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Wine glossary
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Palate
The flavor or taste of a wine; also referred to as different sections of taste in the mouth. As the wine travels through the mouth, it first contacts the front palate, then the midpalate and finally the back palate, all which can process different tastes, such as sweet, sour and bitter.
Parkerized
Term without real meaning often used by fans of traditional wines when wines are richer, sweeter, softer and more alcoholic than they prefer. Term refers to wines that Robert Parker likes.
Passe-Tout-Grains
A red Burgundy made from Pinot Noir blended with Gamay.
Passito
An Italian term literally translated as «sweet,» passito is used in Italy to describe wines that have been made from dried grapes, in the appassimento method. Drying the grapes concentrates the sugars, and the process can be used to make both sweet dessert wines like Recioto as well as dry reds such as Amarone and Sforzato.
Peak
The time when a wine tastes its best—very subjective.
Peer Group
Wines in peer groups are usually related by the vintage, appellation and, or producer.
Peppery
A peppery wine is just that, the wine can smell of fresh black or white pepper. Peppery wines often come from Rhone.
Perfume
All wines have perfume. Wines with bottle age develop secondary, non fruit aromas.
Pergola
A vine-training system whereby the cane and spurs of a vine grow high above the ground, oftentimes overhead, aided by tall wood stakes that shape the plant like a door frame. Agricultural benefits to this method include shading grapes from excess sunlight.
Pétillant
A French term for lightly sparkling wine.
Petit Chateau
Small estates, which can produce fine wine, but the property is not well known, either because it is located in a less famous wine region, or it is a small vineyard that is not renowned. Some of the best value wines in a region can come from Petit Chateau.
pH
An indication of a wine’s acidity expressed by how much hydrogen is in it.
Phenolic compounds
Natural compounds present in grape skins and seeds.
Phenolic Ripeness
The changes that occur in the tannins, grape seeds, skins and stems when the fruit is fully ripe. This is the same term as Physiological Ripeness which is when the tannins, grape seeds, skins and stems are fully ripe.
Phylloxera
A voracious vine louse that over time has destroyed vineyards in Europe and California.
Physiological Ripeness
See Polyphenolic Ripeness.
Pierce’s Disease
This bacterial disease, frequently spread by insects such as glassy-winged sharpshooters and blue-green sharpshooters, kills vines within a few years of infestation; there are no known preventatives (other than quarantine) and no known cures. It is a problem in California; both grapegrowers and government organizations are working to find solutions to stop the disease from spreading to healthy vineyards.
Pigeage
A winemaking technique of punching down the cap of grape skins that forms during fermentation.
Pip
Another term for a grape seed.
Place de Bordeaux
Name for where the buying and selling from Bordeaux negociants and merchants takes place.
Plateau
The time during which a wine is at its peak.
Plonk
A derogatory name for cheap, poor-tasting wine.
Plummy
Wines that taste of plums are usually round in texture as well. Pomerol and St. Emilion produce plummy wines.
Plush
Plush wines feel polished, rich, opulent or supple in the mouth. This is a good quality in a wine.
Podere
Italian wine term used to describe a rural wine farm.
Poggio
Italian wine term for hill or elevated place.
Polished
Wines that are polished are soft, silky, elegant and round, this comes from very ripe and refined tannins.
Polyphenol
Chemical compounds found in plant life. In grapes, polyphenols are responsible for skin pigment, tannins and flavors—all of which fall under the category of flavonoids—as well as resveratrol, the compound associated with many of wine’s health benefits, and which falls under the much smaller polyphenol category of non-flavonoids. Pertaining to wine, grape skins, seeds and stems contain the highest concentrations of polyphenols.
Polyphenolic Ripeness
Also known as physiological ripeness, is the concentration of polyphenols in grape skins, seeds and stems, in contrast to the traditional form of measuring ripeness based on sugar content (Brix, Baumé, Oechsle). It has become a trend among vintners to rely more on polyphenolic ripeness than on sugar levels in recent years, as polyphenols are the source of wine’s color, flavor and mouthfeel. As grapes mature, particularly in warmer climates, sugar levels frequently rise faster than polyphenol concentrations. Leaving grapes on the vine longer to achieve polyphenolic ripeness has led to an increase in alcohol levels due to higher sugar contents, particularly in California.
Pomace
The mass of skins, pits, and stems left over after fermentation; used to make grappa in Italy and marc in France.
Ponderous
A big, powerful, very concentrated wine.
Pop and Pour
Common method of opening a wine bottle by the act of simply removing the cork and pouring the wine. Popped and poured wines are not decanted.
Port
A sweet, fortified wine made in the Douro Valley of Portugal and aged in the coastal town of Vila Nova de Gaia; variations include Vintage, Tawny, Late Bottled Vintage, Ruby, White, and others.
Potent
Intense and powerful.
Powerful
Powerful wines are concentrated with raw material, flavor and tannin.
Powdery Mildew
See Oïdium.
Prädikatswein
German quality classification indicating wines with distinction and including Germany’s best wines. Prädikatswein is divided into five classes of ascending ripeness at harvest: kabinett, spätlese, auslese, beerenauslese (including eiswein) and trockenbeerenauslese. Sugar is never added to these wines. The Prädikatswein classification was formerly known as Qualitätswein mit Prädikat. Austria also uses a prädikatswein classification system; its categories are spätlese, auslese, beerenauslese (including eiswein), strohwein and trockenbeerenauslese.
Premier Cru
French for ‘first growth;’ a high-quality vineyard but one not as good as grand cru.
Premier Cru Classe
See First-Growth.
Premox
Extreme flaw in supposedly ageworthy white wine caused by the premature oxidation of the wine, resulting in dark colors, maderized aromas and off flavors. This is most often seen in white Burgundy, but it has appeared in other white wines as well.
Press
After fermentation, the mixture of red grape juice, skins, lees and other solids is pressed to separate the juice from the solids. Because extended skin contact is undesirable for white wines, white grapes are pressed before fermentation.
Press Wine (or Pressing)
The juice extracted under pressure after pressing for white wines and after fermentation for reds. Press wine has more flavor and aroma, deeper color and often more tannins than free-run juice. Wineries often blend a portion of press wine back into the main cuvée for added backbone.
Primeur (en)
A French term for wine sold while it is sill in the barrels; known as ‘futures’ in English-speaking countries.
Private Reserve
This description, along with Reserve, once stood for the best wines a winery produced, but lacking a legal definition many wineries use it or a spin-off (such as Proprietor’s Reserve) for rather ordinary wines. Depending upon the producer, it may still signify excellent quality.
Produced And Bottled By
Indicates that the winery crushed, fermented and bottled at least 75 percent of the wine in the bottle.
Produttori
Producers in Italian. Used on wine labels to describe a cooperative wine business.
Pruney
Wines produced from grapes that are too ripe and become overly jammy, are said to be pruney.
Pruning
The annual vineyard chore of trimming back plants from the previous harvest.
Pruny
Having the flavor of overripe, dried-out grapes. Can add complexity in the right dose.
Puckery
Describes highly tannic and very dry wines.
Pump Over
Pump overs are what takes place when the wine is removed from the bottom of the vat and returned to the of the vat, which adds air and keeps the cap wet and submerged. This is also known as remontage.
Punch-Down
Also known as pigéage, the process of breaking up the thick layer of skins, stems and seeds that forms at the surface of fermenting red wine and submerging it during fermentation to extract color, tannins, flavor and aromas from the grape solids.
Pungent
Having a powerful, assertive smell linked to a high level of volatile acidity.
Punt
Indentation at the bottom of the bottom.
Pure
Purity is a good thing in a wine, and hard to find. Wine with purity allow the true expression of the fruit to come through. Think of tasting a sweet, ripe berry off the vine.
Pyrazines
Organic compounds found in all grapes (but most prominently in Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc) that can yield pungent herbal or vegetal aromas. These can manifest as green bell pepper, lemongrass, fresh or dried herbs, among others.