Abécédaire
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Wine generally has high acidity, which ensures that it feels fresh despite its alcohol content. Acidity also carries fruit flavors and helps the wine to keep well, but it must be balanced by other flavors. It is mainly experienced on the sides on the tongue. If the wine lacks acidity, it feels flabby. If the acidity is too strong, the wine will appear overly sharp and aggressive.
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Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée. A system created by French legislation that uses the geographical source of production of foodstuffs, including wine, to identify and qualify them. Associated with production constraints that vary according to the area. Implemented in other major European countries (DOC in Italy, DO in Spain, etc.).
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Term used to describe the relative values of the main flavor elements in a wine: acidity, fruitiness, tannins, sweetness, etc. When these relative values are satisfactory, the wine can be said to be balanced or "harmonious". If the wine is almost entirely dominated by a single flavor element and the relative values are not satisfactory, that wine may be called "unbalanced".
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A fungus that attacks grape skins. It is an enemy if it strikes during the ripening phase. But for certain sweet wines, it can produce highly beneficial results when it affects very ripe grapes because it further concentrates the sugars. It is known as "noble rot" and produces some of the greatest sweet wines.
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Fortifying a wine consists of adding spirits (from grapes or another distilled spirit) to fermenting grape must. This causes a sudden increase in the alcoholic percentage of the liquid and thus kills the yeast population, ending the fermentation process. Any sugar not yet converted into alcohol will remain in the wine as residual sugar.