| Fattoria |
(Italian) Farm or wine estate. |
| Fermentation |
The natural, biological process in which multiplying yeasts feed on sugar (from grapes in the case of wine), making alcohol and carbon dioxide as main by-products. |
| Fermentation in bottle |
See Bottle fermented. |
| Fermentation in oak |
See Barrel fermented. |
| Fining |
Adding substances (fining agents) to a tank or barrel of wine in order to remove certain other, unwanted substances. The unwanted substances may be proteins. Proteins can be present in young wine in the form of invisibly minute particles. There's a danger that as they age they will clump together and become visible as a murky haze suspended in the wine. They have to be removed if the wine is to be guaranteed to stay bright and clear. The other substance sometimes reduced by fining agents is tannin. If a red wine tastes over-tough, a fining agent can soften it by removing some of the astringent tannin. Proteins and tannins go around in the wine as an item. Fining agents work rather like magnets, attracting the protein-tannin complexes to themselves, and dragging them down to the bottom of the barrel or vat. The clear wine can then be run off the deposit. Fining agents include some products of animal origin: gelatine from bones, isinglass extracted from fish swim bladders, casein from milk, albumin from eggs. For vegetarians and vegans, there are alternatives, including a type of clay called bentonite. Indeed, some wines are not fined at all. Many Tesco wines are vegetarian or vegan, even if the label doesn't say so. For a full list go to detailed search and select the vegetarian or vegan options (link to 'more detailed search'). |
| Finish |
The taste that lingers in the mouth after you have swallowed a wine. A long finish is a mark of quality. |
| First growth |
'Premier cru' in French. The top ranking châteaux of the famous Médoc region of Bordeaux. |
| Flavonoids |
Substances found in the skins of grapes (as well as other fruits and vegetables) that have been shown to protect us from heart disease and cancer.
(Moderation in wine-drinking is vital, however, since excess of alcohol has the opposite effect, as well as destroying our livers.) It is thought that the flavonoids are absorbed into our bloodstream more readily when dissolved in alcohol, hence the belief of many scientists and statisticians that red wine provides better health protection than non-alcoholic flavonoid sources, such as onions, tomatoes or grape juice. Researchers are most excited about two flavonoids called quercetin and resveratrol. Quercetin is most abundant in red wines from hot, sunny climates, resveratrol in wines from cooler, damper vineyards. So health-wise, as well as fun-wise, its probably best to drink a variety of different red wines from different grape varieties and places. (Early press reports on this subject focused on the cooler-climate, resveratrol-rich wines, and recommended a narrow range of reds). |
| Flor |
Greyish-white yeasts that float on the surface of fino and manzanilla sherry in the barrels, protecting it from air and adding a distinctive tang. |
| Flying winemakers |
These are usually Australian or New Zealand winemakers who, having made their own wines during our winter, fly over to Europe to improve the winemaking in a winery in Europe. How? By insisting on immaculate hygiene, selecting the best grapes, making sure the grapes are properly ripe, protecting the grapes and wines from air, and otherwise applying the Antipodean understanding of wine technology to produce fruitier, cleaner, easier-drinking wines. It's not a down-under monopoly: there's also the odd Frenchman, Chilean, Californian or even Englishman in on the act. They worked first in France, Eastern Europe, Italy, Spain, Germany, now increasingly in South America and
South Africa, too. |
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