The process of pouring wine from the bottle into a decanter before serving, to remove unwanted sediments and to allow the wine to breathe.

Part of the process of making sparkling wine. After the second fermentation in bottle, the neck of the bottle is frozen. When it is opened, a plug of frozen wine and dead yeast can be removed.

A small format bottle. Please see our bottle size guide for more detail.

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Read Our Bottle Shape Guide

(France) A term for medium-dry.

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(Spain) High quality level for Spanish wine, equivalent to French AC.

(Italy) High quality level for Italian wine, equivalent to French AC

(Portugal) High quality level for Portuguese wine, equivalent to French AC

(Spain) Highest quality level for Spanish wine

(Italy) Highest quality level for Italian wine.

(Italy) A term for sweet.

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(France) A term for a wine estate.

Part of the process of making sparkling wine. After dégorgement, the wine is be topped up with sugar and wine to achieve a desired sweetness and character.

(France) A term for sweet.

Read Our Sweetnes Guide

A tasting term.

Read Our Sweetnes Guide

(Spain) A term for sweet.

Read Our Sweetnes Guide

A levy imposed on alcoholic beverages by HM Revenue & Customs whether imported or nationally produced. The duty on wine is based on volume rather than strength for wines up to 15% alcohol by volume and for sparkling wines and fortifieds.

See our Guide to buying En Primeur and In Bond.

View current duty rates

(Germany, Austria) Wine made from frozen grapes. The grapes are picked during the winter, and much of the water content of the grapes is frozen and easy to remove. The remaining sugar and flavours are therefore intensified. Made mainly in Germany and Austria, but also in Canada, where it is marketed as Icewine.

(France) Term used to describe all the winemaking processes that occur between fermentation and bottling, including barrel aging, fining and filtration.

Some wines are offered for sale en primeur, usually in the first year following the harvest and before bottling. It is a form of futures market where buying decisions are made based on tastings of cask samples alone. The practice originated in Bordeaux when the new wines were sold, in their barrels, to merchants who would age and subsequently bottle them in their own cellars. With the advent of Château-bottling the market has continued owing to its popularity with producers, who enjoy a publicity and cash flow advantage, and with buyers, who expect to benefit from the lowest possible price. Many UK merchants have become specialists, offering detailed notes to prospective buyers who order cases of their chosen wines for subsequent delivery once in bottle.

See our Guide to buying En Primeur and In Bond.

Refers mostly to tannins (but also other solid compounds). Extract is increased by leaving the wine in contact with the skins and pips. Increasing extract results in deeper colour and fuller body; too much and a wine can become unbalanced.

See Alcoholic Fermentation and Malolactic Fermentation

Performed before bottling, filtration removes solid impurities, including dead yeast. This clarifies the finished wine. Some also claim that over-zealous filtration can strip flavour and character from the wine.

A much used but rarely defined term applied to wines of complexity and distinction. Often such qualities arise after an extended period of bottle maturation, varying according to the wine. Only a small percentage of the world's wine production merits 'laying down' however and most everyday wines simply do not have the requisite structure, balance and general constitution to cope with long term ageing without risk of deterioration. Wines bought en primeur are normally intended to be laid down to mature and to improve.

Performed before bottling, fining is the process whereby soluble proteins and other compounds in the wine are precipitated from the wine, so that they can be removed during filtration. Several coagulative agents can be employed, including bentonite, egg-whites or isinglass.

The yeast used in the production of Sherry. If the flor forms on the surface of the fermenting sherry, it protects the wine from oxidisation and the resultant Sherry can be bottled as Manzanilla or Fino. Should the flor die and then sink to the bottom of the barrel, the resultant wine is called Amontillado. If flor does not form at all, the Sherry is called Oloroso. Partial development of flor, which then dies, results in Palo Cortado. Fortification The process whereby spirit is added to wine. If done before the completion of fermentation, the resultant wine will be sweet due to the remaining sugars (Port). If added later, the wine will remain dry (Sherry).