Glossary

About 180 entries so far. There must still be a lot to add.

In "The ABC's of Wine Tasting" (winespectator.com), Thomas Matthews write that "the struggle to develop a lucid and coherent vocabulary for wine tasting has been going on for centuries. In his landmark study, The Taste of Wine, Bordeaux enologist Emile Peynaud traces the slow accretion of terms commonly used to describe fine wines. Ancient Greeks and Romans wrote about wine, and even in the 15^th century there are references to wines called "good, clean, honest and commercial." But the true taster's vocabulary really began in the 18^th century, when Bordeaux wines such as Haut-Brion and Lafite began to be sold at four to five times the price of ordinary claret, and it became necessary to find words to describe and justify the difference."

A

• Acetaldehyde: Freshly cut green apples and/or acetic cider and/or rotten apples smell/flavor.
• Acetic acid: Acid found in vinegar. Presence in mead due to spoilage by bacteria. Bad.
• Acid: See also pH and titrable acidity. (Learn more.)
• Acid blend: Citric, malic and tartaric acids mixed together to mimic the acids of grape.
• Acidic: Pungent aroma, sharpness of taste. Basic taste like vinegar or lemon. Sensation experienced on sides of tongue. Also called sour, tart. Part of the taste. Excess acid is bad but some is necessary for balance
• Aftertaste: The taste (or the absence thereof) remaining in the mouth after the mead is swallowed.
• Aging: Leaving the mead alone for a while in the carboy or barrel (bulk aging) or bottle (bottle aging) to make the mead improve.
• Airlock: Allows the carbon dioxide to go out of the carboy and prevents anything from coming in.
• Alcohol: Product of fermentation (Learn more.)
• Alcoholic: The warming effect of ethanol and higher alcohols. Part of the texture.
• Ambrosia: Nectar and ambrosia were the food of the gods on Mount Olympus. (Learn more.)
• Antioxygen: Chemical that prevents oxidation. E.g. sulfite, vitamin C.
• Antiseptic: Chemical that kills micro-organisms (bacteria, yeast, etc.) E.g. sulfite.
• Apiarist: See bee-keeper.
• Appearance: What the mead looks like, including color and clarity.
• Aroma: Odor of a young mead (from honey and fermentation.) Also see: bouquet.
• Ascorbic acid: See vitamin C.
• Astringent: Dry, puckering mouthfeel that is similar to bitterness. It is the feeling associated with strong unsweetened tea or chewing on a grape skin. Often comes from tannins present in fruits (especially berries and grapes.) Bad.
• Attenuation: Conversion of sugar to alcohol. Complete/high attenuation means that the yeast converts all the sugar to alcohol. If it is not complete, it means that the yeast does not convert all the sugar to alcohol, thus there is some residual sugar.

B

• Bacteria: Micro-organisms which try to spoil your mead. Many problems can be avoided through proper sanitation. Bad.
• Balanced: All elements of the mead are in harmony. Especially in sweet meads, acidity and/or spices must balance the sweetness. Good.
• Barrel: Vessel made of oak for fermenting and/or aging mead.
• B-brite: sanitizing solution.
• Bee: Insect producing honey from the nectar (?) of flowers. Depending on where they live the bees will use different flowers and make different honeys. Good.
• Bee-keeper: Person taking care of the bees and getting their honey. Good.
• Beer: Useful liquid to give to other people to save some mead. (Learn more.)
• Beer judge certification program (BJCP): Program for the judges in beer and mead competitions (bjcp.org.)
• Bitter:
• BJCP: See Beer judge certification program.
• Blending: Mixing several meads. (Learn more.)
• Bochet: Mead with a high OG which has been burnt or charred.
• Body: Viscosity of the mead. It is the physical feeling in the mouth, not the intensity of the flavor. Part of the texture.
• Boiling: The must can be boiled for sanitation. The mead community is split into two parties: the boilers and the non-boilers. (Learn more.)
• bottle capper: device for putting caps on the bottles.
• Bottle filler: Device allowing to stop the flow of mead when the bottle is full, prevents a lot of splashing when moving on to the next bottle.
• Bottling: Racking the mead from the carboy to bottles. (Learn more.)
• Bouquet: Develops with age. More earthy and more pervading than aroma. Also see aroma.
• Bracket: Mead made of honey, water, yeast and malt. See braggot.
• Braggot: Mead made of honey, water, yeast and ale. See also bracket.
• Brilliant: perfectly transparent, without the slightest haze. Arguably good.
• Bucket:
• Burnt:

C-D-E

• Campden tablets: See sulfite.
• Capsicumel/capsimel: Bacteriological warfare. See a physician.
• carbon dioxide: See CO₂.
• Carbonated: See sparkling
• Carboy: Vessel, generally made of glass, in which the must is fermented.
• Chlorophenolic: Odor similar to plastic or bleach caused by chemical combination of chlorine and organics. Avoid using chlorinated water and rinse thoroughly after using strong bleach solutions. Bad.
• Citric acid: Main acid of citrus.
• Clarification: When the lees fall to the bottom of the carboy making the mead clear. If it does not occur spontaneously, fining can be necessary. (Learn more.) Good.
• Clarity: Transparency of the mead, may be good to brilliant. Part of appearance. See clarification
• Clarre: See pyment.
• Clean: Which has no off-flavors or off-aromas. Good.
• Clear: transparent, without haze. Better than hazy, less good than brilliant.
• Color: may range from pale straw to deep amber. Part of appearance.
• Cork:
• CO₂: Gas produced during fermentation.
• Cyser: Mead made of honey, water, yeast and apples.
• Diammonium phosphate: yeast nutrient.
• Distillation: Concentration of alcohol. Illegal.
• Drinkability: How many glasses you could drink in a row.
• Dry: Mead containing little residual sugar.
• Dull: See flat.
• Estery: see fruity.
• Ethanol (ethyl alcohol): Main alcohol produced during fermentation.

F

• Fermentation: The transformation of sugar into alcohol and carbon dioxide. (Learn more.)
• Fermenter: Vessel when the fermentation occurs. The beginning of the fermentation takes place in the sp-called primary fermenter and the mead is then racked to a secondary fermenter.
• FG: See final gravity.
• Final gravity (FG): Specific gravity at the end of the fermentation.
• Fining: Addition of chemicals (fining agents) to the must when there is no spontaneously clarification. (Learn more.)
• Flat: Which does not contain enough acid, uninteresting. Also called dull.
• Flavor: The flavor of honey should be featured and may include residual sweetness. Any additives, such as acidity or tannin, should enhance the honey flavor and lend balance to the overall character of the mead. (Learn more.)
• Flocculation: When all the yeasts go to the bottle of the vessel and the mead clrifies.
• Floral: The aroma of flower blossoms or perfume.
• Foul:
• Fruits: Fruits can be added to mead, making it a melomel. (Learn more.)
• Fruity: Flavors and aromas from the fruits added in melomel and/or products of the fermentation.

G-H-I-J-K-L

• Gluconic acid: Main acid of honey.
• Green: thin, harsh, high-acid mead.
• Gruit: Herbs and spices added to the mead to make a metheglin.
• Harsh: Causing a biting or stinging sensation in the mouth. This taste is caused by higher alcohols and other products of high temperature fermentation. Most common in very alcoholic meads. Bad.
• Hazy (Learn more.) Bad.
• Hippocras: Mead made of honey, water, yeast, grape and spices/herbs.
• Honey: (Learn more.) Good.
• Honey wine: See mead.
• Hydromel:
  • See small mead.
  • French for mead.
• Hydrometer: Measures the specific gravity. Handy.
• Lag: Period of time at the beginning of the fermentation where yeast activity is low. Natural.
• Lees: Solid precipitates falling to the bottom of the vessel. Natural.

M-N

• Malic acid: Main acid of apples, also present in grapes.
• Mazer: Vessel that can be used to drink mead.
• Mazer cup: Mead contest (mazercup.org)
• Mead: Also called honey wine.
• Meadery: Factory producing mead.
• Mead lovers digest (MLD): E-mail list. To subscribe, send an e-mail to mead-request@talisman.com.
• Mead maker: Person (amateur or professional) making mead. Us.
• Mellow: soft, round, mature, easy-drinking mead.
• Melomel: Mead made of honey, water, yeast and fruits. Also called mulsum. Meads made using specific fruits can have specific names: cyser (apple), hippocras (grape), morat (mulberry).
• Metabisulfite: See sulfite.
• Metallic: Off-flavor caused by exposure to metal. Also described as tinny, coins, bloodlike. Bad.
• Metheglin: Mead made of honey, water, yeast and spices and/or herbs.
• Mixed category: Mead including ingredients from more than one category.
• MLD: See mead lovers digest.
• Moldy: Odor which can be caused by contaminated barrels or corks. Bad.
• Morat: Mead made of honey, water, yeast and mulberries.
• Mousy: a typically flat, rather dirty smell caused by bacterial invasion at high pH. Bad.
• Mouthfeel: See texture.
• Mulled: Spiced and served hot.
• Mulsum: See melomel.
• Must: the fermenting mixture of water and honey. It is no longer water or honey and it is not mead yet.
• Nectar:
  • Used by the bees to make honey.
  • See ambrosia.
• Nutrient:
  • Food for the yeast, including vitamins and diammonium phosphate (Learn more.)
  • Smell/flavor of chemical taste resulting from the overuse of yeast nutrients. Usually diminishes with aging.

O

• Oak: Wood used to make barrels in which mead can be aged. (Learn more.)
• Oaky: Flavor resulting from aging in oak barrel.
• Odor:
• Off-color: Inadequate color (with respect to the honey/fruit used.)
• Off-flavor: Inadequate (to the honey/fruit used) to offensive flavor.
• Off-odor: Inadequate (to the honey/fruit used) to offensive odor.
• OG: See original gravity.
• Organoleptic:
• Original gravity (OG): Specific gravity at the beginning of the fermentation.
• Oxidized: Flavor described as winy, wet cardboard, papery, sherry. Often coupled with an increase in sourness, harshness and bitterness. The greater the aeration in bottling/siphoning, the temperature or the air in the headspace, the faster a mead will oxidize.

P-Q-R

• Pectic enzyme: Thingies that get you rid of pectin haze. Good.
• Pectin: Stuff found in fruits. Boring.
• pH: a measure of the acidity. (Learn more.)
• Phenolic: Can be any one or combination of a medicinal, plastic, electrical fire, Listerinelike, Band-Aidlike, smoky, clovelike aroma or flavor. Most often caused by wild yeast or bacteria. Sanitizing residues left in equipment can contribute. Bad.
• Planet buzz: Mead gathering in Chicago (www.meadfest.com)
• Primary: See fermenter.
• Pyment: Mead made of honey, water, yeast and grape. Also called clarre.
• Racking: Separating the must from the lees. (Learn more.)
• Residual sugar: Sugar (and thus sweetness) still present after the fermentation.
• Resinous:
• Rhodomel: Mead made of honey, water, yeast and rose petals (or rose water.)

S

• Saccharomyces bayanus: Champagne yeast. (Learn more.)
• Saccharomyces cerevisiae: Wine yeast. (Learn more.)
• Saccharomyces fermentati: Sherry (flor) yeast. (Learn more.)
• Sack: Mead whose OG is high. It is not clear to me if this means high-alcohol mead or sweet mead.
• Salty: taste associated with table salt. Sensation experienced on the sides of the tongue.
• Sanitation: Making sure that everything is clean and as "sterile" as possible. (Learn more.) Good.
• Secondary: See fermenter.
• Semi-sweet:
  • Mead containing intermediate levels of residual sugar.
  • [On labels of commercial meads] BS.
• SG: See specific gravity.
• Show mead: name sometimes given to meads without any herb or spice. Meads with little herbs or spices (added for complexity only) are then traditional meads.
• Siphon: Technique used for racking.
• Small mead: mead whose alcohol content is low. Also called hydromel.
• Solvent-like: Flavor and aromatic character of certain alcohols, often due to high fermentation temperatures. Like acetone, lacquer thinner.
• Sorbate: See Sorbic acid.
• Sorbic acid: Chemical used to prevent fermentation from resuming inside the bottles. Generally added as sorbates. (Learn more.)
• Sour: See acidic.
• SO₂: See sulfite.
• Sparkling: Mead containing bubbles (it is to mead what Champagne is to wine.) Antonym: still. (Learn more.)
• Sparkolloid: A fining agent. (Learn more.)
• Specific gravity (SG): Mass of the liquid per unit volume. Used to calculate the alcohol content. (Learn more.)
• Speed of the fermentation: (Learn more.)
• Spicy: Flavors and aromas from the spices added in metheglin and/or products of the fermentation.
• Stale: see oxidized.
• Starter: Mini-must in which yeast can grow before the fermentation starts. (Learn more.) Good.
• Still: Not carbonated. Antonym: sparkling.
• Stuck fermentation: The fermentation stops too early. (Learn more.) Bad.
• Sugar:
• Sulfite (SO₂): Antiseptic and antioxygen. Often added as metabisulfite (Campden tablets.) (Learn more.)
• Sulfurlike: Smell similar to that of rotten eggs, burning matches. It is a byproduct of certain strains of yeast or the overuse of sulfites. Usually diminishes with age. Bad.
• Sweet:
  • Basic taste associated with sugar or honey. Sensation experienced on the front tip of the tongue. Too much sweetness is referred to as a cloying quality.
  • Mead containing a lot of residual sugar.

T

• Tannins: Bitter and astringent substance found in the skin of red grapes and in red wine. Usually diminishes with age.
• Tart: See acidic.
• Tartaric acid: Main acid of grapes and thus of wine. Present in mead only if you add it.
• Taste: Acidic, bitter, salty, sweet. Not to be confused with the texture. (Learn more.)
• T'ej: Ethiopian mead that contains hops.
• Temperature: Yeast will not ferment the same at all temperatures and chemical reactions (and thus flavor) will not be the same either. (Learn more.)
• Texture: It is the physical feeling in the mouth. Most meads will be wine-like, with the warming presence of alcohol and sense of medium body. Sensations of a cloying or astringent character should be avoided. Also called mouthfeel. Includes body, harshness, astringency.
• Thin: light-bodied.
• Titrable acidity: It is the acidity relevant to the taste (as opposed to the pH which is more important for chemical reactions.) (Learn more.)
• Traditional mead: Water, honey, yeast. No fruit, no spice, no herb. The taste comes only from the honey and the chemicals produced during the fermentation.

U-V-W-X-Y-Z

• Varietal honey: Honey for a distinctive flavor.
• Vinegary: Vinegar-like smell/taste coming from acetic acid.
• Vinous: Wine-like.
• Vitamin C: Also called ascorbic acid.
• Wassail: Toast from the old English "Waes hael!" (i.e. "To your health!".) Mead-maker for "What's uuup".
• Water: Main ingredient of mead in terms of volume. (Learn more.)
• Wild yeast: Nasty micro-organisms which try to spoil your mead. They are untamed yeast, so the by-products of the fermentation will not necessarily be good. They are naturally present in honey and can be eliminated through sanitation. Bad.
• Wine: Sort of mead made of grape. (Learn more.)
• Wine-thief: Small pipe to sample mead from the carboy. Handy.
• Woody: Taste resulting from too long aging in oak.
• Yeast: micro-organisms which ferment the sugar of the honey and produce alcohol and organoleptic chemicals. (Learn more.) Good.
• Yeast hull: Dead yeast used to feed living yeast. Incitation to cannibalism.
• Yeasty: Yeastlike or breadlike flavor. Often due to yeast in suspension or mead sitting on the yeast sediment too long.