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Wine glossary
E
Early Harvest
Denotes a wine made from early-harvested grapes, usually lower than average in alcoholic content or sweetness.
Earthy
A term used to describe aromas and flavors that have a certain soil-like quality.
Ebourgeonnage
French term for debudding vines. This is performed early in the growing season as part of yield control and canopy management.
Echantillon
French term for sample bottle used most often with barrel samples.
Éclaircissage
French term for green harvest, or crop thinning. Grape bunches are removed to improve air flow through the canopy, facilitate the ripening of the remaining bunches and reduce the crop yield.
Edelfäule
German term for Botrytis cinerea, or noble rot.
Eiswein
«Ice wine» in German and Austrian. Grapes for ice wines are harvested and pressed while still frozen.
Effeuillage
French term for the removal of the lower leaves from the vines that will allow more sun to hit the grapes directly, which will aid in the ripening of the fruit.
Elegant
Wines with elegance are in balance with soft, refined characteristics and textures. They are never heavy.
Elevage
French term for the time a wine spends ageing in barrel.
Élevé en Fûts de Chêne
French for «aged in oak.»
Empty
Similar to hollow; devoid of flavor and interest.
En Primeur
The same term as futures. This is usually only for wines from Bordeaux.
En Tirage
(«on teer-ahj») A French term used to describe aging sparkling wines in the bottle with autolytic yeast particles left after secondary fermentation.
Endnote
Is similar to end or finish. It is the sensation of flavors your palate experiences long after you have already enjoyed and swallowed the wine in your glass. The longer the endnote or finish, in most cases, the better the wine.
Enologist
A scientist involved with winemaking.
Enology
The science of wine production; an enologist is a professional winemaker; an enophile is someone who enjoys wine.
Enophile
A lover of all things vinous.
Estate
A property of land which may include vineyards. See also Estate-Bottled.
Estate Bottled
Term mostly used for American wineries. Estate bottled wines are required to use 100% of the grapes from vineyards controlled or owned by the winery and must come from the same AVA, American Viticultural Area where the winery is located. Bottling must take place at the winery.
Esters
Esters are one type of aroma compound found in wine, which are caused by alcohol reacting with acids in wine.
Eszencia
Hungarian dessert wine classification for Tokaji made from the free-run juice of individually picked, botrytized aszú berries.
Ethyl Acetate
A sweet, vinegary smell that often accompanies acetic acid. It exists to some extent in all wines and in small doses can be a plus. When it is strong and smells like nail polish, it’s a defect.
Exotic
Positive term used to denote unique, opulent textures of a special nature that are only found in the best of wines, in select vintages.
Expansive
Wines that expand their range of flavors and textures especially in the finish.
Extra Brut
A dry Champagne or sparkling wine. In Champagne, the scale from driest to sweetest is: Brut Nature, Extra Brut, Brut, Extra-Dry (or Extra-Sec), Dry (or Sec), Demi-Sec and Doux.
Extra-Dry
A misleading term, which designates a relatively sweet Champagne or sparkling wine. In Champagne, the scale from driest to sweetest is: Brut Nature, Extra Brut, Brut, Extra-Dry (or Extra-Sec), Dry (or Sec), Demi-Sec and Doux.
Extra-Sec
See Extra-Dry.
Extract
The raw materials found in a wine that is not water, sugar, alcohol or acidity. These raw materials make up the actual soul of the wine. Interestingly, they are on average between 1% and 1.5% of a wine.
Extraction
The process by which pigment, tannins and flavor and aromatic compounds contained in grape skins are dissolved into wine. Extraction is most commonly achieved through maceration (soaking the skins of the crushed grapes in the wine after fermentation), during which alcohol helps dissolve flavor, aroma and especially tannin molecules—as with a steeping tea bag, the longer and warmer the maceration, the greater the degree of extraction. During fermentation, punching down the cap (floating layer of skins, seeds and stems) and pumping liquid from the bottom of the tank over the cap (pump-over) are other methods of extraction. For reds made in lighter-bodied styles such as Pinot Noir, a pre-fermentation cold soak of the skins in the grape juice can extract water-soluble flavor and pigment molecules while limiting the amount of more alcohol-soluble tannins released into the wine.
Exuberant
This term is most often used for young wines that are fresh, lively and showy.