Acidity – Acidity helps to keep the wine fresh and helps preserves it from the affects of premature aging. Acidity also curbs the sickly sweetness of some dessert wines and makes them smoother. A typical level of acidity is around 3.4 pH. If you’re glass has a pH level of 2.5 or less then you’ve accidently poured yourself a glass of vinegar. Go back to the bottle shop and try again. Wines that have a pH level of 1.5 almost certainly contain battery acid and should not be consumed by anyone other than teenagers.
Acidification – Adding extra acids to the wines as they are being made to compensate for over-ripe grapes. Riper grapes have a higher sugar/water ratio which makes them sweeter. Michael Cera undergoes a daily process of acidification which has completely retarded his aging process.
Alcohol – The higher the percentage of alcohol the more pissed you’ll get per glass/bottle consumed. Australia seems to be leading a crusade with the goal of making wine more alcohol. In Alsace-Lorraine it has long been a tradition that wine should not be more than 12.8% as any higher will affect the structure/complexity of the wine too much. It is not uncommon to see red wines in Australia from between anywhere between 13.5% and 16%
Body – One of the most widely thrown around words you’ll ever hear at a cellar door. Officially the body of the wine refers to the ‘weight in the mouth’, generally expressed as being light, medium or heavy. This has a strong connection to the alcohol level of the wine as well. A full bodied red, for example, will undoubtedly have a higher alcohol level than a light. This is probably why the dainty French palate is hit for six by the heavy Australian wines and French wines taste like water to those of us who cut our teeth on Barossa reds.
Botrytis – Vines that are grown in wet or humid environments can be subject to the Botrytis Cinerea fungus. Essentially this fungus absorbs water from grapes and affects their taste. While it has been intentionally grown in order to make a particularly sweet and intensely flavoured dessert wine, it remains the scourge of many wine makers who lose entire vintages or Riesling, Semillon and Chenin Blanc. Botrytis remains one of the few ways to make Semillon into a wine that doesn’t smell and taste of sweaty underpants.
Cap – This refers to the pulp and skins of grapes in the fermentation of red wines. The cap imparts flavour and colour during the fermentation process. The cap makes it difficult to swim around in giant vats of fermenting wine, thus making it difficult for wineries to make additional money by using their vats as public baths/swimming pools.
Carbon Dioxide – Critical for making of sparkling wine. Absolutely unwanted in the creation of non-sparkling wines.
Cork – Rarely seen in modern table wines, the cork is responsible for making that satisfying ‘PLONK’ sound when you open the bottle.
Corked Wine – Defects or mould in the cork can cause a chemical imbalance in wines, called trichloranisole, which gives the wine an unpleasant smell and taste. If you’re at a cellar door and mention trichloranisole you will almost certainly look like a wanker.
Drink Now – or ‘forward’ wine has been designed to age quickly and to be consumed within a year. Cheap, cheerful and affordable.
Finish – Another word you will undoubtedly hear thrown around at the cellar door. This refers to the lasting sensation that a wine has on your palate. A well made wine will continue to taste good long after you have consumed it. The ‘finish’ is only applied to wine as it is consumed not to the long lasting taste of regurgitated red wine from the morning after a binge.
Filtration – Filtration is the final process of wine making and is used to give clarity to the wine and to basically remove any final by-products.
Flirtation – Will increase with the consumption of wine. However, the skill and methodology of flirtation will decrease significantly after the third glass.
Flying Winemaker – A term used to describe a wine maker contracts themselves out to wineries without remaining permanently attached to a single winery. Not as funny or interesting as it sounds.
Hybrid – A hybrid grape is one that has cultivated out of two or more vitis species. Many of the most prolific varieties used in Australia are hybrids; cabernet sauvignon, sauvignon blanc, pinot noir, petit verdot etc.
Lees – The solid junk left over after the fermentation process, mostly dead yeast and grape pulp. Good eating.
Nose – Along with ‘finish’ and ‘body’ makes up the trio of most commonly used words at a cellar door. Not overly complicated, it refers to what the sensory receptors in your nose translate to your brain when you smell a wine.
Oenology – The science of winemaking. Essentially a lot of chemistry.
Palate – Along with the nose, the palate is your internal wine critic that judges every glass you drink. It is the palate that decides on the body, taste, finish and tannins of a wine. As your personal wine critic it will also provide you with a veritable encyclopaedia of wine descriptors that you can use. Your palate might tell you that you’re tasting almost anything from chocolate to tomato bush. You’ll be saying words like ‘herbaceous’, ‘earthy’, ‘oaked’ and ‘zesty’ before you know it.
Placebo Wine – Placebo wine is everywhere and only the very shrewd or very sober are able to avoid purchasing it. Obviously, the very poor don’t purchase it either but that’s only because they don’t have a choice. Placebo wine can find its way onto your winer ack via three routes, but is invariably a bad wine. Firstly, it can be presented to you by an attractive member of the opposite sex or an extremely charismatic member of the same sex, using their persuasive wiles to send you away with a truly bad wine. Secondly, the winery itself make succeed in convincing you that it can produce good wine. It can do this by looking picturesque, having old timey charm, hanging artwork on its walls or having awesome tasting glasses. Finally, you might just be pissed enough to fool your own self into buying crap wine which your alcohol addled brain has convinced you is faaaaaantastic. *hiccup*
Sulphur Dioxide – Essentially used as an antiseptic and antioxidant in wines. Ever wondered where that truly awful wine hangover came from? Chances are you drank an overly sulphuric wine and it went to town on you.
Tannins – Extremely hard to explain. There are a dozen different definitions out there and all of them are probably at least semi-partially correct. Tannins are a chemical that occur in all plant life. Now, in terms of wine, the tannins that occur in grapes are harsher and more powerful than the softer and more well aged tannins that occur in wine barrels. Thus, wine aged in barrels longer takes on more of these ‘good’ tannins and produces a smoother, more complex and potentially much better tasting wine. A strong tannic taste occurs when a wine is too young or hasn’t been barrel aged for very long. Vines and stems also contain strong tannins which, unless the grapes are handpicked and stemmed, will invariably end up contributing to the taste of the wine. In terms of tasting, tannins are often associated with astringency. People will often refer to the ‘puckering sensation’ that tannins leave in their mouths. As tannins age they turn into sediment. Thus, many old wines with has a considerable amount of sediment at the bottom of the bottle as the tannins have matured.
Viticulture – The science of growing and harvesting grapes. Essentially a lot of chemistry.
Win – The feeling you get after drinking a spectacular bottle of wine. High levels of win are often accompanied by high levels of intoxication.
Acidification – Adding extra acids to the wines as they are being made to compensate for over-ripe grapes. Riper grapes have a higher sugar/water ratio which makes them sweeter. Michael Cera undergoes a daily process of acidification which has completely retarded his aging process.
Alcohol – The higher the percentage of alcohol the more pissed you’ll get per glass/bottle consumed. Australia seems to be leading a crusade with the goal of making wine more alcohol. In Alsace-Lorraine it has long been a tradition that wine should not be more than 12.8% as any higher will affect the structure/complexity of the wine too much. It is not uncommon to see red wines in Australia from between anywhere between 13.5% and 16%
Body – One of the most widely thrown around words you’ll ever hear at a cellar door. Officially the body of the wine refers to the ‘weight in the mouth’, generally expressed as being light, medium or heavy. This has a strong connection to the alcohol level of the wine as well. A full bodied red, for example, will undoubtedly have a higher alcohol level than a light. This is probably why the dainty French palate is hit for six by the heavy Australian wines and French wines taste like water to those of us who cut our teeth on Barossa reds.
Botrytis – Vines that are grown in wet or humid environments can be subject to the Botrytis Cinerea fungus. Essentially this fungus absorbs water from grapes and affects their taste. While it has been intentionally grown in order to make a particularly sweet and intensely flavoured dessert wine, it remains the scourge of many wine makers who lose entire vintages or Riesling, Semillon and Chenin Blanc. Botrytis remains one of the few ways to make Semillon into a wine that doesn’t smell and taste of sweaty underpants.
Cap – This refers to the pulp and skins of grapes in the fermentation of red wines. The cap imparts flavour and colour during the fermentation process. The cap makes it difficult to swim around in giant vats of fermenting wine, thus making it difficult for wineries to make additional money by using their vats as public baths/swimming pools.
Carbon Dioxide – Critical for making of sparkling wine. Absolutely unwanted in the creation of non-sparkling wines.
Cork – Rarely seen in modern table wines, the cork is responsible for making that satisfying ‘PLONK’ sound when you open the bottle.
Corked Wine – Defects or mould in the cork can cause a chemical imbalance in wines, called trichloranisole, which gives the wine an unpleasant smell and taste. If you’re at a cellar door and mention trichloranisole you will almost certainly look like a wanker.
Drink Now – or ‘forward’ wine has been designed to age quickly and to be consumed within a year. Cheap, cheerful and affordable.
Finish – Another word you will undoubtedly hear thrown around at the cellar door. This refers to the lasting sensation that a wine has on your palate. A well made wine will continue to taste good long after you have consumed it. The ‘finish’ is only applied to wine as it is consumed not to the long lasting taste of regurgitated red wine from the morning after a binge.
Filtration – Filtration is the final process of wine making and is used to give clarity to the wine and to basically remove any final by-products.
Flirtation – Will increase with the consumption of wine. However, the skill and methodology of flirtation will decrease significantly after the third glass.
Flying Winemaker – A term used to describe a wine maker contracts themselves out to wineries without remaining permanently attached to a single winery. Not as funny or interesting as it sounds.
Hybrid – A hybrid grape is one that has cultivated out of two or more vitis species. Many of the most prolific varieties used in Australia are hybrids; cabernet sauvignon, sauvignon blanc, pinot noir, petit verdot etc.
Lees – The solid junk left over after the fermentation process, mostly dead yeast and grape pulp. Good eating.
Nose – Along with ‘finish’ and ‘body’ makes up the trio of most commonly used words at a cellar door. Not overly complicated, it refers to what the sensory receptors in your nose translate to your brain when you smell a wine.
Oenology – The science of winemaking. Essentially a lot of chemistry.
Palate – Along with the nose, the palate is your internal wine critic that judges every glass you drink. It is the palate that decides on the body, taste, finish and tannins of a wine. As your personal wine critic it will also provide you with a veritable encyclopaedia of wine descriptors that you can use. Your palate might tell you that you’re tasting almost anything from chocolate to tomato bush. You’ll be saying words like ‘herbaceous’, ‘earthy’, ‘oaked’ and ‘zesty’ before you know it.
Placebo Wine – Placebo wine is everywhere and only the very shrewd or very sober are able to avoid purchasing it. Obviously, the very poor don’t purchase it either but that’s only because they don’t have a choice. Placebo wine can find its way onto your winer ack via three routes, but is invariably a bad wine. Firstly, it can be presented to you by an attractive member of the opposite sex or an extremely charismatic member of the same sex, using their persuasive wiles to send you away with a truly bad wine. Secondly, the winery itself make succeed in convincing you that it can produce good wine. It can do this by looking picturesque, having old timey charm, hanging artwork on its walls or having awesome tasting glasses. Finally, you might just be pissed enough to fool your own self into buying crap wine which your alcohol addled brain has convinced you is faaaaaantastic. *hiccup*
Sulphur Dioxide – Essentially used as an antiseptic and antioxidant in wines. Ever wondered where that truly awful wine hangover came from? Chances are you drank an overly sulphuric wine and it went to town on you.
Tannins – Extremely hard to explain. There are a dozen different definitions out there and all of them are probably at least semi-partially correct. Tannins are a chemical that occur in all plant life. Now, in terms of wine, the tannins that occur in grapes are harsher and more powerful than the softer and more well aged tannins that occur in wine barrels. Thus, wine aged in barrels longer takes on more of these ‘good’ tannins and produces a smoother, more complex and potentially much better tasting wine. A strong tannic taste occurs when a wine is too young or hasn’t been barrel aged for very long. Vines and stems also contain strong tannins which, unless the grapes are handpicked and stemmed, will invariably end up contributing to the taste of the wine. In terms of tasting, tannins are often associated with astringency. People will often refer to the ‘puckering sensation’ that tannins leave in their mouths. As tannins age they turn into sediment. Thus, many old wines with has a considerable amount of sediment at the bottom of the bottle as the tannins have matured.
Viticulture – The science of growing and harvesting grapes. Essentially a lot of chemistry.
Win – The feeling you get after drinking a spectacular bottle of wine. High levels of win are often accompanied by high levels of intoxication.
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