Wine words, in plain English.

ABV Abbreviation for alcohol by volume, the standard measure of how much ethanol a w… AOC A French protected-origin term historically meaning Appellation d’Origine Contrô… AOP Appellation d’Origine Protégée, the French form of the EU Protected Designation … AVA The common abbreviation for American Viticultural Area. Acidity The fresh, mouthwatering structure in wine that can make it feel bright, crisp, … Aeration The process of exposing wine to air to allow it to open up and reveal its full r… Aftertaste The taste or flavors that linger in the mouth after wine is swallowed. Also call… Aging The time during which wine components develop and integrate to produce the flavo… Alcohol The ethanol in wine, usually shown on labels as alcohol by volume. Alcoholic Fermentation The conversion of grape sugars into alcohol and carbon dioxide by yeast. American Viticultural Area A defined grape-growing region in the United States, usually abbreviated AVA. Amontillado A style of Sherry that begins under flor and then ages oxidatively. Amphora A clay vessel used for fermenting, aging, or storing wine. Ancestral Method A sparkling wine method in which fermentation finishes in bottle, trapping carbo… Appearance Refers to a wine's clarity and reflective quality when assessed visually. Common… Appellation A legally or officially recognized geographic origin used on wine labels. Aroma The smell of a wine, especially the scents perceived before tasting. Aspect The direction a vineyard slope faces. Assemblage Blending process, especially important in Champagne across grapes, villages, par… Autolysis Breakdown of spent yeast cells that gives sparkling wines bready, toasty, or bri… Balance The way a wine’s major elements work together so that none feels out of place. Barrel Fermentation Fermentation carried out in wooden barrels rather than only in tank. Blanc de Blancs French for white from whites. Most commonly used to describe a sparkling wine or… Blanc de Noirs French for white from blacks. A sparkling white wine made from red or dark-skinn… Blending The combining of wines, grapes, lots, barrels, vineyards, or vintages to create … Body The perceived weight or fullness of wine in the mouth. Bottle Shock A temporary muted or disjointed state sometimes observed after bottling or trans… Bouquet The developed smell of a wine, often used for aromas that emerge with age or mat… Breathe The interaction between air and wine, typically by allowing a poured glass or de… Brettanomyces A yeast associated with animal, barnyard, medicinal, smoky, or leathery aromas i… Brut A general term for a dry Champagne or sparkling wine. Brut wines contain very li… Brut Nature A very dry sparkling wine category with little or no dosage. Budbreak The spring stage when grapevine buds open and new shoots begin to grow. Bâtonnage Lees stirring used to add texture, roundness, and subtle savory notes, especiall… Canopy Management The management of grapevine leaves, shoots, and fruit exposure. Capsule The foil or protective covering that wraps around the cork and upper neck of a w… Carbonic Maceration A fermentation approach in which whole grapes ferment in a low-oxygen, carbon di… Cava A sparkling wine produced in Spain using the traditional method of secondary fer… Cellaring The practice of storing wine, typically for a year or more, to allow it to devel… Chaptalization The addition of sugar to must before or during fermentation to raise potential a… Château Originally a term for a wine estate in the Bordeaux region of France. Now used m… Classico An Italian term used to designate wines from the historical or traditional cente… Climat Burgundian term for a precisely named vineyard parcel with a defined identity. Clone A selected vine lineage within a grape variety, propagated for particular traits… Cold Soak A cool pre-fermentation maceration used to extract color and aroma compounds bef… Cold stabilization Chilling wine before bottling to reduce later tartrate crystal formation. Complexity The presence of multiple, integrated aroma and flavor dimensions in a wine. Concrete Vessel A concrete tank or vessel used for fermentation or aging. Cooked A wine fault term describing a dull, flat, or warm flavor that results from exce… Cork Taint A wine fault most commonly associated with musty, damp-cardboard aromas. Corked A common shorthand for a wine affected by cork taint. Crianza A Spanish aging term used in certain appellations, especially for red wines. Cru French term for a recognized growth, site, village, or classification unit depen… Crush The breaking of grape skins to release juice or start processing. Cuvée A blend or specially selected lot of wine. The term is widely used in Champagne … DO Denominación de Origen, a Spanish protected-origin category. DOC Denominazione di Origine Controllata, an Italian protected-origin wine category. DOCG Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita, an Italian protected-origin ca… DOCa Denominación de Origen Calificada, a Spanish category used for highly regulated … Demi-Sec A sweetness category commonly used for sparkling wines and some still wines. Destemming The removal of grape stems before fermentation or pressing. Disgorgement Removal of the spent-yeast sediment plug from a traditional-method sparkling win… Dosage Sweetening and topping-up addition made after disgorgement in many sparkling win… Doux A French term indicating the sweetest category of Champagne or sparkling wine, w… Dry Farming Growing vines without regular irrigation after establishment, relying mainly on … Earthy A tasting descriptor for wines carrying aromas or flavors reminiscent of soil, e… Elegant A descriptive term for a balanced, refined, and harmonious wine. Generally used … Elevation The height of a vineyard above sea level. Estate Bottled A label term indicating that the winery or vineyard that grew the grapes also vi… Extra-Brut The driest category of Champagne or sparkling wine, containing even less residua… Extra-Dry Despite its name, Extra-Dry Champagne and sparkling wine is slightly sweeter tha… Extraction The movement of color, tannin, flavor, and other compounds from grape skins, see… Fermentation The biochemical process by which yeast converts sugars in grape juice into alcoh… Fermentation Temperature The temperature at which fermentation is conducted. Filtering A step in the wine-making process in which wine is passed through a filter mediu… Filtration Passing wine through a filter to remove particles, haze, microbes, or sediment. Fining Clarification step in which added agents bind to particles so they can be remove… Finish The flavor and sensation that remain after swallowing or spitting wine. Fino A pale, dry Sherry style aged biologically under flor. Flor A film-forming yeast layer that develops on some wines, especially certain Sherr… Flute A style of glassware commonly used for Champagne and sparkling wines, characteri… Fortified Wine A wine to which a distilled spirit, usually brandy, has been added, raising the … Fruit Character The fruit-like flavors and aromas perceived in wine. Full-bodied A tasting term for a wine that feels rich and substantial in the mouth, often wi… Geographical Indication A protected place-based name used for agricultural products, including wine. Grafting The joining of one grapevine variety or clone to a separate rootstock. Gran Reserva Spanish aging designation generally used for wines with extended barrel and bott… Grand Cru A French wine classification term meaning great growth, used to designate the hi… Grand Reserva The highest aging category in Spanish wine classification. In the context of Spa… Grand Vin French for great wine, used to identify the primary or flagship wine produced by… Green Harvest The removal of unripe grape clusters before harvest to manage yield or ripening. Harvest The picking of grapes for winemaking. Hearty A descriptive term for a wine that is full, warm, and robust, typically with hig… Heat Damage Damage caused by excessive heat exposure before opening. Herbaceous A tasting descriptor for green, leafy, grassy, or herbal aromas and flavors. IGP Indication Géographique Protégée, the French form of the EU Protected Geographic… Icewine A sweet wine made from grapes frozen naturally on the vine and pressed while fro… Imperial A large-format wine bottle holding the equivalent of eight standard 750 ml bottl… Intensity The strength of a wine’s aromas or flavors. International Variety A term for grape varieties cultivated across most major wine regions worldwide, … Irrigation The application of water to vineyard soils or vines. Jug Wine An informal American term for inexpensive, everyday table wine typically sold in… Kabinett A German Prädikat term traditionally associated with lighter wines from ripe gra… Kosher Wine Wine produced in accordance with Jewish dietary law and certified by a qualified… Landwein A level in the German wine classification system, ranking just above the basic t… Late Harvest Wine made from grapes picked later than normal, often with higher sugar concentr… Lees Sediment of spent yeast cells and fine solids left after fermentation. Lees Aging Aging wine in contact with lees. Length A tasting term describing how long the flavors and impressions of a wine persist… Lieu-dit A named place or parcel that may appear on French wine labels. Lightstrike A wine fault caused by exposure to certain light wavelengths, especially in vuln… Liqueur de tirage Sugar-and-yeast mixture added to start secondary fermentation in bottle. MGA Italian named geographic mention used for sub-zones in places such as Barolo. Maceration Contact between grape solids and juice or wine to extract color, tannin, aroma, … Madeira A fortified wine from Madeira, known for styles shaped by heat and oxygen exposu… Maderized A term for wine that tastes oxidized or heat-aged in a way resembling Madeira-li… Malolactic Conversion The microbial conversion of sharper malic acid into softer lactic acid. Mature Describes a wine that has reached its peak of development and complexity through… Minerality A common tasting term for stony, chalky, saline, flinty, or mineral-like impress… Mousiness A wine fault that can create unpleasant mouse-cage or cereal-like flavors, often… Mouthfeel The physical sensations wine creates on the palate. Must Freshly crushed grape juice, skins, seeds, and sometimes stems before or during … Méthode Champenoise The traditional method of producing sparkling wine by inducing a second fermenta… Native Yeast Yeasts present in the vineyard or winery environment rather than a selected comm… Natural Wine An informal term for wines made with minimal intervention, often emphasizing org… New World Refers to regions where wine-making developed more recently, including the Unite… Noble Rot Beneficial Botrytis cinerea infection that concentrates grapes for certain sweet… Non-Vintage A wine blended from grapes harvested in more than one year. Non-vintage wines al… Oak Character Aromas, flavors, or textures associated with oak barrels, vats, staves, or chips… Oaky A tasting term used to describe flavors or aromas imparted to a wine by the oak … Old Vines A non-universal term for mature grapevines, often used to imply age, low yield, … Old World Refers to wine-growing regions mostly in Europe where viticulture has the longes… Orange Wine White wine made with extended skin contact, giving deeper color and added textur… Organic Wine Wine produced from grapes grown without the use of synthetic chemical fertilizer… Oxidation Chemical change caused by exposure to oxygen. Oxidized A wine fault in which excessive exposure to air has degraded the wine, often res… PDO Protected Designation of Origin, an EU quality category for products closely lin… PGI Protected Geographical Indication, an EU quality category linked to a geographic… Passito An Italian term for wines made from dried or partially dried grapes. Phenolics Compounds from skins, seeds, stems, and oak that shape color, bitterness, tannin… Phylloxera A vine pest that devastated many European vineyards in the nineteenth century. Port A fortified wine associated with Portugal’s Douro region. Premier Cru A French term meaning “first growth,” used differently by region. Pressing The separation of juice or wine from grape solids by pressure. Primary Aromas Aromas mainly associated with grape variety and fermentation fruit expression. Private Reserve A term used by wineries to suggest a higher-quality tier of wine. In the United … Prädikat A German classification term historically tied to grape must weight at harvest. Pump-Over A cap-management technique in which fermenting juice is pumped over the floating… Punch-Down A cap-management technique in which the cap of skins is pushed down into ferment… Pétillant-Naturel A lightly sparkling wine often associated with ancestral-method production. QbA (Qualitätswein bestimmter Anbaugebiete) A level in the German wine quality classification system meaning quality wine fr… QmP (Qualitätswein mit Prädikat) The highest tier of the German wine quality classification system, meaning quali… Racking Moving wine off sediment from one vessel to another during aging or clarificatio… Reduction A set of aromas associated with low-oxygen conditions and sulfur compounds. Refermentation A renewed fermentation that occurs after a wine is considered finished or bottle… Reserva A Spanish wine classification indicating that the wine has met minimum aging req… Reserve A term used on wine labels in the United States and other countries to suggest a… Residual sugar Sugar left in wine after fermentation, usually measured in grams per liter. Resveratrol A natural antioxidant compound found primarily in red wine, occurring in grape s… Rich A tasting term for a wine with a pronounced, fruit-forward character and a full,… Ripeness The maturity level of grapes at harvest. Riserva An Italian wine classification term indicating that the wine has been aged for a… Rootstock The root portion of a grafted grapevine. Rosé Pink wine usually made from red grapes with limited skin contact. Ruby Port A fruit-driven Port style usually aged to preserve youthful color and fruit. Sec A term meaning dry in French, but also a sweetness category in sparkling wine. Secondary Aromas Aromas associated with winemaking and maturation choices. Sediment Solid material that settles in a bottle or glass. Sherry A fortified wine produced in the Jerez region of southern Spain. Sherry ranges f… Single Vineyard A wine made from grapes grown in one named vineyard. Soil The ground material in which vines grow, including mineral particles, organic ma… Sparkling Wine Wine containing significant carbon dioxide bubbles. Split A small wine bottle format holding approximately 6 oz., equivalent to one quarte… Spumante The Italian term for sparkling wine. Spumante wines are fully sparkling, as dist… Stabilization Processes used to reduce the risk of haze, crystals, refermentation, or other ch… Stainless Steel A neutral, cleanable vessel material widely used for fermentation and storage. Sulfites Sulfur dioxide compounds used as a preservative in wine to maintain freshness an… Superiore Italian term that often signals higher minimum alcohol, stricter rules, or added… Sur lie French term for aging wine on its lees to build texture, freshness, and subtle s… Sweetness The perception of sugar or sweet taste in wine. TCA 2,4,6-trichloroanisole, a compound commonly associated with cork taint. Tank Method A sparkling wine method in which secondary fermentation occurs in a sealed tank. Tannin A structural compound that creates drying, gripping, or astringent sensations, e… Tartrate Crystals Harmless crystals that can form from tartaric acid salts in wine. Tawny A Port style aged to develop oxidative, nutty, caramel, and dried-fruit notes. Terroir A French term describing the combined environmental factors that influence the c… Tertiary Aromas Aromas that develop as wine ages in bottle or over longer maturation. Texture The tactile feel of wine in the mouth. Total acidity A lab measure of the total acid concentration in wine, usually expressed in g/L. Traditional Method A sparkling wine method in which secondary fermentation takes place in the bottl… Trocken A German label term for dry wine. Typicity The degree to which a wine resembles the expected style of its grape, place, or … Ullage The small space of air between the wine and the top of the bottle, also referred… Varietal Wine A wine labeled primarily by grape variety. Veraison The stage of grape ripening when berries begin to soften and change color. Vin Doux Naturel A French fortified sweet wine style made by mutage, adding spirit to stop fermen… Vin de Pays A level in the French wine classification system meaning country wine, ranking a… Vin de Table The most basic level of French wine classification, meaning table wine. Vin de T… Viniculture The study and science of grape cultivation as it pertains to wine production, en… Vino da Tavola The most basic category in the Italian wine classification system, equivalent to… Vino de la Mesa The most basic level of Spanish wine classification, equivalent to table wine, w… Vintage The year in which the grapes for a wine were harvested. Vintner A term for a winery owner, wine producer, or wine merchant. Volatile acidity Acetic-smelling acidity that can add lift at low levels and become a fault at hi… Whole-Cluster Fermentation Fermentation using intact grape clusters, including stems. Wine Label The descriptive information affixed to a wine bottle that identifies key details… Yeast Microorganisms that convert grape sugar into alcohol, carbon dioxide, and fermen… Yield The amount of grapes produced by a vineyard, often measured per acre, hectare, o…