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Wine made from basically one variety of grape. The wine is labeled for the single grape variety or the most prominent grape variety used to produce the wine.

Wine made from grapes that were harvested in a specific year. The date is denoted on the label of the wine.

Any variety of wine with an alcohol content that ranges between 14% and 24%, or that has a high-alcohol content that occurs naturally.

White wine produced from grapes that are kept on the vine until the first deep frost. Grapes are then typically pressed while still frozen.

Descriptor of wine that has bubbles. The bubbles are created by carbon dioxide gas that has occurred naturally or through secondary fermentation or has been added intentionally.

Positive Descriptor of wine that fills the mouth. Although “fat” wines typically lack elegance, “fat” wine is highly valued by connoisseurs of sweet dessert wines.

Term used to describe the process of blending two or more wine varieties, wine types, wine lots, or wine vintages with the goal of creating one balanced and complex wine.

A wine that has been blended with brandy or other spirits. Fortified wines contain 15% to 24% alcohol when compared to most other wines containing up to 15% alcohol.

non vintage,

A sweet dessert wine that has a distinctive musty flavor. The wine is made from a variety of white and black Muscat grapes, resulting in a color that varies from golden to darker amber.

A dessert wine that needs more acidity to balance overpowering sweetness. Wine described as “Cloying” is unpleasantly sweet and heavy.

Pronounced bah-nyuhls. An exceptional French red dessert wine produced in the appellation of Banyuls in the Pyrenees region of Southwestern France.

The tasting of wine with the purpose of analyzing the quality of the wine. The serious wine taster follows strict guidelines in terms of proper equipment (white table cloths, decanters, etc.

A descriptor of wines, most often sweet dessert wines, with high amounts of residual sugar.

Wines made from basically one variety of grapes. The flavor and other characteristics of the wine are strongly influenced by the variety of grape used.

Similar in appearance to an enlarged oyster cracker, this type of cracker is served after tasting different varieties of wine.

Winemakers often supplement wines during winemaking by adding small amounts of sulfur dioxide to protect fruit quality and prevent oxidation, allowing wine to age well.

An alcoholic beverage made from the fermented juice of fruits and vegetables. Grapes account for the largest segment of wine making.

The purpose of swirling wine in a glass is to oxygenate the wine. When oxygen is introduced to a wine it releases the chemical components that produce those aromas we search for and is thought to smooth the taste of the wine.

Pronounced trawk-uhn-bay-ruhn-ows-lay-zuh. German for “dry selected berries”, Trockenbeerenauslese is a German dessert wine of the highest quality produced by grapes that are left on the vine until they are nearly dry.