Wines made from a single grape variety.
V
Smells and tastes in wine that is reminiscent of plants and vegetables (such as Cabernet sauvignon, which exhibits these qualities that are part of the varietal character).
Having rich flavor and a smooth, soft texture.
A fortified wine that has been flavored with as many as 40 herbs and spices.
In a vertical tasting, different vintages of the same wine type of wine from the one winery are tasted. This emphasizes the differences between vintages.
French for vine grower
In wine, a lively taste or feel.
A vine’s growth rate.
A sour-tasting, highly acidic (acetic acid) liquid made from the oxidation of ethanol in wine, cider, beer, fermented fruit juice, or nearly any other liquid containing alcohol.
A place where grapevines are grown for winemaking purposes.
An effervescent white wine produced in Portugal.
The art and science of growing grapes for making wine. Not to be confused with viticulture, which is concerned with ALL types of grape.
The process of making grape juice into wine.
A wine tasting term pertaining to the alcoholic strength of wine and its grape character.
The year in which a particular wine’s grapes were harvested. When a vintage year is indicated on a label, it signifies that a minimum percentage of the grapes used to make the wine in the bottle were harvested in that year. Applicable regulatory bodies set the minimum percentage.
Winemaker, a wine producer, or a winery proprietor.
Thick appearance in a wine showing the presence of glycerol.
Viticulture is the study or cultivations of grapes, not to be confused with viniculture which is the study of wine grapes.
A grape native to North America. It is this rootstock that saved the European vine from phylloxera. See also foxy
The botanical name for the native European grapevine from which most of the world’s quality wine is made.
A wine affected by the presence of acetic acid is said to be volatile, or to have volatile acidity (v.a.). In small amounts, this can contribute to complexity, but in excess, it gives a wine a slightly sour, vinegary edge.
The level of acetic acid present in a wine.
