The Living Wine
Dictionary
"B" |
| Bacchus |
The Greek God of Wine ... also
the name given to a German grape variety |
| Baden |
German Wine Region |
| Bailhot |
French Vintage basket |
| Bairrada |
Portugese Wine Region |
| balance |
a wine tasting term to describe
how the major components of a wine ( acid, sweetness, fruit, tannins,
etc.) harmonize. A wine is said to have "good balance" if
no one of these elements is out of proportion with the other. |
| Balestard-la-Tonnelle,
Ch. |
French Wine Producer |
| Banyuls |
A grenache based wine made in the
Cotes du Rhone, near the city of Rasteau. This country wine is made
in ways that are very similar to port. The results are a huge, grapey
and even rough wine that is sold mostly local bars |
| Barbaresco |
Italian - Appellation of Piedmont |
| Barbera d'Alba |
Italian - Appellation of Piedmont |
| Barbera d'Asti |
Italian - Appellation of Piedmont |
| Barbera del
Monferrato |
Italian - Appellation of Piedmont |
| Barco Reale di Carmignano |
Italian - Appellation of Tuscany |
| Bardolino |
Italian - Appellation of Veneto |
| Barolo |
Italian - Appellation of Piedmont |
| barrel fermentation |
this is where wine is fermented
in small oak barrels instead of in large stainless steel vats or
large casks. This is most often done with fine white wines. By both
fermenting and maturing in small barrels, the winemaker can control
the subtle nuances of flavor that fine whites are know for. |
|
barricas bordelesas ( male )
( female )
|
wine barrel used in Spain .. holds
around 225 liters |
| barrique |
barrique bordelaise .. the wooden
barrel used primarily in Bordeaux. Holds around 225 liters ( 59 gallons
) .. about 25 cases of wine |
| Barsac |
French - Appellation of Bordeaux |
| Barton & Guestier |
French Wine Producer |
| Basilicata |
Italian Wine Region |
| Batailley,
Ch. |
French Wine Producer |
| Batard Monrachet |
French - Appellation of Burgundy |
| BATF |
The Bureau of Alcohol,Tobacco and
Firearms is the regulator agency for the wine trade in the U.S. It
in NO way has any impact on the quality of wine .. simply regulates
naming conventions, labels .. etc. |
| baul ( boal ) |
a sweet Spanish or Madeira white wine |
| Beaujolais |
French Wine Region |
| Beaujolais |
French - Appellation of Burgundy |
| Beaujolais
superieur |
French - Appellation of Burgundy |
| Beaujolias
Villages |
French - Appellation of Burgundy |
| Beaulieu,
Ch. |
French Wine Producer |
| Beaune |
French - Appellation of Burgundy |
| Beaune 1er
Cru |
French - Appellation of Burgundy |
| Beerenauslese
(BA) |
(= Berries Select Picking): Ripeness
level with in the QmP* category. It represents the harvest of individually
selected, overripe berries out of the bunches of grapes. To achieve
the concentration of sugar and acidity for these wines, noble rot
is usually necessary, which is a fungus, that perforated the skin
of the grape and lets the water drip out causing the remains to concentrate.
Remarkably rich, sweet dessert wines may result out of it and is
to be enjoyed as dessert by themselves or with dessert. Similar to
TBA* and Eiswein*, they can age for many years. |
| Beiras |
Portugese Wine Region |
| Benede-Oranje |
South African Wine Region |
| bentonite |
a clay that is mined in Wyoming
and South Dakota and elsewhere. It is used either with or instead
of egg whites for fining* wine. It bonds to the proteins in wine
and makes them sink to the bottom of the vat. It prevents the wines
from becoming cloudy with protein. However it can add a musty/earthy
taste to a wine if the winemaker is using poor quality bentonite. |
| Berberana |
Spanish Wine Producer |
| Bergkelder |
South African - Appellation of
Stellenbosch |
| Bergland |
Austrian Wine Region |
| Beycheville,
Ch. |
French Wine Producer |
| Bianchello del Metauro |
Italian - Appellation of The Marches |
| Bianco Capena |
Italian - Appellation of Lazio |
| Bianco dei Colli Maceratesi |
Italian - Appellation of The Marches |
| Bianco della Valdinievole |
Italian - Appellation of Tuscany |
| Bianco della Valle d'Aosta |
Italian - Appellation of Val D'Aosta |
| Bianco dell'Empolese |
Italian - Appellation of Tuscany |
| Bianco di Custoza |
Italian - Appellation of Veneto |
| Bianco di Pitigliano |
Italian - Appellation of Tuscany |
| Bianco di
Scandiano |
Italian - Appellation of Emilia
Romagna |
| Bianco Pisano di San Torpe' |
Italian - Appellation of Tuscany |
| Bianco Vergine della Valdichiana |
Italian - Appellation of Tuscany |
| Bianco Vergine Val di Chiana |
Italian - Appellation of Tuscany |
| Bienvenues
Batard Montrachet |
French - Appellation of Burgundy |
| Bierzo |
Spanish Wine Region |
| Biferno |
Italian - Appellation of Molise |
| Bilbao, Ramon |
Spanish Wine Producer |
| Billecart-salmon,
Ch. |
French Wine Producer |
| Binissalem |
Spanish Wine Region |
| Blagny |
French - Appellation of Burgundy |
| Blanc de Blancs |
white wine made from white grapes
- such as champagne |
| Blanc de Morgex |
Italian - Appellation of Val D'Aosta |
| Blanc de
Noirs |
white wine made from black grapes
.. i.e. use of Pinot Noir in making champagne |
| Blanc Fume |
the same as sauvignon blanc. In
the U.S. often they reverse it by saying Fumé Blanc |
| Blanco |
white wine |
| Blanquette
de Limoux |
French - Appellation of Languedoc |
| Blauburger |
an Austrian red wine |
| Blauer Burgunder |
Austrian synonym for Pinot Noir |
| Blauer Portugieser |
This grape variety produces mild,
light, often rather vacuous red wines best drunk young. |
| Blauer Wildbacher |
This rare grape thrives on its
own phyloxera resistant roots. Wines produced from this grape have
pronounced grassy, herbal aromas, are extremely acidic and usually
used to produce rosé and sekt. Wines from Blauer Wildbacher are usually
called Schilcher. |
| Blauer Zweigelt |
This grape produces very fruity,
medium bodied wines with pleasant acidity and intensive cherry aromas.
It is a crossing of Blaufränkisch and St. Laurent. |
| Blaufrankisch |
This grape is known as Lemberger
in the USA, has boysenberry and cinnamon aromas, good tannin and
character. Often racy in it's youth, it becomes rounder and more
complex with age. |
| Blayais |
French - Appellation of Bordeaux |
| blind tasting |
or - how to make a wine snob sweat
- this is simply where the identification of a wine is hidden and
the taster must guess what wine it is simply from the taste. |
| blush |
a term that sends shudders down
the spine of wine lovers. A great example of American Marketing ...
mix the skins of a black grape in with some white wine and .. ta
da .. you have White Zinfandel. These semi sweet whites are even
sold in one gallon plastic boxes !!! |
| boal ( baul ) |
Portugese white wines ... in Madeira
they are called baul |
| Bobal |
grape used in some Spanish Wines |
| Boca |
Italian - Appellation of Piedmont |
| Bodega |
Spanish for "Winery" or
wine cellar |
| body |
a term used to describe a wine
.. i.e. light bodied .. full bodied. Body is most effected by alcohol
( the higher the alcohol the more "full bodied" the wine
) and the amount of fruit extract in the wine. Example: Port is very
full bodied .. it has lots of extract and is high in alcohol, while
Pinot Noir is generally a lighter bodied wine. |
| Bogedas y
Viñedos |
Spanish Wine Producer |
| Bolgheri |
Italian - Appellation of Tuscany |
| Bonnes Mares |
French - Appellation of Burgundy |
| Bonnezeaux |
French - Appellation of Loire Valley |
| Borba |
Portugese Wine Region |
| Bordeaux |
French Wine Region |
| Bordeaux
clairet |
French - Appellation of Bordeaux |
| Bordeaux
mousseux |
French - Appellation of Bordeaux |
| Bordeaux
superior |
French - Appellation of Bordeaux |
| Borie Manoux |
shippers from Bordeaux who own
several chateaux, including Ch. Batailley and Ch. Trottevieille |
| Bosco Eliceo |
Italian - Appellation of Emilia
Romagna |
| Botrytis |
The "noble rot" of grapes
that produces sauternes and several of the white desert wines from
around the world.(i.e. Ch. dYQuem) these happens very late in the
harvest cycle .. the grapes shrivel up and literally are covered
with a mucky looking gray mold on the outside ( if you ever saw it
you'd go YUCK ). The sugar content is at its maximum then. In France
these wines are often from Sauternes, in the US and Australia they
are often called "late harvest", in Germany they are Trockenbeerenauslese
and some Beerenausleses. |
| Bottelary |
South African - Appellation of
Stellenbosch |
| Botticino |
Italian - Appellation of Lombardia |
| Bouchard
Aine & Fils |
negotiant & grower ( one of
the oldest in Burgundy - started in 1750 ) |
| Bouchard
Père & Fils |
negotiant & grower in Burgundy |
| bouchonné |
French for "corked" ..
or when a wine smell smells corky* |
| bouquet |
how a wine smells. This is the
subject of reams of print as wine writers try to describe how a wine
smells. |
| Bourgogne |
French - Appellation of Burgundy |
| Bourgogne
aligote |
French - Appellation of Burgundy |
| Bourgogne clairet |
French - Appellation of Burgundy |
| Bourgogne
Hautes Cotes de Beaune |
French - Appellation of Burgundy |
| Bourgogne
Hautes Cotes de Nuits |
French - Appellation of Burgundy |
| Bourgogne
Marsannay |
French - Appellation of Burgundy |
| Bourgogne
mousseux |
French - Appellation of Burgundy |
| Bourgueil |
French - Appellation of Loire Valley |
| Brachetto
d'Acqui |
Italian - Appellation of Piedmont |
| Bramaterra |
Italian - Appellation of Piedmont |
| Brand |
French - Appellation of Alsace |
| breathing |
another one of those wine things
that has a never ending amount of debate. Basically this is where
you allow a wine to come in contact with air ( see AERATION ) so
that it can release it's bouquet and for it's flavors to "open
up".
I always laugh when a waiter says "Would you like me to open the bottle
and let it breath" .. imagine trying to breath through a straw .. now
look at the bottle of wine and see just how much of the surface area of the
wine is in contact with the air ... it ain't gonna breath much !!! However,
we are BIG fans of decanting a wine so that it will have the chance to open
up and breath. Used primarily for red wines .. but older white burgundies
can benefit from this also.
A fun experiment .. buy two bottles of an inexpensive ( i.e. cheap ) wine.
Open one and pout it into some type of decanter, or larger bottle at around
midday. Then that evening, open the other bottle just as you are about to
have dinner and compare the taste of the two. You will be pleasantly surprised.
This is our way of making cheap wine taste good. |
| Breganze |
Italian - Appellation of Veneto |
| brett |
Brett is short for brettanomyces.
It's a wild yeast that can get into the wine (or the wood) if the
winery is not very careful about cleanliness. It gives a distinct
mousy/horsey nose and a metallic aftertaste. It mutes the fruit and
after time in the bottle all wines with brett taste the same. It
is controversial in that everyone agrees too much is a flaw. Some
can tolerate it in lower levels (and claim it adds complexity), others
abhor it at all.(I'm in the second group) the key point is the metallic
aftertaste. Lots of things can smell bad but only Brett has that
metallic tang at the end. Hope this helps |
| Brindisi |
Italian - Appellation of Puglia |
| Brix |
this is a unit of measure for the
amount of sugar in grape juice. |
| Brouilly |
French - Appellation of Burgundy |
| Brunello |
Italian - Appellation of Tuscany |
| Brunello di Montalcino |
Italian - Appellation of Tuscany |
| Brut |
very dry champagne .. made without
adding any sugar. Extra Brut is a wine where the residual sugar is
even lower |
| Bucelas |
Portugese Wine Region |
| Bullas |
Spanish Wine Region |
| Buschenschank |
Austrian - A farm with a small
eatery selling its own agricultural products including wine. |
|