Wine Basics: Glossary. By Subhash Arora Sunday, 9th April 2006

Below you will find the basic terms used when tasting and studying wine and related. This list can be expanded further.

Acidity: Term used to indicate the quantity of sharpness to the taste. It is due to the presence of agreeable fruit acids present in grapes. For a balanced dry wine it is between 0.6-0.75% of the volume. Not to be confused by sourness which is due to the wine turning into vinegar.

Bouquet: Total smell (generally good but can also be bad) that the wine develops while stored in a bottle or oak barrels. More correctly used for mature wines that develop complex fragrances.

Closed: Wine with character but the aroma has not yet come out fully. It will take further maturing to open out all the aromas this wine has to offer.

Cloudy: Liquid lacks clarity when held against the light. In an old wine it may be due to sediments which can be removed by decanting before decanting. But most of the cases it means that the wine has gone bad.

Corked: Wine sometimes develops a musty and moldy newspaper flavour due to the chemical composition of some corks which become tainted with no explicable reasons. 3-8 % of bottles are usually 'corked'.

Coarse: Refers to the texture- generally with too much tannin or oak. Sparkling wines with too much bubble are also considered coarse.
Decanting Process of separating wine sediment before pouring to drink. Keeping the bottle vertically for a day or so and then slowly and continuously pouring out wine from the bottle held horizontally into a decanter till sediments appear at the bottom does it.

Enology: Also spelled as oenology it is the science and study of wine making.
Estate-bottled: When the winery makes wine from its own grapes or has taken the vineyard on a long-term lease.

End: After-taste of wine left in the throat after swallowing it or spitting out for tasting. Better wines have a longer End going beyond a minute at times.

Fade: Wine starts fading when it starts losing its colour, fruit and aroma due to aging. Most ordinary and young wines start to fade soon if not drunk soon.

Finish: Same as End and After-Taste. An important characteristic usually found in fine wines having long and complex finish.

Fortified: Wines whose alcohol level has been increased by adding brandy or neutral alcohol.

Grapey: Wines with simple aromas and flavour linked with table grapes.

Harsh: Wines which are high in alcohol or tannins.

Hollow: Wine with a short End or Finish.

Jug Wine: Term used for cheap wines made in jug like serving containers, especially in California in the 60s. Made from a blending of various grapes. One can drink from the container directly.

Late Harvest: Wine made from grapes picked later in the harvest season thus increasing the sugar content. Normally used for sweet wines.

Lees: Sediment left in the barrel or tank during and after fermentation. On the Lees or 'Sur Lies' is the technique used for extra fermentation of some white wines especially Muscadet.

Legs: Wine drops that stick to the side of the glass after swirling. Indicate viscosity and the alcohol content of the wine.

Must: Grape juice, skins and seed mixture after pressing or crushing but before fermentation.

Magnum: Size of a bottle- 1.5 litre or 2 regular sized bottles. Normally used for Champagnes.

Mature: Wine, which has reached its age where all its elements have peaked and is ready to drink. After maturing the wine will not get any better but may deteriorate in drinking quality.

Nose: Aroma, bouquet and flavour of a wine. It is the total smell of grapes after full vinification.

Non-Vintage: A blend of wines made in different years to produce a consistent quality. Used a lot in making champagnes.

Oxidation: Change in wine brought about due to contact with air. Long exposure with air will make the wine lose its freshness.

Oaky: Flavour imparted to the wine due to contact with oak when stored in an oak barrel.

Phylloxera: Disease of grapevines where tiny lice attack and destroy the roots. Created havoc in the late 19th century in Europe and California when it practically destroyed all the grape crops. This disease also devastated India and most of the crops were destroyed.

Puckery: Dry wines which are highly tannic in content compared to the fruit.

Racking: Transferring of clear wine from one tank to the other using hoses leaving the sediment behind.

Round: Describes a texture that is smooth as compared to coarse.

Sec: French word for dry wine.

Sekt: German word for Sparkling wine.

Sharp: When the wine exceeds in acidity but is still drinkable.

Sommelier: French word for wine waiter or steward.

Table wine: Wine containing a minimum of 7 -8.5% of alcohol. The minimum varies from country to country. Also tafelwein, Vin de table and vino da tavola.

Woody: Taste and flavour developed by wine when kept in the oak barrel for too long a time.



About the Author:
Formed Delhi Wine Club two years ago to promote wine culture in India through education by organizing various programmes and training seminars, wine tasting dinners etc. Writing content and managing the club website with India-centric wine related news since inception. Wine passion has taken him to various wine fairs, vineyards and conferences around the world. He has written regularly for a popular daily under, 'Wonderful World of Wine' and a couple of national magazines. An engineer from IIT, Delhi with Master's degrees in Industrial Engineering and Business Administration from the University of Minnesota, he has been actively promoting wine in India by delivering talks, organizing wine appreciation courses, training waiters and managers, designing wine menus and offering wine consultancy.

www.delhiwineclub.com