidation Chemical reaction of wine to oxygen in the air. If a wine is described as being Oxidized, it has gone stale and flat from excessive contact with air.
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Palate Sense of taste in the mouth.
Petiole The stalk of a plant's leaf which supports the leaf blade.
Phenols Group of closely related substances called anthocyanins, flavones and leucoanthocyanins which congregate in the skins and pips of the grape. Phenolic is used mainly to describe coarse or heavy white wines which, while having much lower levels of phenols than do red wines, are more susceptible to being flawed by excessive phenolic content.
Photosynthesis A biochemical reaction which combines water and atmospheric carbon dioxide using the energy of the sun to form sugars in plants, including vines.
Phylloxera A small aphid-like insect that attacks the roots of grapevines resulting in death of the vines.
Press Equipment used to separate juice or wine from skins and pips.
Pruning Cutting off unwanted vegetative parts in the forms of canes, during winter.
Pumping Over Wine-making operation involving the circulation of fermenting red wine with the grape skins.
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Racking The winemaking operation of removing clear wine from the settled sediment or lees in the bottom of the container.
Reduction Indicates smells in wine resulting from sulphur combined with hydrogen not oxygen.
Region (Geographical Indication) Reference to the delimitation of wine areas, controlled by Appellation or Geographical Indication, to establish a distinctive identity for the wine produced from within the area.
Regional Climate (Macro-climate) A climate broadly representing an area or region on a scale of tens to hundreds of kilometres.
Regionality The concept that the location of a vineyard plays an important part in shaping the character of the wine produced from it. Some wines will refer to the region on the label.
Residual Sugar (RS) Natural grape sugar left after fermentation which is usually stopped artificially to retain sweetness in a wine.
Reverse Osmosis Concentration of wine or grape juice by removal of water molecules through a special filter. With reverse osmosis the wine or juice to be concentrated passes through the filter, leaving the water behind.
Riddling Winemaking process that involves dislodging the deposit left in a bottle after a second fermentation has taken place inside it and shaking it into the neck of the inverted bottle. An integral stage in the traditional champagne method of making sparkling wines.
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Screw Cap Alternative bottle closure that is fitted to the outside of the wine bottle, providing an air tight seal between the wine and the outside environment. The screw cap consists of a piece of wadding that is compressed onto the lip of the bottle and held in place by the metal lined screw cap.
Second Pressing
Sediment The solid material which settles to the bottom of any wine container.
Senesce To reach later maturity; grow old.
Shoot New growth in a plant that develops from a bud and consists of a stem with leaves. Collectively the shoots and the leaves of a vine form its canopy.
Short Tasting term for a wine whose impact on the palate is not persistent. The opposite of long.
Single Vineyard Special designated area within a specific vineyard site, where the grapes are used to produce wines with unique characteristics.
Site Selection The process of selecting vineyard location based on factors that will influence the vineyard's yield, quality of the wine produced, and therefore the vineyard's long term profitability.
Soil Structure The physical structure of soils, governed by bonding of the primary particles into larger aggregates.
Sommelier Specialist wine waiter, who ensures that any wine ordered is served correctly and, ideally, to advise on the individual characteristics of every wine on the list and on food and wine matching.
Spur A viticultural term for a shortened grape vine cane or stub formed by pruning the cane to between one and four nodes (usually two). Spurs are used to provide the next season's fruiting shoots.
Sub-region
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Tank Method (Charmat) Alternative name for a bulk sparkling wine making process which involves provoking a second fermentation in wine stored in a pressure tank.
Tannins A compound naturally found in grapes and therefore wine. The tannins in grapes are predominantly in the skins and seeds of each berry and also the stems. Tannins are believed to be responsbile for the sensation of astringency.
Tasting The act of consciously assessing a wine's quality, character, or identity.
Tataric Acid The most important grape (and wine) acid. Cold stabilization causes the acid to be precipitated out in crystal form. May be added to wine lacking in acidity.
Texture (Mouthfeel) Non-specific tasting term, used particularly for red wines, to indicate those textural attributes, such as smoothness, that produce tactile sensations on the surface of the oral cavity.
Third Pressing
Transfer Method Sparkling wine making process involving providing a second fermentation in bottle and then transferring its contents into a tank where the wine is separated from the deposit.
Trellis Support structure for the vine framework. Can be in the form of a stake driven beside the vine, to which the trunk or shoots are tied. Most commonly a series of posts installed along a row, with wire spanning between, to which the vines and foliage are supported.
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v/v v/v (volume per volume) refers to the known number of parts by volume of solute in one hundred of the same parts by volume of solution. E.g.10ml of ethanol dissolved in 100ml of solution is expressed as 10% v/v.
Variety Vine or grape variety refers to the distinct type of vine and/or fruit produced.
Varietal Wine made completely or predominantly from a single grape variety. Most New World wines feature varietal labels - the name of the wine is the name of the grape (e.g., Shiraz).
Veraison The intermediate stage of grape berry development which marks the beginning of ripening, when the grapes change from the hard, green state to their softened and coloured form.
Vine Age Easily observable by the width of the vine's trunk, it is widely considered a factor affecting wine quality, with widespread consensus that, in general, older vines make better wine.
Viniculture Theory, art, and science fo making wine.
Vintage Year The year in which a wine was produced and the characteristics of that year. A vintage dated wine carries the year in which the grapes were picked.
Viticulture Therory, science, amd study of the production of grapes.
Volatile Acidity Derives from acetic acid, caused by bacteria spoiling a wine exposed to air. A small amount enhances bouquet and flavour.
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Wild Yeasts Naturally occuring yeast which can be seen as the 'bloom' on skins of ripe grapes.
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Yeast Brings about fermentation of grape juice to wine by secreting the enzyme, zymase, which converts sugar to ethyl alcohol and carbon dioxide.
Yield The measure of how much fruit a vineyard produces, usually calculated as the weight of fresh grapes per unit land area, for example tonnes/ha or tons/acre.
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