Brut is the French word for raw (about material or data), crude (about oil) or uncut (about diamonds). In wines it is the term used to describe a dry wine (usually Champagne or sparkling wines).

That a wine is dry doesn’t necessarily mean that it is devoid of sugar. Brut simply means that the wine has the least residual sugar. Brut Natural or Brut Zero are terms used for wines without any residual sugar. A dry wine with more sugar is called sec or demi-sec. Make no mistake, though, we’re still talking about a dry wine.

Acids are very important in wine, but the challenge for the winemaker is to find the right balance. The acidity should feel like a sharpness in the mouth, especially around its front sides. Too low acid levels makes the wine taste flat and dull. Too high acid levels makes it taste too tart and sour. Ideally, it should be neither too high nor too low. The acidity gives white wines their refreshing taste and gives balance to red wines. Sweet wines become literally undrinkable without a balancing acidity. 

There are many acids in a wine, but the principle ones are called acetic, malic, tartaric, lactic, citric and carbonic acids. We will talk more about the different types in a later post.

As you may know, wine is sensitive to air. If exposed to too much air, e.g. if a bottle has been opened for a while or if the cork was faulty, the wine goes off and tastes more like vinegar. A more scientific word for air is oxygen and oxidation is a word that describes the process of a wine going off because of the detrimental effect of oxygen.

Although over exposure to oxygen is bad for the wine, exposure per se is not. In fact it can sometimes be beneficial for the wine, but it is obviously something that has to be carefully controlled in the winery.

English wine is wine produced in England or Wales from grapes cultivated in England or Wales. British wine is wine made in Britain from reconstituted grape concentrate. Basically tankfuls of cheap grapejuice from cheap suppliers around the world. British wine is the ultimate plonk whereas English wine ranges from not so good to award-winning excellence.

Viticulture is the name of the science that studies grapes and their culture. It is also a word for the cultivation of grapes and grapevines. It is derived form the Latin word for vine – vitis.

A viticulturalist is someone who cultivates grapes and grapevines, and viticultural is the adjective to describe something related to the cultivation.