440 



Heady. Generally a young wine still saturated with car- 

 bonic acid, and having a good proportion of newly- 

 fermented raw and somewhat fiery alcohol, which has 

 not yet had time to refine. Should be drunk of with 

 moderation. 



Heavy. A wine surcharged with extractive matter and low 

 in alcohol, and which is hard to digest. 



Glean. A sound wine, which has no earthy, mouldy, or casky 

 taste, or any taste foreign to the wine itself. 



Harmonious. A quality of wine whose constituent elements 

 are well balanced and blended together. 



Delicate. A soft, pleasant, harmonious wine, generally 

 delicate. 



Mute. A partially fermented wine, with a sweet and muci- 

 laginous taste, which has been stilled by means of 

 concentration or by means of alcohol, or of sulphur 

 fumes, or other chemicals. Too much sulphur some- 

 times generates hydrogen sulphide, which reminds one 

 of rotten eggs, or leads to the formation of sulphates, 

 which impart to the wine bad flavours. 



Fruity. A wine which still retains a proportion of grape 

 sugar. 



Sweet. Of which there are several degrees, extending from 

 " fruity " to " sickly sweet." 



Sweetish. Wines in which the fermentation has suddenly got 

 " stuck " before being completed turn sweetish. This 

 is due to the formation of manna sugar, resulting from 

 the decomposition of the mucilaginous or albuminoid 

 matters in the wine by alcohol, owing to the agency of 

 a bacillus, and under the influence of a high temperature. 

 The trouble is known as that of " mannitic " disease. 



New or Young Wine. A wine freshly made ; generally from 

 one to twelve months old ; a wine that is still rough and 

 has not been purged of its impurities, and has not yet 

 developed those finer qualities that will distinguish it 

 as a mature wine. 



Mature Wine. A wine which has undergone the refining 

 changes due to oxidization and warmth, and has cleared 

 itself of its lees, and is ready to be drunk or to be 

 bottled. 



Decrepid Wine. An aged wine that is losing some of its 

 qualities through long keeping, or rapid and excessive 

 changes of the temperature. 



Tart. Due to the presence of an excess of tartaric acid. 

 Age modifies this defect. 



Dry. Not sweet, i.e., containing no grape sugar. 



