Wine Word of the Week: Lees



By Kori ~ May 28th, 2009.

Wine Word of the WeekThis week’s Wine Word of the Week is lees.

Official definition from Jancis Robinson’s The Oxford Companion to Wine:
Lees is the Old English word for the dregs or sediment that settles at the bottom of a container such as a fermentation vessel. Wine lees are made up of dead yeast cells, grape seeds, pulp, stem and skin fragments, and insoluble tartrates that are deposited during the making and aging of wine.

Layman’s terms from Kori:
Lees is the sediment that settles in the bottom of tanks, vats, and barrels during fermentation.


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