F

Farm winery
A United States winery license allowing farms to produce and sell wine on-site.
Fault
An unpleasant characateristic of wine resulting from a flaw with the winemaking process or storage conditions.
Fermentation
The conversion of grape sugars to alcohol by yeast.
Fiasco
The straw-covered flask historically associated with Chianti.
Fighting varietal
A term that originated in California during the mid 1980s to refer to any inexpensive cork-finished varietal wine in a 1.5 liter bottle.
Fining
A clarification process where flocculants, such as bentonite or egg white, are added to the wine to remove suspended solids.
Finish
A tasting term for the lingering aftertaste after a wine has been swallowed.
Flabby
Tasting term used to indicate a wine lacking in structure, often marked by low acidity.
Flagon
A glass bottle that holds two litres of (usually inexpensive) table wine.
Flor
The yeast responsible for the character of dry Sherries.
Fortified wine
Wine to which alcohol has been added, generally to increase the concentration to a high enough level to prevent fermentation.
Foxy
A tasting term for the musty odor and flavor of wines made from Vitis labrusca grapes native to North America.
Free run
Juice obtained from grapes that have not been pressed.
Frizzante
See “crackling”.
Fruit
The main component of the wine, usually grape but other fruits are also used to make wine, such as pear, plum, etc. Often mentioned when the fruit isn’t grown in the same site as the winery, such as “the wine is produced here on-site, but the fruit is purchased from a vineyard upstate.”
Fruit wine
A fermented alcoholic beverage made from non-grape fruit juice which may or may not include the addition of sugar or honey. Fruit wines are always called “something” wines (e.g., plum wine), since the word wine alone is often legally defined as a beverage made only from grapes.

G

Gewürztraminer
Gewürztraminer is a white wine grape variety from the wine producing region of Alsace in France.
Globalization of wine
Refers to the increasingly international nature of the wine industry, including vineyard management practices, winemaking techniques, wine styles, and wine marketing.
Grape juice
The free-run or pressed juice from grapes. Unfermented grape juice is known as “must.”
Grenache
A red wine grape of the Rhone Valley of France, and elsewhere (especially Spain). In the southern Rhone, Grenache replaces Syrah as the most important grape (Syrah being more important in the north).
Green harvest
The harvesting of green (unripe) grapes in an attempt to increase the yield of quality grapes.

H

Hard
A tasting term for a wine that containins too much tannin and is therefore unpleasant. Hard wines often take a long time to mature.
Hectare
A metric measure that equals 10,000 m? (2.471 acres).
Hock
Term for Rhine wines, usually used in England.
Hogshead
A wine barrel that holds approximately 239 litres (63 gallons).

I

Ice wine
Wine made from frozen grapes. Called eiswein in German.
IGT
Abbreviation for “Indicazione Geografica Tipica“, the lowest-ranking of the three categories of Italian wine regulated by Italian law.