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Backward
A tasting term used to describe wines that are described as not
yet ready to drink. They may also be
described as
austere. |
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Balance
Harmonious
balance
of wine elements - acids,
fruit, tannins,
alcohol, resulting in a well proportioned, or
well
balanced, wine.
This is a vital attribute. |
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Barrel (or cask)
Barrels or casks
are cylindrical containers with a convex shape, traditionally made
of wood staves and bound with iron hoops. |
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Barrique
The barrique is a French wooden barrel with a capacity of 225
litres
for the
fermentation
and aging of red and white wine. The longer a wine spends in barrel
the more of the
oak flavour it will take on.
Strong flavours also result when the
alcoholic
fermentation takes
place en barrique. |
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Batonnage (French term)
The batonnage term is used for the stirring of the
lees. It is used to impart
body
and flavour to the wine. |
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Bead
Bead is a tasting term used to describe the size of the bubbles in a glass
of Champagne. |
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Beeswing
A light potassium bitartrate sediment, mostly found in Port.
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Bentonite
Bentonite is a type of clay hat can be used as a
fining agent and wine clarification. |
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Berrylike
Berrylike is a tasting term describing the
sweet,
ripe and
fruity
quality of blackberries, raspberries, cranberries and cherries. |
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Big
Used to describe the overall flavour of a red or white wine, that has
rich
and full flavours. Sometimes they imply the opposite of elegance. |
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Biodynamic
The
biodynamic
viticulture is an extension of the
organic viticulture, taking into account the effect
of the moon and planets on the health of the vines based on the
principles of Austrian philosopher Rudolf Steiner.
The practice of
biodynamics in viticulture (grape growing) has
become increasingly popular in recent years, particularly
in France, and are valued by some wine lovers as a part of mastering excellence in grape
growing and wine making. |
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Bitter
Having or being a
taste that is
sharp, acrid, and unpleasant. Bitter
is one of the four objective qualities (sourness,
sweetness,
saltiness and
bitterness). A wine showing harmony between the four tastes
makes for a successful overall
taste
balance. |
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Blending
The mixing together of two or more different wine variety. |
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Blind tasting
Tasting term consisting of tasting and evaluating wines without any
knowledge of their identities. The advantage of a
blind tasting - usually achieved
by simply covering the label - is that it removes all prejudices
about the wine, and one has to judge it entirely on its own merits. |
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Body
The
body is the sense of
weight from the combination of
alcohol,
glycerin and
sugar content imparted by a wine on one taster's mouth. A
wine may be
light - or
full-bodied. |
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Bordeaux mixture
A vine treatment sprayed on the vines, comprising copper sulphate
and slaked lime to treat downy mildew. |
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Botrytis cinerea see
noble rot.
Botrytis cinerea is a fungus that affects wine grapes. Under humid
climate conditions, Botrytis cinerea attacks grapes on the vines,
leaving them shrivelled and dehydrated. On
the white Semillon, Sauvignon, Muscadelle or Riesling grapes used in
the production of
sweet wines in Bordeaux, Hungary or Germany, it allows a uniquely aromatic and flavourful
wine to be made. |
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Bouquet
Near synonym for "aroma", bouquet is a tasting term used to describe the complex
aromas
of an aged wine. |
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Brawny
Tasting term used to describe red wines with high
alcohol
and
tannin levels. |
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Breathe/Breathing
When wine is
poured into a wineglass, the mixture of air with the liquid seems to
release the wine's
aromas which then become more
pronounced in many cases, allowing the wine to "breathe". |
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Breed
Denotes wines judged to have reached their optimum
expectations of aroma,
balance
and
structure. This term is sometimes used for wines produced from
the best grape varieties. |
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Brettanomyces
Commonly referred to as "Brett",
Brettanomyces is a fungal infection that produces taints in wine
commonly described as armyardy, horsy, barnyard or sometimes metallic
aromas.
Its presence is considerred as a wine
fault. For more details about
Brett,
see our article
HERE..>> |
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Briary
Tasting term denoting a prickly and aggressive
taste (peppery). |
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Bricking
A tasting term often referring to a brick red colour, which
implies the signs of a maturing red wine. |
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Bright
A tasting term describing a wine that has high clarity. |
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Brillant (see also cloudy, hazy,
unfiltered elsewhere)
Very bright and transparent appearance with no
visible particulates. |
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Brix
The deg. Brix is the measurement system of the dissolved sucrose
level in a berry. It measures the optimum degree of grape ripeness
at
harvest |
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Browning
Browning is a tasting term describing the wine's color, thus the
ageing in a wine. |
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Buttery
Tasting term denoting the
taste sensation found, mostly for
Chardonnay wines. |
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Bung
Commonly used term for
cork. |
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More about the
grape varietals
and
the Bordeaux wine region
Winemega's
tasting notes by chateau
Tasting tips: a sommeliere writes about
advanced wine topics
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