A necessary flavour component of wine caused by the presence of acid. Acidity is needed to balance the other flavours of fruit and sweetness. A wine with too little acidity will taste flat, with too much it will taste sharp.

Abbreviating to AOC, this is the highest level of the French system of geographic naming control. It was developed in the 1930s to regulate French wine production, purity and geographic origin. Rules for AOC qualification are stringent and far-reaching, covering everything from grape varieties and winemaking methods to yields and vine density. Wines from regions that have not earned AOC status may fall into the vin de pays category, or they may simply be vin de table.

A quality strived for above nearly all others in making wine. In a balanced wine, all of the flavour components work together in perfect accord, with characteristics neither too dominant nor shrinking into the background.

The Barossa Valley, with its strong German heritage is a place full of character. Most renowned for its opulent styles of Shiraz, the region also produces fine examples of Cabernet Sauvignon, Semillon and Chardonnay.

Chateau-style architecture typifies Australia's oldest wine region. Yalumba was founded in 1849 The Barossa Valley is Australia's best-known wine region, both nationally and internationally, and is South Australia's most visited tourist destination. Only 70km North of the beautiful city of Adelaide, the Barossa Valley has a unique beauty of its own. The vine-covered plains and hills surround the charming townships of German heritage buildings, and the Lutheran churches with their distinctive square spires dot the rural landscape throughout.

Australia's oldest vineyard is planted in the Barossa at the Langmeil Winery, one of the earliest established in the region. Nuriootpa, Tanunda, Seppeltsfield, Stockwell, Light Pass, and Greenock are towns in the North of the Valley where viticulture is the major industry. In the cooler South of the Valley, Rowland Flat, Lyndoch, and Williamstown contribute to some of Australia's premium wine labels. And in the hills, the charming town of Angaston provides the commercial centre to Pewsey Vale, Vine Vale, Penrice and Bethany. Bethany and Langmeil are the earliest settlements in the region, dating back to 1842.

Well known names such as Jacobs Creek, Penfolds, Wolf Blass, Peter Lehmann, Saltram, Yalumba, and Seppelts are based in the Barossa Valley and are among the eighty-plus wineries and five hundred-plus grape growers that contribute to the on-going reputation of the region.

The Barossa Valley is best known for its Shiraz. Due to strict quarantine restrictions in the 1800s, the vineyards did not suffer from phylloxera or the many other diseases that have wiped out other wine regions during the last two hundred years. Thus, Australia's oldest Shiraz vines still live on in the Barossa from low yielding dry grown bush vines that produce highly concentrated, lush, complex, rich, intense, and full-bodied wines. Softened by some oak and resplendent with juicy berry fruit, dark bitter chocolate and slight minty characteristics, Barossa Shiraz is renowned throughout the world as one of the best.

Body refers to the substance of a wine. One indication of a wine's body is its colour - the deeper the colour, the fuller the body. A wine's body is measured by swirling it around the glass and seeing how long it takes the wine to flow down the sides. Full-bodied wines are heavy and come down the sides of the glass in sheets. Medium-bodied wines are less thick and break into "legs" (lines of colorless glycerin) as they flow down the sides. Light-bodied wines will not cling to the sides of the glass when swirled.

Bonarda was until recently the most widely planted wine grape variety in Argentina. It has only recently been surpassed by Malbec in area. Despite this abundance, it has not traditionally been used to produce varietal wines - being used instead for bulk production of table wines - though there are some notable and outstanding exceptions to this pattern.

Bonarda wines can be lighter-bodied and fruity, full of cherry and plum flavours, with light tannins and moderate acidity. However with concentrated fruit from older vines, and especially when oak aged, Bonardas can also be big, fruity, dense and tannic wines with deep colour and fig and raisin characteristics.

Cabernet Sauvignon is a variety of red grape grown in most of the world's wine regions. Many of the red wines regarded as among the world's greatest, such as Red Bordeaux, are predominantly made from Cabernet Sauvignon grapes.

The particularly thick skin of the Cabernet Sauvignon grape results in wines that can be high in tannin which provides both structure and ageability. This varietal, while frequently aromatic and with an attractive finish, also tends to lack mid-palate richness and so is often blended with lower tannin, but "fleshy" tasting grapes, particularly Merlot and, especially in Australia, Shiraz / Syrah. As a group, Cabernet Sauvignon wines are generally full-flavoured, with a stronger flavour than Merlot for instance, and with a smooth and lingering finish.

Cabernet Sauvignon has a well defined aroma. In Old World wines, particularly those made in Bordeaux, this is characterised by a smell of violets, blackcurrant, cedar and spice. New World wines of this grape can often share the aromas of their Old World counterparts, but are more often dominated by aromas of chocolate, ripe jammy berries, oak, pepper and earth. In Australia, there is often a strong smell of eucalyptus.

Chardonnay is a green-skinned grape variety used to make a white varietal wine. It is believed to be named after the village of Chardonnay in the Mâconnais region of France, where Pouilly-Fuissé is currently produced and it is possible that the variety was first bred there. Part of the attraction of Chardonnay, for wine makers and lovers alike, is its versatility. Without oak, Chardonnay generally produces a soft wine, often with fruity, minerally flavors. When aged with oak, Chardonnay acquires a smokey, vanilla, caramel, and butter aroma.

In the historic home of Chardonnay, the much cooler climate winemaking region of Chablis, oak treatment of wine has traditionally been unpopular. This produces a wine with generally more noticeable acidity which focus on minerality and purity. Other regions of Burgundy produce more full bodied styles which have oak and cheese like aromas.

Chardonnay is also an important component in Champagne, and there are some 100% Chardonnay Champagnes, labeled blanc de blancs. It is also used by sparkling wine producers who want to produce a Champagne-like wine.

In Australia and New Zealand, Chardonnay varietal wines are among the most popular white wines. Australia is one of the few locales where Chardonnay is blended to make a still wine. The traditional blending partner there is Sémillon.

In Bordeaux this is an assurance of a wine's authenticity. The words "mise en bouteille au château", or simply "mise au château", on a wine label guarantee that the estate that grew the grapes also produced and bottled the wine. In France this is strictly controlled by law.

A grape that acquired its name from Mont-Chenin in the Touraine district of France in about the 15th century, but can be traced back to Anjou, around AD 845. The grape has a good acidity level, thin skin, and a high natural sugar content, making it very suitable for either sparkling or sweet wines, although some dry wines are made from it. Outside the Loire it is found in most of the New World wine regions; it is the most widely planted variety in South Africa, where it is also known as Steen.

French meaning "estate", it is a property in Burgundy where vines are grown and wine produced. The Burgundian equivalent of château-bottled in Bordeaux.

The Eden Valley is a region of rugged beauty. The cool climate provides ideal conditions for the production of high quality Riesling, Chardonnay and elegant red wine.

The Eden Valley is a cool climate region nestled between 400 and 600 metres in the Barossa Range, part of the Mount Lofty Range. It is actually not a valley but takes its name from the township of Eden Valley.

William Lillecrapp formed the town of Eden Valley in 1864 where he bought land from the South Australian Company and sub divided his land to form the township. The first homestead built in Eden Valley was Rushlea Homestead, which is now Fernfield Wines Cellar Door and still owned and operated by the Lillecrapp family - 5th generation.

The region has one sub-region, High Eden in the south. The main towns are Moculta, Keyneton, Eden Valley and Springton. It is rough, rocky country that belies its ability to produce wines of great delicacy and finesse. The star performer is Riesling with great attention also given to the production of Chardonnay and Shiraz.

The history of the region parallels that of the Barossa Valley which shares its eastern boundary with Eden Valley. Yalumba has substantial vineyard holdings, and a winery at Angaston, the site of the first vines planted by founder Samuel Smith in 1849. Henschke, well known for red and white table wines was another pioneer estate established at Keyneton in the late 1860s by Johann Christian Henschke. Those in the region who were able to follow consumer trends have emerged as the significant producers today. The return to table wines in the 1950s fostered a steady expansion in the region through the 80s and 90s.

Harvest time: mid to late April

The process that changes grape juice into wine, it is the metabolization of sugar by yeast into alcohol and carbon dioxide. The amount of oxygen available to the yeast during fermentation will dictate the ratio of alcohol to carbon dioxide produced -- an overabundance of oxygen will lead to too much carbon dioxide and not enough alcohol for the wine. Wine is typically fermented in special vats designed for the purpose, but some wines are barrel fermented or bottle fermented. When there is complete fermentation no residual sugar remains in the wine.

A liqueur is a sweet alcoholic beverage, often flavoured with fruits, herbs, spices, flowers, seeds, roots, plants, barks, and sometimes cream. The word liqueur comes from the Latin word liquifacere which means "to dissolve." This refers to the dissolving of the flavourings used to make the liqueur. Liqueurs are not usually aged for long periods of time, but may have resting periods during their production to allow flavors to marry.

The practice in red wine making of allowing the grape juice or wine to remain in contact with the skins and seeds. While some maceration occurs during fermentation, winemakers can deliberately prolong this period in order for the juice to draw phenolics -- colouring, flavour and tannins -- from the skins.

Malbec was originally one of the minor blending varieties of red Bordeaux, where it now accounts for a tiny proportion of local production. But its home now is well and truly in Argentina, where after more than 100 years of nurturing it has come into its own both as a pure varietal, and blended with Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot.

Malbec grapes are reasonably small, very dark, and juicy. Controlling the fruiting of the vines is important to ensure good concentration of flavours. Fortunately, the Argentine wine industry's almost 100% reliance on irrigation (it virtually never rains) gives growers the tools they need to ensure quality fruit.

However, Malbec is fairly sensitive to its climate. In cooler conditions (in Mendoza, this normally means a higher altitude) it is a thick-skinned grape which develops high acidity and tannic content, giving rise to more robust wines. At lower altitudes the grapes have thinner skins, more juice, and produce wines that are lighter-bodied and more suited to drinking young.

Flavours most commonly associated with Malbec include plums, cherries, currants and raspberries. Fruit, as well as colour, may be perceived as black or red depending on the origin of the fruit, as well as the wine-making style. Argentine Malbec is generally liberally oaked, and even the earlier drinking styles reflect the resulting flavours – vanilla, spice, as well as occasional tobacco notes – well.

An earlier ripening variety in Argentine conditions, the Malbec harvest generally begins in early March.

McLaren Vale is a region entrenched with history, fine wine and fine food. The region consistency produces fine wines from a number of varieties, most importantly Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay. Only a half hours drive South of Adelaide it is one of Australia's oldest winemaking regions.

McLaren Vale was named after David McLaren, the Colonial Manager of the South Australia Company who arrived in the colony in 1837 and left in 1840. In 1841, John Reynell planted 500 vine cuttings near the present township of Reynella. Englishman George Pitches Manning established Seaview winery in 1850. Thomas Hardy, a winemaker already growing vines on the outskirts of the young Adelaide City, purchased the Tintara winery from Dr. A. C. Kelly in 1873. Through Thomas Hardy's innovative ideas and rapid expansion this was considered by many to be the beginning of McLaren Vale's wine industry. By 1889 more than 7300 acres were under vine and 70 recognised winemakers worked in the colony (including Pirramimma - established in 1892 and still owned by the Johnson family). Much of the award-winning wines produced in the region today come from 100-year old vines. McLaren Vale applied for Geographic Indication in 1995 and was awarded regional status in 1997.

The flats of the McLaren Vale are compared often with the Mediterranean climate, warm sunny days with fresh sea breezes from the nearby Gulf of St Vincent to temper high summer heats. Its proximity to the Mount Lofty Ranges sees the cool gully winds fall down from the hills in the late evening and early morning, chilling the grapes to retain crisp acidity and structure. Good winter rainfall (580-700mm) and low relative humidity ensure consistency of ripening and premium quality fruit. Frost is rare, as is rain before vintage. Long dry summers through to late autumn, with a mean January temperature of 21.7ºC and 1920 heat degree days, means McLaren Vale is considered one of the safest wine growing regions in Australia.

The Mendoza Province is one of Argentina's most important wine regions, accounting for nearly two-thirds of the country's entire wine production. Located in the eastern foothills of the Andes, in the shadow of Mount Aconcagua, vineyards are planted at the some of the highest altitudes in the world with the average site located 1,970–3,610 feet (600–1,100 meters) above sea level. The principal wine producing areas fall into two main departments-Maipú and Luján which includes Argentina's first delineated appellation established in 1993 in Luján de Cuyo. The pink-skinned grapes of Criolla Grande and Cereza account for more than a quarter of all plantings but Malbec is the regions most important planting followed closely by Cabernet Sauvignon, Tempranillo and Chardonnay. Mendoza is considered the heart of the winemaking industry in Argentina with the vast majority of large wineries located in the provincial capital of Mendoza.

Merlot is a variety of wine grape used to create a popular red wine. Merlot-based wines usually have medium body with hints of berry, plum, and currant. Most connoisseurs consider it "easy to drink" when compared to other red wines, particularly its traditional blending partner Cabernet Sauvignon. Its softness and "fleshiness", combined with its earlier ripening, makes Merlot an ideal grape to blend with the sterner, later-ripening Cabernet. Many Merlots are made in a style popular with newer red wine drinkers (though good Merlots accompanying appropriate food are popular with many more experienced wine drinkers as well).

Merlot is produced primarily in France and California, and on a lesser scale in Australia, Italy, New Zealand, South Africa, Switzerland, Croatia, Slovenia, and other parts of the United States. Most wines from Bordeaux contain at least some Merlot, and in the regions of Pomerol and Saint-Emilion it is not unusual for Merlot to comprise the majority of the blend. One of the most famous and rare wines in the world, Château Pétrus is almost all Merlot.

Pinot noir grapes are grown in diverse locations around the world, but the grape is chiefly associated with the Burgundy region of France. It is widely considered to produce some of the finest wines in the world, but is a difficult variety to cultivate and transform into wine.

The tremendously broad range of bouquets, flavours, textures and impressions that pinot noir can produce sometimes confuses tasters. In the broadest terms, the wine tends to be of light to medium body with an aroma reminiscent of black cherry, raspberry or currant. The grape's colour when young, often compared to that of garnet, is often much lighter than that of other red wines. This is because pinot noir has relatively small amounts of red pigment due to its thin skin.

Residual sugar is the measure of the amount of sugars that remain unfermented in the finished wine. Residual sugar is usually measured in grams of sugar per litre of wine. Even among the dryest wines it is rare to find wines with a level of less than 1 g/l, due to the unfermentability of certain types of sugars. By contrast, any wine with over 45 g/l would be considered sweet, though many of the great sweet wines have levels much higher than this. For example, the great vintages of Château d'Yquem contain between 100 and 150 g/l of residual sugar. Such wines only avoid the cloying taste associated with such elevated levels of sugar by carefully developed use of acidity. This means that the finest sweet wines are made with grape varieties that keep their acidity even at very high ripeness levels, such as Riesling and Chenin Blanc.

The principal wine-producing countries of Europe use different terms to indicate the rough level of residual sugar.

RS	UK	France	Germany	Italy	Spain
0-5	Very Dry	Brut	Trocken	Secco	Seco
5-10	Dry	Sec	Trocken	Secco	Seco
10-20	Medium Dry	Demi-Sec	Halbtrocken	Abboccato	Semi-Seco
20-30	Medium Sweet	Doux	Mild	Amabile	Dulce
30+	Sweet	Moelleux	Lieblich	Dolce	Dulce

The Riverina is the workhorse of the New South Wales wine industry. Large volumes of technically proficient wine are consistently produced. However the highlight of the region is the luscious dessert wine, Botrytis Semillon, produced by a host of producers, notably De Bortoli.

The Riverina in the Big Rivers Zone is the pump-house of the New South Wales industry. Riverina producers the bulk of the state's grape harvest. The region is larger than all the other NSW's regions combined, extending west to Broken Hill, south-east to Albury and north-east to Parkes taking in the fruit and vegetable baskets of Leeton and Griffith.

One of the earliest growers, McWilliams established their vineyard at Hanwood in 1912. By 1917 McWilliams had established a winery to process the fruit.

After World War II the region became home to many Italian immigrants. These pioneers and their descendants established some of the largest and well known wineries in the country. De Bortoli, Rossetto, Cassela, Miranda, Sergi, Calabria and Zappacosta are just a few named from many who work in the region's wine industry today.

The region is best known for its bulk wine, however, some wineries are carving out a name as boutique producers of premium wines, such as Lillypilly Estate, Terra Nova Estate, Piromit Wines and Murrin Bridge.

Murrin Bridge is the first indigenous wine label produced in Australia. The grapes are grown in Wiradjuri country the indigenous name for country taking in the Riverina. The Murrin Bridge Aboriginal community planted vines in 1998 and in 2001 produced their first vintage. The wine is now widely available.

Major varieties grown in Wiradjuri country (Riverina) include Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, Gewürztraminer, Marsanne, Semillon and Verdelho and, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir, and Shiraz.

Harvest time: late February to April

Sauvignon Blanc is a green-skinned grape variety which probably originates from the Bordeaux region of France. It is now planted in much of the world's winelands, producing a crisp, dry, and refreshing white varietal wine.

Depending on climate, its flavours can range from aggressively grassy to sweetly tropical, although perhaps the most memorable descriptor is "cat's pee on a gooseberry bush." In France sauvignon blanc is grown in Bordeaux, the Loire Valley (as Pouilly Fumé, Sancerre, and Sauvignon de Touraine), and Sauternes. New Zealand is now the world's greatest source of top-quality Sauvignon Blanc.

Sémillon is a golden-skinned grape used to make dry and sweet white wines, most notably in France and Australia. In France, the Sémillon grape is grown mostly in Bordeaux. There, it is blended with Sauvignon blanc and Muscadelle. When dry, it is referred to as Bordeaux blanc and is permitted to be made in the appellations of Pessac-Léognan, Entre-deux-mers and other less renown regions. In this form, Sémillon is generally a minor constituent in the blend. Sémillon is widely grown in Australia, particularly in the Hunter Valley north of Sydney.

Syrah is a dark-skinned grape grown throughout the world and used primarily to produce powerful red wines. Syrahs enjoy great popularity in the marketplace, relatively often under the name Shiraz.

It is called Syrah in its country of origin, France, as well as in the rest of Europe, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, and most of the United States. The name Shiraz became popular for this grape variety in Australia, where it has long been established as the most grown dark-skinned variety.

Wines made from Syrah are often quite powerfully flavoured and full-bodied. The variety produces wines with a wide range of flavour notes, depending on the climate and soils where it is grown, as well as other viticultural practices chosen. Aroma characters can range from violets to berries (usually dark as opposed to red), chocolate, espresso and black pepper. No one aroma can be called "typical" though blackberry and pepper are often noticed. With time in the bottle these "primary" notes are moderated and then supplemented with earthy or savory "tertiary" notes such as leather and truffle. "Secondary" flavor and aroma notes are those associated with several things, including winemakers' practices (such as oak barrel and yeast regimes), and land terroir qualities.

The word spirits generally refers to distilled beverages low in sugars and containing at least 35% alcohol by volume. Gin, vodka, rum, whiskey, brandy, absinthe, and tequila are types of spirits. Beverages high in alcohol and with added flavourings such as Grand Marnier, Frangelico and schnapps are generally referred to as liqueurs.

The sweetness of a wine is defined by the level of residual sugar in the final liquid after the fermentation has ceased. However, how sweet the wine will actually taste is also controlled by factors such as the acidity and alcohol levels, the amount of tannin present, and whether the wine is sparkling. For example, a sweet wine such as a Vouvray can actually taste dry due to the high level of acidity, or a dry wine can taste sweet if the alcohol level is elevated.

A group of chemical compounds that occur naturally in some fruits, such as grapes, and in tree bark and wood. They are more prevalent in red grapes than in white and are extracted mostly from the skins, seeds and stems during maceration, and also from oak barrels used for ageing wine. Tannins play an important role in helping wines age, but can impart a bitter, astringent taste to young wines. Modern winemakers take great care to minimize undesirable tannins from seeds by crushing grapes gently to extract their juice. Pressing the grapes results in press wine which is more tannic and might be kept separately.

Torrontes is the characteristic white wine grape of Argentina, producing fresh, aromatic white wines.

Recent DNA research has shown that Torrontes is related to the Malvasian group of grapes, which originated in the Eastern Mediterranean and found its way to such Atlantic islands as Madeira. It is not known how Torrontes arrived in Argentina, but it seems to have been there a long time, suggesting that it was brought by Spanish colonists, quite possibly missionaries

A French wine classification meaning 'county wine' comprising about one quarter of the wine produced in France. Wines bearing this designation should be of higher quality than vin de table wines, and should demonstrate a certain amount of regional character. Vin de Pays d'OC is the most successful of the vin de pays both commercially and qualitatively. The 'OC' is southern dialect for "yes".

French table wine. Also called vin ordinaire, the basic and largely unregulated class of French wine comprising about one quarter of all wine produced in France. Labels of these wines do not bear information regarding grape variety or geographic origin more specific than the name of the country.