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Glossary


Wine terminology explained:

Acidity
The amount of acid in a wine
Acetification
Wine turning to vinegar
Aerobic fermentation
Fermentation in the presence of air (primary fermentation)
Aging
The process of maturing wine
Air lock
A valve filled with water that lets CO2 out, but no air inside
Alcohol
Ethanol or ethyl alcohol (C2H5OH), the liquid produced from sugar by fermentation that can make you drunk
Anearobic fermentation
Fermentation in the absence of air (secondary fermentation)
Blending
Mixing finished wines to get a better balanced wine
Body
The fullness of a wine
Bouquet
Smell of a wine
Bungs
See Stoppers
Campden tablets
Tablets that contain sulphite in a handy form
Cap
A floating layer of solids that forms on a fermenting must during primary fermentation
Carbon dioxide
The gas produced by the fermentation process (CO2)
Carboy
A large fermentation bottle
Cask
A white oak barrel
Concentrate
Concentrated juice of fruit, usually grapes
Country wines
Wines made from ingredients other than grapes
Demi-john
A 1 gallon (about 4 litres) fermentation bottle
Deposit
See Sediments
Dregs
See Sediments
Dry wine
A wine with all the sugars fermented out
Enzyme
Proteins that change or break down unwanted ingredients, also see Pectic enzyme
Ethyl alcohol
See Alcohol
Fermentation
The conversion of sugar to carbon dioxide
Fermentation trap
See Airlock
Fermentor
Container in which the fermentation process takes place
Fining
Process to make cloudy wine clear
Flogger
Simple wooden corking device
Fortification
Raising the alcohol content (per volume) of a wine by adding a liquor with higher alcohol content
Fruit fly
Small fly found around rotting fruit. One fly into your wine, and your wine will turn into vinegar
Haze
Suspension of small solid particles in wine
Hydrometer
A device used to measure the SG of a wine or must
Hydrometer jar
A cilinder of glass or plastic to place the hydrometer into
Inoculate
To sterilize a must
Juice fermentation
A fermentation on the presses juice of the fruit, in a secondary fermentor
Lees
See Sediment
Macerate
To soak ingredients for extraction of soluble components
Mash
See Must
Maturing wine
To let wine age, so that flavour and aroma improve.
Metabisulphite
Undissolved sulphite
Must
Unfermented wine
Nutrient
Food for yeast
Oxidation
Reaction with the oxygen in the air, causes wine to go bad
Pectic enzyme
To break down the pectin in fruit
Pectin
A substance that makes jams jel
P.P.M.
Particles per million, the same as milligrams per liter (mg/l)
Primary fermentor
An open container used for the first stage of fermentation, also see Pulp fermentation
Proof
A scale used for alcohol content
Pulp fermentation
A primary fermentation on the fruit pulp to extract colours and flavours
Racking
Siphoning wine into another container and leaving the sediments behind
Rose
Pink colored wine
Sacrometer
See Hydrometer
Secondary fermentor
A closed container used for the latter stage of fermentation
Sediment
Small particles that settle on the bottom of the fermentation container
Specific gravity
The weight per volume of a liquid (SG), related to sugar content
Spirits
Distilled alcohol
Stable wine
A wine without the risk of refermentation, that has fermented out
Stopper
A rubber plug or cap used to attach an airlock to a bottle and to plug bottles
Stuck fermentation
Premature stop of fermentation, before enough sugar has been converted
Strength
Alcohol content of a wine
Sulphite
A substance used for sterilisation of wine, must and equipment
Sulphiting
To sterilize with sulphite
Suspension
Small pieces that don't settle and float though wine, making it hazy
Topping up
Filling the secondary fermentor to the top, to prevent oxidation
Trap
See Air lock
Ullage
The air space in a fermentor between the wine surface and the stopper
Vinegar fly
See Fruit fly
Yeast
The one-celled micro-organism that turnes sugar into alcohol and carbon dioxide


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