Wine Glossary

The German word for "wine."

The German term for a vineyard estate. If it appears on a bottle the grapes must come entirely from vineyards the producer owns.

The German term for a wine cellar. If you see this on the label, it may be an off hand way of telling you that the grapes for this wine do not come from the producers own vineyards.

The German name for the Pinot Blanc grape.

A white wine grape that is not related to, but is trying to capitalize on the name of Riesling. It is planted throughout Europe, especially in and near Austria.

A rosé (pink) wine made from the red wine grape Zinfandel. It tends to be somewhat sweet and easy to enjoy. This is the wine that snobs love to hate. Do not mistakenly call this pink wine "Zinfandel," as the red wine made from Zinfandel is one of California's greatest wines.

A mix of wine and fruit juices (or lime flavored soda). The practice of disguising bad wine with sweetened juice is as old as wine itself. The name has developed a negative connotation for many wine lovers, since the prepackaged, sweetened and carbonated version is little more than soda pop with a touch of alcohol.

When a wine has had extensive aging in a barrel it takes on the barrel taste, hence it is "woody." The taste of wood, usually oak, should not dominate the flavor of the wine. It is there to help the wine age, and will diminish over time. Some winemakers disguise the taste of their wines with wood, especially in regions where the grapes do not ripen completely. In the New World this taste has become synonymous with Chardonnay for many wine lovers, although one may debate that this is not a positive thing.

A good sized German wine region. It is situated around the well known German city of Stuttgart, home of the German automobile industry. The red wines made in the region are of the greatest interest. Besides the usual red wine grape Spatburgunder (Pinot Noir) here you will also find local varieties such as Trollinger, Lemberger and Schwarzriesling (which is not a black riesling at all, rather it is the Pinot Meunier grape which is also found in the Champagne region of France).