Here are the definitions for the letter "t"

<< Page: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 >>

TERRET NOIR

Minor grape grown in the southern Rhone region of France. Still allowed in local red wine blends in order to enhance acidity as far as is known but finding less favor as the decades advance. Also grown in Australia where it is known under the alias name of Claret and in the Ukraine it has the alias name Terre Cherny.

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.

Thick

Dense and heavy in texture.

Thin

Lacking body and flavor.

Thin

Lacking body; often used to describe a diluted tasting wine with little potential for improvement.

Thin/Thin-Bodied (see also Light, Meager

Opposite of "full-bodied".

THOMPSON SEEDLESS

Grape grown in enormous quantities in the Central Valley of California, U.S.A. Also popular in Arizona. Needs plenty of heat for harvesting in August-September. Apparently something of a mystery variety, current speculation has settled on it being a clone of the Sultanina variety originating in Persia (modern-day Iran). Used to produce a very neutral white wine for stretching blends consisting of select varietals in order to create the so-called "jug" wines made by the bulk producers. Most of the annual crop is used for table or dried grapes. In the latter case grapegrowers commonly practice the technique of "girdling" (a.k.a dry scarring) in order to control size and maturity. (See Muscadine descriptive text above).

TIBOUREN

Black-skinned ancient grape variety grown in Provence, southern France. Mainly used for producing full-bodied rosé wines with a distinctive regional bouquet. Has synonym name of Antibois. In Germany the variety is known as Geysserin. (No other details as yet).

Tight (see also Angular, Closed-In, Hard

A term for young wines. Almost an synonym for "dumb".

Tinny

Tasting of metal.

TINTA AMARELA

Variety grown in Portugal and used mainly as a secondary ingredient in fortified Port wines as an aroma enhancer. Also grown in Australia where it is known under the alias name Portugal Malbec.

TINTA BARROCA

Red wine Portgrape variety grown in the Douro region of Portugal. In the Stellenbosch region of South Africa it is used as a blending wine, along with Souzão, to produce fortified Port-style wines. Also used alone for good varietal still wines.

TINTA DE TORO

Red wine producing grape variety grown in the Zamora region of NNW Spain. Reportedly a mutation of Tempranillo with higher tannin content than the parent grape. Used to make a popular varietal wine of high alcohol (>13 percent) content.

TINTA MADEIRA

Australian alias name for home growths of the Tinta Negramole variety associated with the island of Madeira. (See below).