Home > Wine Glossary > T: Tafelwein to Trockenbeerenauslese

Wine Glossary: T

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Tafelwein (Germany)
A low quality classification for German wine, essentially 'table wine'. The best German wines are classified as Qualitätswein mit Prädikat (QmP).

Tannin
Found in grape skins, pips and stalks, tannins are harsh, bitter compounds which if present in large amounts make a wine difficult to drink as they leave a dry, puckered sensation in the mouth - rather like drinking stewed tea, which is also very tannic. The amount of tannin can be increased by enhancing extraction, achieved by prolonging the cuvaison. Tannins may also enter the wine from oak barrels. Tannic wines are generally destined for ageing, the tannins polymerising to form sediment with time.

Tartaric acid
One of a number of naturally occurring grape acids which contribute to the acidity of a wine. Other important acids include acetic, malic, lactic, citric and carbonic acid.

Tartrate crystals
During fermentation tartaric acid may be converted into potassium hydrogen tartrate, formed through its reaction with potassium. This compound may crystallise, when conditions are cold, to form small crystals in the wine. These are small, clear or white crystals. Some winemakers wish to prevent their formation and thus perform cold stabilisation. The crystals themselves are harmless and natural so the decision is a matter of aesthetics. See my advisory page on wine faults for more information.

Tawny Port (Portugal)
A wood-aged style. Prolonged periods of ageing in wood result in loss of pigment so this is a much paler, tawny-coloured style of Port, hence the name. Although such wines may be bottled as single-vintage colheita Ports, they are usually blended as a tawny of either 10, 20, 30 or 40 years of age, each comprising a blend of wines which average out at the age declared on the label.

TCA
Trichloroanisole. See corked.

Terroir (France)
There is much discussion of terroir, a French term which has no simple translation into English. It refers to the external influences on the ripening grapes, including the soils (depth and type), bedrock, exposure to sun and wind, water table and so on. Others include rootstock (really an intrinsic part of the vine, even if it is grafted) and local climate (undoubtedly an influence on the vine, but I feel separate from terroir). For more on terroir read about my visit to Château Pierre- Bise.

Texture
The texture of a wine describes how the wine feels in the mouth - is it silky, velvety, rounded, or smooth? It is a more specific term than body, which describes the general impact of the wine.

Toasty
A tasting term. Toasty means literally means just that - smelling or tasting of toast. It may reflect 'toasting' of the barrels, when they may be placed around a fire (sometimes as they are made), the flames altering the physical and chemical composition of the surface of the wood, and subsequently this will have a significant effect on the flavour of the wine.

Trocken (Germany)
An increasingly important German style, these are wines fermented until dry, with less than 9 g/l of residual sugar in the final wine.

Trockenbeerenauslese (Germany, Austria)
A sweet Prädikat category which translates literally as "dry berry selected". Essentially it refers to wines made using selected grapes affected by noble rot.

Glossary pages: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W XYZ