Winemaking Terms - Sediment to Skunky

Sediment:

The grainy, bitter-tasting deposit sometimes found in bottles of older wines. Sediment is the natural separation of bitartrates, tannins, and color pigments that occurs as wines age and may indicate a wine of superior maturity. Also known as Crust, especially in port wines.

 

Semi-Dry:

The term denoting a wine as neither dry nor sweet, but closer to dry than sweet. Although usually reserved for sparkling wines, it is gaining frequent use describing still wines. A wine is usually perceived as semi-dry when its specific gravity is in the range of 1.000 to 1.003. The French call such wine demi-sec, which has been bastardized into the half English, half French semi-sec.

 

Semi-Sweet:

The term denoting a wine as neither dry nor sweet, but closer to sweet than dry. Although usually reserved for sparkling wines, it is gaining frequent use describing still wines. A wine is usually perceived as semi-sweet when its specific gravity is in the range of 1.004 to 1.007. The French term for this type of wine is demi-doux.

 

Sherrified:

A table wine that has become sherry-like due to oxidation.

 

Silky:

An incredibly smooth, lush, and finely textured wine. 

 

Skunky:

A severe off-odor caused by mercaptan formation.

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Technorati Tags : Wine, Winemaking, Sediment, Semi-Dry, Semi-Sweet, Sherrified, Silky, Skunky

 

Source: Jack Keller