Wine Tutorial
Backbone: Used to denote those wines that are full-bodied, well-structured and balanced by a desirable level of acidity.
Backward: Used to describe a young wine that is less developed than others of its type and class from the same vintage.
Balance: A wine has balance when its elements are harmonious and no single element dominates.
Balthazar: An oversized bottle which holds the equivalent of 12 to 16 standard bottles.
Barrel Fermented: Denotes wine that has been fermented in small casks (usually 55-gallon oak barrels) instead of larger tanks. Advocates believe that barrel fermentation contributes greater harmony between the oak and the wine, increases body and adds complexity, texture and flavor to certain wine types. Its liabilities are that more labor is required and greater risks are involved. It is mainly used for whites.
Bin Number: See also cask number.
Bite: A marked degree of acidity or tannin. An acid grip in the finish should be more like a zestful tang and is tolerable only in a rich, full-bodied wine.
Bitter: Describes one of the four basic tastes (along with sour, salty and sweet). Some grapes—notably Gewürztraminer and Muscat—often have a noticeable bitter edge to their flavors. Another source of bitterness is tannin or stems. If the bitter quality dominates the wine’s flavor or aftertaste, it is considered a fault. In sweet wines a trace of bitterness may complement the flavors. In young red wines it can be a warning signal, as bitterness doesn’t always dissipate with age. Normally, a fine, mature wine should not be bitter on the palate.
Blanc De Blancs: “White of whites,” meaning a white wine made of white grapes, such as Champagne made of Chardonnay.
Blanc De Noirs: White of blacks, white wine made of red or black grapes, where the juice is squeezed from the grapes and fermented without skin contact. The wines can have a pale pink hue. E.G., Champagne that is made from Pinot Noir or Pinot Meunier.
Blunt: Strong in flavor and often alcoholic, but lacking in aromatic interest and development on the palate.
Body: The impression of weight or fullness on the palate; usually the result of a combination of glycerin, alcohol and sugar. Commonly expressed as full-bodied, medium-bodied or medium-weight, or light-bodied.
Botrytis Cinerea: Called the “Noble Rot.” A beneficial mold or fungus that attacks grapes under certain climatic conditions and causes them to shrivel, deeply concentrating the flavors, sugar and acid. Some of the most famous examples come from Sauternes (Château d’Yquem), Germany and Tokay.
Bottle Sickness: A temporary condition characterized by muted or disjointed fruit flavors. It often occurs immediately after bottling or when wines (usually fragile wines) are shaken in travel. Also called bottle shock. A few days of rest is the cure.
Bottled By: Means the wine could have been purchased ready-made and simply bottled by the brand owner, or made under contract by another winery. When the label reads “produced and bottled by” or “made and bottled by” it means the winery produced the wine from start to finish.
Bouquet: The smell that a wine develops after it has been bottled and aged. Most appropriate for mature wines that have developed complex flavors beyond basic young fruit and oak aromas.
Brawny: Used to describe wines that are hard, intense, tannic and that have raw, woody flavors. The opposite of elegant.
Briary: Describes young wines with an earthy or stemmy wild berry character.
Bright: Used for fresh, ripe, zesty, lively young wines with vivid, focused flavors.
Brilliant: Describes the appearance of very clear wines with absolutely no visible suspended or particulate matter. Not always a plus, as it can indicate a highly filtered wine.
Brix: A measurement of the sugar content of grapes, must and wine, indicating the degree of the grapes’ ripeness (meaning sugar level) at harvest. Most table-wine grapes are harvested at between 21 and 25 Brix. To get an alcohol conversion level, multiply the stated Brix by .55.
Browning: Describes a wine’s color, and is a sign that a wine is mature and may be faded. A bad sign in young red (or white) wines, but less significant in older wines. Wines 20 to 30 years old may have a brownish edge yet still be enjoyable.
Brut: A general term used to designate a relatively dry-finished Champagne or sparkling wine, often the driest wine made by the producer.
Burnt: Describes wines that have an overdone, smoky, toasty or singed edge. Also used to describe overripe grapes.
Buttery: Indicates the smell of melted butter or toasty oak. Also a reference to texture, as in “a rich, buttery Chardonnay.”