French. Abbreviation for Appellation d’origine contrôlée (controlled designation of origin)
A
A.O.C.
A.P. number
German. Abbreviation for Amtliche Prüfnummer which is Germany’s attempt to reduce massive confusion generated from most German wine labels. It is a unique, official number designating region, village, estate, unique bottling number, and year of tasting (usually the year after the vintage).
Acid
Acidity
The quality of tartness, sourness and sharpness that gives wine its crispiness and vitality. A proper balance of acidity must be struck with the other elements of a wine, or else the wine may be said to be too sharp (having disproportionately high levels of acidity) or too flat (having disproportionately low levels of acidity).
Acrid
A tasting term for wine with too much acidity.
Aftertaste
A tasting term for the taste left on the palate after wine has been swallowed.
Aging barrel
A barrel, often made of oak, used to age wine or distilled spirits.
Alcohol
Ethyl alcohol (C2H5OH) is produced by the action of natural or added yeast on grape sugars during fermentation.
Altar wine
The wine used by the Catholic Church in celebrations of the Eucharist.
Alternative wine closures
Various substitutes used in the wine industry for sealing wine bottles in place of traditional cork closures.
American hybrid
Grape varieties which have been crossbred from American and European vines.
Ampelography
The branch of botany concerned with identification and classification of grapevines. Traditionally this was done by comparing the shape and color of vine leaves and grape berries. It has been revolutionized by DNA fingerprinting.
Amphora
A type of ceramic vase, used for transporting and storing wine in ancient times.
Angel’s share
The portion of a wine in an aging barrel that is lost to evaporation.
Anthocyanin
Phenolic pigments that give red wine its color.
Appellation
A recognised wine-growing region.
Aroma
The smell of a wine. The term is generally applied to younger wines, while the term bouquet is reserved for more aged wines.
Ascorbic acid
A natural component found in wine that is sometimes added to prevent oxidation occurring. If ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) has been added, the wine label will show Antioxidant 300 added.
Astringent
ATF
Abbreviation for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, a United States government agency which is primarily responsible for the regulation of wines sold and produced in the United States.
Austere
Generally meant to indicate a wine that has flavors that are closed. In other words, without strong recognizable varietal or oak characters.
B
Balance
Barrel
A hollow cylindrical container, traditionally made of wood staves, used for fermenting and aging wine. Today these may be of cement, plastic, stainless steel or oak. Oak barrels allow the wine to mature and breath while adding natural tannin and flavors such as vanilla or toast. Sometimes called a cask.
Barrique
The French name for a 225 litre Bordeaux-style barrel (Bordeaux hogshead). Will yield 24 cases of 12 bottles each.
Baum
A measure of the sugar concentration in the juice or wine.
Beeswing
A light sediment, chiefly mucilage, a gummy substance obtained from certain plants found in Port.
Bentonite
A type of clay used in wine clarification.
Berthomeau Report
Commissioned by French Ministry of Agriculture to better position the wine industry for the future.
Biodynamic wine
Wines produced by the principles of biodynamic agriculture, a method of organic farming.
Bitterness
One of the main taste sensations, usually detected at the back of the tongue after swallowing. Phenolic substances are the main source of bitterness in wine, and come from wood (oak) and the grape.
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Glossary by Letter
The Wine Grapes of Switzerland
Merlot
Imported from the Bordeaux region, Merlot has found a second home in Ticino where it performs extremely well. Later-ripening than the other main Swiss varieties, it is hardly present in other areas. Merlot red wines are racy, tannic and richly colored. A white wine from this black grape, commercialized as Merlot Bianco, gives quite interesting results and is increasingly popular with producers and consumers alike.
Freisamer
The Freisamer plays more of a role in Graubünden but has a small presence in a few other cantons. It’s a hybrid of Silvaner x Pinot gris, developed in Freiburg in the Breisgau region. A temperamental grape that puts great demands on the type of soil and location—do I hear you say “terroir”?—it’s been trying to make a name for itself since the sixties but hasn’t really taken off.
Vieux Muscat du Pays
A very old small berry Valais grape, difficult to cultivate. It is an aromatic specialty limited almost exclusively to Valais. Some clone or mutation of the Muscat is grown on almost every continent.
And how's this for a description of the perfect wine? "It's like the perfect wife--it looks nice and is nice, natural, wholesome, yet not assertive; gracious and dependable, but never monotonous.
Anonymous
