Acidity-A wine’s acidity provides liveliness, longevity and balance.

Appellation Controlee-A system designed in France in the 1930’s that controls the kinds of grapes that can be planted in what areas, vineyard practices and permitted yields, the kinds of wines that can be made from permitted varieties and by what methods, and the way the wines must be labeled.

Cask/Barrel-Most of the world’s greatest wines, especially reds, are at least partially aged in barrels, usually made from French or American oak or oak from Eastern Europe.  A barrique is the standard Bordeaux barrel, holding 225 liters, or the equivalent of about 300 bottles of wine.

Corked-Between four and eight percent of wines bottled with cork stoppers are affected to one degree or another by a mold known as TCA (2,4,6Trichloroanisole), a naturally occurring, harmless compound that imparts a musty aroma to a wine.