Wine terminology explained:

Acidity

The amount of acid in a wine

Acetification

Wine turning to vinegar

Aerobic fermentation

Fermentation in the presence of air (primary fermentation)

Aging

The process of maturing wine

Air lock

A valve filled with water that lets CO₂ out, but no air inside

Alcohol

Ethanol or ethyl alcohol (C₂H₅OH), the liquid produced from sugar by fermentation that can make you drunk

Anearobic fermentation

Fermentation in the absence of air (secondary fermentation)

Blending

Mixing finished wines to get a better balanced wine

Body

The fullness of a wine

Bouquet

Smell of a wine

Bungs

See Stoppers

Campden tablets

Tablets that contain sulphite in a handy form

Cap

A floating layer of solids that forms on a fermenting must during primary fermentation

Carbon dioxide

The gas produced by the fermentation process (CO₂)

Carboy

A large fermentation bottle

Cask

A white oak barrel

Concentrate

Concentrated juice of fruit, usually grapes

Country wines

Wines made from ingredients other than grapes

Demi-john

A 1 gallon (about 4 litres) fermentation bottle

Deposit

See Sediments

Dregs

See Sediments

Dry wine

A wine with all the sugars fermented out

Enzyme

Proteins that change or break down unwanted ingredients, also see Pectic enzyme

Ethyl alcohol

See Alcohol

Fermentation

The conversion of sugar to carbon dioxide

Fermentation trap

See Airlock

Fermentor

Container in which the fermentation process takes place

Fining

Process to make cloudy wine clear

Flogger

Simple wooden corking device

Fortification

Raising the alcohol content (per volume) of a wine by adding a liquor with higher alcohol content

Fruit fly

Small fly found around rotting fruit. One fly into your wine, and your wine will turn into vinegar

Haze

Suspension of small solid particles in wine

Hydrometer

A device used to measure the SG of a wine or must

Hydrometer jar

A cilinder of glass or plastic to place the hydrometer into

Inoculate

To sterilize a must

Juice fermentation

A fermentation on the presses juice of the fruit, in a secondary fermentor

Lees

See Sediment

Macerate

To soak ingredients for extraction of soluble components

Mash

See Must

Maturing wine

To let wine age, so that flavour and aroma improve.

Metabisulphite

Undissolved sulphite

Must

Unfermented wine

Nutrient

Food for yeast

Oxidation

Reaction with the oxygen in the air, causes wine to go bad

Pectic enzyme

To break down the pectin in fruit

Pectin

A substance that makes jams jel

P.P.M.

Particles per million, the same as milligrams per liter (mg/l)

Primary fermentor

An open container used for the first stage of fermentation, also see Pulp fermentation

Proof

A scale used for alcohol content

Pulp fermentation

A primary fermentation on the fruit pulp to extract colours and flavours

Racking

Siphoning wine into another container and leaving the sediments behind

Rose

Pink colored wine

Sacrometer

See Hydrometer

Secondary fermentor

A closed container used for the latter stage of fermentation

Sediment

Small particles that settle on the bottom of the fermentation container

Specific gravity

The weight per volume of a liquid (SG), related to sugar content

Spirits

Distilled alcohol

Stable wine

A wine without the risk of refermentation, that has fermented out

Stopper

A rubber plug or cap used to attach an airlock to a bottle and to plug bottles

Stuck fermentation

Premature stop of fermentation, before enough sugar has been converted

Strength

Alcohol content of a wine

Sulphite

A substance used for sterilisation of wine, must and equipment

Sulphiting

To sterilize with sulphite

Suspension

Small pieces that don't settle and float though wine, making it hazy

Topping up

Filling the secondary fermentor to the top, to prevent oxidation

Trap

See Air lock

Ullage

The air space in a fermentor between the wine surface and the stopper

Vinegar fly

See Fruit fly

Yeast

The one-celled micro-organism that turnes sugar into alcohol and carbon dioxide