Harvest Terms You Need to Know

September in the Northern Hemisphere is a huge month for winemakers.  Wine lovers should be aware of the following vocabulary, especially if you’re visiting a winery:

• Alcoholic fermentation:   the conversion of grape sugar to alcohol

• Battonage:  stirring the wine during fermentation so that the liquid has contact with the lees (the solids)

• Brettanomyces:  bad yeast that causes wines to spoil

• Brix:  measurement of the amount of sugar in the grape

• Carbonic maceration: fermenting whole clusters of grapes that have not been crushed

• Fining:  process used to clarify the wine (egg whites are used by many)

• Free-run juice:  juice that has not been pressed but obtained simply by the weight of the grapes themselves

• Malo-lactic Fermention:  Known also as “ML,” this is the conversion of harsh malic acid to softer lactic acid

• Must:  unfermented grape juice

• Lees:  sediment that occurs during fermentation (includes spent yeasts, seeds & other solids)

• Racking:  process of separating the wine from the sediment by moving the liquid to another barrel

• Saignee:  French term which literally means “to bleed,” this is the process of removing some of the unfermented grape juice to increase the wine/skin ratio

• Sulfites:  chemicals that prevent spoilage of wine

• Tannin:  compound found in the seeds, skins and stalks of grapes

• TCA:  abbreviation for the destructive chemical that causes cork taint

• Topping-off:  process of filling a wine barrel that has lost wine due to evaporation

Harvest Glossary

Harvest for white grapes in California is quickly approaching.  In case any of you are lucky enough to visit a winery during this special season, below is a cheat-sheet for the “Top 10” commonly used terms.

1.     Malolactic Fermentation:  Often referred to simply as “ML,” this chemical process converts harsh malic acid to softer lactic acid 

2.     Rack: siphon wine into a new, clean barrel leaving the sediment of debris behind

3.     Cap:  hard top that forms during fermentation at the top of the tank, (composed of skins which are flavor & color saturated)

4.     Punch-down:   Pushing down the cap so that it mixes with the liquid

5.     Pump-over:  pump juice over the cap during fermentation to extract color, flavor & tannins

6.     Fine:  clarify or make the wine more clear

7.   On the lees: wine in contact with the cellular debris of yeasts & grape skins

     8. Green harvest:  to cut off excess grapes (usually in June or July) in order to    

         concentrate the flavors of those left on the vine

          9. Saignée (sen-yay):  French word for “bleeding.” Often times used when                       referring to making a rosé.   Very young red wine juice (barely pink-tinged) is 

              removed from the vat early and vinified separately.

                      10. Methode Champenoise:  this term can only legally be used in the French wine               district of Champagne.  It denotes that the 2^nd fermentation was done in the                   bottle.

Top 10 Wine Trivia for 2014

These are tidbits that a wine aficionado should know.  They range from terminology used in the vineyard and wine-making process to pests that can destroy wine.  Also included is information such as the health benefits of wine. Let’s start with the most destructive first, and end on a positive note.

    1.   Brettanomyce:  “Brett” is a wine spoiling yeast that causes barnyard 

          smells.  It can destroy an entire winery’s inventory as it’s difficult to 

          eradicate.

    2.  TCA:  a chemical compound (often found in flawed corks) that ruins a 

         wine and causes it to be “corked.”

    3.  Green harvest:  to cut off grape clusters from the vine in order to 

         intensify the flavor of those grapes that are left.

    4.  “On the lees”:  the lees are the dead yeast leftover after fermentation.  

        Some wines (usually whites) are left in contact with their lees to increase 

        the complexity of the wine.

    5.  Malolactic fermentation:  commonly referred to as “ML,” this is a 

         chemical process that converts harsh malic acid to a softer lactic acid. 

    6.  “Rack a wine”:  to siphon wine into a new, clean barrel…leaving all the 

         sediment  in the old barrel.

    7.  Cap:  a very hard top that forms during fermentation at the top of the 

         tank (it’s composed of grape skins which are where many flavor                         components and color pigments are located).

    8.  Pump-over:  to pump juice over the hard cap (to break it up) during 

         fermentation to extract color, flavor & tannins.

    9.  Fine:  to clarify or make the wine more clear.

  10.  Heart healthy benefits of wine:  due to dark colored pigments found 

         in red grape skins, thus only red wines are cardiac protective.