Topping Up

To add more wine to a barrel or container to replace any wine lost through evaporation and thereby prevent the wine from experiencing OXIDATION. The term is also used in more general circumstances to mean… Continue reading

Transfer Process

A less expensive way of making SPARKLING WINE than the traditional MÉTHODE CHAMPENOISE. In the transfer process, the secondary fermentation takes place in the individual bottles (as it does in Champagne), but then instead of… Continue reading

Trocken

Dry. Wines labeled trocken from both Germany and Austria must have less than 0.9 percent RESIDUAL SUGAR.

Trunk

The vine’s permanent vertical stem which grows out of the ground.

TTB

The acronym for the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau. This Federal entity governs most wine legislation including wine labeling and taxation. The TTB is also the department that approves (or denies) applications to… Continue reading

Txakoli (sha-ko-LEE)

Txakoli is made from the indigenous white grape called hondurrabi zuri. Zuri means white in Basque; hondurrabi is a village near the French border. Dry as a bone, and extremely sleek on the palate, txakoli… Continue reading

Txakolina (shack-o-LEE-na)

In Basque, technically translates to “place of txakoli.” Txakolina is a type of fresh white wine made in Spain’s Basque Country. Considered a fantastic match for sharp cheeses, Serrano ham, and any sort of seafood,… Continue reading

Typicity

A quality that a wine possesses if it is typical of its region and reflects the characteristics of the grape variety from which it came. Whether or not a wine demonstrates typicity is pretty subjective.… Continue reading

Terroir

French term for the sum entity and effect (no single word exists in English) of every environmental factor on a given piece of ground. Included within terroir, for example, are a vineyard’s soil, slope, orientation… Continue reading

Tertiary (TUR-she-air-ee)

If you drink only young wine, you might not have run across this word. Tertiary refers to aromas and flavors that come as a result of a wine’s long aging in the bottle—aromas and flavors… Continue reading

Thin

Used to describe a wine lacking character and flavor, possibly because it was made from grapes produced at a very high yield. An extremely thin wine tastes watery.