Abboccato: Italian for “semi-dry.”

Acids: a group of chemical compounds which give grape juice and wine its tang and ability to refresh. Most common acids in wine are tartaric, malic and citric.

Acidity: the natural level of acids found in wine. Usually a tartness or sourness detected on the sides of the mouth and tongue. Contributes balance and freshness to the wine.

Aeration: allowing the wine to come in contact with air by decanting or swirling the wine in the glass. Sometimes referred to as breathing.

Amabile: Italian for “semi-sweet.”

AOC: in France, (Appellation d’origine contrôlée,) meaning “place name of controlled origin.” The top of the hierarchy for quality wine administered by the Institut National des Appellations d’Origine.

Aroma: the fruity, “grapey” scent in young wine. Different from bouquet.

Auslese: German for “selection.” Auslese wines are usually sweeter and more concentrated than Spätlese.

AVA: an American Viticultural Area is a delimited grape growing region that has been registered with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. A critical component to the quality and style of a wine produced in the United States.

Balance: the pleasant harmony of the elements in wine. (i.e. sugar, acidity, alcohol and tannins.)

Barrel Ageing: process of ageing in oak barrels. Can change a wine’s flavor by offering limited oxidation, which softens wine, and by adding flavors from the wood (i.e. vanilla bean, cedar, dill, coconut and coffee).

Barrel Fermentation: fermenting the wine in barrels instead of stainless steel tanks. Adds even more wood flavor profiles than just ageing.

Beerenauslese: German for “berry selection.” A wine labeled Beerenauslese is a special Auslese made from individually selected ripened grapes affected by the “noble mold” (Edelfäule) and picked berry by berry.

Body: how the wine feels in your mouth, usually determined by either alcohol or residual sugar levels. Higher alcohol and residual sugar means more body, thicker “legs”. Light-bodied wines feel like skim milk in the mouth, full-bodied are heavy, more like cream.

Botrytis Cinerea: a fungal disease which has a malevolent form, grey rot, and a benevolent one which produces some of the finest sweet dessert-style wines in the world. Also known as noble rot and Edelfäule in German.

Bouquet: the fragrances in wine that develop during barrel and bottle ageing.

Breathing: allowing the wine to aerate, having contact with air to bring out aroma and bouquet.

Brut: term used to define the second driest level of Champagne containing less than 6 grams per liter of residual sugar.

Chateau: French for “castle”; specifically, in the Bordeaux region, a wine estate in which a house (chateau) is associated with a vineyard.

Champagne: a region in northern France which produces sparkling wine and is the only region in the world allowed to use the name Champagne on the label.

Clarity: the quality of brightness in a wine’s appearance.

Corked: an off odor found in wine and considered a flaw. Reminiscent of wet newspaper, wet cement or a damp, musty basement.

Cremant: term used for sparkling wine produced in France outside of the Champagne district.

Crianza: a wine from the Spanish wine district of Rioja which must be aged for two years, with a minimum of one year in oak cask.

Crush: refers to the harvest.

Cru: French for “growth.” Under the AOC laws, a cru is a specific vineyard

Cuvée: from the French word meaning “tank”: the contents of a vat of wine. There are three definitions of cuvee, depending on the region where this term is used. The first relates to the initial pressing of the juice from the grapes in the Champagne district, the second is the annual process of blending the finished wines in Champagne and the third is applied to the region of Burgundy where the reference is to a vineyard and its wine.

Demi-sec: term used to define the second sweetest level of Champagne with a residual sugar level of 33 to 50 grams per liter.

DO: Spanish for the classification of Denominación de Origén, which authorize place-names and set quality standards for the wines produced in these regions. Similar to the French AOC.

DOC: Italian for Denominazione di Origine Controllata, second highest classification for quality wine. Indication on the bottle represents a wine of superior quality and confirms the wine was solely produced in said region.

DOCG: Italian for Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita, the highest quality tier of Italian wine classification. Represents all of the finest wines produced in Italy.

Domaine: French for “wine estate.” Typically applied to the region of Burgundy.

Dry: the opposite of sweet. A wine with little or no residual sugar present.

Dolce: Italian for “sweet.”

Earthy: term used to describe rocky, mineral, or even mushroom-like aromas in wine.

Eiswein: German for “ice wine.” A rare and intensely sweet dessert wine produced very late in the season from grapes harvested frozen.

Extra Dry: term used to describe a level of residual sugar in Champagne. Between 12 to 20 grams per liter. Extra dry is slightly sweeter than Brut.

Estate Bottled: as applied to a winery in the United States the following conditions must be met; the wine must have an AVA appellation, the winery must be in an AVA, the winery must grown 100 percent of the grapes used to make the wine on land owned or controlled by the winery within the viticultural area of appellation and the winery must have crushed the grapes, fermented the resulting must, and finished, aged and bottled the wine in a continuous press.

Fermentation: the conversion of grape sugar to ethyl alcohol and carbon dioxide by the action of yeast.

Finish: the lasting impression on the flavors of the wine on the palate.

Flabby: a wine low in acidity.

Grand Cru: French for “Great Growth,” a wine from an officially classified vineyard.

Gran Reserva: Term relating to the most select grades of Spanish wine, aged for a minimum of two years in oak casks followed by alt least three in bottle.

Herbaceous: describes the aromas that are like grass, green vegetation or vegetables.

Herbaceous: describes the aromas that are like grass, green vegetation or vegetables.

Hybrid: a cross between two different species or varieties of grapes.

Kabinett: the driest style wine from Germany in the Qualitatswein mit Pradikat (QMP) classification.

Lees: dead yeast cells that are left in the wine for a period of time to add a biscuit or doughy aroma and flavor profile. The wine is then clarified thru racking.

Legs: tears formed on the sides of the glass from the wine. Thicker legs usually indicate higher alcohol or residual sugar (viscosity), while thinner legs usually indicate wines of low alcohol content.

Late Harvest: term indicating a wine made from grapes picked especially late in the season, producing wines of higher residual sugar.

Malolactic Fermentation: a second fermentation after the primary fermentation which turns malic acid into lactic acid. Makes the wine ‘buttery’.

Macroclimate: refers to the climate of a particular region.

Meritage: an American wine classification referring to blended wines in a Bordeaux style. Rhymes with “Heritage.”

Mesoclimate: refers to the environment of a particular vineyard (its aspect, elevation, slope, distance to water, etc.)

Methode Champanoise: the traditional method of Champagne production in which the secondary fermentation takes place in the bottle.

Microclimate: refers to the environment within and directly surrounding the canopy of the grapevine.

Mise en Bouteille au Chateau: French term meaning “Estate Bottled.”

Négociant: French term meaning “merchant” or “shipper.” Usually a buyer who purchases wines from a property or estate and then blends them with other wines to sell under his own label.

Non Vintage: any wine blended from two or more vintages.

Old Vines: refers to vines that are older (50 years or more) and yield less per acre, but are more concentrated in flavor.

Oak: the most widely used type of wood for cooperage.

Oaky: aroma and flavor profile imparted by oak barrel fermentation or ageing.

Oxidation: the reaction of various components in wine (alcohol, tannins, acids and coloring matter) with oxygen.

PH: the strength of the acids found in wine.

Puttonyo: Hungarian term for the bucket used in the vineyards of the Tokay region to collect overripe grapes.

Qualitatswein: German term meaning “quality wine.”

Qualitatswein mit Pradikat: German term meaning “quality wine with distinction,” in which there are six levels of classification – from driest to sweetest, they are Kabinett, Spätlese, Auslese, Beerenauslese, Trockenbeerenaulese and Eiswein.

Quinta: Portuguese for “vineyard estate.”

Racking: the process of transferring wine from one container to another.

Residual Sugar: left over sugar that has not been fermented out of the wine.

Reserve: not defined legally, but often used in the United States to denote wines of high quality.

Reserva: Spanish term for ‘reserve.” Wines which have been aged for a minimum of two years in oak, with at least one year in bottle.

Riserva: Italian for ‘reserve.” A special lot of wine that has received additional ageing, either cask or in bottle.

Sec: French term for “dry.”

Secco: Italian for “dry.”

Sediment: precipitated matter in a mature wine resulting from the ageing process.

Sekt: German for “sparkling wine.”

Spätlese: German for “late picking.” Wines labeled Spätlese will usually be sweeter and more expensive than those labeled Kabinett.

Sulfites: a non-metallic element widely employed in many stages of winemaking. Generally used to prevent microbial spoilage.

Sur Lie: French for “on the lees.” A state in which the wine remains in contact with the dead yeast cells to add complexity to the wine. The lees are then racked off and the wine is clarified.

Sweet: opposite of dry. A taste sensation detected on the tip of the tongue.

Tannin: a group of organic substances present in grape skins and seeds, responsible for the astringent and drying sensation in young red wine. Tannin is also introduced into wine from oak casks in which the wine ages.

Terroir: much discussed French term for the total natural environment of any viticultural site.

Trockenbeerenaulese: German for “dried berry selection.” Grapes that are affected by Botrytis Cinerea and produce extremely sweet, dessert style wines.

Varietal: term used in the United States for wines labeled by grape variety rather by region or district.

Veraison: French term for the point when grapes ripen and their color changes from green to purple or translucent green and sugar levels increase.

Vigne: French term for “vine.”

Vignoble: French for “vineyard” or “vineyard area.”

Vin: French term for “wine.”

Vintage: the annual gathering of the grapes during the harvest and the making of wine from those grapes.