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Palate
A tasting term to describe the sensation of a wine in the mouth. See
also
midpalate. |
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Pasteurization
Named after the French scientist Louis Pasteur, pasteurization is
the chemical process of sterilisation by heating.
Pasteurization is mainly used to protect the wine against bacteria spoilage.
See also
flash pasteurisation. |
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Peppery
Tasting term referring to "spicy" wines. |
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Perfumed
Tasting term synonym for
floral. |
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pH
Acronym for "potential hydrogen",
pH is a measure of the
acidity
of a wine. A low pH means a high
acidity. |
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Photosynthesis
Photosynthesis is the biological process synthesis of compounds with
the aid of the sun's radiant energy. This result in the accumulation
of
sugar in the plant, including the fruit. |
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Phylloxera
Phylloxera is a tiny underground insect that attack the roots of
grape vines and finally kills the plant.
In the late 18th Century, the Phylloxera destroyed 90% of the
vineyards in Europe.
The use of resistant American rootstock to guard against Phylloxera
finally saved the European
vineyard from a total destruction. |
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Physiological ripeness
Out of
sugar, this term refers to the ripening of the other substances
of the grape i.e. the tannins. One may say that grapes were not
picked physiologically
ripe
it the wine imparts a
greenish
character. |
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Pigeage
Pigeage is a French term to describe the process of pushing
down the
cap,
which is kept in contact with the fermenting
must to increase
extract,
while the wine is in the vat. |
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Plump
Tasting term referring to a
fat
wine. |
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Pomace
Pomace, or marc, is the solid remains of grapes (skins,
stalks, pulp and seeds) after
pressing for juice. |
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Ponderous
Tasting term for an extremely
unbalanced wine. |
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Potential Alcohol
The more
sugar
there is in the
must
prior to
fermentation,
the greater the potential of
alcohol.
Winemakers measure the must weight, generally with a refractometer,
to calculate the potential
alcohol.
The three international scales used in this analysis are "baumé", "brix",
and "oechsle". From 55 to 60% the grapes'
sugar content is converted
into ethyl
alcohol
(the only
alcohol
suitable for drinking). |
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Powdery Mildew
See
Oidium. |
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Powerful
A tasting term synonym for
brawny. |
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Press wine
During the winemaking process the wine must be taken from the grape
solids - pips, skins, pulp and stalks. First it may be run off -
this is the free-run wine and is of higher quality than the wine
obtained by pressing the cap, which is the
press wine. Press wine
has more
tannin. It may be blended back in in varying proportions
according to the practice of the
winemaker, or it may even be
blended into another wine if more than one cuvée is produced, such
as at Charles Joguet in Chinon. |
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Proof
Alcoholic
proof is the measurement of
alcohol
content, or how much ethanol is in a wine. |
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Pruney
Overripe grapes can induce an undesirable
taste, sometimes compared to dried prunes, to wines.. |
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Pruning
Related to
canopy
management, pruning is the act of trimming, cutting away or removing
what is superfluous on the vine.
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Puckery
Tasting term referring to
astringent,
hard
or
tannic. |
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Puncheon
A puncheon is a cask with a capacity of 273 to 454
litres (72 to 120 U.S.
gallons). |
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Punt
A punt is the indentation in the bottom of a wine bottle. |
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More about the
grape varietals
and
the Bordeaux wine region
Winemega's
tasting notes by chateau
Tasting tips: a sommeliere writes about
advanced wine topics |
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