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Wine glossary
S
Saignee
French term for method of producing rose’ wine by bleeding of the tanks after the wine has had limited contact with the grape skins.
Salmanazar
A 9 liter wine bottle. Equal to 12 standard bottles.
Sans Soufre
French term for «without sulfur.» Usually on bottle labels indicating a wine with absolutely no added sulfur (but not necessarily 100% sulfite free).
Satellite Appellations
Various small appellations located in the Right Bank that are close to, but not in St. Emilion. These regions are capable of producing some very nice wine, often offering some of the best value wines in Bordeaux.
Sauternes
A sweet Bordeaux white wine made from botrytized Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc.
Score
Wine writers and critics often apply numerical scores to denote a wines level of quality vis a vis other wines in the same peer group. This is the same as a rating.
Screwcap
A metal twist-off closure for wine bottles; an alternative to cork.
Seamless
When a taster experiences a wine that moves from the first taste, to the mid palate through to the finish without a break between the sensations and all the elements of the wine are in balance. This trait is hard to find.
Sec
French word for “dry”.
Secco
Italian word for «dry».
Second Label
Estate wineries often bottle excess production, lesser wines or purchased wines under a label other than the one that made them famous, often at a lower price.
Second Growth
Term for chateau in the 1855 Classification of the Medoc that earned the second highest level of classification.
Secondary Frementation
The term for on the positive side, what takes place to change still wine into Champagne or sparkling wine On the negative side, this can also take place in the bottle due to remaining sugars and will ruin the wine.
Second Wine
A second wine is often produced from an estate’s young vines, or from juice or grapes that is not considered to be at the desired level of quality for the properties top wine.
Secondary Aromas
This is what happens to the scent of wine once it matures. It develops tertiary, non fruit aromatics like truffles, tobacco, leather, tar, cedar and spice. This is a positive term.
Sediment
Natural occurrence as wines age that is formed with the tannins, pigments and other materials bond together. This is the mark of a wine that is maturing. Sediment will not harm you, but its bitter taste is not going to help your wine. You should remove the sediment by decanting.
Selection de Grains Nobles
Dessert wine classification used primarily in France’s Alsace region. Sélection de Grains Nobles is the highest classification level for sweet wines made from botrytized grapes in Alsace.
Selection Massale
Used often in Bordeaux by growers that want to replace unhealthy, or under performing vines with vine cuttings produced from the estates oldest, best vines from their vineyard. This helps promote a more unique character to the vineyard.
Sensory Threshold
For any given aroma, flavor or taste, there is a concentration below which we are no longer able to detect it. This point is called the sensory threshold, and where it occurs varies considerably from person to person, determining our ability to taste and explaining why tasting wine is such a personal, highly subjective experience.
Sexy
Sexy is good in life, and in wine. Sexy wines are sensuous, silky and opulent. They are usually rich wines as well.
Sforzato
An Italian term meaning «strained,» sforzato wines (also know as sfursat) are made in northern Italy’s Valtellina region of Lombardy in the appassimento method, similar to Amarone, by laying harvested grapes on straw mats to dry for several months. The drying process concentrates sugars and results in higher alcohol wines. In the Sforzato di Valtellina DOCG, the wines must be a minimum of 90 percent Chiavennasca, the local name for Nebbiolo, and have at least 14 percent alcohol.
Shatter
See Coulure.
Sherry
A fortified wine from a denominated region in southwest Spain; styles include fino, Manzanilla, oloroso, and amontillado.
Short
The opposite of long. A wine that is short has on length in the finish. This is a poor attribute.
Shoulder
The area where the bottle slopes outwards, just below the narrow, straight neck.
Silex Soil
Terroir consisting of a mixture of sand, flint and rocks.
Silky
A term used to describe a wine with an especially smooth mouthfeel.
Simple
Simple wines lack complexity beyond their initial fruit character.
Sin Crianza
A Spanish quality classification indicating that the wines are not aged in wood, but may be bottle-aged.
Single Blind
In a single blind tasting, the tasters know the names of the wines, or the type of wine in the tasting but not their specific order.
Single Vineyard
Wines produced from grapes grown in one single vineyard, instead of multiple vineyard sites.
Skin Contact
Refers to the process of grape skins steeping in juice or fermenting must to impart color and flavor to the wine.
Slate
Type or rock soil or terroir often found in the Northern Rhone and in Germany.
Slow oxidation
This technique involves removing the capsule and cork and allowing the wine to sit for hours before opening. This does nothing for the development of a wine.
Smaragd
The top category in the ripeness classification of white wines in Austria’s Wachau Valley. Smaragd-designated wines are made from the ripest grapes in the Wachau, and have a mandated minimum alcohol level of 12.5 percent.
Smoky
Some wines offer scents of smoke, fire, char or burnt aromas. This happens either because of the char in the barrels, the soil or the grapes.
Smooth
Wines that are smooth, feel soft on your palate. They transition from the beginning to the middle through to the end, with that a smooth texture. This is a positive attribute.
Smudge Pot
Oil-burning heaters used to prevent or reduce frost damage in orchards and vineyards. Typically consisting of a wide base topped by a chimney, smudge pots may be lit when frost threatens. They offer some protection by creating air currents that can disrupt settled colder air at ground level. Due to their consumption of oil and smoke production, as well as labor requirements, use of smudge pots is in decline in favor of other frost-protection methods such as wind machines and aspersion.
SO2
Chemical compound shorthand for sulfur dioxide, a gas which is used as a preservative agent to help avoid oxidation.
Soft
Soft wines are round, elegantly textured and can be low in acidity.
Solera
The Spanish system of blending wines of different ages to create a harmonious end product; a stack of barrels holding wines of various ages.
Solomon
An 18 liter wine bottle. Equal to 24 standard bottles (aka Melchoir).
Sommelier
Technically a wine steward, but one potentially with a great degree of wine knowledge as well as a diploma of sorts in wine studies.
Sorting
Sorting is the last step before fermentation. During sorting, the wine maker removes all the unripe grapes and other unwanted material. Sorting can be done by hand or with new, optical sorting machines or other techniques.
Soutirage
French term for racking, or moving wine from one container to another for aeration or clarification, leaving sediment behind.
Spätlese
German classification based on the ripeness level and sugar content of the grapes. Meaning «late harvest,» spätlesen are usually richer than kabinette-level wines because the grapes contain a higher concentration of sugar at harvest. The wines can be dry or sweet.
Spicy
A term used to describe certain aromas and flavors that may be sharp, woody, or sweet.
Split
A quarter-bottle of wine; a single-serving bottle equal to 175 milliliters.
Spoofilated
Ridiculous term used by detractors of Robert Parker for wines they deem were produced using some of the more modern, widely accepted wine making techniques.
Spumante
Italian term for sparkling wine.
Stale
Wines that have lost their fresh, youthful qualities are called stale. Opposite of fresh.
Stalky
Smells and tastes of grape stems or has leaf- or hay-like aromas.
Standard Bottle
A 750 ml wine bottle.
Steely
A term used to describe an extremely crisp, acidic wine that was not aged in barrels.
Steinfeder
The lowest category in the ripeness classification of white wines in Austria’s Wachau Valley. Steinfeder-designated wines are made from the least-ripe grapes in the Wachau, and have a mandated maximum alcohol level of 11.5 percent.
Stemmy
A term used to describe harsh, green characteristics in a wine.
Stone
Similar to Minerality, This aroma or flavor comes from grapes gown in intense mineral laden soils, normally filled with limestone. The sensation is of crushed rocks, stone or cement. This is a unique and desirable quality.
Structure
An ambiguous tasting term that implies harmony of fruit, alcohol, acidity, and tannins.
Style
Refers to the character, not the quality, of a wine, which is determined in the vineyard and in the winery. Common styles at two ends of a continuum are fresh and fruity at one end and big and oaky at the other end. Style is not strictly correlated with quality; one style is not inherently better than another. Rather, style is a matter of personal preference for both the winemaker and the wine lover.
Subtle
Describes delicate wines with finesse, or flavors that are understated rather than full-blown and overt. A positive characteristic.
Sulfites
Sulfites, sulfur dioxide, or SO2 is a preservative that is either added to wine or present on grapes before fermentation. Wines range from about 10 ppm (parts per million) to 350ppm—the legal US limit. Wines must label if they contain more than 10 ppm.
Sulfur Compounds
Sulfur compounds affect the aroma and taste of wine. In low levels they offer positive aroma characteristics, including mineral-like flavors, grapefruit, or tropical fruit. In higher levels, sulfur compounds are considered a fault when they smell of cooked eggs, garlic, or boiled cabbage.
Super Second
The term for Second Growth Bordeaux wines that are considered to be so good, they are better than most Second Growths, but not quite at the level of First Growth Bordeaux.
Super Tuscan
A red wine from Tuscany that is not made in accordance with established DOC rules; often a blended wine of superior quality containing Cabernet Sauvignon and/or Merlot.
Superiore
Found on Italian wine labels and most commonly associated with a regional classification that typically have more rigorous production quality standards.
Supple
A term used to describe smooth, balanced wines.
Sur Lie
French term for a wine that is aged on its fine lees, meaning seeds, skins and other grape solids along with yeast cells.
Süss (Süß)
A German wine term for a sweet wine with more than 45 g/L residual sugar (RS).
Sweet
Wines with perceptible sugar contents on the nose and in the mouth.