Wine Terms Starting with G

A very popular red grape in the Beaujolais region of France.

Wines with aromas of meat, earth and barnyard.

An old-fashioned term that initially referred to a movement of small producers located on the right bank of Bordeaux, who made wine at home or in the garage. Now, the term is used generically to depict winemakers that make small batches of wine with sourced juice and/or grapes.

Garrafeira is a Portuguese term with garrafa as the root of the word. Garrafa means bottle in many Latin languages. Garrafeira carries a different meaning depending on the context. Generally refers to a place where bottles are stored (cellar, liquor store, etc.). It also refers to regulatory aging requirements for red and white/rose wines the wines for which this term is used have particular regulations. In the case of red wines, they must be aged at least two years in a barrel and one year in a bottle. On the other hand, white and rosé wines must be aged at least one year in a barrel and six months in a bottle.

This French term describes a fragrance of earth, herbs and other scents found in typical Provençal open markets.

A term used by the World Trade Organization (WTO) to designate a wine region that can produce wines with defined characteristics.

A sweet and spicy white grape popular in eastern France, Germany, Austria, northern Italy and California.

Italian term for the yellowish color of some wines.

Italian term to refer to a wine that is young or has a lack of maturity

Refers to the internationalization of the wine industry, including vineyard management practices, winemaking techniques, wine styles and marketing.

Glycerin, produced during fermentation, adds texture and body to wine.

A viticulture technique in which the bud-producing part of a vine is attached to an existing root. This is typically done to deal with pests that attack the rootstock of the vines. Phylloxera is a microscopic louse or aphid, that lives on and eats roots of vines.

This is the highest category of wines produced in Spain. To obtain this label, a wine must be aged for a minimum of five years. Two of those five years the wine must be aged in barrel, and it can spend the remaining time in bottle.

French for "great growth". Refers to the best vineyards. It is a part of the official French vineyard classification. In Spain, premium classification for Spanish sparkling wine, cava wine.

Used to describe vineyards where premium grapes grow. This is a definition used mainly in the Burgundy area.

In French, the expression means "great brands" or "great labels" and can apply either to a specific Champagne house or to an association of 24 members including the best French Champagne houses.

Used to refer to the best wine made on an estate. It is normally used in France, particularly in Bordeaux.

Granite soils are found in many regions, although they are most prevalent in the northern Rhône Valley.

A Spanish term used for sparkling wines fermented in tank instead of receiving a traditional fermentation in bottle.

A term used for pressed or free-run, unfermented grape juice.

Freshly pressed grape juice that still contains the pips, sticks and skins of the grape.

Italian term to refer to a bunch of grapes

Wine tasting term describing herbaceous or green flavors, such as sometimes can be found in Sauvignon Blanc wine.

Traditional Italian structures used in the process of winemaking, specifically for drying grapes. These are often constructed as wooden racks or lattice frameworks. The primary purpose of graticci is to facilitate the air drying of grapes, which concentrates their sugars and flavors, a crucial step in producing certain styles of wine like Amarone or passito wines. By allowing air to circulate around the grapes, these racks help in achieving the desired level of dehydration before the grapes are pressed and fermented. This method enhances the intensity and complexity of the resulting wines.

Gravel, along with other rocks and stones, is an important part of many wine regions, especially Bordeaux and California, for the production of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc.

A gentle method of moving wine without the use of pumps but only with the aid of gravity force.

Wine tasting term. Green wines have a high degree of acidity and usually unbalanced flavors due to the berries not achieving phenolic ripeness. This term is usually used only for white wines.

Green harvesting consists of removing unripe grapes at the beginning of the growing season to reduce the overall yield. In this way, it is possible to increase the concentration of the remaining grapes.

Grenache is a red grape most commonly used to produce wine in the southern Rhône valley.

A term widely used by British wine tasters to describe firm, tannic wines.

Growing Degree Days (GDD) in viticulture are a measure of heat accumulation used to predict plant development rates, including grapevines. This concept is crucial in understanding and predicting the timing of the key phases in a vine's growth cycle, such as flowering, fruit set, and ripening.The GDD is calculated by taking the average of the daily maximum and minimum temperatures compared to a base temperature, below which grapevines do not grow. The base temperature often used is 10°C (50°F). Here's a simple formula to illustrate:GDD = (Daily Max Temp + Daily Min Temp)/2 - Base TempFor example, if the daily high is 25°C and the low is 15°C, the calculation would be (25+15)/2 - 10 = 10 GDD for that day.This measurement is accumulated over the growing season, typically starting from when the average daily temperature consistently exceeds the base temperature, often around bud break in spring.The total GDD over a growing season helps in classifying the climate of a wine region (cool, moderate, warm, or hot), determining suitable grape varieties for that region, and predicting harvest times. Different grape varieties require different amounts of heat to reach maturity, so GDD is a useful tool in selecting varieties that are well-suited to a region's climate. Additionally, understanding GDD can assist viticulturists in adapting their practices to climate change and varying weather patterns.

In the official Medoc classification of 1855, the best Bordeaux wines were classified using this term (First Growth, Second Growth, Third Growth, Fourth Growth and Fifth Growth).

A very popular white grape in Austria that produces fruity, highly aromatic and spicy wines

A wine blend of Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre.

Italian term for taste