Some Wine Vocabulary Trivia Quiz

Answer: controlled appellation

You will see "appellation control" in many different languages on wine labels. It's a good start towards quality assurance. At least you know your Burgundy is Burgundian or your Chianti comes from the Italian district of that name. Unfortunately, the practice is inconsistent worldwide, with the European Union protecting not only wine origin names, but those of cheeses and even teas. By contrast, the United States is at minimum sloppy about it, with little legal force behind the few protections that exist.

It's usually left to local producers to defend their turf.

Answer: a flight

While I will concede that tasting four monster red wines back to back might seem like a bombardment, it's still called a flight. The concept has spread far beyond wine tastings. In recent years I've been offered the opportunity to sample flights of cheeses, chocolates, teas, and even energy drinks!

Answer: temporary loss of flavor due to rough handling

Sometimes called "bottling sickness", nearly all wines show some signs right after bottling or other "rough" handling. Wine is a sedentary creature which likes to live in cool, dark, still places and it gets upset when moved around forcefully. Thankfully, bottle shock usually passes in a few days to a few weeks, and the wine returns to normal. Beaujolais Nouveau is the likeliest place to encounter bottle shock these days, since to be ready for the third Thursday in November release date, the grapes must be picked, the wine vinified, bottled, and then shipped worldwide in a period of about seven weeks!

Answer: it's oxidized

Sherry is a deliberately, and very carefully, oxidized wine. That combined with its unique yeast account for its distinctive tang. Uncontrolled oxidation just destroys the wine. Depending on the policies of your wine shop you might get a refund/exchange without saying a word if a knowledgeable employee inspects the wine. But, if you walk in and tell them "this is oxidized" you are apt to get instant attention, because you are presumed to know what you are talking about.

Answer: maderized

Malmsey is the most highly regarded wine of Madeira. Madeira is a deliberately, and delicately, cooked wine, which is why its flavor is so unique. Uncontrolled heating breaks wine down chemically and renders it useless. The aroma of maderization is unmistakable and will lead to an immediate refund or exchange...unless you bought Madeira.

Answer: punt

The word punt's origin is the Latin punctum (point). The term stems from the iron or steel rod used to shape glass during the blowing process, which has the English name of a punty. The function of the punt is to add strength to the bottle, although it has been used as a grip (not recommended) and some of the sediment in older bottles will collect there.

It's amazing how many people assume that all wine terms are French, and will fall for a vaguely French-sounding non-word like gwizette.

Answer: potassium tartrate crystals

Tartaric acid is found in every wine, and helps to provide a tangy, zippy note to the flavors. Below 50 degrees Fahrenheit, tartaric acid begins to combine with the potassium that is also naturally present and precipitate out as crystals of potassium tartrate. If you're a cook you have met the compound before. Finely pulverized potassium tartrate is called cream of tartar.

It is completely harmless, and the crystals dissolve almost instantly in the warmth of your mouth. Tartrate crystals also occur in red wines, but they are harder to see.

Many commercial wines are "cold stabilized" to precipitate the tartrate before bottling, but it's also a potential sign of heavily manipulated wine, which purists frown upon.

Answer: sediment

Just like sedimentary rocks, over time miniscule fragments of grape skins, tartaric and tannic acid crystals settle out of the liquid carrying them to form a more or less solid substance called, naturally enough, sediment. It is harmless and a natural result of aging wine.

Many wine professionals owe their taste experience of rare bottles to these dregs left behind (they don't alter taste), it's the source of the inside joke that "the chewies are the best part".

Answer: no, the worm is part of a corkscrew

The worm is, not surprisingly, the twisty business end of the corkscrew. Teflon-coated worms slide into the cork easily and since they do less damage to the cork, can be used to extract fairly delicate corks. The grip on the cork comes from the helical structure of the worm, not friction. A corkscrew that has at least five full turns in its helix is recommended for that reason.

Answer: because the Romans cast a long shadow

The Romans seem to turn up every time you go round a corner in the wine business. Magnum derives from the Latin "magnus" meaning "great" or simply "big". For the record, wine bottles of double size were called magnums for roughly three centuries before a firearm acquired the name.

Answer: they don't need it

It's an almost universal truism that people belittle or even outlaw things they don't need. California's spectacular climate generally ensures very ripe grapes with high natural sugar content. Europe has generally been much cooler, with a shorter growing season than California, which in the 19th Century led French agronomist Jean Antoine Chaptal to suggest adding carefully measured amounts of sugar to grape must to assure the resultant wines reached minimum alcohol levels. Chaptalization isn't much practiced anymore, since commercial grape concentrate can now be used instead of sugar. Sometimes, very quietly, even in California.

Answer: they don't need it

France's continental zone climate and comparatively short growing season usually results in wines with abundant natural acidity. It's a human trait to assume that if I don't need it, you're inferior if you do. California's super-ripe grapes often need some additional acidity to avoid producing flat, lifeless wines. Usually, a little citric acid is added. Of course the Californians make fun of French efforts to boost sugar content, since that is usually unneeded in the Golden State.

Answer: methode Champenois

Barbe-Nicole Clicquot (born Ponsardin) is regarded as the Grand Dame of Champagne (not coincidentally, Le Grand Dame is also the name of the top Champagne from Veuve Clicquot-Ponsardin). The term methode Champenois (the Champagne Method) is properly used only for wines of the Champagne district. All others must call the process methode classique or traditionel (classic or traditional method). Methode ancestrale is the process used before methode classique, and gives a cloudy, yeasty bubbly.

Answer: secondary ferrmentation in a pressurized tank

The Charmat bulk process (named for inventor E. Charmat) conducts the secondary fermentation (needed for bubbles) in a pressurized tank and the finished wine is bottled under pressure as well. The general rule of thumb is that this process can make good sparkling wines (e.g., Asti and prosecco), but not great ones. The process is forbidden in Champagne.

Answer: the wire net that secures a sparkling wine cork

Muselet is derived from the French "museler" which means "to muzzle", appropriately enough, since it keeps a bottle of sparkling wine from shooting its mouth off. Sommeliers obsess about them since people have suffered permanent eye injuries from uncontrolled release of sparkling wine corks.

The serviette, the sommelier's towel, is usually held firmly over the cork while the sommelier is loosening the muselet, as a further measure of control. Thankfully, rodents don't seem to find wine cellars congenial, so there is no need for nasty little weasels!