Ice wien

Wine made from frozen grapes. The grapes are pressed while frozen and only the juice (never the solids) is used in the fermentation. Ice wines are always sweet, usually light and also delicate.

 

Ice Saints

The “Ice Saints” Pankratius, Servatius and Bonifatius as well as the “Cold Sophie” are known for a cooling trend in the weather between 12th and 15th of May. Folklore states that there is a risk of frost round these ice saints days and the risk will be until Cold Sophie 15th May.After this day folklore says there will be no more frost.

Ingredient

Any of the components of a mixture. Grape juice is an ingredient of wine but yeast is not, since yeast never remains in the finished wine.

Integrierter Pflanzenschutz

Environmentally friendly approach to the control of vineyard pests and diseases used widely in Austria and Germany.

Isinglass

A protein obtained from the bladders of fresh water Sturgeon fish and once used in the fining of red wines. Now replaced mostly by either gelatin or eggwhite.

Jahrgang

German term for vintage year

Jeroboam

Oversize wine bottle; however, the exact size is not standardized. It may be equivalent to 4, 5 or 6 standard (750 ml) bottles, depending upon the wine producer. In Champagne, France and in California, it is often 3 liters in size; in Bordeaux, 3.75 liters; in England, as much as 4.5 liters.

Johannisberg Riesling

(pronounced rees-ling) Synonym for White Riesling, this grape is responsible for wines of the same name in California. In Australia, wines from the same grape are called “Rhine Riesling.” The most famous regions in the world where this grape is grown for wine are along the Rhine and Mosel rivers in Germany. (The name Johannisberg Riesling comes from the fact that many superb riesling wines have been produced by the Schloss Johannisberg estate near the Rhine river.) Susceptible to noble rot (Botrytis), this grape has produced some of the world’s finest dessert wines.

Kabinett

German classification for quality wines mit pradikett ranking just below spatlese. Kabinett wines are relatively low in price, but sugar is never used in their production (which is a positive indicator for quality).

Kalk

Limestone (chalk).

Kanzler

This is a white grape variety resulting from a crossing of Muller Thurgau and Silvaner again in 1927 in Alzay. It is early ripening and needs a warm site. It can be found in the Rheinhessen and Rheinpfalz. Has synonym name Alzey S.3983. Possessed of moderate vigour, crop potential, despite wood hardening deficiencies. It can produce a white wine with a delicate bouquet, rich in extract and having a fruity flavour.

Kellerei

winery German wine wholesaler.

Kellermeister

Celler Master.

Kelter

Wine press.

Kerner

White grape developed from a cross in 1969 between the Riesling and Schiava Grossa grapes. The latter variety is known as the Trollinger in Germany where it is mostly grown. Used to produce a Riesling-like white wine said to often reach “Auslese” Prädikat quality this is the most successful new variety of the Staatliche Lehr- und Versuchsanstalt für Wein und Obstbau at Weinsberg. It originated as a cross between Trollinger and Riesling. Kerner thrives well in vineyards of average quality and is planted as a supplement to Muller-Thurgau. Because it buds late it has good frost resistance. In the 19890s it was the fourth most widely planted grape variety in Germany , there are now about 6,500ha under vine.

Keg

Small barrel for wine aging or storage — usually only 12 gallons in size.

Keuper

Clay and slate soil.

Kies

Gravelly soil.

Klassifizierte Lage

Only wines from classified sites of Superior quality bear the name of a vineyardClassified sites compromise a select, small group of traditional vineyards that have a distinctive character. This constitutes a fraction of the multitude of vineyard names permitted by law. No restrictions With regard to taste profile. Maximum yield of 65hl/ha. Designated grape varieties and minimum must weight are determined by regional VDP associations.

Klevner

(white grape) (a.k.a Clevner). Alternative name in the Alsace region of France for the Savagnin Blanc variety.

Klingelberger

white grape another name for the Riesling in the Ortenau region of Baden .

KMW
An abbreviation for Klosterneuburger Mostwaage, a measurement of must weight used in Austria. A more widespread equivalent, which is used in Germany, is the Oechsle scale.

Lactic acid

A natural organic acid which occurs in many foods. In wine, it exists only in trace amounts unless the wine has undergone a malo-lactic secondary fermentation.

Lage

Individual vineyard site.

Landwein – German equivalent of French vin de pays: Trocken or Halbrocken wines of a higher quality than Tafelwein and produced in a specific region.

Landwein regions

There are 21 regions for Landwein (Landweingebiete), which partially correspond to the regions or subregions for Landwein.
Ahrtaler Landwein
Badischer Landwein
Bayerischer Bodensee-Landwein
Brandenburger Landwein
Landwein Main
Landwein der Mosel
Landwein der Ruwer
Landwein der Saar
Mecklenburger Landwein
Mitteldeutscher Landwein
Nahegauer Landwein
Pfälzer Landwein
Regensburger Landwein
Rheinburgen-Landwein
Rheingauer Landwein
Rheinischer Landwein
Saarländischer Landwein
Sächsischer Landwein
Schwäbischer Landwein
Starkenburger Landwein
Taubertäler Landwein

Late Harvest

Name given to dessert or full-bodied table wines produced from overripe grapes. (Late refers to time of year, not time of day).

Leaf axil

The acute angle between a vine shoot and a leaf stem or petiole extending from the shoot. Buds develop in these axils or “crotches” just above each leaf petiole.

Leafroll

A virus disease of grapevines in which the virus infection seals off the leaf petiole (stem) so that the sugars produced by the leaf through photosynthesis cannot be transported back into the vine. The leaves tend to curl downwards at the edges as the sugar accumulates. The leaf, in an effort to get rid of a problem, uses it to make red anthocyanin pigment and the leaf is seen to turn red as well as appearing rolled. Vines infected by these viruses have difficulty in ripening their fruit because much of the sugar the vine produces cannot be used by the vine where it needs it — in the fruit. Leafroll may not be a serious problem in varieties which ripen early but are grown in climates which provide a longer than needed season. But when the opposite is true, where the variety just barely ripens under normal conditions, then the infection by leafroll virus causes the crop never to fully ripen, with disastrous results to resulting wine quality.

Leaker

A bottle of wine which has wine oozing or slowly dripping from the cork (as opposed to the more or less normal occurrence of the cork being mostly wet but without noticeable loss of wine volume).

Lees

The sediment which settles to the bottom of the wine in a tank during processing. If primarily yeast, as from a fermentation, it is called “yeast lees;” if sediment from fining, it is called “fining lees.”

Legs

Wine appreciation term referring to the colourless “tears” which continually form along the inside wall about an inch above the surface of wine in a wine glass. Tears are formed more readily by higher alcohol wines than by lower — the cause being related to alcohol content, its volatility, the lower volatility of water, the relative densities of alcohol and water, surface tension and the law of gravity. I don’t think you want to know any more than that.

Lehm

Loam soil.

Lemberger

this is the same red grape variety as the Blaufrankisch in Austria and the Kekfrankos in Hungary . It is late ripening and can produce wines that are full fruity and complex

Lese

The harvest.

Liebfraumilch

This used to be Germany’s most exported wine, which is sweet, inexpensive, and generally looked down upon by connoisseurs. This wine’s origins go back to the sixteenth or seventeenth century. The word Liebfraumilch, which means “milk of Our Lady,” was originally used only for wines produced from the vineyards of the Liebfrauenkirche (“Church of Our Lady”), a church in the city of Worms in Germany’s rheinhessen region. Over time, the word Liebfraumilch began to be used for any wine made in the Rhine region. In 1971 German law established specifications (which were modified in the 1980s) for calling a wine Liebfraumilch. Today, in order for a wine to be called Liebfraumilch, it must meet the following provisions: be a wine “of pleasant character”; contain a minimum of 18 grams of residual sugar (1.8 percent); be made only from müller-thurgau, sylvaner, kerner or riesling grapes; be of QbA quality; not be labeled with Prädikat designations such as spätlese or auslese; and come from one of the four German regions of rheinhessen, pfalz, rheingau and nahe (in practice, almost all of it comes from the Rheinhessen and the Pfalz). As with most wines, the quality of Liebfraumilch can vary dramatically from producer to producer.

Lieblich

A sweet wine such as a sweet spatlese.

Limberger

(see Blaufrankisch above). this is the same red grape variety as the Blaufrankisch in Austria and the Kekfrankos in Hungary . It is late ripening and can produce wines that are full and fruity. Also known as the Blauer Limberger or Lemberger. Wines made from this grape reportedly have low levels of histamines. It is the normally higher amounts of this compound found in many other red wines that can cause allergy headaches in some people.

Liter

Standard volume of measure in the metric system (used throughout the world for wine).

M-L

Common abbreviation for malo-lactic fermentation.

Maceration

The act of soaking grape skins and other solids in their juice for certain time periods prior to fermentation of the juice. Often used for Chardonnay production in order to increase the extraction of Chardonnay flavour (which is otherwise concentrated in the skins rather than in the juice).

Maderization

Oxidation of table wines due to improper (or too long) storage. Maderized wines, both white and red, are recognized by their brown colour, lack of fruitiness and oxidized taste. Maderization gives Madeira wines part of their desirable character; but the same character is undesirable in normal table wines.

Madeleine Angevine

(white grape) Also known as Madeline Angevine. Cool region table grape cross-used for Riesling-type white table wine production in the United Kingdom and Germany. It is a cross between Madeleine Royale and Précoce de Malingre. Susceptible to bunch-rots.

Magnum

Oversize bottle, with twice the capacity of a standard 750 ml. wine bottle. The word “magnum” is used for a 1.5 liter bottle of great wine. However, the words “one point five” are used for a bottle of ordinary wine. Do not confuse the two.

Malic acid

A natural organic acid which occurs in ripe grapes in relatively high concentrations. It is the second most abundant organic acid in most wine varieties.

Malo-lactic fermentation

A bacterial fermentation which sometimes occurs in new wines after the primary yeast fermentation. Malo-lactic, or secondary fermentation changes natural malic acid into lactic acid and CO2. The CO2 bubbles off, giving the effect of a new fermentation, which it is.

Manhole

Large opening in the side wall of a wine tank through which spent pomace or lees is removed after the wine is racked (drained) off. Cellar workers can enter through the manhole for tank cleaning.

Mariensteiner

(white grape) This is a crossing between Silvaner and Riesling and is a Vinifera variety developed at the Wurtzberg Institute, Germany in 1971, can give quite high must weights but too much acidity in poor years.

Mergel

Heavy Loam

Meristem

Region of active growth in a vine, made up of meristematic cells which divide to form new cells during growth.

Meristematic tissue

The growth tissue of a grape vine, located in the cambium, shoot tips, buds, root tips and flower. Meristematic tissue is composed of thin-walled actively growing cells which form new cells by dividing.

Microclimate

The localized climate in a specific, small area as opposed to the overall climate of the larger, surrounding region. A microclimate can be very small, as to encompass a single vine, or cover a whole vineyard of several acres or more. Microclimates can be caused by slope of the land, soil type and colour, fog, exposure, wind and possibly many other factors.

Mildew

Grapevine disease. Can be devastating but is usually controlled by dusting the vines with sulfur or spraying with organic fungicides.

Millerandage is a French term referring to an viticultural problem in which grape bunches contain berries of greatly different size and, most important, different levels of maturity. Its most common cause is too cold or otherwise bad weather during the flowering stage of the vines. The condition causes lower quality in affected wines, which are often French or German.

Muskateller

(white grape) This is a very old variety with high demands on the climate and the vineyard and found only in a few isolated places in the Kaiserstuhl district the wine is a rarity with a well-balanced bouquet and a pronounced character with sufficient acidity. This grape is also known as Muscat a petit grains or gelber muskateller.

Mute

Sweetening agent for winemaking produced by fortifying fresh juice or by chilling the juice and adding high amounts of SO2. It is used later for sweetening certain wines before bottling.

Naturrein

Term used on the label to designate an unchaptalized wine before the german wine law 1971.

Neuburger

Minor white grape of unknown origin thought by some to be a cross between Sylvaner and Pinot Blanc. Suitable for growing in a wide range of soils including heavy or chalky areas but prefers granite content. Shows a tendency towards Coulure, i.e. poor fruit set with immature berries falling off after veraison (blossoming). Widely grown in sections of the Burgenland and Wachau regions, and other areas, of Austria producing soft, full-bodied wines with nutlike aroma. Also commonly used in white wine blends such as are found in Gumpoldkirchen.

Neumagen wine ship

A roman statue of the Neumagen wine ship found in Neumagen on the Mosel

Neuzuchtungen

A term for New grape crossings

Noble Rot

Common name for Botrytis cinerea, the famous fungus of more than a few fabulous dessert wines. See Edelfaule, Pourriture Noble.

Nobling

(white grape) This is a new variety of the Staatliches Weinbauinstitut at Freiburg in 1939.It derives from a cross between Silvaner and Gutedel, grows in the Markgräflerland, as a supplement to Gutedel has become a well-established member of the varietal spectrum. Nobling is late ripening and makes fruity and complex wines with a delicate and fragrant bouquet combined with a sprightly acidity and the grape variety attracts edelfaule easily.

Nodes

Slight enlargements occurring at more or less regular intervals along the length of vine shoots and canes. One leaf develops at each of these nodes and a new bud forms in the axil at the node also.

Nose

The total odor of a wine, including aroma and bouquet.

Oak

A type of hardwood commonly used for building wine barrels. American oak has a distinctive, bourbon-like flavour while the French oak flavour is more subtle. Both types of oak barrels contribute considerable tannin and vanillin (vanilla) flavours to wines during aging.

Oak Root Fungus

See Armillaria.

Oaky

Tasting term to describe the smell or taste of excessive oak flavour in a wine.

Oechsle

(pronounced “ex’-a-luh”) German density scale used to estimate the ripeness of grapes and predict the eventual alcohol content of a wine produced from those grapes.( based on specific gravity)

Oenology

Original Greek spelling of Enology, (now usually anglicized to Enology).

Offene Weine

Open wine or caraffe wine served in pubs and restaurants.

Oidium

French word for the fungal vine disease “powdery mildew.”

Open-top tanks

Wine tanks which have no permanent covers, used only for red wine fermentation. This is the traditional design for fermenters, but modern wineries now use only the closed-top design. Open top tanks are more difficult to keep clean, allow loss of volatile wine flavour during warm fermentations and require some type of surrounding building or roof in case of rain. Oh, yes, and they call for some method to keep birds from roosting directly overhead.

Optima

(white grape) crossing of Riesling and Sylvaner grape with the Muller-Thurgau. Widely grown in the Rheinhessen and the Mosel-Saar-Ruwer region of Germany and used for blending purposes in the white wines of the region. It can easily reach high sugar levels, there are about 200 ha planted

Originalabzug

Term sometimes found on German wine labels to denote “Estate Bottled.”

Ortega

white Grape cross between Muller-Thurgau and Siegerrebe varieties. Developed in W ü rzbrg in 1948. Used for white wine blending in the Rheinhessen region of Germany. Produces flavourful wines that have earned the Prädikat rating in good vintages. Ripens early-mid September. Cold-hardy and has good resemblance to the Riesling grape with which it is often blended in order to enhance flavour in poor vintages.1000 ha planted in Rheinhessen the Mosel and Franken regions.

Ortsweine

High-quality wines that reflect regional character.At least 80% of an estate’s holdings must be planted with traditional grape varieties Typical of their region, as recommended by the VDP. Maximum yield 75hl/ha. Minimum must weight (higher than prescribed by law) Is determined by the regional associations.

Osmosis

The natural movement of fluids through a membrane or porous partition such as a cell wall. Fluid always tends to move through the membrane towards a solution of higher concentration, in an effort to equalize the concentrations on both sides of the membrane.

Oraniensteiner

This white grape is a white-wine producing variety released by the Geisenheim Research Institute in 1985 and is the result of a Riesling x Silvaner (Gruen) crossing. Has the synonym names Geisenheim 11-34 and Hochkroner).

Ouillage

Act of topping wine barrels in an effort to keep the barrels refilled as they lose volume due to evaporation of liquid through the barrel staves. Topping barrels is traditional but recent work shows that to top barrels during aging actually adds oxygen to the wine rather than protecting it from oxygen!

Overcropped

A vine which carries more crop than it can reasonably ripen. Vines which aren’t pruned drastically enough tend to set too much crop. Wine produced from fruit of an overcropped vine is always poorer in quality than if the crop were of normal size.

Overcropping

The act of allowing vines to set too much fruit (usually by pruning too lightly in winter).

Oxidation

Adverse change in wine flavour, stability and/or colour caused by excessive exposure to air.

Oxidized

Flavour term to describe a wine which has suffered excessive oxidation. During oxidation, wines lose their original fruitiness and take on a darker colour, eventually becoming quite brown. The fruity flavour is replaced by one reminiscent of “vegetable soup,” later becoming nutty or maple-like and, finally, meat-like and dead.

Palatinate

Largest wine region of Germany, producing about 20% of the country’s wines. Located in the south, but still north of Alsace, this is also the warmest region of Germany. Palatinate, also known as Pfalz, is a particularly nice wine region for tourists. Travel the “wine road” which winds the length of the region, from Rheinhessen down to Weintor and the French border.

Ppm

Parts per million a comparative unit of small measure which is exactly as it sounds — “parts per million parts of anything.” For example, pounds of something per million pounds of something else, grams per million grams, etc. One red grain of sand among a million white grains is one part per million. One person in a million person city is 1 ppm.

Palas

(red grape) this is a cross of Trollinger and Rubin from Weinsberg

Pasteur

Louis Pasteur, the “father of modern winemaking, and pasteurized milk,” did his famous research at the town of Arbois in France’s Jura region. He correctly identified yeasts as the causative organisms for fermentation and developed a heat process (Pasteurization) for stabilizing wine, milk and other liquid foods from spoilage. Pasteur wrote, “Wine is the most healthful and hygienic of beverages.”

Perlwein

A semi sparkling wine with carbon dioxide added ,Perlwein is a carbonated wine with 1 – 2.5 atmospheres. The carbon dioxide is produced during fermentation and/or added before bottling. It is sold simply as Perlwein or, if the components are from one specified region, Qualitätsperlwein b.A.

pH

A far from simple mathematical term for quantifying the concentration of hydrogen ions in a solution. pH is used as a measure of acidity in juice and wine. It is quite important to winemakers but its logarithmic scale makes it seem less so to the casual observer.

Phloem

Living plant tissue located just beneath the bark and outside of the cambium layer. Phloem cells conduct sugars and other organic materials downward from the leaves towards the trunk and roots.

Photosynthesis

The formation of carbohydrates (sugars) in green tissue of living plants from CO2 and water. The reaction uses sunlight as its energy source and it is catalyzed by chlorophyll.

Qualitätswein

Light and simple Austrian wines derived from less-ripened grapes grown in a specific wine region.

Qualitätswein bestimmter Anbaugebiete

Literally translated as Quality Wine from Specific Appellations, this is the middle level of quality of German wines, between a QmP wine and a Tafelwein. The wine must derive from only one of 13 specified wine regions.
Qualitätswein mit Prädikat

Literally translated as quality wine with special attributes, these are the highest quality wines in Germany that are tested and assigned one of six levels of ripeness. All QmP wines must be made naturally and cannot have sugar added to increase the wine’s alcohol percentage

Rachis

The skeleton of branched stems which gives a grape bunch or cluster its shape. The rachis isn’t obvious when covered with grapes, but very obvious after the grapes have been removed by mechanical harvesting. The mechanical harvester literally shakes the berries right off the vine, leaving the naked rachis still attached.

Racking

Decanting clear juice or wine from above the sediment in a tank. This is the easiest method for getting rid of solids which have settled to the bottom in a tank. Wine tanks commonly have a built-in “racking valve” placed about 20 inches (half a meter) above the bottom valve for use in racking wines during production.

Rebesorte

grape variety.

Reduced

Term describing an oxidation state which is the chemical opposite of oxidized. In wine, as in drinking water, the reduced state is usually recognized by the obvious smell of rotten eggs (hydrogen sulfide, or H2S).

Regent

(red grape) This grape is a cross between (Silvaner and Muller Thurgau) x Chambourcin originating from Siebeldingen it can give wines of quality and deep colour.

Regner

(red grape) Produced in Alzey in 1929 it is a cross between Luglienca Blanca and Gamay.

Reichensteiner

(white grape) created at Geisenheim in 1939 but not in general usage until 1978 it is a cross between Müller-Thurgau and (Madeline angevine X early Calabrese) it is similar to M ü ller-Thurgau but is less resistance to rot. There are about 250 ha planted.

Reinzuchthefen

Pure culture yeasts. Used by growers afraid of risk, hence stuck fermentations.

Residual sugar

Term commonly used in wine analysis referring to the content of unfermented sugar in a wine already bottled. Wine snobs take on a knowing look, lowering their eyes slightly, and call it “the R.S.”

Restsüsse/Restzucher

Residual sugar

Respiration

The process whereby plants use oxygen to burn fuel (usually sugar) to create energy for their own growth, development and fruit production. These same reactions are used by animals except that animals take in oxygen through lungs, whereas plants absorb it through leaf pores and by diffusion of dissolved oxygen across membranes in leaves and roots, etc

Rhein

German spelling of Rhine, the well-known wine river which runs northward along Germany’s western boundary.

Rhine

Famous wine river in Germany. Name given to all German wines produced from vineyards near the Rhine river.

Rhinewines

Any of the group of wines grown in regions along the Rhine river. These include Rheingau, Rheinhessen, Mittelrhein and Palatinate (or Pfalz).

Rhone

Major river in southeastern France, flowing from Switzerland to the Mediterranean. Name given to the wines produced from vineyards along that river.

Rieslander

(white grape) This is a Silvaner X Riesling cross from Würzburg in1921 it is very useful for producing the noble sweet wines of ba and TBA Has two synonym names – Mainriesling and Wuerzburg.

Riesling

(aka Riesling in Germany and Rheinriesling in Austria). A white-wine variety widely grown along the Rhine river and tributaries – (e.g.: Rheingau, Rheinhessen, Mosel, Nahe regions etc.) Where it can produce a flowery, fruity dry wine with high acid and low alcohol the “Kabinett” or a semi-dry style with some residual sugar the “Spätlese”. If infected with appropriate amounts of “botrytis”, it can make outstanding late-harvest wines Riesling enjoys a worldwide reputation as the king of white wines. In the Ortenau district of Baden it is called Klingelberger. It is the latest ripening of all variety grape varieties. Therefore, it can only be grown in the very best vineyards. Baden Riesling expresses a very typical regional character; it is racy, with fruity acid and has a highly refined nose.22, 000 ha are planted making it the most widely planted Grape in Germany. There are many clones of the Riesling and some have been very high yielding, but now lower copping higher quality vines are being planted. The Riesling is one of the best white grape varieties in the world if not the very best.

Rivaner

(white grape) see Müller Thurgau.

Römer or Roemer
Traditional German drinking-glass with ovoid bowl, cylindrical stem (decorated with applied prunts) and spreading spirally-trailed foot. Name possibly from Lower Rhenish römen (to boast). Thought by some to be the origin of the English word rummer.

Rose

(pronounced row-zeh’) French word for pink table wine, now commonly used all over the world.

Rotling – Rose.

Rotwein – Red wine

Rotberger

(red grape) A cross between Trollinger and Riesling from Geisenheim. Often used for rose and sparkling wine. Has synonym name Geisenheim 3-37.

Rotliegendes

reddish slate.

 

Ritgipfler

Austrian white-wine grape blended with Spätrot grape wine to give a superior zesty, intensely fruity wine

Rougeau

Leaf reddening, caused by any of several viruses in grapevines. The virus infection seals off the leaf petiole (stem) so that the sugars produced by the leaf through photosynthesis cannot be transported back into the vine. The sugar accumulates there until the leaf, in an effort to get rid of a problem, uses it to make red anthocyanin pigment. Vines infected by these viruses have difficulty in ripening their fruit because much of the sugar the vine produces cannot be used by the vine where it needs it — in the fruit. Leafroll virus is a common example of this type of infection.

Rough

Tasting term to indicate a wine, usually red, with too much tannin making it difficult to enjoy. Rough wines sometimes age well, becoming softer and well balanced wines after a few years.

Rulander

Synonym for Pinot Gris, Pinot Grigio, or Grauerburgunder. This is a white wine grape which has just enough colour in the skins to make the appearance not yellow or green, but grey. It is grown in Germany, Alsace, Italy, Switzerland and in several places in the new world. Makes a nice wine under the right conditions.

Samrot

(red grape) a mutation of the Schwarz Riesling (pinot meunier)

Sapwood

The outer portion of woody (xylem) tissue, located just inside the cambium and just outside the heartwood. Sapwood forms the primary highway for transmission of water and minerals from the roots up through the vine.

Schatzkammer

Treasure chamber the growers personnal cellar of treasures.

Schaumwein

Sparkling wine though a lesser wine than Sekt.

Schloss

German word for castle; on a wine label it is equivalent to the French word “Chateau.”

Schlossabzug

Term used on wine labels in Germany to indicate that the wine was bottled on the estate (Castle). It is equivalent to estate bottled.

Schotter

Gravel

Schillerwein

A rosé wine that’s a specialty in Germany’s Württemberg region. It’s made from a mix of red and white wine.

Schwefel

Gravel

Sec

French term meaning “dry.” (However, on Champagne labels it means that the wine is sweet). Just one of the many pitfalls awaiting the unsuspecting initiate to the world of fine wines.

Secondary fermentation

Any fermentation which happens after the primary (yeast) fermentation has been completed. Malo-lactic is a secondary fermentation which occurs in most red, and some white, still wines. Another type of secondary is the yeast fermentation which changes still wine into sparkling wine.

Seibel

French Hybridizer who produced hundreds of new hybrid wine varieties, hoping to find some which could grow on their own roots in Phylloxera infested soils, while producing the traditional flavours and aging potentials in their wines of historical European varieties. Many of his hybrids are in commercial use today, although none fully met the standards he was looking for.

Sekt

German word for sparkling wine. (The word “Champagne” is not allowed on German labels)

Set

The fixing of tiny, newly pollenated berries to the stem of a vine shoot. Without set, the pistil (containing an ovary) would simply dry up and fall off. But after set, it becomes more firmly attached to its stem and develops into a grape berry.

Seyval Blanc

“French Hybrid” grape variety grown mostly in France and in England. The wines can be quite good — or mediocre. The best British table wine I ever tasted was a Seyval Blanc which was grown about two hours south of London!

Seyve-Villard

French hybridizer who has produced a large number of new hybrid varieties, looking for Phylloxera resistance coupled with fine wine quality. Many of his new hybrids are in commercial production today.

Scheurebe

white Grape variety developed from a cross between Sylvaner and Riesling. Extensively planted in the Rheinhessen, Rheinpfalz and Franconia regions of Germany. Used to produce full-bodied, aromatic white wines that can reach “Auslese” Prädikat standard in the better vintages. This is a new variety bred at the Landesanstalt fuer Rebenzuechtung at Alzey in 1916 by Georg Scheu. It carries the name of the former director who led this breeding station for many years. Scheurebe is a very valuable variety that can only be recommended for the best Locations .The variety is particularly well suited to the production of excellent quality wines with attributes.The wines express a refined bouquet similar to currants with a Riesling-like acid. The wines have a full body and a pronounced character. There are about 3,000 ha planted. It has synonym name Alzey S. 88. In Austria it is known as Samling 88. It has good resistance to frost (to -5 deg. F. approx. -20 C.) and usually ripens in mid-late season (mid-September to October). Extensively planted in the Rheinhessen, Rheinpfalz and Franconia regions of Germany. Currently. Tolerant to lime soils and has good resistance to Chlorosis. If fruit is unable to mature, the wine quality will be of poor quality with an aroma described as similar to “cat urine”. Normally produces full-bodied, aromatic white wines with good acid content that can reach “Auslese” Prädikat standard in the better vintage years and has long life in the bottle; i.e. a 55 year-old experimental version from 1945 was recently (2000 AD) discovered and recorked.

Schiava Grossa

(red grape) Known as Trollinger in south Germany. A variant found in the Trentino-Aldo region of Italy is known as Schiava Gentile.

Schönburger

(white grape) Has synonym names of Rosa Muskat and Geisenheim 15-114 A pink coloured crossing of Pinot Noir X (Chasselas rose X Muscat of Hamburg). Created in Geisenheim in 1979 there are about 60 ha planted.

Schwarzriesling

(red grape) another name for the Pinot Meunier. Used to produce schillerwein and also known as Mullerrebe.

Sekt

Sparkling wine (in German, Sekt or Schaumwein) is extremely popular in Germany.
sparkling wine is produced by means of a second fermentation. A mixture of sugar and yeast (the tirage) is added to the base wines (the cuvée) so that a second fermentation will occur. The carbon dioxide naturally produced during fermentation remains in the wine and is the source of its characteristic feature, bubbles.
There are three main methods of production:
1The traditional or classic method, whereby the second fermentation takes place in the bottle. The same method as in Champagne
2The transfer method, whereby the second fermentation takes place in the bottle, the contents are transferred under pressure into a tank, separated from the yeast deposit through filtration and then re-bottled.
3The tank or bulk method, also called the Charmat method , whereby the second fermentation takes place in bulk pressure tanks, lees contact is minimal and the wine is bottled under pressure. This method saves time and money and is well-suited to the volume production of commercial wineries.

Shatter

The drying up and falling of unsuccessfully pollenated pistils leaving a nearly bare skeleton rachis (with few berries attached) where a fully populated cluster should be.

Shoot

The elongating, green, growing vine stem which holds leaves, tendrils, flower or fruit clusters and developing buds.

Shot berries

A few small, seedless grapes found in an otherwise normal bunch of wine grapes. The cause is improper fertilization during the blooming period.

Siegerrebe

(white grape) Grape derived from cross between Gewurztraminer and the Madeline angevine. Grown in limited amounts in Germany and used as small percentage amounts in blends, can achieve high ripeness levels. Originally created at Alzey the grape can reach high ripeness levels.

Sinnenprüfung

Sensory evaluation.

Spätlese

German word meaning “late harvest.” These wines are usually sweet, high in quality and more expensive than ordinary table wines. Usually worth the price.Not allways sweet a spatlese can be vinified dry , the term was introduced in 1971 with the German wine law.

Sparkling wine

Wine which contains enough carbon dioxide to render it effervescent. The word “Champagne” is reserved for sparkling wines made by a specific procedure (the methode champenoise) in the Champagne region of France. Most other countries honor this and do not use the word “Champagne” for their sparkling wines. However, the U.S. was not bound by terms of the original treaty specifying this and wineries in the U.S. are therefore free to use the term “Champagne” for their sparkling wines. In the U.S., sparkling wines may be made using one of three general methods
methode champenoise or bottle fermented, charmat, or by artificial carbonation. In methode champenoise, the wine may remain in the original bottle (fermented in THIS bottle)” or transferred to other bottles, either larger or smaller, after bottle fermentation (fermented in THE bottle). Federal sparkling wine taxes differ for these, depending upon which method is used. This variable tax rate shows up as higher retail prices for wines on which labels is stated “fermented in this bottle”, medium prices for transfer process and the lowest for Charmat process (tank fermented) sparkling wines. As a practical matter over the years, very few wineries have bothered to use direct carbonation, since they believe the tax is too high for a product that the public would feel is an imitation.

Spätrot

(red grape) Has many synonym names including Zierfandler in Austria, Cirfandli in Hungary and Zirifahnler. White-wine producing variety widely grown in Austria and often blended with Rotgipfler grape wine to make the popular “Gumpoldskirchen” village wines. Reported to have minimal tolerance of drought conditions.

Spicy

Smell or taste sensation reminiscent of spices. Tasting term to describe a wine which gives an impression as if spices had been added during production (they weren’t, of course). Gewurztraminer is the wine variety which is most often referred to as naturally spicy.

Spontangärung

German tasting term for wines made by spontaneous fermentation versus wines inoculated by cultured yeasts. The former has an earthiness versus the cleaner fruit-forward smells of selected yeasts.

Spritzig

German term for the taste sensation of a wine which contains just enough CO2 to be apparent on the tongue as a prickly sensation (but not enough to be obviously sparkling).

Spritzy

See spritzig.

Spur

A shortened stub of cane, usually formed by pruning the cane to a length of only two to four nodes (buds). Spurs are obvious in the spring, after pruning but before new growth obscures the pruners’ handiwork.

St Laurent

thick-skinned grape variety originating in Austria.

Stabilization

Any treatment or process which makes a wine stable, ie, unlikely to suffer physical, chemical or microbial change on the shelf at a later time.

Stalks

The word (in every English speaking country but America) for “stems.” In the U.S., stalks means the big stuff (like corn stalks). But in England, stalks can be little, too. Grape stems = grape stalks and an American “stemmy” tasting wine is a “stalky” tasting wine in England. See stemmy.

Tafelwein

A low quality classification for German wine, essentially ‘table wine’.

Tafelwein regions

There are seven regions for Tafelwein (Weinbaugebiete für Tafelwein), three of which are divided into two or three subregions (Untergebiete).
Albrechtsburg
Bayern, consisting of Donau, Lindau and Main
Neckar
Niederlausitz
Oberrhein, consisting of Burgengau and Römertor
Rhein-Mosel, consisting of Moseltal and Rhein
Stargarder Land, which is located in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, outside the 13 quality wine regions

Tannin

Natural polyphenolic material which has a bitter or astringent taste, making the mouth pucker. Tannin in wine comes from grape skins, stems, seeds (if broken open) and from wood (if the wine was aged in wood).

Tart

Acidic (used as a pleasant descriptor in wine tasting).

Tartar

Crystalline precipitate of crude cream of tartar which sticks to the inside walls of wine tanks after they have been used to store young wines for long periods of time. Also called “argols.” See Tartrates.

Tartaric Acid

The most prominent natural acid of grapes, juice or wine. Provides the anion source for “cream of tartar” production as a by-product from wine.

Tartrates

Any of the salts of tartaric acid. For example, cream of tartar (potassium acid tartrate or potassium bitartrate) is one of the potassium salts of tartaric acid. Potassium tartrate is the other. See Tartaric Acid.

Tastevin

A shallow, silver (sometimes gold) wine tasting cup originally used in the Burgundy region of France. Now widely used also by sommeliers in restaurants, if only to make them look more threatening.

Tendrils

Stringlike, coiling growth from nodes of grape shoots which support vines by curling around objects. Tendrils are thought of as sterile or undeveloped grape clusters, since the two have a common origin.

Terroir

French word for earth or soil, used in the special sense of “place,” which includes localized climate, soil type, drainage, wind direction, humidity and all the other attributes which combine to make one location different from another. This word is often mis-translated simply as “soil type,” giving rise to a great deal of further misunderstanding and a certain amount of interesting and invigorating argument.

Tetrachloroanisole

An airborne bacteria similar to Trichloroanisole, which contaminates the cellar environment instead of the wine cork and is responsible for imbuing the wine with a moldy taint.

Thief

A type of pipette, used for sampling wine from the tops of tanks or barrels.

Thin

Term used in sensory evaluation referring to a wine which lacks body, viscosity, alcohol or sugar.

Tirage

(pronounced teer-ah’-j) Champagne production term describing the first bottling step of the new wine which will eventually turn it into champagne or sparkling wine.

Tischwein

A common, ordinary German wine.

Ton

Clay

Tonneau

A historical standard of measure for wine in Bordeaux, the tonneau is equal to four standard barrels, or exactly 100 cases of wine at twelve 750 ml bottles each. The term is also used to mean an oversize barrel of unspecific size, since no actual container the size of four standard barrels and called a tonneau exists.

Topping

The act of filling a barrel or tank to the very top with liquid, usually wine of the same type and vintage. Contrary to popular belief, topping adds air to the barrel being topped rather than protecting the wine from air.

Traminer

Still grown in France, where it is better known as Savagnin Blanc, and in California but almost everywhere else has been largely replaced by its much more intense and aromatic offspring Gewürztraminer clonal variety. The subject name is still used in Australia as an alias name for Gewürztraminer and, confusingly, is also known there under the synonym name Savagnin Rose.

Translocation

Movement of water and nutrients from one part of a grapevine to another.

Transpiration

Loss of moisture from a vine by evaporation through the leaves.

Trichloroanisole

Known as TCA for short, this is the most common of flaws found in a bottle of wine. Industry standards put the amount of wine with detectable amounts of TCA at anywhere between 3-5%. This chemical compound can occur naturally in cork forests but is most often caused by corks that haven’t been cleaned properly after they are bleached, a process quite common for aesthetic purposes.\r\n\r\nTCA is the cause of corked or corky wines, and causes flavors and aromas of wet cardboard or a musty, wet basement. The fruit in the wines is also muted by TCA. Wines affected by TCA can range from absolutely terrible to only slightly different from a pristine bottle, and it can be difficult in the more subtle instances to tell the difference.\r\n\r\nThe prevalence of TCA has spurred the growth of alternative enclosures such as screw caps and synthetic corks, as nothing is worse than opening a bottle of Bordeaux that has been carefully cellared for ten years only to have it taste like a basement.

Trier

Town located on the Mosel river between the Saar and Ruwer rivers. Therefore, a center for commerce in the German regions of Mosel-Saar-Ruwer.

Trocken

A dry wine , a wine that has less than 9 grammes per litre of residual sugar.

Ullage

The empty space above the liquid in a wine bottle (or wine barrel or tank) usually after long storage. Ullage is used as an indicator of how well a cork seals its bottle. It is highly unusual for a wine bottle to retain its fill point without ullage after long storage since all corks tend to allow seepage to greater or lesser extent. In a very old wine, little or no ullage usually indicates that the wine has been stored under optimum conditions. Very large ullage in a bottle of table wine is a sure sign that the wine has been spoiled.

Ursprungslage

German term for a `site of origin’ and the proposed replacement for the Grosslage collective site. The word Ursprungslage should appear on labels of wines from them, and, unlike Grosslage, each Ursprungslage may produce wines only of a particular style, according to officially registered grape variety, acidity, alcoholic strength, and residual sugar. The consumer should therefore have some idea what sort of wine to expect from a bottle carrying the name of a particular Ursprungslage. A quality wine of guaranteed origin, or Ursprungs, may be described as QgU, or a Qualitatswein garantierten Ursprungs. See Mosel-Saar-Ruwer, for example.

Verband

An association.

Versteigerung.

An Auction

Vigor

A measure of quality of growth expressed by a grape vine, as opposed to capacity which measures quantity of growth and development.

Vinegar

Literally, “sour wine.” See volatile acidity.

Vinifera

Scientific name of the primary species of Vitis (vines) used for winemaking. Vitis vinifera produces nearly all the world’s wines (certainly all the world’s best wines).

Vinification

Winemaking, including all the operations and processes involved. Somehow, when you’re talking to an audience, “vinification” seems so much more important than “winemaking.”

Vinous

Tasting term to describe the “wine like” smell or taste which is common to all grape wines, whether varietal or not.

Vintage

The “year” or season of winegrowing. Vintage wine is defined as wine which is produced at least 95% from grapes harvested in a single, stated year. Note that this is not necessarily the year in which the grapes were grown or the wine was bottled, but the year in which the grapes were HARVESTED. As a sales gimmick, to help promote the highly unusual climate of upper Monterey County, Ca, I harvested wine grapes extremely late in the 1978 season — on January 2nd, 1979 to be exact. The wine was made in a Nouveau Beaujolais style and sold as 1979 vintage as early as March, 1979! The wine was nice; it sold out quickly and certainly drew attention to the unique climate of Gonzales, California in an interesting way.

Vintage wines

Wines specified to have been harvested during one and only one specific year, which is named on the label. See Vintage.

Vintner

Common term for anyone in the wine business. It was originally reserved for those who grew grapes and produced wine, but common usage to date includes anyone in wine, whether in sales, marketing or production.

Viticulture

The science, art and study of grape growing.

Walla Walla Valley AVA
USA a viticultural area in eastern Washington State and north-eastern Oregon within the larger Columbia Valley AVA

Walschriesling see Welschriesling

warm
(tasting term) used to describe a soft, immediately pleasing red wine

Warre
the oldest English-owned port company, founded in 1670, now owned by the Symington family who also own Dow, Graham and Smith Woodhouse. Its vintage port is one of the best. It also produces a good single-quinta port.

Washington
USA a wine-producing state in the northwest of the USA that is second only to California in the quantity of wine produced, though its production is still relatively small. It includes over 80 vineyards with the best wineries located in the east of the state, the location of the three main AVAs (Columbia Valley, which includes the Walla Walla Valley and Yakima Valley AVAs).

Water

Water is an essential natural drink and plays an important role in the making of spirits, either to reduce their alcoholic strength or as a specific component in certain spirits. For example, very pure water from the Highlands or Lowlands is absolutely necessary in the making of Scotch whisky, and all attempts to achieve similar quality in other regions have been in vain.

Watery

A wine that is diluted, and too low in alcohol.

Weak

A wine which is low in alcohol and intensity of taste, as opposed to a full wine.

Weeding

Ploughing techniques enabling the removal of weeds are increasingly being replaced by chemical weedkillers.

Well matured

A wine which is harmonious and supple: a balance due to ageing. weeper a bottle of wine that is leaking slightly from around the cork, either because of a faulty cork or poor storage allowing the cork to dry and shrink slightly

 

Weeping
used to describe a bottle of wine that is leaking slightly from around the cork, either because of a faulty cork or poor storage allowing the cork to dry and shrink slightly

weighty
(tasting term) used to describe a wine that is full-bodied with a powerful aroma or taste

 

Welschriesling

(See also Italian Riesling above). Austrian name for the grape of ancient, but unknown, origins. May have Eurasian antecedents. Has no relationship to the German Riesling grape, which is called the Riesling Renano in Italy. Used for producing acidic dry and sweet white wines in Austria that have the label name “Riesling” which usually refers to this varietal, not the true German Johannisberg Riesling that is known by the name Rheinriesling. Widely grown in many countries of Eastern Europe.

Wein

(pronounced vine) “Wine” in German.

Weinkellerei – Wine cellar or winery. On a label it can mean that the producer of the wine does not own a vineyard and buys in grape juice to produce wine in his or her own premises.

 

Weinberg

German for vineyard.

Weinbaugebiet
German a designated wine region producing the lowest recog- nised quality of German wine, table wine (Deutscher Tafelwein)
Weingarten

See Weinberg

Weingut

(pronounced vyn-goot) A wine producing property in Germany.

Weisswein – White wine

Weinstrasse

(pronounced vyn-strass-uh) “Wine road” in Germany. A tourist route which connects many wineries in a given area. An excellent way to spend part of your vacation in any wine country.

Weinsäure

tartaric acid

Yeast

Unicellular microorganisms which occur naturally in the air, especially in areas where fruits are grown. Whether “wild” or “cultured,” yeast can quickly metabolize natural sugar into alcohol and carbon dioxide (called fermentation). When all, or most, of the natural sugar of grape juice has been transformed into alcohol, the juice is said to have been changed into wine.

Yeast lees

Solid sludge-like sediment, primarily spent yeast, which settles to the bottom of a fermentation tank after the fermentation is completed. Yeast lees should not be allowed to remain in contact with the wine any longer than necessary. This is because spent and decomposing yeast is the primary source of H2S (the odor of rotten eggs) in wine. This can be confusing: the world’s best sparkling wines are produced by deliberately leaving wine in intimate contact with spent yeast in bottles during the secondary fermentation. Also, some table wines, notably Chardonnay, are sometimes fermented and aged “sur lies” in which the fermented mass is held in contact with the yeast lees for an extended time period. The answers lie in the strains of yeast used, their freshness and the conditions inside a champagne bottle compared to a wine tank.

Zymase

Common name given to the complex of enzymes, taken as a group, which the yeast cell uses to transform sugar into ethyl alcohol and, thereby, to transform grape juice into wine.