Glossary of Wine Terms

FAT — Describes a wine with mouth-filling flavor and texture.

FERMENTATION — The process by which sugars are converted into alcohol and carbon dioxide gas, turning grape juice into wine.

FILTER — To clarify wine (removing dead yeast cells and other suspended matter) by passing it through a filtering machine prior to bottling.

FINING — A method of clarifying wine by the use of such agents as gelatin, egg white or bentonite.

FINISH — The tastes and smells that remain with the senses after swallowing.

FIRM — Describes tightly-structured wine, which usually has fairly high acidity or astringency.

FLABBY — Lacking structure; flat in taste due to low acidity.

FLESHY — Describes a wine full of substance; chewy; meaty.

FLORAL — Describes a wine with a flowery bouquet.

FOCUSED — Describes wines with well-defined bouquet and flavor; opposite of diffuse.

FORTIFIED WINES — Wines to which brandy has been added, usually containing between 16 percent and 21 percent alcohol. Ports and Sherries are examples of fortified wines.

FORWARD — Describes a young wine that reveals character sooner than expected.

FOXY — Applied to wines with a pronounced wild grape flavor, particularly Labruscas species such as Concord, Catawba, Niagara, etc. grapes. Probably originating from the native American Fox grape, the distinctive flavor and aroma have been traced to the presence of methyl anthranilate.

FREE RUN — The part of the juice that runs freely from wine grapes before pressing.

FRESH — Generally applied to a young wine, a term indicating liveliness and fruity acidity.

FRUIT SET — The new fruit formed after a vine has flowered.

FRUITY — Describes a wine, usually young, with a flavor and aroma of fresh, ripe fruits-grapes, naturally, but fruity wines can also display berry-like or apple-y overtones.

FULL-BODIED — Describes wines in which high alcohol content produces a mouth-filling sensation.