At the most basic level, organic wine is made from grapes that have been grown without the use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, fungicides, herbicides …

Typicity (French 'typicite' and in Italian 'tipicita') is a term in wine tasting used to describe the degree to which a wine reflects its varietal origins, …

Residual sugar (or RS) is the measure of the amount of sugar solids that remain unfermented in the wine, plus any sugar added when making a sweet wine, or a …

The practice of biodynamics in viticulture has become popular in recent years in several growing regions, including France, Switzerland, Italy, Austria, …

Ullage (from the French 'ouillage') is a winemaking term that has several meanings but most commonly refers to the gap of air between wine and the top of …

Cold stabilization is a process after fermentation used in winemaking to reduce tartrate crystals (generally potassium bitartrate) in wine. During …

The 'French Paradox' is the observation that the French suffer a relatively low incidence of coronary heart disease, despite having a diet relatively rich …

A Fiasco - from late Latin flasca, flasco (bottle, container), - is a typical Italian style of bottle, usually with a round body and bottom, partially or …

Champagne stemware refers to the flute and coupe or saucer stemware used in the enjoyment of champagne, other sparkling wines, and even certain beers. …

There is a saying in the wine industry - 'a look at the label is worth ten years experience'. When looking at a new wine, range of wines from the same …

An amphora is a type of ceramic vase with two handles and a long neck narrower than the body. The word amphora is Latin, derived from the Greek 'amphoreus', …

The Lagare is an open shallow concrete vat, perhaps one metre deep and several metres square. After the grapes are picked during the day, they are spread …

Vin doux naturel translates as 'naturally sweet', but this is hardly the case, we are talking about wines made using 'mutage', the addition of grape spirit …

The Solera process is the aging of liquids like wine, vinegar and brandy, by fractional blending in such a way that the finished product is a mixture of …

Riddling is one step in the traditional method of making Champagne or sparkling wine that is required for bottle fermented wines. After aging the bottles …

The phenols compounds in wine include a large group of several hundred chemical compounds, known as polyphenolics, which affect the colour, taste and …

Over the centuries - because there was little uniformity in the size and shape of wine bottles, people purchasing wine often didn't know how much they were …

The oxidation of wine is perhaps the most common of wine faults, as the presence of oxygen and a catalyst are the only requirements for the process to …

A Tastevin is a small, very shallow silver cup or saucer traditionally used by winemakers and sommeliers when judging the maturity, quality and taste of a …

A punt, (also known as a flat-bottomed boat and an upward kick in Rugby), with regards to wine - refers to the conical indentation at the bottom of a wine …