In Wine We Jest: A lexicon of terms for your wine tasting pleasure!
Posted by: Denise Slattery in Wine on Nov 23, 2009
As you begin to hash out the details of your fall wine tasting intineries in Walla Walla, I thought it might be useful to provide a lexicon of terms
Often associated with this time of year....in alpha order! Cheers -
| Arrghhh! | The forklift is out of propane |
| Barrel-Down | To move the finished, pressed-off wine into barrels |
| Beer | The winemaker's favorite beverage |
| Crush | The time of year when your phone calls will not be returned |
| Character | That which makes the wine distinctive and some of the people you may meet in a tasting room! |
| Dry | When red wine registers at minus 1.5 brix and the sugars have all been converted to alcohol |
| Ebulliometer | Instrument used to measure the level of alcohol in wine |
| F*%&! | Someone left the valve on the tank open! |
| Free Run | Wine from the must that doesn't go through the press |
| Grapes | What we make the wine out of, silly! |
| Hard Frost | When temps fall below 28 degrees for more than a few hours. |
| Incubators | Five, start-up wineries all in one, cool setting on Piper Ave at the airport! |
| Jacks | The part of the plant that holds the grapes. Not welcome in the wine. |
| Lees | The dead yeast cells and other solids in the barrel or tank |
| Must | The fermented juice, seeds and skin |
| Nose | The bouquet or fragrance of the wine |
| Opener | AKA: corkscrew |
| Pumice | The seeds and skin left over from the press |
| Quaff | A quaffing wine is a simple wine that is pleasant to drink. |
| Riedel | Rhymes with 'needle'. The preferred stemware in the tasting room |
| Short cut | No such thing when it comes to winemaking! |
| SO2 | Inhibits unwanted bacteria, prevents oxidation and preserves fruity flavor and freshness in wine. |
| Thief | Used for tasting, a gracefully tapered glass pull used to "steal" the wine from the barrel |
| Taste | Do lots of this! |
| Ullage | Also known as headspace, the unfilled space in a barrel or bottle |
| Vinegar | You won't find any here! |
| W2 | Insiders shorthand for Walla Walla, the new hot wine region! |
| eXcellent | Wine with food and friends! |
| Yeast | These little guys eat the sugar in the fruit and turn it into alcohol! |
| Zzzzzz | Goodnight, Gracie! |
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