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 |  Θέμα: About Wine (English) 27.09.08 17:46 | |
| Acetic:
Acetic acid is the acid that gives vinegar its characteristic taste. Small amounts of acetic acid are normal in wine. The threshold is .5 gram/liter; amounts over 1.0 gram/liter give wine a vinegar-like character.
Acidity:
Grapes have two primary acids: tartic and malic. Many other acids exist in wine. Acid gives the wine body and is considered the spin of the wine. Good acidity can make a wine taste good with food. Too little acid and a wine can be flabby; too much acid and the wine appears hard to drink.
Barrel Aging:
Oak barrels allow the wine to oxidize at a nice pace, as the oak has small pores that allow small amounts of oxygen into the wine. The oak allows flavor and aromatic compounds to mature and change.
Barrel Fermentation:
The conversion of grape juice into wine, while in an oak barrel. Oak allows for a slow level of evaporation, and also influences the flavors and aromas and bouquets of wine.
Bloom:
Flowering of the grapevines, this may be the grapes most critical point of development.
Botrytis:
Botrytis is known as “the noble rot.” Typically, botrytis is not welcome in a cluster unless it is a dessert selection in the vineyard.
Brix:
Taken with a refractometer and expressed in degrees: unfermented grapes, degrees of Brix are approximately the same as percent of sugar. After fermentation, the alcohol concentration is roughly half the sugar concentration of the juice.
Bud:
A small protuberance on a stem or branch.
Bud Break:
When the first shoots emerge on a vine after winter dormancy.
Cane:
The previous season's shoots that have been left to mature.
Canopy:
The leaves form a Canopy like covering on a grape vine.
Diatomaceous Earth (DA):
A light, brittle material derived from fossilized microscopic unicellular algae called diatoms, used as a filter in clarifying wine.
DOC:
Denominazione di Origine Controllata in Italy and refer to the controlled appellation wines which are regarded as quality wines by European wine law.
Dry:
The absence of sugar, or a sweet taste sensation.
Elemental Sulfur:
A chemical used to dust vineyards as a control for powdery mildew.
Enologist:
One who studies wine and winemaking.
Fermentation:
The conversion of sugar to alcohol and carbon dioxide by yeast.
Filtration:
Passage of wine through cellulose pads, diatomaceous earth or membranes to remove suspended solids, yeast or malolactic bacteria.
Fining:
The use of protein to clarify wine.
Graft:
To splice a varietal vine to the rootstock of another.
Inoculation:
The introduction of yeast into the pressed grape juice.
Lees:
Sediment occurring during winemaking or bottle aging.
Malolactic Fermentation:
The bacterial conversion of the crisper, apple-type malic acid to the softer, milk-type lactic acid in wine.
Mouthfeel:
The way a wine feels in the mouth. The physical touch of wine that lingers and forms tactile sensations such as “heat” from high alcohol content or “heaviness” or body due to the viscosity from high alcohol and residual sugar in the wine. Click here to read more about mouthfeel.
Must:
The skins, seeds and juice of crushed berries.
Native Yeast:
Yeast occurring naturally near the vines or at the winery.
Phenolics:
A large group of compounds, found in grapes and wine, including many color, tannin and flavor compounds.
Phylloxera:
A tiny louse that attacks the root system of wine grape vines. Click here to read more about phylloxera.
Pomace:
The debris from grape processing which consists of stems, seeds, pulp and dead yeast cells.
Pruning:
Cutting back the vegetative part of the vine after it has become dormant.
Pump-Overs:
The pumping of fermenting red wine over the cap of skins to extract more flavor, color and tannin from the skins.
Racking: The gentle pumping of the clear wine or juice off the lees for clarifying.
Remontage:
The process of circulating the liquid in the fermentation tank during red wine fermentation. This aerates the wine, prevents drying on the top (the cap) and encourages extraction of color and tannins into the wine.
Rootstock:
The root system of the grapevine to which a fruiting vine of any desired variety, such as Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, etc. can be grafted.
Scion:
A cutting used in grafting, containing a bud of the desired vine.
Tannins:
The group of astringent and bitter compounds found in the seeds and skins of grapes which slow oxidation and promote aging. Click here to read more about tannins.
Tartrate Crystals:
Tartaric acid, the primary acid in grapes, forms tiny crystals when chilled. These crystals adhere to the cork or form sediment in the bottle, and are not considered a defect, but they are not desired by consumers.
Terroir:
Describes all the influences on the flavors in the wine that come from where the vines grow, especially soil, climate, slope, the aspect of the slope.
Toasting:
Heating the inside of a barrel during its construction to caramelize the flavors. This impacts the flavor and aromatic characteristics of the wine during barrel aging.
Trellis:
The wires and stakes that support the vine.
Unfiltered:
Wine that has not gone through a filtering process to clarify it.
Varietal Character:
The character typical of a specific grape variety.
Veraison:
The stage when grapes begin to soften and gain color.
Viticulture:
The study of grape growing.
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