Quality picked up by wines fermented and/or stored in oak barrels. American oak gives a more intense vanilla and coconut flavor, while French oak gives a delicate vanilla, cedar and butterscotch character.
Glossary of O
Oak
Oak chips
Small pieces of oak wood used in place of oak barrels in fermenting and/or ageing wine.
Oechsle
The German measure for the sugar concentration in grape juice or wine.
Oenology
The science of wine and winemaking.
Oenophile
A wine aficionado or connoisseur.
Off-dry
A wine that has the barest hint of sweetness; a slightly sweet wine in which the residual sugar is barely perceptible.
Old vine
Wine produced from vines that are notably old.
Old World wine
Wines produced inside of the traditional wine growing areas of Europe and North Africa.
Oxidation
Exposure to oxygen causes wine to go brown and flat. Oxidation creates bitterness and destroys flavour.
Oxygen
A gas vital for the growth of yeast. A small amount of oxygen is important at the start of fermentation. Too high a concentration of oxygen will lead to oxidation of the wine causing a loss of color, flavor and aroma.
Glossary by Letter
The Wine Grapes of Switzerland
Chardonnay
A vigorous and adaptable vine from Burgundy, Chardonnay grows pretty much everywhere that wine is made. Although production is not so high in Switzerland, award-winning wines have come out of Geneva, Valais and Neuchâtel.
Fendant
Fendant is a protected designation and may only be used in Valais for wines made from the Chasselas grape. In contrast to its native France, where it wasn’t too successful as a wine grape, the Chasselas shines in Switzerland.
Altesse
More appreciated on its home turf between Lyon and Lake Geneva, it thrives in Valais
He who loves not wine, women and song remains a fool his whole life long.
Martin Luther
