Results for Letter p
Palate: The flavor or taste of a wine; also referred to as different sections of taste in the mouth. As the wine travels through the mouth, it first contacts the front palate, then the midpalate and finally the back palate, all which can process different tastes, such as sweet, sour and bitter.
Passe-Tout-Grains: A red Burgundy made from Pinot Noir blended with Gamay.
Passito: An Italian term literally translated as "sweet," passito is used in Italy to describe wines that have been made from dried grapes, in the appassimento method. Drying the grapes concentrates the sugars, and the process can be used to make both sweet dessert wines like Recioto as well as dry reds such as Amarone and Sforzato.
Peak: The time when a wine tastes its best--very subjective.
Perfumed: Describes the strong, usually sweet and floral aromas found in some wines, particularly white wines.
Pergola: A vine-training system whereby the cane and spurs of a vine grow high above the ground, oftentimes overhead, aided by tall wood stakes that shape the plant like a door frame. Agricultural benefits to this method include shading grapes from excess sunlight.
Pétillant: A French term for lightly sparkling.
Pétillant Naturel (Pét-Nat):: Sparkling wines made using the ancestral method, an inexpensive but difficult-to-control technique in which the wine’s primary fermentation is stopped before completing, and a secondary fermentation occurs in the bottle, ending when the yeast cells deplete the supply of residual sugar. No dosage, or sugar addition, is used to start a secondary fermentation in the bottle, and the wine is not disgorged to remove any remaining sediment or lees. While this is a centuries-old method, pétillant naturel wines have more recently become part of the larger "natural wine" trend, which generally entails making wines from handpicked organic grapes, and using native yeasts and only minimal intervention to vinify the wine. Many vintners make pétillant naturel wines experimentally with grapes not traditionally used for sparklers, in regions that have not historically used the ancestral method. Often bottled using crown caps (like a beer bottle) rather than corks, the resulting wines can be cloudy and fizzy, but tend to be less bubbly than other sparkling styles.
PH: A chemical measurement of acidity or alkalinity; the higher the pH the weaker the acid. Used by some wineries as a measurement of ripeness in relation to acidity. Low pH wines taste tart and crisp; higher pH wines are more susceptible to bacterial growth. A range of 3.0 to 3.4 is desirable for white wines, while 3.3 to 3.6 is best for reds.
Phenolics: Tannins, color pigments and flavor compounds originating in the skins, seeds and stems of grapes. Phenolics, which are antioxidants, are more prevalent in red wines than in whites.
Phylloxera: Tiny aphids or root lice that attack Vitis vinifera roots. The vineyard pests were widespread in both Europe and California during the late 19th century, and returned to California in the 1980s.
Physiological Ripeness: See Polyphenolic Ripeness.
Pierce's Disease: This bacterial disease, frequently spread by insects such as glassy-winged sharpshooters and blue-green sharpshooters, kills vines within a few years of infestation; there are no known preventatives (other than quarantine) and no known cures. It is a problem in California; both grapegrowers and government organizations are working to find solutions to stop the disease from spreading to healthy vineyards.
Pigéage: French term for punch-down.
Pip : Another term for a grape seed.
Piquette: A lower-alcohol beverage produced by mixing water and grape pomace, fermenting residual sugar left over from wine production. A comparatively inexpensive drink, it was historically given to low-paid workers and slaves. (The ancient Romans referred to such a drink as “lora”). Over the centuries, piquette has increasingly fallen out of favor, though some producers have focused on making piquettes in the early 21st century, appealing to fans of lighter, fruit-forward styles with fresh acidity. The term may also be used separately for slightly fizzy, lower-quality wines or other wine-like drinks.
Plateau: The time during which a wine is at its peak.
Polyphenol: Chemical compounds found in plant life. In grapes, polyphenols are responsible for skin pigment, tannins and flavors—all of which fall under the category of flavonoids—as well as resveratrol, the compound associated with many of wine's health benefits, and which falls under the much smaller polyphenol category of non-flavonoids. Pertaining to wine, grape skins, seeds and stems contain the highest concentrations of polyphenols.
Polyphenolic Ripeness: Also known as physiological ripeness, is the concentration of polyphenols in grape skins, seeds and stems, in contrast to the traditional form of measuring ripeness based on sugar content (Brix, Baumé, Oechsle). It has become a trend among vintners to rely more on polyphenolic ripeness than on sugar levels in recent years, as polyphenols are the source of wine's color, flavor and mouthfeel. As grapes mature, particularly in warmer climates, sugar levels frequently rise faster than polyphenol concentrations. Leaving grapes on the vine longer to achieve polyphenolic ripeness has led to an increase in alcohol levels due to higher sugar contents, particularly in California.
Pomace: The mass of grape solids—skins, stems and seeds—remaining after pressing (for whites) and after the wine has been drained from the fermentation vessel (for reds).
Potent: Intense and powerful.
Powdery Mildew: See Oïdium.
Prädikatswein: German quality classification indicating wines with distinction and including Germany’s best wines. Prädikatswein is divided into five classes of ascending ripeness at harvest: kabinett, spätlese, auslese, beerenauslese (including eiswein) and trockenbeerenauslese. Sugar is never added to these wines. The Prädikatswein classification was formerly known as Qualitätswein mit Prädikat. Austria also uses a prädikatswein classification system; its categories are spätlese, auslese, beerenauslese (including eiswein), strohwein and trockenbeerenauslese.
Premier Cru: Refers to a top tier in a cru system. In Burgundy, it is second to grand cru.
Premier Cru Classé: See First-Growth.
Press: After fermentation, the mixture of red grape juice, skins, lees and other solids is pressed to separate the juice from the solids. Because extended skin contact is undesirable for white wines, white grapes are pressed before fermentation.
Press Wine (or Pressing): The juice extracted under pressure after pressing for white wines and after fermentation for reds. Press wine has more flavor and aroma, deeper color and often more tannins than free-run juice. Wineries often blend a portion of press wine back into the main cuvée for added backbone.
Private Reserve: This description, along with Reserve, once stood for the best wines a winery produced, but lacking a legal definition many wineries use it or a spin-off (such as Proprietor's Reserve) for rather ordinary wines. Depending upon the producer, it may still signify excellent quality.
Produced And Bottled By: Indicates that the winery crushed, fermented and bottled at least 75 percent of the wine in the bottle.
Pruning: The process of trimming the vine. Determining how many buds to leave on the vine, the grower decides the number of bunches and the maximum quantity of fruit each vine can bear in the coming year.
Pruny: Having the flavor of overripe, dried-out grapes. Can add complexity in the right dose.
Puckery: Describes highly tannic and very dry wines.
Pump-Over: Also known as remontage, the process of pumping red wine up from the bottom of the tank and splashing it over the top of the fermenting must; the purpose is to submerge the skins so that carbon dioxide is pushed to the surface of the must and released.
Punch-Down: Also known as pigéage, the process of breaking up the thick layer of skins, stems and seeds that forms at the surface of fermenting red wine and submerging it during fermentation to extract color, tannins, flavor and aromas from the grape solids.
Pungent: Having a powerful, assertive smell linked to a high level of volatile acidity.
Punt: The dimple or indentation in the bottom of a bottle, originally meant to strengthen hand-blown glass containers; now mostly for show, except in sparkling wine bottles. Bottles for Champagne and sparkling wines, which must withstand extra pressure, have especially deep punts.
Pyrazines: Organic compounds found in all grapes (but most prominently in Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc) that can yield pungent herbal or vegetal aromas. These can manifest as green bell pepper, lemongrass, fresh or dried herbs, among others.
