Welcome to Vintage Vineyards fine wine and gourmet gifts. We have spanned the globe to for world-renowned vintage wines with characteristics to please every palate. Wines have many complex and varied distinctions. The grapes, soil, climate and wine making process are only a few of the factors that determine the final outcome.

The Grapes and The Vineyards
Wine is usually made from one or more varieties of the European species. The variety of grape, direction of slope, elevation, and location of the vineyard form the concept of "terroir" This concept leads to an extensive variety among wine products. The color of wine is determined not by the juice of the grape, which is usually clear, but by the grape skin during fermentation. Grapes with colored juice are known as teinturier. Red wine is made from red (or black) grapes, but its red color is comes from the skin that is left in contact with the juice during fermentation, a process called maceration. White wine can be made from any color of grape because the skin is separated from the juice during fermentation.

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Varietal Wines
Wines made from a single species of grapes such as Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Merlot are varietal wines because they use a predominant grape.
Blended Wines
Wine made from two or more species of grapes are blended wines. Some of the world's most valued wines from the Bordeaux, Rioja or Tuscany regions use several species of grapes.
Late Harvest Wines
Wine can be made from grapes harvested after they reach their maximum ripeness. They are referred to as late harvest wines.
Botrytized Wines
Wines can be are made from a grape species infected by the mold Botrytis cinerea or noble rot. Botrytized wines
Dried Grape Wines
Dried Grape Wines are made from grapes that have been partially raisined after harvesting.

Wine Making Terms
Chaptalization: a process to increase the alcohol content in fermented wine by adding sugar Carbonic maceration: a practice of fermenting whole grapes that have not been crushed
Charmat: a process where sparkling wines receive secondary fermentation in large tanks
Clarification: a process removing suspended solids and reducing turbidity in wine
Fermentation: the conversion of grape sugars to alcohol by yeast.
Fining: a clarification process where flocculants are added to remove suspended solids.
Lees: wine sediment that occurs during and after fermentation
Maceration: extracting phenolic compounds including tannins, anthocyanins, and aroma.
Malolactic fermentation: lactic acid is converted to softer tasting lactic acid
Extra dry: a champagne or sparkling wine with a small amount of residual sugar
Riesling: a variety of grape used to make white wine grown mainly in Germany
Rosé: shortened contact of red wine juice with its skins, reducing the red color.
Spumante: Italian for "sparkling". Generally any sparkling wine from Italy
Trockenbeerenauslese: German wine made from vine-dried grapes.
Vermouth: fortified wine that has been flavoured with herbs and spices

Bottled Wine Terms
Blanc de Blancs: A white wine made from white grapes.
Blanc de Noirs: A white wine made from red grapes.
Brut: French term for a very dry champagne or sparkling wine.
Cabernet Sauvigno: a variety of red grape planted for wine production.
California Cult Wines: higher priced wines of Bordeaux's First Growths.
Chardonnay: a type of wine, one of the "noble" white varietals.
Cold Duck: A mixture of red and white sparkling wine with high sugar content.
Grenache: A red wine grape of the Rhone Valley of France.
May wine: A light German wine flavored with sweet woodruff and fruit.
Merlot: Merlot is a variety of wine grape used to create a popular red wine.
Méthode Champenoise: a second fermentation in the same bottle for sparkling wines.
Microoxygenation: controlled exposure to oxygen to reduce length of time for maturation.
Millerandage: grape bunches containing berries of greatly differing size and maturity.
Must: unfermented grape juice, including pips, skins and stalks.
Racking: drawing wine off sediment after fermentation and moving it into another vessel.
Residual sugar: the level of sugar that remains unfermented in a wine.
Reverse osmosis: removing excess alcohol from wine made from overripe grapes.
Riddling: bottles tilted upside down so that sediment settles in necks of the bottles.
Stoving: a production method of artificially mellowing wine by exposing it to heat.
Sulfites: Compounds added to wine to prevent oxidation and microbial spoilage.
T Budding: grafting of different grape varieties onto existing rootstocks in a vineyard.
Tartaric acid: The most important acid found in grapes.
Terroir: the physical and geographical characteristics of a particular vineyard.
Wine-press: two vats, one bruising grapes, the other for collecting the juice.
Yeast: fungi responsible for conversion of sugars in must to alcohol.

Wine Tasting Terms
Acidity: the balance of acidity required for quality, crispiness and vitality.
Aftertaste: the taste left on the palate after wine has been swallowed.
Body: light- or full-bodied weight imparted by a wine to the mouth of a taster.
Bottle shock: temporary disjointed fruit flavors occurring after bottling or shaking.
Bouquet: the complex aromas of an aged wine, generally not applied to young wines.
Bright: a wine that has high clarity and very low levels of suspended solids.
Finish: the lingering aftertaste after a wine has been swallowed.
Flabby: a wine lacking in structure, often marked by low acidity.
Foxy: the musty odor and flavor of wines made from Vitis Labrusca grapes.
Horizontal tasting: same vintage from different wineries.
Lightstruck: the characteristics of wine long exposure to Ultraviolet light.
Madeirized: Madeira-like flavor, generally evidence of oxidation.
Midpalate: the feel and taste of a wine when held in the mouth.
Phylloxera Palate: the feel and taste of a wine in the mouth.
Sweetness: level of residual sugar in final liquid after the fermentation has ceased.
Tart: describing a wine high in acidity. Often displayed by young, unripe wines.
Tasting flight: a selection of wines presented for the purpose of sampling and comparison.
Texture: a tasting term describing the “mouthfeel” of wine on the palate.
Unoaked: matured wines without contact with wood/oak such as in aging barrels.
Vertical tasting: different vintages from the same winery are tasted.
Vintage: indicated on a label, it signifies that grapes used were harvested in that year.
Wine tasting: a sensory evaluation encompassing taste, aroma, and color.
Young: wine that is not matured and usually bottled and sold within a year of its vintage.

Wine Makers and Wine Collections
Barbousville – Blenheim - Breaux
Chateau Morrisette - Chrysalis
First Colony - Gray Ghost - Horton
Keswick – Jefferson - Lost Creek
North Mountain - Oakencroft
Pearmund Cellers - Prince Michel
Rappahannock - Rockbridge
Stone Mountain - Tarara
Unicorn – Waterford - Whitehall
Williamsburg – Willowcroft - Windham

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