Winemaking
45 winemaking terms explained by our experts.
Terroir
Terroir refers to the complete natural environment in which a wine is produced, including soil, climate, topography, and surrounding vegetation. It is the French concept that explains why wines from different places taste unique, even when made from the same grape variety.
WinemakingTannins
Tannins are naturally occurring polyphenolic compounds found in grape skins, seeds, and stems that give red wine its structure, astringency, and aging potential. They create a drying sensation on the palate and are essential to a wine's ability to develop complexity over time.
WinemakingMalolactic Fermentation
Malolactic fermentation (MLF) is a secondary fermentation process in which tart malic acid is converted into softer lactic acid by lactic acid bacteria. This process reduces acidity, adds body, and often produces buttery, creamy flavours — particularly noticeable in Chardonnay.
WinemakingMaceration
Maceration is the winemaking process in which grape skins, seeds, and sometimes stems soak in grape juice to extract colour, tannins, and flavour compounds. The duration and technique of maceration fundamentally shape a wine's body, structure, and aromatic complexity.
WinemakingFermentation
Fermentation is the biochemical process in which yeast converts grape sugars (glucose and fructose) into alcohol and carbon dioxide. It is the fundamental transformation that turns grape juice into wine and is the single most important step in winemaking.
WinemakingOak Aging
Oak aging is the practice of maturing wine in oak barrels to add flavour complexity, improve texture, and allow controlled oxygen exposure. Oak imparts notes of vanilla, toast, spice, and coconut while softening tannins through micro-oxygenation.
WinemakingLees
Lees are the sediment of dead yeast cells, grape fragments, and other particles that settle at the bottom of a wine vessel after fermentation. Aging wine on its lees (sur lie) adds body, creaminess, and complexity — a technique especially prized in Champagne and Muscadet production.
WinemakingSulfites
Sulfites (sulphur dioxide / SO₂) are a preservative used in winemaking to prevent oxidation and inhibit unwanted microbial activity. Nearly all wines contain some sulfites — both naturally occurring from fermentation and added by the winemaker — and they are essential for wine stability and longevity.
WinemakingMust
Must is the freshly pressed grape juice that contains the skins, seeds, and stems before or during fermentation. It is the raw material of winemaking — everything that comes from the crush before yeast transforms the sugars into alcohol.
WinemakingVintage
A vintage refers to the year in which the grapes for a wine were harvested. It indicates the specific growing season and weather conditions that shaped the grapes, making it a critical factor in wine quality, style, and aging potential.
WinemakingCuvée
Cuvée is a French term that broadly means a specific blend or batch of wine. In Champagne, it refers to the first and finest pressing of grapes; more generally, it denotes a winemaker's selected blend, often their premium bottling.
WinemakingAssemblage
Assemblage is the French term for the art of blending different grape varieties, vineyard parcels, or barrel lots to create a final wine. It is a defining skill in regions like Bordeaux and Champagne, where the winemaker's ability to compose a harmonious blend determines quality.
WinemakingRacking
Racking is the process of transferring wine from one vessel to another, leaving behind the sediment (lees) that has settled at the bottom. This clarification technique removes unwanted particles and exposes the wine to small amounts of oxygen, aiding its development.
WinemakingFining
Fining is a winemaking process that removes unwanted particles, haze, and off-flavours by adding a fining agent that binds to impurities and settles them out of the wine. Common agents include bentonite clay, egg white, and casein.
WinemakingResidual Sugar
Residual sugar (RS) is the natural grape sugar remaining in wine after fermentation is complete. It determines whether a wine tastes dry, off-dry, or sweet. Most dry wines contain less than 4 g/L of residual sugar, while sweet wines can exceed 100 g/L.
WinemakingChaptalisation
Chaptalisation is the winemaking practice of adding sugar to grape must before fermentation to increase the final alcohol level. Named after French chemist Jean-Antoine Chaptal, it is commonly used in cool-climate regions where grapes may not reach sufficient natural ripeness.
WinemakingBiodynamic
Biodynamic viticulture is a holistic farming system based on the teachings of Rudolf Steiner (1924) that treats the vineyard as a self-sustaining organism. It goes beyond organic farming by incorporating cosmic rhythms, herbal preparations, and composting practices to enhance soil vitality and vine balance.
WinemakingBotrytis
Botrytis cinerea, known as noble rot (pourriture noble), is a beneficial fungus that desiccates ripe grapes, concentrating their sugars, acids, and flavours. It is responsible for the world's greatest sweet wines, including Sauternes, Tokaji Aszú, and German Trockenbeerenauslese.
WinemakingCarbonic Maceration
Carbonic maceration is a winemaking technique where whole, uncrushed grapes ferment inside a sealed tank filled with carbon dioxide. It produces fruity, low-tannin red wines with distinctive banana and bubblegum aromas. It is the signature method of Beaujolais Nouveau.
WinemakingÉlevage
Élevage (literally "raising" or "upbringing" in French) refers to the entire process of maturing wine between fermentation and bottling. It encompasses barrel aging, racking, fining, blending, and all cellar decisions that shape the final wine.
WinemakingVendange
Vendange is the French term for the grape harvest, encompassing everything from picking decisions to grape transport to the winery. Harvest timing is the single most consequential viticultural decision, as it determines the balance of sugar, acidity, and phenolic ripeness in the finished wine.
WinemakingPigeage
Pigeage, or punch-down, is a winemaking technique in which the cap of grape skins, seeds, and stems that rises to the surface during red wine fermentation is manually or mechanically pushed back into the fermenting juice. This maximises extraction of colour, tannin, and flavour while preventing the cap from drying out and harbouring spoilage bacteria.
WinemakingRemontage
Remontage, or pump-over, is a winemaking technique where fermenting juice is drawn from the bottom of a tank and pumped over the cap of grape skins floating on top. It is the dominant extraction method in Bordeaux and many New World wineries, offering controlled, even extraction of colour and tannin.
WinemakingBâtonnage
Bâtonnage is the French term for lees stirring — the practice of agitating the dead yeast cells (lees) that settle at the bottom of a barrel or tank after fermentation. This technique enriches a wine's texture, adding creaminess, body, and complexity, and is most associated with premium white Burgundy and Muscadet sur lie.
WinemakingDébourbage
Débourbage is the settling and clarification of grape must (juice) before fermentation begins, primarily used in white and rosé winemaking. By allowing solids — grape skin fragments, pulp, and other debris — to fall to the bottom of a tank, the winemaker obtains cleaner juice that ferments into a more precise, aromatic wine.
WinemakingPressurage
Pressurage is the pressing of grapes or grape must to extract juice, a critical step that determines the quality, clarity, and style of the finished wine. The method of pressing — gentle or firm, whole-cluster or destemmed — and the separation of free-run juice from press fractions profoundly influence a wine's tannin profile and purity.
WinemakingSaignée
Saignée (literally 'bleeding') is a winemaking technique where a portion of juice is bled off from a tank of crushed red grapes early in maceration. The bled juice is fermented separately to make rosé, while the remaining must — now more concentrated in skins relative to juice — produces a deeper, more intense red wine.
WinemakingOuillage
Ouillage is the practice of topping up wine barrels to replace liquid lost to evaporation, keeping them completely full to minimise the wine's exposure to oxygen. Without regular ouillage, the air space (ullage) in a barrel promotes oxidation and the growth of spoilage organisms such as acetobacter.
WinemakingMéthode Champenoise
Méthode champenoise, also called the traditional method (méthode traditionnelle), is the process of making sparkling wine by inducing a second fermentation inside the bottle. This labour-intensive technique produces the finest, most complex sparkling wines in the world, including Champagne, Crémant, Cava, and Franciacorta.
WinemakingDosage
Dosage is the addition of a small amount of sweetened wine, called the liqueur d'expédition, to a sparkling wine after disgorgement. This final adjustment determines the wine's sweetness level and is one of the most defining stylistic choices in Champagne and traditional-method sparkling wine production.
WinemakingDégorgement
Dégorgement (disgorgement) is the process of removing the plug of dead yeast cells from the neck of a sparkling wine bottle after riddling. It is a critical step in the traditional method (méthode champenoise) that transforms a cloudy, yeast-laden bottle into a brilliantly clear sparkling wine ready for dosage and final corking.
WinemakingRemuage
Remuage (riddling) is the process of gradually tilting and rotating sparkling wine bottles to collect yeast sediment in the neck for disgorgement. Traditionally performed by hand over several weeks, modern production increasingly relies on automated gyropalettes that complete the process in days.
WinemakingAmphora
An amphora is an ancient clay vessel used for fermenting and aging wine, dating back over 8,000 years to the Caucasus region. Once ubiquitous in Greek and Roman winemaking, amphorae have been revived by natural and artisanal winemakers seeking a neutral vessel that adds texture without oak-derived flavours.
WinemakingOxidative Aging
Oxidative aging is a winemaking approach that deliberately exposes wine to controlled amounts of oxygen during maturation, producing nutty, amber-hued, and complex flavours. It is the defining technique behind styles such as Sherry, Vin Jaune from the Jura, and traditional Rioja reserva wines.
WinemakingFortified Wine
Fortified wine is wine to which a distilled spirit, typically grape brandy, has been added during or after fermentation. This technique raises the alcohol level to 15-22% ABV and can arrest fermentation to retain natural sweetness, producing iconic styles including Port, Sherry, Madeira, and Vin Doux Naturel.
WinemakingBarrique
A barrique is a small oak barrel holding approximately 225 litres (59 US gallons), originating in Bordeaux and now the world's most widely used barrel format for aging fine wine. Its high surface-to-volume ratio maximises oak influence and micro-oxygenation, making it the standard vessel for premium red and white wines globally.
WinemakingQvevri
A qvevri (also spelled kvevri) is a large, egg-shaped clay vessel traditionally used in Georgia for fermenting and aging wine, buried underground up to the neck. Georgian qvevri winemaking is recognised by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity and represents the world's oldest continuous winemaking tradition.
WinemakingSkin Contact
Skin contact refers to the period during which grape juice remains in contact with grape skins, extracting colour, tannins, and aromatic compounds. While essential in red winemaking, extended skin contact with white grapes is the defining technique behind orange wine, one of the fastest-growing categories in modern winemaking.
WinemakingFiltration
Filtration is the process of passing wine through a filter medium to remove suspended particles — yeast cells, bacteria, proteins, and other solids — to achieve visual clarity and microbiological stability. It is a common but debated practice, with natural winemakers arguing it strips flavour and texture.
WinemakingCold Soak
A cold soak (also called cold maceration) is a pre-fermentation technique in which crushed grapes are held at low temperatures, typically 4-10°C, for several days before fermentation begins. This aqueous extraction favours colour and fruit-forward aromatic compounds while limiting harsh tannin extraction.
WinemakingMicro-Oxygenation
Micro-oxygenation (micro-ox) is a winemaking technique that introduces tiny, controlled amounts of oxygen into wine through a porous ceramic diffuser, simulating the slow oxygen exchange that occurs during barrel aging. Developed in Madiran in the 1990s, it softens tannins and stabilises colour in tank-aged wines.
WinemakingWhole-Cluster Fermentation
Whole-cluster fermentation is a winemaking technique in which entire grape bunches — stems included — are added to the fermenting vat rather than being destemmed. This ancestral method adds aromatic complexity, structural tannins, and spice notes, and has become a defining stylistic choice in Burgundy and Oregon Pinot Noir.
WinemakingSur Lie
Sur lie is a French winemaking term meaning on the lees, referring to the practice of aging wine in contact with its spent yeast cells after fermentation. This technique enriches wine with body, creaminess, and complex bread-dough or brioche notes, and is the defining character of Muscadet and an essential element of Champagne production.
WinemakingOenology
Oenology (also spelled enology) is the science and study of winemaking, encompassing every aspect from grape chemistry and fermentation biochemistry to aging, blending, and bottling. Distinct from viticulture, which covers grape growing, oenology focuses on what happens after the grapes reach the winery.
WinemakingBrettanomyces
Brettanomyces (commonly called Brett) is a genus of wild yeast that can colonise wine during aging, producing distinctive aromas variously described as barnyard, leather, Band-Aid, horse blanket, or smoky spice. Whether Brett constitutes a fault or a desirable complexity is one of winemaking's most polarising debates.