Rosato

Rosé.

Rosé Champagne

A pink Champagne. The rosé color, which actually ranges from translucent pink to coppery salmon, is obtained either by blending a bit of still red wine into the Champagne blend before the SECONDARY FERMENTATION or… Continue reading

Rosso

Red. Vino rosso is distinguished from vino bianco (white wine) and vino rosato (rosé wine).

Raisiny

A descriptive term for a wine (generally a red) that tastes slightly like raisins because the grapes were overripe when picked. A small bit of this quality can add an interesting nuance to the wine,… Continue reading

Rotten Egg

The term most often used to describe a wine that exhibits the fault of having excessive hydrogen sulfide.

Recioto

A word indicating the wine is sweet (as in recioto di Soave and recioto di Valpolicella). To make a recioto wine, the grapes are left for months to dry and raisinate, usually on mats or… Continue reading

Rotwein

Red wine; Germany and Austria are famous for their whites, but a good deal of red wine is made in each and consumed locally.

Rémuage

The RIDDLING (rotating and tilting) of Champagne bottles to concentrate yeast sediments in their necks. Riddling is done by hand in A-shape frames called pupitres or by a computerized machine called a gyropalette.

Rough

Used to describe the coarse texture of a (usually young) tannic red wine before it has begun to round out. AGING can sometimes soften a rough wine.

Reserva

A wine produced only in excellent years. Though national law stipulates that red reservas must be aged for one year in oak barrels, each DENOMINACIÓN DE ORIGEN or DENOMINACIÓN DE ORIGEN CALIFICADA can set higher… Continue reading

Reserve

Many producers the world over make a reserve wine in addition to their regular offering, the reserve being of higher quality (theoretically) and higher price (dependably). In the United States, a reserve wine may be… Continue reading

Residual Sugar

Natural grape sugar that remains in wine because it has not been converted into ALCOHOL during FERMENTATION. Wines that taste dry can nonetheless have a tiny amount of residual sugar in them. Winemakers often leave… Continue reading