Glossary: Wine and sparkling wine

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Auslese (German Prädikat wine): German Prädikat level for wine made from fully ripe, hand-selected grapes with higher must weight than Spätlese.

Barrique: A small oak barrel, usually of 225 litres. Wine ageing in it takes up wood aromas and develops through contact with oxygen.
Beerenauslese (BA): Sweet wine made from overripe, usually botrytised individual berries that are selectively picked.
Brut: Taste designation for dry sparkling wine with little sugar, in the EU at most 12 grams of residual sugar per litre.

Cava: Spanish sparkling wine, mostly from Macabeo, Xarel·lo and Parellada, made by traditional bottle fermentation.
Champagne: Protected designation of origin for sparkling wine from the Champagne region of France, made by traditional bottle fermentation.
Crémant: French sparkling wine from regions outside Champagne, made by bottle fermentation, often with protected origin such as Alsace or Loire.
Cuvée (blend): A wine made from several grape varieties, sites or vintages blended into one coordinated whole.

Decanting: Carefully pouring wine from the bottle into another vessel to separate sediment or expose the wine to air.
Dosage: Addition of a liqueur of wine and sugar after disgorging in sparkling wine. It determines how sweet the finished wine tastes.

Single vineyard site: A clearly delimited vineyard with its own name. Soil, slope and climate shape the character of the wine.
Ice wine (Eiswein): Sweet wine from frozen grapes picked and pressed at minus 7 degrees or colder. The sugar stays concentrated in the juice.

Federweisser (partly fermented grape must): Young, still fermenting grape must in autumn, sweet, fizzy and cloudy. It contains yeast and low to medium alcohol.
Feinherb (off-dry): Free taste term for wine with slight residual sweetness, usually around medium dry. The exact sweetness is set by the producer.

Grosses Gewaechs (GG): VDP designation for dry top wines from the best sites (Grosse Lage) of member estates.
Gutswein (estate wine): Entry level of the VDP classification: wine from the estate's own vineyards, without a specific site name and mostly for easy enjoyment.

Medium dry: Taste designation for wine with slightly noticeable residual sweetness, between dry and sweet. The sugar content is legally limited.

Vintage: The year in which the grapes of a wine were harvested. That year's weather influences ripeness, acidity and aroma.

Kabinett: The lowest Prädikat level in Germany: light wines from ripe grapes, often fresh, with moderate alcohol.
Cork and screw cap: Common bottle closures for wine: natural cork or alternatives such as screw caps. Both can protect wine well and each has quirks.

Lagenwein (single-vineyard wine): Wine from a single named vineyard site. In the VDP classification this includes Erste Lage and Grosse Lage.
Landwein (regional wine): Wine with protected geographical indication, simpler than quality wine but naming a larger region.

Natural wine: Wine made with as little intervention and additives as possible. There is no uniform legal definition.

Orange wine: White wine fermented on the skins like red wine. This gives it colour, tannins and powerful aromas.
Ortswein (village wine): Middle VDP tier: wine from sites of one named village, meant to show the character of that parish.

Semi-sparkling wine (Perlwein): Wine with light carbon dioxide and lower pressure than sparkling wine. It fizzes gently and is often offered in simpler qualities.
Pet-Nat (Pétillant Naturel): Lightly sparkling wine in which the first fermentation is completed in the bottle, without a second fermentation.
Port wine: Fortified sweet wine from Portugal's Douro Valley whose fermentation is halted by adding brandy.
Prädikat wine: Highest German quality tier based on grape ripeness, without added sugar. Levels range from Kabinett to Trockenbeerenauslese.
Prosecco: Italian sparkling or semi-sparkling wine from the Glera grape, usually tank-fermented, fruity and light.

Quality wine (Qualitätswein): German quality level for wine from a designated growing region that passed an official test and meets minimum requirements.

Grape variety: The type of grapevine a wine is made from, such as Riesling or Pinot Noir. It shapes aroma, acidity and style.
Rosé: Wine of pink to light red colour made from red grapes where the skins remain in contact with the juice only briefly.
Red wine: Wine made from red or blue grapes, with colour and tannins taken from the skins during fermentation on the mash.

Sparkling wine: Umbrella term for wine with carbon dioxide from fermentation and high bottle pressure, including Sekt, Champagne, Cava, Crémant and Prosecco Spumante.
Sekt (German sparkling wine): Quality sparkling wine with higher carbon dioxide pressure, made by a second fermentation in bottle or tank.
Sherry: Fortified wine from the area around Jerez in Andalusia, aged using the solera system.
Sommelier: Wine professional in hospitality and retail, responsible for selection, purchasing, storage, service and advice on wine and drinks.
Spätlese: Prädikat level for wine from late-picked, fully ripe grapes. Usually fuller than Kabinett, and can be dry or sweet.

Tannins: Astringent compounds from grape skins, seeds, stems and wood. They give red wine structure and a dry, gripping mouthfeel.
Terroir: The interplay of soil, climate, site and human practice that gives a wine from a particular place its character.
Dry: Taste designation for wine with very little residual sugar. German law sets upper limits depending on acidity.
Trockenbeerenauslese (TBA): Highest classic Prädikat level: highly concentrated sweet wine from raisin-like, botrytised berries.

VDP (association of German Prädikat wine estates): Association of German Prädikat wine estates: a group of wineries with its own stricter quality rules and a vineyard classification.

Grape harvest: Harvest of wine grapes, in Germany mostly in autumn, by hand or by machine.
Weissherbst: Rosé wine made from a single red grape variety, designated as quality wine of one variety and one region.
White wine: Wine usually made from light-skinned grapes that are pressed before fermentation without skin contact.
Vermouth: Aromatised, fortified wine flavoured with herbs and spices, including wormwood.
Winemaker (vintner): A person or business that grows vines and makes wine from them, often from vineyard to bottling.