A

Anbaugebiet – German – Designated quality wine region

AOC (Appellation d’Origine Controlee) – French – The name of the top regions in France’s regional classification system – this is above AOP, PDO or IGT regional wines.

Assemblage – French – Blending process of wines from separate vineyards

Ausbruch – Austrian – A sweet wine category of wines made from dried grapes

Auslese – German – Pradikat category for wines that are made using late-harvest and Botrytis-infected grapes resulting in medium-sweet to sweet wines

Azienda Agricola – Italian – A winery that uses solely estate grapes

 

B

Batonnage – French – Process of stirring lees

Beerenauslese – German – Pradikat category for wines that are made using solely Botrytis-infected grapes resulting in sweet wines

Bianco – Italian – White wine

Blanc – French – White wine

Bodega – Spanish - Winery

Botte – Italian – Large oak barrels made in sizes up to 160hL 

Botrytis – A form of rot that sucks out the water found in grapes and concentrates the sugars resulting in sweet wines, also called ‘Noble Rot’

Branco – Portugeuse – White wine

Brut – French – Dry and used mainly in Sparkling wines

 

C

Cap Classique – South African – Bottle-fermented sparkling wines 

Carbonic Maceration – Process of fermenting the grapes in their whole form, without pressing them, and under carbonic gas/pressure resulting in light, fruity wines. Most famously used in Beajoulais, France 

Cask – another term for ‘oak barrel’

Cava – Spain – Bottle-fermented sparkling wines

Chateau – French – Estate in Bordeaux or Southern France

Classico – Italian – The historical sub-region of a larger region

Colheita – Portugal – Vintage 

Cremant – French – A lightly sparkling wine that is made via the bottle-fermented process. Best examples are made in the regions of Cremant d’Alsace and Cremant de Bourgogne

Crianza – Spain – Wines that have spent a minimum of a year ageing in oak

Cru Bourgeois – French – A rank of Bordeaux chateaux below Cru Classe

Cru Classe – French – Highest rank of Bordeaux chateaux

 

D

Degorgement – French – also called ‘disgorgement’ is the process of removing the yeast sediment from bottle-fermented sparkling wines

Demi-Sec – French – Wines that are medium-dry in sweetness

DOC/G – Italian – The Italian equivalent to France’s AOC, a regional classification. DOCs are above IGTs and DOCGs make up the top of pyramid

Dolce – Italian – Sweet wines

Doux – French – Sweet wines

Dulce – Spanish – Sweet wines

 

E

Einzellage – German – Individual vineyard

Eiswein – German – The German name for the sweet wines: Ice Wines

En Primeur – French – The process of buying wines in advance of their release

Erste Lage – German – Top vineyards in Germany

Erstes Gewachs – German – Dry white wines made from an Erste Lage

 

F

Flor – Spanish – The layer of yeasts that are formed in the production of Sherry 

Frizzante – Italian – Slightly sparkling 

 

G

Gran-Reserva – Spanish – Wines that have spent a minimum of five years ageing in oak 

Grosses Gewachs or 'GG'– German – Dry wines (not necessarily whites) made from an Erste Lage

Grosslage – German – A group of adjoining vineyards

 

H

Halbtrocken – German – Wines of medium-dry sweetness

 

K

Kabinett – German – Pradikat category for wines that have been made from ripe or extremely ripe grapes resulting in wines just off-dry

 

L 

Lees – The name given to the yeast cells after they have been used for fermentation – they are now dead but still impart flavour and are often stirred around the wines in barrel to give yeasty, nutty and biscuity flavours

Liquoreux – French – A very sweet wine made from Botrytis-infected grapes 

 

M 

Malolactic Fermentation (MLF) – a secondary fermentation that converts malic acid into lactic acid resulting in buttery flavours and a rounder texture

Metodo Classico – Italian – Bottle-fermented sparkling wines

Millesime – French – Vintage

Mise en bouteille au chateau – French – Bottled at the chateau, or domaine

Moelleux – French – Wines that are medium-sweet 

Must – The name given to pressed grape juice yet to be fermented

 

N 

Noble Rot – a common name for Botrytis

 

P

Passito – Italian – Sweet wines made from grapes that have been dried

PDO – Protected Designation of Origin, a labelling term within the EU used for wines made in a certain region – regions are given a PDO status and wines made in those regions are credited with a PDO sticker 

Petillant – French – Lightly sparkling

Petit Chateau – French – A term used in Bordeaux for chateaux that don’t fall under one of the classifications: Cru Classe or Cru Bourgeois

Pradikat – German – The categories of wines made by the VDP group of winemakers across Germany, they go up from Kabinett, Spatlese, Auslese, Beerenauslese and Trockenberrenauslese, from dry-sweet. Also used in Austria

Puttonyos – Hungarian – A measure of sweetness used in Tokaji production

 

Q

Quinta – Portuguese – A wine estate or vineyard

 

R

Recioto – Italian – Synonomous with ‘passito’

Reserva – Spanish – A wine that has been aged for a minimum of two or three years in oak depending on the region it comes from 

Reserve – There is no legal distinction, often used by marketers to reference wines that are of superior quality or have been aged slightly longer than the rest of their range

Riserva – Italian – A wine that has been aged for a minimum of two or three years depending on the region it comes from – not necessarily in oak

Rosado – Spanish – Rose wine

Rosato – Italian – Rose wine

Rosso – Italian – Red wine

Rouge – French – Red wine

  

S

Sec – French – Dry wine

Secco – Italian – Dry wine

Seco – Portuguese and Spanish – Dry wine 

Selection de Grains Nobles – French – Term used in Alsace for wines that have been made from Botrytis-infected grapes resulting in sweet wines

Semisecco – Italian – Wines of medium-dry sweetness

Semi-seco – Spanish – Wines of medium-dry sweetness

Smargd – Austrian – Wines that are full-bodied and often made from late(r) harvested grapes

Solera – Spanish – A fractional blending system where young wines refresh and mix with older wines, most important in Sherry production

Spatlese – German – Pradikat category for wines that have been made from late-harvested grapes resulting in off-dry to medium-dry wines in sweetness

Spumante – Italian – Sparkling wines

Steinfeder – Austrian – Wines that are light in body 

Sur lie – French – A wine that has been aged on its lees for a period of time

  

T 

Tannin – Is the chemical compound in the skins and seeds of grape varieties that gives the wines the drying sensation in the mouth – also found in tea 

Tenuta – Italian – A wine estate 

Tinto – Portuguese and Spanish – Red wine 

Traditional Method – The method of sparkling wine that has been bottle-fermented and was developed in the Champagne region 

Trocken – German – A dry wine 

Trockenbeerenauslese – German – Pradikat category that refers to the sweetest wines produced, they are produced from individually picked grapes that have been heavily infected with Botrytis

 

V 

Vendange Tardive – French – A term used in Alsace that refers to wines that are from late-harvested grapes

Vieilles Vignes – French – Old vines, not a legal term