Glossary of T
An abbreviation for the German wine Trockenbeerenauslese.
Generally any wine that is not a sparkling wine or a fortified wine. In the US these wines must also be between 7% and 14% alcohol by volume.
Compound in wines that gives a bitter, dry, or puckery feeling in the mouth.
A tasting term describing a wine high in acidity. Often displayed by young, unripe wines.
It lowers the pH of fermenting must preventing undesirable bacteria, and acts as a preservative after fermentation, and adds tartness to the finished wine.
Harmless potassium bitartrate crystals that may form (often on the cork) from the tartaric acid naturally present in wine.
Refers to a selection of wines, usually between three and eight glasses, but sometimes as many as fifty, presented for the purpose of sampling and comparison.
See legs.
French for soil, the physical and geographical characteristics of a particular vineyard site that give the resultant wine its unique properties.
A tasting term for the mouthfeel of wine on the palate.
A tubular instrument for removing a sample from a cask or barrel. Also called a pipe.
Lacking in body, depth and flavor.
The charcoal that is burned into the inside of wine casks. To toast refers to that process. It also refers to the practice of drinking an alcohol beverage along with wishing good health or other good fortune.
Describes a flavour derived from oak. Also a character that develops in some sparkling wines.
The ability of a wine to clearly portray all unique aspects of its flavor-fruit, floral, and mineral notes. The opposite would be a wine in which flavors are diffused and thoroughly integrated.
The sorting of the grapes.
German for dry.
German for dry berry selected. A type of German wine made from vine-dried grapes. Such grapes can be so rare that it can take a skilled picker a day to gather enough for just one bottle.
A wine cask that holds approximately, two butts, or 252 U.S. gallons.
A wine tasting term used to describe how much a wine expresses the typical characteristics of the varietal.
Glossary by Letter
The Wine Grapes of Switzerland
Called Malvoisie in Valais, this grape has nothing to do with any of the Malvoisie varieties of the Muscat family and is another of the mutations of Pinot Noir. A vine grown in many of the Swiss areas, in Valais, Pinot Gris produces a fine sweet late harvest wine with honey overtones.
Pinot blanc is a mutation of Pinot Gris. It may have found its way up the Rhône to Valais with any number of mercenaries returning to Switzerland, and today small quantities are cultivated in many Swiss wine regions. When grown in favorable conditions it produces a fruity wine with good acidity.
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.
Wine is sunlight, held together by water!
