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Racking
Racking is moving wine from one container to another without
transferring the
sediment.
This labor-intensive process is less intrusive than
filtering the wine,
which removes more of the desirable elements. Racking the
wine also
oxidizes it,
if done carefully this may improve the wine's
aroma.
Heavy red wines are often racked three or four times, while light reds and
white wines are racked once or twice, if at all.
Refractometer
A refractometer measures
sugar ratio in
the grape juice by refracting (bending) light. The higher the sugar content, the
more refraction.
Residual sugar
Residual sugar is the
sugar
left after the wine has finished
fermenting.
Dry wines contain less than 2 grams per liter of residual sugar.
Sweet wines contain much more residual sugar, perhaps 100 times as much, or even more.
Reserve
The term reserve appears on the label of a wide variety of wine bottles. While
it almost guarantees a higher price, in most jurisdictions it guarantees
nothing else. Italy (riserva)and some other countries and states regulate
this term, and it may be worthwhile to pay a bit more for such wines.
Riperia
Riperia is the most common species of native North American grape vine. It is
sometimes
crossed with other species to produce
rootstocks that are resistant to
Phylloxera.
Rootstock
Rootstock, a group of
Phylloxera-resistant
roots, often form the base for
grafting vines of grape
varieties that are not resistant. The combined plants
supposedly offer the best of both worlds. The roots are Phylloxera-resistant
and the grapes are wine grapes. Some people claim that they can taste the
difference between ungrafted grapes and grafted grapes. But most
vineyards today use grafted rootstocks.
Rosé
Rosé is pink wine. The easiest way to make it is to remove the grape
skins
before they have deeply colored the
fermenting wine.
Rosés should be served chilled, and are often the ideal accompaniment to a summer meal.
Click to access introductory wine glossary pages:
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C D
E F
G H
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M N
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T U
V W
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