The language of wine contains a wealth of meanings that are not all too familiar, particularly the technical interpretations. The glossary describes and offers an explanation to the most common terms.
- yeasts
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micro-organism, fungus
Fungus that reproduce and convert available sugars into alcohol. Wild yeasts are found naturally in the vineyards and readily available on the grapes, and are known as the spontaneous yeasts. The yeasts used for wine production belong to the yeast species Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Yeast strains, or cultured yeasts, are very popular for vinification, and are available in a powder form.
- yield
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yield of the harvest
The sum of the yield is measured, for example, in hectolitres per hectare, using the weight of the grapes, or volume of the must or wine.
- yield restriction
The maximum permitted yield per hectare in Austria is 9,000 kg of grapes or 6,750 l (67.5 hl) of wine. This applies to Landwein, Qualitätswein (quality wine), Prädikatswein (wine with praedicate, sweet wines) and Wein (Austrian wine without geographical indication) with varietal and/or vintage declaration.
- yoke (acre)
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unit of measurement for surface area
An age old form of measuring surface area in Austria, similar to the acre (1 yoke = 0.5755 hectare).
- young wine
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the first wine of the new vintage
Generally regarded as an often still cloudy wine shortly after its alcoholic fermentation.
The EU law defines "young wine" as a wine whose alcoholic fermentation has not finished and which is not separated from the lees yet.
- Zierfandler
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indigenous white wine rarity in the Thermenregion. The synonym is Spätrot
The name originates from its reddish colour grapes of this late-ripening variety. The Zierfandler proves to be quite a challenge in the vineyard, as it ripens late but starts to rot early. The wines are always rich in extract, racy and spicy with fruity and herbaceous characters. The sweet or dessert Zierfandler wines are in top form and are proven to long-term aging potential. The Zierfandler is sometimes still cultivated as a field blend or as a wine blend with the Rotgipfler variety, resulting in the "Spätrot-Rotgipfler“ wine.
- Zweigelt
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Austrian red wine variety
Its creater, Prof. Dr. Fritz Zweigelt, successfully crossed Sankt Laurent x Blaufränkisch in 1922, and paved Austrian red wine history. Up until his death in 1964, the variety was known as Rotburger. Nowadays there are classic and fruity respresentatives of the wine, with cherry and berry aromas, as well as very ripe, extract rich top wines, that display feminine, fruity charm. With plantings of 13 percent of the total Austrian winegrowing region, this is by far the most planted and popular Austrian red wine variety.