Minerality, orange wine, cork taste, or mono-variety, the wine universe is full of peculiar expressions that can seem too complicated or technical. To help you see clearer, here is a list of 10 words that will guide you during your next tasting.
This expression means it is difficult to apprehend the wine at its nose and its aromas are discreet. However, there are solutions! Start by swirling the wine to oxygenate it, and if you feel it remains shy, do not hesitate to decant it!
It results in an alteration of the wine that gives a musty or wet carton odor. There is unfortunately nothing to do besides pouring the wine down the sink.
Did you know?
The taste of cork is due to the TCA chemical compound (2,4,6-Trichloroanisole) that develops into the bark of the oak and causes such a disappointment. Good news: thanks to the progress of the last years, the occasion to find a corked wine dropped to 3%.
This expression refers to the wine drops that go down the glass when it is agitated. Their thickness and rapidity will guide the taster: the slower and thick they are, the more alcohol and sugar the wine will contain. They have been considered a guarantee of quality for many years, but we now know these tears are only due to a capillary phenomenon in the glass.
Acidity is an essential element but is often badly perceived in the wine universe. It gives a pleasant feeling of freshness and vivacity when well-controlled though.
Acidity has a conservator effect
Indeed! It is an essential and natural antioxidant that enables the wine to age well in the cellar.
Smooth, supple, drinkable… These wines come from short macerations to get the minimum of tannins and keep this characteristic fruit. Think about Gamays from Beaujolais, or Pinots of Aunis in the Loire Valley.
A tannic wine provokes a feeling of astringence and roughness we often find in powerful red wines, made with Tannat, Malbec, or Cabernet sauvignon.
Where do exactly come the tannins from?
It is simple! They can come from the grapes, especially their seeds or skin, but also from the aging of the wine if it was in wood barrels.
You have already drunk one for sure! A mono-varietal wine is a wine composed of a unique variety of grapes. In France, the motherland of this style of wine is Burgundy, especially Pinot Noir and Chardonnay which made the fame of this magnificent wine region. Another example is in the Rhone Valley, appellations of the North such as Côte-Rôtie, Cornas, or Saint-Joseph come from a majority of Syrah. On the opposite, its neighbor in the South kept a blending tradition. Châteauneuf-du-Pape is a perfect example, with a specification allowing up to 13 different varietals.
It is a French abbreviation for « pétillant naturel » meaning « naturally sparkling ». These wines are produced in biological or biodynamic culture without any input, like natural wine.
What is the difference between a Pét’Nat and Champagne?
To make a Pét’Nat, winemakers use the oldest technic to make sparkling wine. It consists in stopping the alcoholic fermentation of wine and then taking it again in a bottle to trap the bubbles.
For Champagnes and Crémants, wine ferments twice. The first time, the alcoholic fermentation is realized until the end and all the sugars are consumed, giving a wine without bubbles. We then add to the cuvée a tirage liqueur (each House has its secret recipe) that provokes a second fermentation and enables us to determine the final sugar level to put on the label (0 dosages, extra brut, brut, semi-dry, sweet). The carbonic gas is trapped in the bottle, it is the "prise de mousse".
It is an open debate! We are more likely to talk about minerality when perceiving aromas of the mineral elements of the soil, such as graphite, flint, or cray. For the major part, we talk about the minerality of white wines. However, be careful, minerality can also be felt in some red wines coming from volcanic terroirs, for example in Auvergne or around the Etna.
Also known as amber wine, it came back on the front of the scene these last years, but what is it exactly? Orange wine is white wine vinified like red wine with maceration! It belongs to the new generation of white wines macerated in amphoras like they were in the old times. The orange colour is therefore due to the juice maceration with the skin of the grapes, which contains anthocyanins like the red varietals. More digest than red wines, orange wines are more tannic than white wines and pair very well with spicy dishes like curries or a nice platter of cheese.
If you have more questions about wine and its expressions, do not hesitate to contact Benoît Cornillault (benoit_cornillault@tourdargent.com) our Personal Wine Shopper that will happily guide you.
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