Wine Terminology

Terroir

[pron. Tehr-wahr] - an Old World term used to characterise the environment of the wine region as a whole. Encompasses climate [temperatures, rainfall, humidity], sunlight [energy], topography [altitude, slope of hill, aspect], geology [soil characteristics], hydrology [soil-water retention].

Mesoclimate

Refers to the localised climate in a smaller area. Single vineyards even in close to each other can have differing mesoclimates. This can be due to thier aspect or position on a hillside, or proximity to a large body of water.

Macroclimate

Refers to the climate of a broad region or area. How far this area extends depends on the land - a flat desert will have minimal disruptions to macroclimate, however a mountainous area close to the ocean will be broken down into many smaller climatic sites - ie mesoclimates. [see above]

Microclimate

Refers to the climate within the grapevine canopy itself. The density of the canopy has a direct bearing on the levels of sunlight and humidity. Humidity and evaporation must be carefully monitored to avoid fungal diseases affecting the grapes.

Old World

This term is a bit like the other common saying [particularly amongst Gen X'ers and Gen Y'ers] which refers to older methods of doing things ... "old school". Old World refers to the older, traditional winemaking countries such as France, Germany, Spain, Portugal etc.

New World

New World wine regions are those which have emerged more recently, eg Australia, USA, New Zealand, in comparison to Old World regions [see above].

Canopy Management

This refers to a variety of activities which manipulate the microclimate within the grape canopy. Effectively this is to make use of available sunlight and improve ventilation. This can involve training the vines along structures of wire and poles - commonly referred to as trellising, leaf-plucking [removing some leaves] and pruning.

Viticulturalist

Person who selects, grows and maintains grape vines; usually overseeing vintage practices (ie harvesting).

Varietal

Technical word for type of grape, eg Chardonnay, Shiraz, Cabernet etc

Vintage -v- Non Vintage

The distinction between the two is that Vintage wines come from the grapes of one vintage only.

Non Vintage wines are a blend of wines from different vintages - with current vintage usually making up 70-80%, in the case of sparklings.

Style or Type?

This can be a confusing area as many texts and wine writers mix these two up. Some people refer to 'type' as referring to the grape varietal or blend of grapes. Other times I have read 'type' referring to whether or not a sparkling or champagne is vintage or non-vintage.  'Style' generally refers to whether it is light, medium, or full-bodied, sparkling, etc.

Maturity Group

Group of grape varietals that ripen at the same time - ie require similar amounts of sunlight during the ripening period to reach desired maturity levels.

Balanced vines

Attaining the right level of development and ripening of wine grapes requires finely tuning the vine to have the right amounts of leaf area (to capture sunlight) to correspond with the quantity of grapes. Too many leaves shade the grape canopy, and inhibit fruit maturity. On the other hand too few leaves inhibits ripeness and sugar levels as there's too much sun. Grapes get burned. A balanced vine means there is a good ratio of leaves to bunches.

Oenologist

Wine making specialist ... ie, winemaker. Oenology is the practice of making wine. Pronounced "eenolojee" for those still wondering ...

Vintage

Harvesting of wine grapes.

Body

Basically, this means how it feels in the mouth. The "body" of a wine is usually referred to as light, medium or full. This is influenced by three factors: alcohol concentration, residual [unfermented] sugar levels and phenolic compounds [eg tannins] which affect astringency. Light bodied wines have lower alcohol concentration and tannins than full bodied wines. Dry wines have no residual sugar, so are light bodied. Sweet wines [generally whites, but can include some reds] have greater sugar levels for any given alcohol or tannin levels, thus are considered heavier bodied.

Residual sugar

Sugar left over after fermentation. This is often by design, but sometimes by default. Design refers to purposely stopping fermentation before all the sugar is converted to alcohol. Eg: Riesling grapes may be picked late at 14 degrees Baume. Fermentation is stopped at, say 12% v/v ethanol. Thus we have two degrees baume of sugar left [ie residual] - and our Riesling is semi-sweet.

Tannins

Grape components found primarily in skin, seeds and stalks of the grapes. Give a drying, astringent quality to the wine. Very low levels of tannin can be found in the pulp of the grape. The amount of tannin in a grape is determined by varietal, regional climate and maturity of the grape at harvest. How much tannin gets into the wines is determined by the crusher settings, temperature of the must, skin-contact time and juice clarification methods.

Stuck ferments

Partially finished fermentation

Chaptalisation

Adding sugar to grape musts to increase level of sweetness and alcohol content.

Terpenes

Unsaturated hydrocarbons, C10H16, found in essential oils and oleoresins. Not just aromatic white grapes, but also found in conifers. Sometimes thought to be only found in skins of grapes, however, actually located in skin, juice and pulp. eg: Terpene called Linalool is found in higher quantities in juice of Muscat Gordo Blanco and Frontignan. Geraniol is found in higher quantities in the skins.

Phenolics

Group of chemical compounds naturally occurring in grapes which contribute to colour (anthocyanins), mouth-feel, palate weight of wine (tannins from stalks, skins, seeds). The level of phenolics in the wine influence the degree of astringency and bitterness. Oak used in the winemaking process also adds phenolics.

Must

Must is the term used for the crushed grapes including skins, stalks and seeds.

Descriptors

Words used to describe aromas and flavours in wine.

DOC or DOCG

Italian Government's control system for wine classification. DOC = Denominazione di Origine Controllata. DOCG = DOC Guaranteed - generally reserved for higher quality, fine wines. Includes laws pertaining to boundaries, maximum yields, grape varietals to be used and production methods for winemaking.

Phylloxera

A nasty bug which has the capacity to totally destroy whole vineyards - forever. For more information - go to the Viticulture Pests & Diseases page.