Wine terminology, P - T

                   Wine terminology
                             P - T

PASSERILLAGE : A process in which grapes are air-dried and shriveled after harvest to increase their sugar concentration. This takes place in a dry, well-ventilated area in order to avoid spoilage, and is used in Jura, Alsace, and the Loire Valley.

PÉTILLANT : French term that describes a wine with less carbon dioxide than a sparkling wine but more than one that could be described as spritzy.

PETIT VERDOT : A red variety produced in Bordeaux that is sometimes blended with Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.

PHYLLOXERA : An aphid that destroyed ¾ of the French vineyards between 1860 and 1880, and then all of Europe’s vineyards as well by killing their root systems. The only vineyards that survived the epidemic were those planted in flood zones. Using grafting at the start of the 20th century, the vineyards were restored in Europe using American rootstock that is resistant to the aphid.

PIÈCE : Name used for a wine cask in Burgundy (228 or 216 liter capacity).

PINEAU D'AUNIS : A red variety cultivated in some parts of the Loire Valley that produces a wine with a light robe.

PINOT GRIS : This gray-blue grape produces powerful golden wines with complex aromas and sometimes smoky notes. Its power makes it pair well with meats and game.

PINOT MEUNIER : Red variety that typically has more villous and hardy foliage than its parent grape, Pinot Noir. When used to produce champagne, Pinot Meunier contributes fruitiness and roundness.

PINOT NOIR : Red variety cultivated primarily in Burgundy, which produces light colored wines that can nevertheless age very well. Its primary aromas include red and black fruit, cherries and cherry brandy, as well as gamy and leather aromas with time. Also cultivated in Champagne, where it is made into white wines.

PLEASANT : Without defects

PLEASING : Said of a wine with pleasant, unremarkable characteristics.

PLUMP : Said of a wine that is high in alcohol, but still soft.

POULSARD : Red variety grown primarily in the Jura region that produces delicate wines with a light robe.

POWERFUL : Said of a wine that is full-bodied, robust and generous, with a rich bouquet.

PRESS WINE : During the production of red wine, this is the wine drawn off the marc by pressing after the devatting process.

PRESSING : Process of pressing the grape marc to extract the juice or the wine.

PRIMARY FERMENTATION: Process that allows the grape juice to become wine as the yeasts transforms its sugar into alcohol. CO2 is produced in the process.

PRIMEUR : in de primeur. Called nouveau wines, these wines are made to be consumed young. They are authorized to be sold on the third Thursday of November for AOC wines and the third Thursday in October for Vins de Pays. Achat en primeur. Buying wine futures or essentially purchasing the wine before it has been created, right after harvest.

RACKING: Process that consists of pumping a wine out of one vat into another to separate out the lees.

RANCIO : Specific characteristic acquired by some Vins Doux Naturels during their aging process.

RATAFIA : Fortified wine produced using a mixture of the marc and grape juice in Champagne and Burgundy.

RAW : Said of a poor quality, overly astringent wine.

REBECHE : Wine from the final pressings, which cannot be included in the wine used to produce champagne.

RÉCOLTANT-MANIPULANT : In Champagne, the term for winegrowers that make their own champagne

REMUAGE : A process that is part of the méthode champenoise that involves specific manipulation of the bottles on their racks with the goal of pushing the sediment toward the cork

RICH : Said of an intensely colored, generous and powerful wine that is also well balanced.

RIESLING ; A white grape variety cultivated in Alsace that produces wines of great distinction. It is acidic and ages well. Its citrus, wildflower, peach and lime-blossom aromas evolve to mineral notes over time. It can sometimes be made into “late harvest” or “noble berries” wines when its natural sugars are concentrated enough.

RIPENING : Transformation of the grape as it becomes higher in sugar and loses some of its acidity to become fully developed. This process begins after the color of the grapes changes (See VÉRAISON). At this point the grapes are watched more carefully as they will determine the quality of the wine produced.

ROASTED : Type of aromas that are found in overripe wines from grapes infected with noble rot. They include notes of citrus peel, dried fruit and toast.

ROBE : Term used for the color of a wine and its appearance.

ROBUST : Said of a wine that has a solid structure and a good balance of tannins an alcohol. It also refers to a very full-bodied wine with firm tannins and thus good aging potential

ROLLE : White variety cultivated in Provence and in the area around Nantes that yields delicate, rich and aromatic wines.

ROMORANTIN : White variety cultivated in several areas of the Loire Valley.

ROUGH : Said of a highly astringent wine that produces an extremely dry feeling in the mouth

ROUND: Said of a wine that is supple, soft and fleshy, creating a rounded sensation on the palate.

ROUSSANNE
A white variety cultivated in the Drôme that provides good acidity and aromas of hawthorn, apricot and honey. This wine ages well and is often included in white Rhone blends.

RUNNING OFF: Separating free run juice from the marc (see CAP) after the fermentation process. Also known as RUNNING OFF.

SACY : A white grape variety that is cultivated in Yonne and Allier that produces a very fresh, dry wine.

SAIGNÉE
Rosé de saignée. A rosé produced from red grapes that undergo a short maceration so that the wine acquires some of the pigments, but no tannins. These rosés are more powerful than the rosés de pressurage, which are rosés produced from red grapes using the production method for white wines.

SALMANAZAR : Giant bottle containing the equivalent of twelve normal 750 ml bottles.

SAUVIGNON BLANC : A white variety cultivated in many regions, but especially used in the Loire Valley and Bordeaux and in the Vins de Pays from the south of France. These are delicate wines, lively but still soft, with typical aromas of grapefruit, boxwood and crushed blackberry leaf.

SAVAGNIN : A grape variety grown in the Jura region that is used to produce the renowned Vin Jaune. Pink varieties are grown in Alsace (klevner and gewürztraminer).

SCIACARELLO : Red variety cultivated in Corsica that yields a fleshy, fruity wine

SECONDARY FERMENTATION : Name of the second bottle fermentation for sparkling wines that produces the carbon dioxide to carbonate the wines.

SEEPING : Said of a bottle in which the cork is leaking wine. This is sometimes due to an overly dry cellar that causes the cork to shrink or high heat that causes the wine to expand.

SÉLECTION DE GRAINS NOBLES : Specific designation, meaning “selection of noble berries” that can be added to the Alsace and Alsace Grand Cru appellations made from Riesling, Gewürztraminer, Tokay-Pinot Gris and Muscat when these grapes meet strict production requirements. The extremely high concentration of sugar that is required (256 grams per liter for Riesling and Muscat and 279 for Gewürztraminer and Pinot Gris) is obtained by over ripening the grapes so that they can be infected by noble rot. Harvesting must be carried out in multiple passes to ensure that only the infected grapes are collected.

SÉMILLON : Late ripening white variety that is cultivated in Bordeaux and produces fine sweet wines, among others. It is highly susceptible to noble rot and offers great smoothness as well as aromas of stone fruit, pear and honey. It is also less acidic than Sauvignon Blanc, and the two are often blended.

SENSORY ANALYSIS : Technical name for critical tasting to determine a wine’s qualities and defects. It is based on both scientific information that explains the origin of a wine’s aromas and flavors, and also a highly developed sense of smell that can detect aromas at the lowest possible threshold.

SEVERE : Said of a wine that is hard and lacks a bouquet.

SHARPNESS : High acidity accompanied by a vinegar-like odor. This sour odor is a serious defect in wine, indicating that undesirable bacterial activity has occurred.

SHORT : Said of a wine that does not leave a lasting sensation on the palate after tasting, often called a wine with a short finish. (1 to 2 Caudalies. See CAUDALIE)

SILKY : Said of a supple, soft, smooth wine with delicate, velvety tannins.

SKIN CONTACT : A stage of white wine production that consists of letting the grapes sit in an oxygen-free environment at low temperatures before to free the primary aromas from the skins. Normal fermentation follows.

SMOKY : An odor similar to that of smoked foods that is characteristic of a few varieties, including Sauvignon Blanc, which is known as Fumé Blanc in the Loire Valley.

SMOOTHNESS : The pleasant sensation of softness and richness offered by a wine, which is unrelated to its sugar content. However, a wine’s smoothness can make it seem softer and sweeter.

SOLID : Said of a wine that is well constructed with good structure.

SPARKLING
Said of a wine that releases carbon dioxide bubbles. These are produced primarily in Champagne and other sparkling wine AOCs. Vins Mousseux (rather then Vins Effervescents) refers to non-AOC sparkling wines.

SPARKLING WINE : Wine which constantly releases carbon dioxide in the form of small bubbles that burst on the wine’s surface. In French sparkling wine can be called vin mousseux or vin effervescent.

SPICY : Said of a wine with aromas of spices such as pepper, cinnamon, cardamom.

SPOILED : Descriptor for a wine with acetic spoilage, a disease that results in a pronounced sour smell.

SPRITZY : Said of a wine that contains a very small amount of carbon dioxide, much less than a sparkling wine. In the France, the progression from most to least sparkling is mousseux (or effervescent), then pétillant (equivalent to the Italian frizzante) and finally perlent (spritzy).

STABILIZATION : A series of treatments designed to ensure that the wine ages well.

STALE : Said of a wine that is past its prime and has lost all or part of its bouquet due to oxidation.

STALK : The parts of the stalk that support the grape. These render the wine highly astringent if not removed before pressing.

STAMPING : Marking corks, barrels or casks using a branding iron.

STILL : Still wine, as opposed to a sparkling wine.

STOMPING : Also called treading, this means of crushing grapes came from the era when the feet were the tool of choice to perform this operation.

STRAIGHTFORWARD : Said of a wine or one of its elements (color, bouquet, aromas) that lack both defects and ambiguity.

STRIPPING : Synonym for DESTEMMING

STRONG : Said of a wine that tastes high in alcohol.

STRUCTURE : Refers to the structure and the overall constitution of a wine.

SUBSTANTIAL : Said of a full-bodied wine that has substance.

SULFITE TREATMENT : Introduction of a sulfur solution into a must or wine to prevent bacterial infections or promote yeasts that destroy bacteria before primary fermentation. The amount of sulfur used depends on the health and quality of the harvest. Today the use of SO2 is carefully controlled to levels even below the authorized thresholds.

SUPPLE : Said of a highly approachable wine in which the smoothness overcomes the astringency.

SWEET WINES : White wines that are naturally high in sugar, produced from overripe grapes whose sugars were concentrated by water evaporation. This concentration occurs through a natural mechanism like noble rot, a fungus that is welcomed in Sauternes, or through human intervention. This can include passerillage, which consists of drying the grapes in a humidity-free, well-ventilated environment, or ice wines in which the ice is separated from the overripe grapes during pressing (cold climates).

SYLVANER : A white variety grown in Alsace that generally produces a very pleasant fruity white wine.

SYRAH : A red variety that is experiencing rapid growth in the Côtes du Rhône and in Midi. It produces a deeply colored, astringent red wine with aromas of violet, pepper, blackberry and blueberry. It has powerful tannins, but they are smooth and velvety, which allows Syrahs to age gracefully.

TANNAT : Red grape variety produced in the Atlantic Pyrenees that produces a robust, but not overly heavy wine that ages well.

TANNIC : Astringent character of a wine caused by its tannins.

TANNINS : Substances found in the grape that provide the astringency needed for wine to age for long periods of time. The tannins also combine with the pigments in red wine, called anthocyans, and are antioxidants, which have been proven to help prevent cardiovascular disease when consumed in moderation (hence the popular notion of the “French paradox”).

TARTRATES : Crystallized particles of tartaric acid found in bottles and barrels that have no negative effects on the wine. They are created by exposure to cold temperatures, which is why wines are often subjected to cold temperatures after they have been produced to avoid the creation of tartrates in the bottles.

TASTE : Term that refers to all of the sensations perceived in the mouth. These are generally tactile sensations (temperature, acidity, astringency, bitterness, saltiness, sweetness), which contribute to a wine’s balance.

TASTE : Tactile sensation (sugary, salty, acidic or bitter) detected by the taste buds.

TASTY : Said of a wine that is fresh and fruity.

TEARS : Marks left by the wine on the side of a glass when it is swirled or tilted. Their appearance is affected by the wine’s alcohol content, residual sugar (in white wines) and glycerol, which is produced during primary fermentation.

TERROIR : A land area possessing distinctive physical, topographical and climatic characteristics that combine to create a unique wine that expresses those characteristics in its organoleptic features and personality.

THERMOREGULATION : Technique that allows the temperature of the vats to be controlled during fermentation. Considering the impact temperature has on the metabolism of yeasts and the release of a wine’s aromas and tannins, it is clear that this technology revolutionized winemaking.

THICK : Said of a wine that is deeply colored and heavy and full on the palate.

THIN : Said of a wine with few tannins that lacks body and balance.

TIRED : Term applied to wine that has temporarily lost its qualities (after being transported, for example) and requires rest to recover.

TOKAY :  Name for Pinot Gris, in Alsace.

TOPPING : The action of pruning the tips of the vines in the summer to diminish the growth of the foliage and thus increase the sugars and other elements in the grapes to obtain a higher quality harvest.

TOPPING : Cutting the vine shoots in order to regulate and balance the vine’s growth to control productivity. Topping is one method used to keep yields low and thus increase the concentration of the grapes.

TUILÉ : French word to describe the brick red color of wines that have aged. Literally, “tiled”.

UGNI BLANC : A white variety cultivated in the Southwest (and in Charantes under the name Saint-Émilion) that produces a rather acidic wine that does not age well and is perfectly suited for being distilled into Cognac brandies.