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Table Wine
Unfortified wine that is not entitled to any other quality or regional designation.

Taille
The juice resulting from the second pressing of grapes in Champagne, yielding 25 litres from each 100 kilograms of grapes.

Tangy
Tasting term used to describe wine with a lively aftertaste. Commonly used for white wines, sherries and Madeira.

Tank Method (also called Charmat method or cuve close)
Sparkling-wine production process in which the secondary fermentation takes place in a sealed tank.

Tannat
The Tannat variety is most commonly found in the southwest of France, where it produces thick, deeply coloured red wines that are high in tannins.

Tasting term used to describe red wines with a high level of tannin, often perceived as a dry sensation in the mouth which may be accompanied by a leathery aroma and flavour.

Chemical compound present in the skins, stems and pips of grapes, which is extracted during vinification. Tannin is a preservative in red wine, and gives a drying sensation on the gums when present.

The acid responsible for most of a wine's acidity. May be added to wines lacking acidity, such as those made in warm vineyard regions.

Tastevin
Cup used for wine tasting, especially for Burgundy. It is round, shallow, and usually made of silver or silver plate.

Tempranillo
The great red grape of Rioja. The name derives from the Spanish word ‘temprano’, which means ‘early’, probably for the fact that it is a fairly early ripener. Depending on where it is grown, Tempranillo varies from light, pale styles to darker, more tannic styles. In Rioja, the wine is often aged for long periods in American oak barrels, so the oak flavour can be more dominant than the grape variety. It is also the main variety in the Ribera del Duero region of Spain. When young, Tempranillo has an intriguing fruitiness, but develops complexity with age.

Tenuta
Italian word for ‘wine estate’.

Teroldego Rotaliano
A red grape variety from north eastern Italy. Unlike many Italian varieties, wines made from this grape are deeply coloured but not heavy. They’re lively, fruity and low in tannin and good for early drinking.

Terra Rossa
A special red clay-limestone soil found in Australia’s Coonawarra region. It is said to give an added dimension of flavour to the grapes grown on it, most notably to Cabernet Sauvignon.

Terroir
A French term used to describe all the characteristics specific to a particular piece of land (soil type, aspect, climate, temperature variation, etc) that make wines taste the way they do. Although the term has been used in France for centuries, terroir is becoming increasingly popular as a concept in New World countries.

Thin
Tasting term used to describe wine that lacks flavour and body.

Tinta Barroca
One of the five main grape varieties used to make port in Portugal’s Douro Valley. The variety is more gently fruity than other grapes grown in the region. Tinta Barroca is also grown in South Africa.

Tinta Cao
One of the five main grape varieties grown in Portugal’s Douro Valley. Most of the Tinta Cao grown in the Douro is used to make port, but the variety is also used to make good-quality red table wine.

Tinto
Spanish and Portuguese term for ‘red’.

Tasting term used to describe wine with too much tannin.

Touriga Francesa
One of the five main grape varieties grown in Portugal’s Douro Valley. Most of the Tinta Francesa grown in the Douro is used to make port, but the variety is also used to make good-quality red table wine.

Touriga Nacional
Widely accepted as the best grape variety for making port. The variety is grown in Portugal’s Douro Valley and Dao regions. As well as being used in port production, Touriga Nacional is also used to make good-quality red table wine.

Any man‑made system of support for the vine, usually consisting of posts and wires.

German word for ‘dry’.

A wine term based on grape ripeness used in Germany and Austria. Trockenbeerenauslese wines are made from carefully selected, individual, over-ripe and shrivelled berries. Often these berries are affected by botrytis. The resulting juice is highly concentrated and sweet.

Oak forest in France. The trees grown here are used to make some of the best barrels for ageing wine.

Ullage
Refers to a low level of wine in a bottle, usually caused by a faulty cork. If the level of wine falls below the bottle’s mid-shoulder, excessive oxidation may have occurred, resulting in a poor-quality wine. Also describes the amount of air in a wine barrel.

Unbalanced
Tasting term used to describe wine in which one or more of the flavour elements (sweetness, tannin, acidity, etc) is out of sync with the others, making the wine taste clumsy.

Vanilla
Tasting term used to describe wines with a vanilla-like aroma, usually due to oak ageing.

Varietal
Wine made from a single variety of grape.

One of a number of recognisable members of a particular vine species. They may result from natural mutation or deliberate crossing.

VDQS
Vin Delimite de Qualite Superieure. A French wine classification that lies just below AC (appellation controlee). Wines with VDQS on their labels must conform to rules governing permitted grape varieties, yields, and delimited areas. The VDQS is seen as a ‘halfway house’ for wines that will eventually gain AC status.

Vegetal
Tasting term used to describe wine with a vegetable-like, slightly rotting aroma. Commonly used for mature red Burgundy.

Velvety
Tasting term used to describe wines with a rich, opulent texture. Usually used to describe red or fortified wines.

Vendange
French word for ‘harvest’.

Vendange Tardive
French word for ‘late-harvest’ grapes and the sweet wines that often result from them.

Vendimmia
Italian word for ‘harvest’.

Vendimia
Spanish word for ‘harvest’.

Veraison
Refers to the change in colour of a grape as it ripens on the vine. This is an important indicator in choosing the best time to harvest the grapes. In red grape varieties, colours can go from green to reddish-black.

Verdejo
A characterful, aromatic white grape variety with a fresh, clean flavour. The variety is used to good effect in the Rueda region of Spain.

Verdelho
This white grape variety is used widely on the Portuguese island of Madeira to make Madeira wine. The grape is also gaining popularity in Australia, where it is used to make a fresh, lemon-lime flavoured wine.

Verdicchio
An Italian white grape variety grown in the central regions of the country. Verdicchio can produce wines with a pleasant nutty character, but often wines made from it tend to be neutral.

Vielles Vignes
French term used to describe wines made from old vines. Old vines tend to have lower production and often make more complex, concentrated wine.

Vigneron
Franch term for ‘vine grower’.

Vignoble
French term for ‘vineyard’.

Vin
French term for ‘wine’.

Vin de Pays
French wine classification term that translates as ‘country wine’. It comes below the VDQS and AC designations in the French classification system, but, ironically, its more flexible production laws have made some vin de pays regions (particularly in the south) very forward-looking areas producing good-quality varietal wines.

Vin de Rebeche
Any juice remaining in the grapes after the extraction of the tailles in Champagne. It must be distilled and cannot be made into wine.

Vin Doux Naturel (VDN)
A type of sweet fortified wine made in southern France.

One of a number of recognisable members of a particular vine species. They may result from natural mutation or deliberate crossing.

French term for pale rose wine styles

Vin jaune
A style of wine with a distinctive sherried, nutty flavour made in the Jura region of eastern France from the Savagnin grape.

French term for ‘sparkling wine’.

Vin Santo
A type of wine made in Italy’s Tuscany region from semi-dried grapes. The juice is placed in small barrels in which it ferments and matures for at least three years. The barrels are often stored in rafters, where they are exposed to wide temperature variation. The resulting wine ranges from very sweet to almost dry.

Vina
Spanish term for ‘vineyard’.

Vinho
Portuguese term for ‘wine’.

Winemaking.

Vino
Italian term for ‘wine’.

Vino da Tavola
Italian term for ‘table wine’. In theory, these wines are on the lowest rung of the Italian classification system. In practice, some excellent (and expensive) wines are made within this designation, as the more flexible rules allow winemakers more freedom in terms of grape varieties and techniques used.

Vino de la Tierra
Spanish wine classification term similar to the French Vin de Pays designation.

Vino de Mesa
Spanish term for ‘table wine’.

Vintage
The year in which the grapes used to make a particular wine were harvested.

Vintage-Character Port
Despite the name, these are not similar to vintage port proper. In fact, Vintage-character port is made from a blend of wines from several vintages, and is more similar to Ruby port (although of a higher quality). It is bottled and sold when it is ready to drink.

Vintage Port
The highest-quality port. It is made only in the best years from grapes of a single vintage. The wine is bottled after two years and is capable of ageing for decades thereafter. Vintage ports are hugely complex and concentrated.

Viognier
Although this white grape was scarcely heard of ten years ago, it has become increasingly popular over the last decade. Many people have predicted that Viognier will rival Chardonnay in popularity, but so far it is still a minority grape variety. Viognier is the main grape used to make the very famous (and rare and expensive) wine of Condrieu in the Rhone region of France. It is an appealing, aromatic variety, with an aroma of peaches, apricots and freesias. The variety has a great deal of potential.

Tasting term used to describe wine that is heavy and dense.

Grape-growing.

Vitis Vinifera
Species of vine from which most wine grapes come. Because of the vine’s susceptibility to the vine pest phylloxera, most Vitis vinifera vines are grafted on to phylloxera-resistant Vitis labrusca rootstock.

Viura (also called Macabeo)
The white Viura variety is grown throughout Spain; it is also widely planted in southern France where it is called Macabeo. It is used in Spain to make a variety of styles from white Rioja to Spain's sparkling wine, cava. Despite its ubiquity, the variety has precious little character.

Acetic acid in a wine. A small amount exists in all wines and is an important part of the aroma or bouquet; excessive amounts indicate a faulty wine.

Weissburgunder (also called Pinot Bianco and Pinot Blanc)
Weissburgunder, as it is known in Germany, is a widely planted white grape variety that tends to yield a fairly neutral wine with high acidity. It probably performs best in Alsace where it is used to make rich-textured white wines labelled as Pinot Blanc. It is also used to make Alsace’s sparkling white Cremant d’Alsace wine. Weissburgunder is best-known in France and Italy (where it’s called Pinot Bianco), but the variety is also grown in Germany, Austria, Eastern Europe and California.

Weissherbst
German name for a style of pale rose wine.

Well-balanced
Tasting term used to describe wines in which all the components are present in the correct proportions.

Wine
Fermented grape juice.

Woody
Tasting term used to describe wine that smells of old, dirty casks.

Breakdown of dead yeast cells after the secondary fermentation in sparkling-wine production, giving the wines a yeasty or biscuitty nose.

Generic term for a number of single‑celled micro‑organisms which produce zymase, the enzyme responsible for converting sugar to alcohol. The most important wine yeast is Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Yeasty
Tasting term used to describe wine with a distinctive yeast aroma. Usually indicates a poor-quality wine except for some wines made the Chardonnay grape, or Champagne.

Yield
Amount of wine produced by a vineyard, most commonly expressed as hectolitres per hectare. Traditionally, a lower yield is usually associated with higher quality, although this matter is debatable.

Zesty
Tasting term used to describe wine that is fresh, crisp and lively. Commonly used for young white wines.

Zinfandel
The honourary ‘native grape’ of California, Zinfandel is the same red grape variety as the Primitivo grape of southern Italy. Although there was a fashion for big, alcoholic, tannic Zinfandels early last decade, most are now made in a much more approachable, fruity style. When made well, Zinfandel can be richly spicy and supple, with ripe berry flavours.