ACID
is a chemical that will give you that tang in the mouth. The sensation is
felt towards the side of
the tongue. The grapes
acidity is mainly from Tartaric and Malic acid. Cold climate grapes are
generally high in acidity
where as those from warm or hot climates may suffer from low acidity and
require acid addition known
as acidification.
ACIDITY
Indicates the quality of tartness, sourness and sharpness. It makes your
mouth pucker.
APPELLATION
A recognised wine growing region
AMERICAN HYBRID
are varieties which have been crossbreed from American and European vines.
AMPELOGRAPHY
is the science of identifying varieties by appearance. The leaves are the
primary
identifier.
ALCOHOL
is the potent mood-changer differentiating wine from grape juice.
ANTHOCYANINS or
phenolics strongly influence a wine’s colour.
ASCORBIC
ACID or vitamin C is sometimes added to wine during fermentation to
slow oxidation.
BARRELS
are vessels used for the making or maturation of wine. These may be of
cement, plastic,
stainless steel or oak. Oak
is the traditional barrel with the other materials primarily used for the
larger
containers called tanks. Oak
barrels allow the wine to mature and breath while adding timber tannins
and flavours such as vanilla
or toast.
BAUME
is a measure of the sugar concentration in the juice or wine.
BOTRYTIS
is a fungus that can cause bunch rot and wine spoilage. In controlled
situations, called
noble rot, it can lead to
concentrated sugars in the berries and delicious sweet wines are made.
BRIX is a measure
of the sugar concentration in juice or wine.
CANOPY
the above ground parts of the vine, especially the shoots and leaves.
CANOPY
MANAGEMENT a range of viticultural techniques used to manipulate the
vine canopy. This is done for vine shape, interception of sunlight and
disease control.
CAP
the thick cap of grape skins floating on top of the fermenting red wine.
CARBON
DIOXIDE the gas given off during fermentation and is responsible for
the bubbles in
sparkling wines.
CARBONIC
MACERATION whole bunches are allowed to ferment and produce an early
maturing wine style such as Beaujolais.
CHAPTILIZATION
the addition of sugar to the wine. An illegal practice in Australia
CLARIFICATION
to make a wine clear through fining, filtration and refrigeration.
CLONE
a variety that has undergone some genetic adaptation from the original.
CULTIVAR another
term for the grape variety.
DOWNY MILDEW
fungal vine disease common to all wine areas.
DRYNESS
a wine that has completed fermentation and has less than 7.5 grams per litre
of dissolved
sugar left is said to have
fermented to dryness.
EFFERVESCENCE
that sparkling or gaseous fizz produced from dissolved oxygen in the wine.
In a
still wine this is called
spritzig and is a wine fault produced by unwanted microbial activity.
ETHYL
ALCOHOL or ethanol is the primary alcohol in an alcoholic beverage.
FAN LEAF a
virus vine disease.
FERMENTATION
the general term for the transformation of sugar into alcohol through the
action of
yeasts.
FILTRATION
the removal of solid particles from the juice or wine to aid n
clarification.
FINING
a clarification technique where the addition of egg whites, bentonite or
some other fining
agent is used to aid in the
flocculation of particulate matter in the wine.
FLOR
a special yeast used to add the final quality to sherry. This yeast
functions with full contact with
oxygen and can ferment to
higher than 15% alcohol.
FREE-RUN the
juice or wine which flows without pressing.
FRUIT SET
after flowering the fertilised flowers is “set” to form berries.
GRAFTING
the insertion of a section, scion, of one variety into another. Genetic
compatibility is
important.
HECTARE
an area of land totalling 10,000 square meters or 2.47 acres.
HYBRID variety
breed from member of different species.
INERT GAS
a gas, which does not react with the juice or wine. Carbon dioxide or
nitrogen are
commonly used to fill the
head space in tanks and bottles to avoid oxidation.
LACTIC
ACID a single carboxyl acid produced during malo-lactic fermentation.
LEAF ROLL
a viral disease in grape vines.
LEES
broad term to describe the solid waste at the bottom of the ferment.
Primarily composed of dead
yeast cells and grape
matter.
LIQUEUR d EXPEDITION
the liqueur added to top up the disgorged wine.
MALIC
ACID a double carboxylic acid which adds a sharpness to wine.
Undesirable in high
concentrations it is often
reduced through malo-lactic fermentation to lactic acid.
MALO-LACTIC FERMENTATION
lactic acid bacteria are inoculated to the wine. These bacteria convert the
harsh malic acid to the softer tasting lactic acid. A more supple wine can
result. This is not fermentation.
MERCAPTANS
a common wine fault from yeast reacting with lees resulting in a mousy
smell.
MUST
a broad term used to describe the grape and its’ juice from crushing to
wine.
NOBLE
ROT the highly prized form of the fungal disease Botrytis. The grapes
will shrivel and
concentrate sugars and
delicious sweet wines can result.
OAK
a fine grained timber traditionally and commonly used to make barrels for
the fermentation and
ageing of wine. American oak
adds softness to the wine whereas French oak is more robust adding
greater body and complexity.
OECHSLE
the German measure for the sugar concentration in the juice or wine.
OENOLOGY the
science of winemaking.
OXIDATION
just as a cut apple browns the juice or wine can be adversely affected
through contact
with oxygen. Oxidation can
result in the premature aging of a wine. Fruit qualities are preserved in
wines with little oxygen
contact.
OXYGEN
a gas important for many life processes including the growth of yeast cells
therefore a small
amount present at the start
of fermentation is important. Too high a concentration of oxygen will lead
to oxidation of the wine
causing colour, flavour and aromatic loss.
pH is a measure of the
concentration of acidity. pH ranges from 1 to 14 with the smaller numbers
being
more acidic. Water is
neutral at pH 7 and wines are generally between pH 3 - 4.
PHENOLICS
a large group of compounds found mainly in the skins and seeds of the grape.
They
include the flavonoids,
anthocyanins and tannins. During the aging process of wines many of these
are
precipitated out. Evidence
suggests that red wine will offer greater protection against heart disease
than
white wine due to its’
higher concentration of phenolics.
PHYLLOXERA
an American vine root pest, present in most countries, which will cause
complete
vineyard loss. American
rootstocks are used for there resistance in affected areas or as an
insurance
against possible outbreaks.
POTENTIAL
ALCOHOL the alcoholic concentration that could be produced if all the
sugars present
were converted to alcohol.
POWDERY
MILDEW a fugal vine disease common to cooler climates and can cause
crop losses.
PRECIPITATE
when a dissolved substance can no longer stay dissolved and leaves the
solution as a
solid it is said to
precipitate, to leave the solution.
PRESSING
white grapes are pressed firm enough to release the juice only and not to
break the seeds.
The red or black grapes are
pressed after fermentation to release more of the juice, colour and
astringent qualities.
Different styles will require different pressing operations.
PRUNING
an important vineyard operation to improve the shape and balance of the
vine. The level of
pruning can affect the vines
vigour and the quality of the crop. Pruning is arguably the most important
of all vineyard operations.
PULP
the inner flesh of the grape containing the bulk of the water, sugars and
acids of the berry. The
flesh of most grapes,
whether red or white, is clear.
RACKING
the transfer of wine from one container to another. The operation must be
conducted to
minimise the contact with
oxygen.
REMUAGE
The entire process of riddling of the bottles, in Sparkling wine production,
to shake the
yeast lees to the neck of
the bottle for removal (disgorge).
RESIDUAL
SUGAR the unfermented sugar left in the wine. A dry wine in Australia
is defined as
having less than 7.5grams
per litre of reducing sugar.
ROOT
STOCK the selected root system to which a chosen variety is grafted.
This is done to
overcome a variety of soil
problems or to improve the variety use as the scion.
SCION the
variety grafted to the rootstock.
SEED
a genetic capsule that also contains many harsh tannins. Great care is taken
to not crush seed
during the winemaking
process.
SKIN
essential part of red winemaking as it contains pigments, flavonoids and
tannins.
SKIN
CONTACT continual and deliberate contact of the skins during the
winemaking.
SORBIC
ACID used to kill yeasts and moulds but can produce the undesirable
odour or crushed
geranium.
STABILISATION
a general term for many winemaking processes used to stop the wine from
deteriorating.
SULPHUR
DIOXIDE used since Roman times to preserve, disinfect and reduce
oxidation in wines.
Used to lower concentrations
in red wines compared to white wines as it will also discolour a wine.
Sulphur dioxide is a near
unavoidable winemaking tool which must be used carefully due to its’ toxic
nature.
TANNINS
astringent phenolics that are responsible for the drying of the cheeks. A
balanced wine will
have soft tannins and give a
full mouth feel.
TARTARIC
ACID a very common food acid and a good preservative. Abundant in
grapes but is also
added to high pH juices to
lower the pH to a more desirable level.
TEINTURIERS
a very small group of grapes that have some pigmentation of the pulp.
TOPPING
UP a cellar operation where barrels need to have wine added to
replace that lost to
evaporation and to reduce
possible oxidation. TRAINING a canopy management tool for shaping the
vine.
TRIAGE
a French word for the
sorting of the grapes, generally for health quality.
ULLAGE
is the headspace between the
wine and the top of the container. This is kept to a minimum to
avoid oxidation.
VIGOUR a vines
growth rate.
VINIFERA vine
species of European origin.
VINTAGE
refers to the year in which
a crop is picked or to the process of harvest itself.
VITIS the vine
genus.
YEAST
micro-organisms of numerous types that will conduct a variety of chemical
reactions and
produce a variety of
by-products. Simply in fermentation of grapes they produce primarily ethanol
and
small quantities of higher
alcohols and esters that give a wine its individual character.
Taste
award winning local wines today at ILNAM Estate
ILNAM Estate is
a unique tourist attraction as we are the only winery on
the Tweed. ILNAM Estate Winery is located just 20 minutes from the Gold Coast
Airport, 40 minutes from Surfers Paradise and only 1 hour 20 minutes from
Brisbane.
ILNAM ESTATE WINERY- 750
Carool Road, Carool NSW- Ph (07) 5590 7703
email
info@ilnam.com.au
