Essential
vocabulary
The Spanish department of GIRALDA
CENTER-SPANISH HOUSE offers you the following information to help
you discover the wealth of Spanish wines. We consider that it
forms part of the gastronomic culture of this country, and it
will also help you to learn Spanish.
How is it possible to translate
these sensations; to express the colour, the aroma and flavour
of a wine?.
FINO: A biological high alcohol
wine typical of Andalusia.
FRUTAL/FRUITY: The aromatic
quality of some wines, or the presence of aromas that are reminiscent
of fruit (blackberries, raspberries, banana, pineapple, peach,
etc).
GENEROSO: Special wine with
an alcoholic content of between 15 and 23%.By extension, this
term is also applied to high alcohol table wines.
GRAN RESERVA: Name given to
wines which have been aged for a significant period of time in
oak barrels and in the bottle. Although the classification varies
from one region to another, it generally means a wine aged for
more than three years.
HOLLEJO: skin of the grape.
JOVEN: Unaged wine characterised
by its fresh and fruity qualities.
MANZANILLA: A high alcohol
fino produced in Sanlúcar de Barrameda, in Andalusia.
OLOROSO: Fortified wine from
Jerez, ranging from 18 to 20% alc. vol and with an aroma reminiscent
of walnuts. Obtained by oxidised ageing. Dark gold in colour and
full-bodied.
ORUJOS/MARC: Residue left after
the pressing of the grapes. After the wine has been extracted
from the press, the marc can be used in the distillation process
or for making aguardiente, literally ‘fire water’.
PALE DRY: A type of fino wine.
PALE CREAM: A sweet wine with
the same colour as fino.
PALIDO/PALE: Used to describe
wines of low chromatic intensity.
PALO CORTADO: An uncommon wine
which is a cross between an amontillado and an oloroso, with the
perfume of the first and the taste of the second.
RESERVA: On a bottle, this word
indicates that the wine has been aged for a significant period
of time, usually three years.
ROBLE/OAK: Aroma and taste
produced in a wine aged in aromatic oak barrels, which should
be in perfect harmony with the wine’s roundness.
ROSADO/ROSÉ: A kind
of wine made from red grapes fermented without the grape skins,
giving the wine a lighter colour.
SANGRIA: Typical Spanish refreshing
drink made from wine and fruit, particularly lemon.
SECO/DRY: Wine which has completed
its fermentation so that all the sugar has been turned into alcohol.
SOLERA: The lowest row in the
tiers of barrels where the oldest wines are aged. The term is
also used to describe the ageing system which consists of improving
young wine with the addition of older wine, as in the case of
the fortified wines of Jerez.
TANINO/TANNIN: Astringent natural
substance found in the seeds and skin of the grape. During ageing
the oak of the barrels used also adds natural tannins to the wine.
TINTO/RED: Basic wine category
for those wines made from red grapes and fermented with the grape
skins. Its colour ranges from cherry red through to bluish-black.
VARIETAL/VARIETAL WINE: Wine
made from one dominant grape variety.
VENDIMIA/HARVEST: Harvesting
of the grapes.
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