This week’s Wine Word of the Week is oxidation. Official definition from Jancis Robinson’s The Oxford Companion to Wine: Oxidation is a wine fault resulting from excessive exposure to oxygen (as opposed to aeration, which is deliberate, controlled exposure to oxygen). Wines spoiled by oxidation are said to be oxidized. Layman’s terms from Kori: Oxidation […]

This week’s Wine Word of the Week is vintner. Official definition from Jancis Robinson’s The Oxford Companion to Wine: Vintner is the late Middle English word for wine merchant which superseded vinter. …. The word has also come to be used for a wine producer as well as a wine merchant, particularly in North America. […]

This week’s Wine Word of the Week is clone. Official definition from Jancis Robinson’s The Oxford Companion to Wine: Clone in a viticultural context is a single vine or a population of vines all derived by vegetative propagation from cuttings or buds from a single ‘mother vine’ by deliberate clonal selection. Layman’s terms from Kori: […]

This week’s Wine Word of the Week is blind tasting. Official definition from Jancis Robinson’s The Oxford Companion to Wine: A blind tasting is one whose purpose is that the taster assesses and possibly identifies unknown wines as closely as possible. Layman’s terms from Kori: A blind tasting means that the bottles are covered by […]

This week’s Wine Word of the Week is horizontal tasting. Official definition from Jancis Robinson’s The Oxford Companion to Wine: A horizontal tasting is one in which a number of different wines of the same vintage are compared. Layman’s terms from Kori: A horizontal tasting is one in which you taste different wines of the […]

This week’s Wine Word of the Week is vertical tasting. Official definition from Jancis Robinson’s The Oxford Companion to Wine: A vertical tasting is a comparison of different vintages of the same wine. Layman’s terms from Kori: A vertical tasting is one in which you taste different vintages of the same wine from the same […]

This week’s Wine Word of the Week is Bacchus. Official definition from Jancis Robinson’s The Oxford Companion to Wine: Bacchus is the common name in Ancient Rome for the classical god of wine whom the Greeks called Bacchos but, more usually, Dionysus. Layman’s terms from Kori: Bacchus is the Roman god of wine.

This week’s Wine Word of the Week is négociant. Official definition from Jancis Robinson’s The Oxford Companion to Wine: Négociant is a French term for a merchant and one used particularly of wine merchants who buy in grapes, must, or wine, blend different lots of wine within an appellation, and bottle the result under their […]

This week’s Wine Word of the Week is cooper. Official definition from Jancis Robinson’s The Oxford Companion to Wine: A cooper is someone who makes and repairs small barrels and larger wooden vats. Layman’s terms from Kori: A cooper is a wine barrel-maker.

This week’s Wine Word of the Week is sommelier. Official definition from Jancis Robinson’s The Oxford Companion to Wine: Sommelier is a widely used French term for a specialist wine waiter or wine steward. The sommelier’s job is to ensure that any wine ordered is served correctly and, ideally, to advise on the individual characteristics […]