 | Acidity:
The tart taste in wines. When there is too much acidity the wine can taste
sour. |
| Aftertaste: The taste that stays in your mouth after swallowing the wine. It should be
pleasant and in fine wines it should last a long time after the wine is gone. |
| Aloxe-Corton: A wine producing village in Burgundy. Famous for both great reds and whites.
The best reds are Corton (with or without additional names) and the famous white
is Corton-Charlemagne. |
| Alsace: A French province that makes some of the finest dry white wines in the
world, many from grapes people assume are sweet, such as Riesling and
Gewurztraminer . |
| Appellation d'Origine Controlee:
The designation for wines of better quality from France. It is in fact a set
of rules that dictate the grape variety, the minimum alcohol and other quality
factors, for the given wine from a region. This phrase (with or without
d'Origine, and often abbreviated to AOC) can be found on most bottles of
exported French wine. |
| Aroma: The smell of a young wine. Different from bouquet, in that Aroma is the
smell that comes from the grapes, and bouquet, which takes time to develop, is
the smell that comes from the finished wine. |
| Astringent: That mouth puckering feeling that some wines give you. Related to, and
usually caused by tannins. |
| Auslese:
A German term for "Select Harvest". Wines with this designation
are slightly sweet and luscious. Don't be afraid of these wines, they are often
great with food, and rarely expensive. |
| Ausone, Chateau:
One of the greatest Bordeaux wines, too often overlooked by consumers.
Because it is in St.-Emilion it has a higher proportion of Merlot, and the
resulting wine is more elegant than some others of its class. |
| Balance:A much used, but rarely defined term in wine tasting. A wine is said
to be balanced when no single component is overwhelming the wine, and the
overall impression is pleasing. |
| Barolo: One of the top Italian wines. Made from Nebbiolo grapes in the Piedmont it
is often long lived and heavy when young. |
| Beaujolais: A wine producing district just south of Burgundy, in France. The red wines
from the region are made from Gamay, and are typically light and fruity.
Beaujolais Nouveau (noo-vo) is an early released style of this wine, that is
sold with more fan fair and hoopla than the wine deserves, it is released the
third Thursday of November. |
| Beaune:
The quaint little walled city is the unofficial capital of the Burgundy wine
trade. The surrounding wine area, in fact the entire southern Burgundy, is
referred to as the Côte de Beaune. |
| Beerenauslese : Literally "Select Berry Picking" in German. The English term is
"Individual Berry Select". Tiny scissors are used to cut just the most
perfectly ripe berries (grapes) from the cluster. The grapes must have no less
than 125 degrees Oeschsle (about 30% ) sugar. The resulting wine usually is
somewhat sweet (average of about 6% residual sugar) with great flavors and
amazing complexity. This is one of the world's finest styles of wine. It is a
great match for spicy foods of all sort. |
| Bernkastel: Another of the world's greatest "cute little wine towns". This one
is situated on the Mosel River in Germany. The most famous wines of Germany,
Bernkastler Doctor are grown on the steep hillsides overlooking the river. The
Doctor vineyard has a perfect southern exposure, important in these chilly
northern vineyards.
|
| Beychevelle, Ch.: A Fourth Growth Bordeaux (France) wine from the commune of Saint-Julien. The
exceptional quality of this producer has propelled its fame beyond its rank.
Alas, the price is as high as its reputation.
|
| Bitter: Wine tasting term for the sensation in the finish of a wine. This is
different than astringency (q.v.) which is a dry feeling in the mouth.
Bitterness is very hard to spot, and it is rare, an undesirable in wine. As well
the taster gets used to the bitterness quickly, so the taste goes away after a
few sips.
|
| Blanc de Blanc: "White from white" in French. The term is applied to white wines
made from white grapes. Mainly used in Champagne to denote wines made entirely
from Chardonnay. |
|
Blanc de Noirs:
"White from black" in French. The term is applied to white wines made
from red (black) grapes. Mainly used in Champagne to denote wines made entirely
from Pinot Noir.
|
| Blending:
Blending is perhaps the most important tool of the wine maker. While
chemistry and science often have a hand in the final blend of a wine, more often
than not it is a tasting that determines the final ratios. Like a chef seasoning
a sauce, the winemaker adds a little of this, and a little of that, until the
wine resembles that winemaker's idea of perfection. There are several types of
blending: |
Some wines, like Chateauneuf de Pape, Cote Rotie, Chianti,
and Champagne, can be made from a blend of red and white grapes. Similarly
Rose Champagne is often given that nice pink color, with the addition of red
wine (Pinot Noir). [Note: Rose, or "Blush" wines are made pink by
pressing red grapes very carefully and ending up with a pink wine.]
Other wines, like Bordeaux are blends of the same color. In
the case of Bordeaux, the grape variety Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot
(primarily) are blended, in order to add the character of each grape to the
final wine.
Even wines of a single variety are (or should be) blended.
In this last case, wines that have been verified separately (referred to as
'lots') are blended together. This blending may come from the simple
necessity of having more grapes than can fit into a single tank or
barrel, or the blending may be carried out in order to create a specific
style of wine. At the highest quality level, individual vineyards are
verified separately, each adding their own character to the final blend,
with the remaining wine declassified and sold as a lesser wine.
