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.

winery
place of vinification

Mostly subterrenean room used for the storage of wine.

wood

The material used in the construction of wine barrels.

yeasts
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.

yeasty

A wine with an attractive aroma or flavour of yeast. Yeasty is a positive description.

yield
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)
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
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.

youthful, young

Still a youthful, young and not yet mature wine.

Zierfandler
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
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.

Розалия DAC Розе

Типичные для района розовые вина ил одного или нескольких высококачественных красных сортов винограда разрешено продавать с 2017 года с защищенным наименованием места происхождения "Розалия DAC Розе".

NEWSLETTER

Be the first one to know the latest news in the world of Austrian Wine!

Erfahren Sie Neuigkeiten vor allen anderen und sicher Sie sich die aktuellsten Themen aus der Welt des österreichischen Weins. • Hintergrundinformationen • Eventeinladungen • Gesetzesänderungen Noch nicht überzeugt? Sehen Sie sich hier unseren aktuellen Newsletter an.