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: relates 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.

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: 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 been placed in casks, flagons or bag-in-box.

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 Settling: 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.

Decanting: An process when serving wine, involving pouring wine out of its bottle into another container called a decanter. The process aerates the wine.

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 determines the sweetness, or residual sugar, of the finished wine.

Dry: A term used to describe wines in which there is no perceptible sweetness.

Elevation: The height either above sea level or above some local base altitude, such as that of a valley floor.

Fermentation: As applicable to wine, fermentation is the process of converting sugar to ethanol and carbon dioxide effected by the anaerobic metabolism of yeast.

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.

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.

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, 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

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.

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.

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 of malic acid, naturally present in 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.

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.

O

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.

P

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.

R

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.

S

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.

Sediment: The solid material which settles to the bottom of any wine container.

Senesce: The solid material which settles to the bottom of any wine container.

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.

T

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.

Tartaric 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.

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.

V

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: The theory, art, and science of 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: The theory, science, and 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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W

Wild Yeasts: Naturally occuring yeast which can be seen as the 'bloom' on skins of ripe grapes.

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Y

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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