Wine Terms Starting with V

VA is short for volatile acidity.

Next to Chianti, this is the most heavily produced Italian red wine. Chianti comes from Tuscany and Valpolicella comes from Veneto. Valpolicella translates as "valley of many cellars", an apt description of the area to the north of Verona, northeastern Italy, where it's produced. Generally, Valpolicella is light, round, satisfying, and easy to drink, but when the harvest allows, an allotment of the grapes is allowed to dry prior to being fermented

Italian wine term for vanilla.

The primary extract of the vanilla bean, also found in toasted oak barrels.

Italian term for grape variety

The type of grape used in a wine. For example, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay are both varietals. In the United States, if a wine is labeled as the varietal must contain at least 75 percent of that grape. In the rest of the world, a wine must be at least 85 percent of the labeled varietal.

A vessel for fermentation that is most often made of stainless steel, cement or oak. Used interchangeably with tanks.

Italian term for "old".

Wines possessing the aroma or flavor of vegetation or vegetables (often bell peppers and asparagus), are referred to as having a vegetal character. These flavors can be a pleasant component of a complex flavor profile, and are commonly found in Cabernet Sauvignon based wines.

A wine tasting descriptor for wines with a smooth, rich, and silky texture.

Italian term for harvest

Italian term for late harvest

A large wine-producing region in northeastern Italy at the mouth of the Padova plain, the largest valley in Italy, and home to the famous city of Venice.

A term for when the grapes start to change color from green.

An aromatized and fortified wine that is made with wormwood, flavoured with various botanicals (e.g. cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, chamomile, etc.) and sometimes colored.

A vertical tasting consists of the same wines from a single producer, winery or vineyard in multiple vintages.

Wines that are fresh, lively, energetic, with good acidity, but also rich with depth. This is a positive trait.

French term for "old vines." A mostly unregulated term to describe wines made with grapes from old vines..

Spanish term for “old”

Italian term for vineyard

French term for a wine maker or wine grower.A tasting term for a wine that does not have much body and, thus, feels somewhat watery in the mouth. This is not necessarily a flaw; certain wine styles, like champagne for instance, strive more for balance and refinement than dense, full-bodied power.

An Italian term for vineyard.

Tasting term describing wines with strong, forward fruit flavors.

Translated from French as "white wine".

A sweet wine made from grapes dried on straw (Paillé) mats. It is similar to passito in Italy.

Translates from French as "wine of the country" and is a lower rank than the top AOC and secondary VDQS classifications.

The bottom classification of wine in France. Often they're not even bottled; rather they're dispensed at local cooperatives via a machine resembling a gas pump.

French term similar to Vin primeur denoting a very young wine meant to be consumed within the same vintage year it was produced. Example: Beaujolais Nouveau.

Translates from French as "red wine".

Sweet wine from Tuscany made from late-harvest Trebbiano and Malvasia grapes.

Spanish for vines.

Italian term for the solid remains of grapes after pressing them.

Italian term for the seed of the grapes

A vinegar scent that indicates the wine has been spoiled by ethyl acetate; the wine hasturned, usually from excess oxidation or over aging.

Refers to the entire process of creating wine from grapes.

Italian term for vinification

"Vino" is the word for "wine" in both Spanish and Italian.

The Italian equivalent of Table Wine. Consistent with the rest of Europe, the designation is used in Italy for the bottom category of wines.

The scientific study of wines and winemaking.

Italian term for a wine that is fresh and fruity

Vintage is the process of picking grapes and creating the finished product. A vintage wine is one made from grapes that were all, or primarily, grown and harvested in a single specified year.

Vintage port is produced only during years in which the grape harvest was of extraordinary quality. Known as a "declared" vintage, they occur about two or three times every ten years.

Vintage port is produced only during years in which the grape harvest was of extraordinary quality. Known as a "declared" vintage, they occur about two or three times every ten years.

Someone who makes or sells wine. A wine merchant.

Italian term for the purple colour of some wines

Italian term for vine

Italian term for grape grower

Italian term for viticulture

A French word that translates as "vine grower". In most cases the term is applied to the owner of a vineyard or the chief manager.

The field of study involving specifically the growing of grapevines.

Italian term for grape variety

The genus "vitis" is made up of over forty individual grape species, and Vinifera is the shining star among them as it is the species from which almost every wine (and certainly every fine wine) is produced.

Italian term for a “lively” or lightly sparkling wine. Vivace wines are slightly less effervescent than frizzante wines.

Negative characteristic used to describe wine that has an off-scent like vinegar

Type of soil and terroir, often found in Sicily around Etna, Santorini, Mexico, Napa Valley and many other regions that comes from rocks, stones, lava, ash and pumice, that were created through volcanic eruptions.

An appellation in France's central Loire Valley. The vineyards surrounding the town of Vouvray grow Chenin Blanc almost entirely, and the character of the wine of this region ranges from dry and crisp to lush, with beautiful,sweet fruit flavors predominating