Conseil des Vins du Médoc

Soutirage : technique visant à transvaser levin d’une barrique à une autre afin d’assurerla séparation des lies et du vin.> Tanin : produit organique contenu dansles pépins, la peau et la rafle du raisin. Ilcontribue au vieillissement des vins, en particulierdes vins rouges.> Véraison : moment pendant lequel le raisinsur sa vigne devient translucide et commenceà se colorer.> Alcoholic fermentation : the first fermentationwhich transforms the grapes’sugar intoalcohol.> Barrel : the oak Bordeaux barrel contains 225litres.> Blending : Médoc wines are the result of theblending of several grape varieties thus guaranteeingtheir balance.> Bontemps : a small, wooden cup in whichthe egg whites used for fining the wine in thebarrel are whisked.Also called the « desquet » in the Médoc dialect.> Bung : the name given to the stopper closingthe barrel.> Colour change : the time when the grape onthe vine starts to take on its final colour.> Crushing : a technique used to burst thegrapes open and release their juice.> Destemming : separation of the individualgrapes from the stalks and removal of thestems.> Devatting : a technique used to draw off thewine leaving all the solids in the bottom of thevat and to separate the free-run wine fromthe press wine produced by the marc duringpressing.> Fining : this operation consists of addingwhisked egg whites to the wine in the barreland mixing them to clarify the wine.> First wine and second wine : with his concernfor quality, the Cellar Master makes a selectionaccording to the vines and terroirs so as toobtain a great wine with a high quality andageing potential (the first wine) and a secondwine that can be enjoyed earlier.> Flowering : blooming of the flowers which,once fertilised, will grow into grapes.> Humus : the blackish residue from the decompositionof organic matter essential for thegrowth of vegetal species.> Malo-lactic fermentation : second fermentationto transform the malic acid into lacticacid, thus ensuring a natural reduction of thewine’s acidity.> Manure : fertiliser.> Marc : the solid residue from the macerationof the wine. It is removed from the vat oncethe wine has been run off and then pressed.> Oenology : the science of vinification andageing of wines.> Parcel selection : a technique which consistsof distributing the grapes harvested from eachparcel into individual vats to monitor the developmentof the wine with precision.> Polyphenols : all the phenolic compounds,anthocyanins and tannins which play a vitalrole in the colour of the wine and its tastingqualities. Their beneficial effect on health hasbeen recognised thanks to their anti-oxidantproperties.> Pressing : an action performed to press themarc from the bottom of the vat to obtain thepress wine.> Pumping-over : an operation which consistsof pumping the liquid from the bottom of thevat, during fermentation, up over the cap tohomogenize the fermentation process and tointensify the colour of the wine.> Racking : a technique used to transfer thewine from one barrel to another to enable theseparation of the lees from the wine.> Rootstock : the plant or root on which thescion of a noble grape variety is grafted.> Stalks : all the parts of the bunch holding theindividual grapes.> Tannin : an organic product contained in thepips, the skin and the stalks of the grape. Itcontributes to the ageing of the wine, especiallyin red wines.> Training wires : the support used to hold thevines in the Médoc.> Ullage : an operation performed during thefirst year of ageing which consists of toppingup each barrel to replace the wine that hadevaporated.> Variety : the name given to the differentgrape types.> Vatting : time during which the wine is left inthe fermentation tank.> Wicking : the introduction of a lighted sulphurwick into the barrel to kill any bacteriapresent thanks to the sulphur gases given offby the wick.DESTINATION VIGNOBLES EN MÉDOC / 19