Capacity measure equivalent to 10litres. It is used in wineries and warehouses to rack wine and fill casks.

 

A decanter is used to aerate wine or to separate it from its deposits. The decanter should be made of transparent glass and be large, in order for the wine's surface in contact with air to be the widest possible.

 

Double meaning term: In oenology, it is one of the techniques used in white wines to separate the must from the skins after skin maceration; for the consumer, decanting is a process that should be performed in red wines and consists of transferring the wine to a decanter or large bottle, thus allowing it to "breathe".

 

Harvest declaration: administrative formality according to which each wine grower must declare to tax authorities their yields after harvest. The 'Denomination of Origin' is attributed based on this declaration.

 

Decortication of old bottle aged wines forms the "crust", which is well visible in Vintage Ports.

 

Wine that is too old and, therefore, unbalanced. It has an altered, weakened colour; it lacks primary aromas and fades in the mouth.

 

Said of a wine with body and excellent matter, that has a very intense colour.

 

Pruning that consists of suppressing the vine's young branches and useless leaves for better fructification.

 

The state of a vine that loses its vegetative vigour. Its fruits become weak, not only in quality but also in quantity. Degeneration is caused by a disease. However, the growth of the vinifera vine on the rootstock - something that is done in almost every country in the world as a precaution against phylloxera - also accelerates the vine's ageing and degeneration. Therefore, a grafted vine starts to weaken after 30 to 40 years and should be replaced.

 

Drying of grapes by insolation or attack of Botrytis. Thanks to dehydration, sweet dessert wines can be produced from musts rich in sugars and pectins.