ACIDITY BARREL FERMENTED BARRIQUE Baume' BLENDING BODY BOTRYTIS CINEREA CARBONIC MACERATION CHAPTALISATION CLONE COLD SETTLING COLD STABILISATION COMPLEXITY CORK TAINT CRUSHING CUTTINGS DECANTATION DISGORGING FERMENTATION FINING FORTIFIED FREE RUN GROSS LEES HOGSHEAD MACERATION MALOLACTIC FERMENTATION (MLF) MANJIMUP METHODE CHAMPENOISE MOUNT BARKER MOUSSE MUST PALATE PHENOLICS PRESS RACKING RESIDUAL SUGAR ROTARY FERMENTERS SOLERA SULPHUR DIOXIDE TANNIN TARTRATE CRYSTALS TOAST UNOAKED VARIETAL VERAISON VINIFICATION VOLATILE ACIDITY YEAST LEES ACIDITY Grape berries contain smal amounts of acid mainly in the form of malic and tartaric acid. Acidity in wine is desirable in varying quantities and is often added during vinification. Acidity in wine is detected along the sides of the tongue by a fresh zing, or tingle. BARREL FERMENTED Wine that undergoes part or all of its fermetation in oak barrels. The Vasse Felix Chardonnay, Semillon and Heytesbury Chardonnay have all received partial or whole barrel fermentation. BARRIQUE An oak barrel with a 225L capacity. Baume' Refers to the french system of measuring the ammount of sugar(sucrose) in the grape. It is usually expressed in units of degrees Baume'.One degree Baume' will correspond to 17-18 grams of sugar in one litre of water. Baume' will be measured leading up to harvest, to determine when the grapes are ripe enough to pick. BLENDING Blending involves racking and blending wines from different varieties and areas to produce the required base wine. Different grape varieties are blended to achieve special flavours or characteristics that can not be developed by using an individual variety. BODY The weight of a wine in the mouth. Wines range from light bodied to full bodied. Factors that contribute to body are alcohol, tannin and sugar. BOTRYTIS CINEREA A naturally ocurring mould. Infection is desirable in autumn on grapes being used to produce dessert wines. The mould pierces the skin of the grapes, slowly dehydrating each berry. When the berries are picked they contain very small amounts of juice that with high concentration of sugar and flavour. CARBONIC MACERATION An intercellular enzymatic fermentation under the cover of Carbon dioxide. Carbonic Maceration produces confection like aromas in red wines. Typically used to produce Rose because of its requirements to be lifted and fruity with minimal tannins. CHAPTALISATION The addition of sugar to fermenting wine. Strict regulations prohibit wine producers in Australia from adding sugar to wines except sparkling wines. Australian regulations do permit the use of grape juice concentrate to increase sugar levels. CLONE A clone defines a vine that displays genetic uniformity. Grapevine clones are selected according to variety, yielding potential, disease resistance and their compatability with the climate and other environmental factors. COLD SETTLING A clarification process carried out before fermentation. It involves chilling white grape must after crushing so that solids in the juice settle on the bottom of the tank. These solids are known as gross lees. COLD STABILISATION Dropping the temperature of white wine to -5 degrees celcius to precipitate out tartrate crystals. COMPLEXITY The combination of primary and secondary fruit characters with the influence of winemaking procedures that results in a wine with diverse aromas, flavours and other sensory elements. CORK TAINT This is detected in wine as a musty, wet hession aroma. The cause of cork taint is a compound named 2,4,6 - trichloroanisole (TCA). Cork is a natural product and can sometimes contain moulds. Sometimes during the treatment of cork the moulds react with the chemicals to produce the offfending compound TCA which disperses into the wine upon insertion of the cork. Very few corks will have this mould therefore the majority of wine produced will not suffer from cork taint. CRUSHING Grapes are crushed to break the skins and allow the juice to run out of the berry. Modern crushers also destem after crushing to remove the berries from the bunch stalks. After the grapes are placed into the crusher they pass over a roller which breaks the skin without damaging the seeds. The crushed grapes then pass through the destemmer which is a cylindrical cage lined with holes. Inside the cage rubber beaters revolve to remove the berries from the stems. The berries fall through the holes and the stems are shot out through the open end of the destemmer. CUTTINGS Used for grapevine propogation. Taken from hardened canes during dormancy. They are stored in pits of soil during winter to keep warm and moist. After callousing they are planted out in Spring to develop roots. DECANTATION This is involves pouring wine from one vessel to another, usually from the bottle into a decanter. Decantation is carried out for two main reasons. The first applies to old wines that require some aeration after they have been sitting in the bottle for quite some time and may have thrown a crust that needs to be filtered from the wine. DISGORGING This removes the lees (yeast deposit) from the Non Vintage Brut. The lees a bi-product of the secondary fermentation that is undergone in the bottle. Disgorging is carried out after riddling the bottles to get the lees into the neck of the bottle. The neck of the bottle is then frozen and the crown seal on the bottle removed. The pressure of carbon dioxide, also a biproduct of the fermentation, expels the frozen plug of lees from the bottle. FERMENTATION The process yeast converting sugar to alcohol. Wines can be inoculated or fermentation can also occur naturally through the activity of wild yeast. FINING A clarification process involving the addition of a fining agent such as betonite onto the surface of a wine. As the bentonite sinks to the bottom of the tank it carries with it any solid particles. FORTIFIED Wines are fortified with the addition of a high alcohol spirit such as brandy. Fortified styles of wine include port, sherry, muscat and tokay. Vasse Felix does not produce a fortified wine. FREE RUN The juice that runs freely from the grapes due to the natural pressure created by the mass. GROSS LEES The pulp that remains in the juice after pressing and sinks to the bottom of the tank during cold settling. Juice is racked off the gross lees as a clarification process before fermentation. HOGSHEAD An oak barrel with a 300L capacity. MACERATION Keeping the skin in contact with the juice or wine. Macerating results in colour and tannin extraction. MALOLACTIC FERMENTATION (MLF) Malolactic fermentation is a desirable secondary fermentation encouraged in reds and to a smaller degree in white wines. The fermentation process converts malic acid, found in green apples, to lactic acid, found in milk. The result is a softer wine with added complexity. All Vasse Felix reds, the Vasse Felix Chardonnay amd the Semillon all undergo whole or partial malolactic fermentation. MANJIMUP Part of the Warren Valley Wine Region. Located approximately 150km South East of Margaret River. METHODE CHAMPENOISE The tradtional sparkling wine making process. The carbon dioxide that gives sparkling wine its fizz is created through a secondary fermentation that occurs in a sealed bottle. After the primary fermentation, sugar and yeast are added to the base wine and then this is bottled and sealed. Yeast reacts with sugar to produce alcohol and carbon dioxide. After the secondary fermentation the wine remains on the yeast lees for a period of time before it is disgorged. MOUNT BARKER Part of the Great Southern Wine Region in Western Australia. The first vineyard, Forest Hill, was planted in 1965 after the Department of Agriculture commissioned Californian Professor Doctor Harold Olmo to identify alternative agricultural pursuits in the area. Located approximately 250km South East of Margaret River. MOUSSE The layer of fine bubbles that forms at the top of the glass when sparkling wine is poured. MUST Unfermented crushed grapes including skins, juice and seeds. PALATE Refers to a combination of effects on the mouth due to flavour, acidity, sweetness and astringency. PHENOLICS Bitter compounds abundant in the skins, seeds and stems of grapes. Wines are sometimes described as phenolic when they display excessive bitterness or astringency. PRESS The press is an airbag press. This is a large cylindrical vessel with a deflated airbag running horizontally through the centre. To press, the bag is inflated and the berries are pressed against the interior walls of the cylinder which contains fine holes for the juice to drain through. RACKING Racking is wine clarification process. It describes the process of transferring juice from one vessel to another (either tank or barrel) leaving any sediment or deposit behind. The resultant juice or wine is generally free of solids but may still require further filtration to totally clarify the wine. RESIDUAL SUGAR The sugar left remaining in its natural form in the wine after fermentation. This sugar has not been fermented to alcohol and is therefore residual. In Australia it is not permitted to add sugar to table wines with the exception of sparkling wine. All residual sugar in wine is derived from the grape. ROTARY FERMENTERS Specifically designed vessels for fermentation of red wines. The refrigerated vessel rotates, keeping fermenting juice in contact with the red skins. SOLERA A system of blending wines from different vintages. The Vasse Felix Non Vintage Brut uses a solera system to prepare its base wine. This system ensures consistency in the wine. Non Vintage refers to the fact that tge wine is a combination of vintages rather than just one. SULPHUR DIOXIDE Used in the vinification process to inhibit bacterial growth and prevent oxidation. The level of carbon dioxide used in wine production is generally higher for white wine than it is for red wine and in comparison to food standards is quite low. Wines that contain sulphur dioxide carry the number 220 it the list of ingredients. TANNIN Tannins are the bitter phenolic compounds derived from the skins, seeds and stalks of grapes and also from oak. Detectable on the back of the palate and are most evident when wines are young. Tannins are desirable in varying quantities and contribute to the mouthfeel and complexity of a wine. Tannins lengthen and soften with age. TARTRATE CRYSTALS Harmless crytstals that are sometimes deposited in bottles of white wine that have not been cold stabilised. TOAST Refers to the charring of the oak barrel by the cooper after it has been seasoned and bent into shape. The toast can be light through to heavy depending on the individual requests of each winemaker. UNOAKED Wine that has not been fermented or matured in contact with oak. Unoaked wines are produced in stainless steel vats that fo not impart any characteristics into the wine. VARIETAL Made of one variety. For a wine to be labelled varietal it must contain 85% or more of that variety. VERAISON This defines the period of grape colour change and berry softening which marks the beginning of ripening. VINIFICATION A term to described the processes that are undertaken to convert grapes to wine. VOLATILE ACIDITY Present when an aroma of vinegar or nail polish is detected in a wine. Volatile acidity is either produced by yeast or is a sign of oxidation. All wines contain some volatile acid but it is sometimes in such small quantities that it is not detectable. Volatile acidity can sometimes contribute to the complexity of the wine. YEAST LEES The biproduct of fermentation. As yeast converts sugar to alcohol the dead yeast cells form a sediment in the wine which is referred to as lees. Prolonged time spent on lees will result in a wine with distinct bready and sometimes savoury characteristics.