Glossary : definition of terms used to talk about Bourgogne wines beginning with S.

The most important group of yeasts involved in alcoholic fermentation. Specific strains particularly suited to Burgundy wines are selected by the BIVB. Saccharomyces are used elsewhere in food preparation, for example in bread-making.

Bottle of 9 litres capacity (twelve 75cl bottles).

Prior to tasting, rinsing a glass with the wine to be tasted to ensure that it is not contaminated with other tastes or odours. The mouth may be given the same treatment for the same reason.

Suivi Aval de Qualité. Point-of-sale quality monitoring. (See Quality)

Year-old woody vine canes. Those removed by winter pruning make excellent fuel for barbecues. Try kebabs cooked in this way with a red or rosé Bourgogne.
Related words , Lignification, Cane-bending, Cane,

- A bottle may carry a special seal to indicate its provenance or other quality.

May be naturally seedless or contain undeveloped, non-viable seeds. Grapes normally contain four seeds, less frequently 3,2 or even 1.

See Organoleptic
Related words Organoleptic

(tast.) Of low persistence (2 to 4 caudalies).

(tast.) Said of a wine that is smooth and unctuous without rough tannins. A desirable quality in red burgundies, Volnay for example.

Describes chardonnay whites which have mellowness, body and good acid structure. The mellowness and acidity are guarantees of its keeping properties.

- (1) From the skins of black grapes come the colour and desirable tannins extracted during vatting. Something like 80% of aromas and their precursor molecules also derive from the skins. (2) Film formed on the unprotected surface of a wine by the action of oxydative yeasts.

(tast.) Aromatic nuance of the empyreumatic group. Frequently present in wines of the Saint-Bris appellation made from the Sauvignon grape.

A term applied to the tannins in a red wine. As a wine ages, the tannins integrate into the wine and their taste improves. They become rounded and softer, they ‘melt’ into the wine. This results in a less astringent wine. It particularly applies to big wines that are made to be drunk after lengthy ageing.

(tast.) With age, the tannins in red wines lose their harshness. Fining may also have the same effect.
Related words Fining

Improving the physical structure or nutritive properties of the soil, e.g. by working in compost or manure.

Disinfection has now become a general practice for soils contamined with virus infection. It is done with chemical sprays and can only be carried out on soils which have been thoroughly worked, well warmed by the sun, and are neither too wet nor too dry.

Some vineyards on sloping sites suffer from soil being washed downhill, gradually robbing the plants at the top of the slope to the benefit of those lower down. From time to time it is necessary to physically trans port the soil back to where it came from.

(tast.) Wine which contains abnormal quantities of both sugar and lactic and acetic acids. (Acetic bacteria may appear if fermentation is halted.)
Related words Acetic acid, Lactic acid, Acidity

Burgundy's own sparkling wine is Crémant de Bourgogne, made in white or rosé. There also exists a rare red sparkling burgundy, Bourgogne mousseux.

In the Bourgogne winegrowing region, sparkling AOC Crémant de Bourgogne wines are made in white and rosé versions. See also méthode traditionelle.

(tast.) Group of aromas including pepper, cinnamon, etc., found especially in red burgundies of real character.

= spoiled
Related words Fault, defect

Pruning systems distinguish between the renewal spurs which will furnish the next year's growth, and fruiting spurs which will bear this year's crop.

Service Régional de la Protection des Végétaux de Bourgogne. Department of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry concerned with plant health and particularly (in Burgundy) the health of the vines. Member of CRECEP. Burgundy office: 8, Rue Jacques Germain, BP 177, 21205 BEAUNE Cedex.

Operations such as fining aimed at fixing the wine's limpidity by removing inherently unstable ingredients such as proteins. Not to be confused with clarification whose purpose is to clear wines which have become cloudy.

The woody component of the grape bunches is sometimes left in while grapes destined for white wines are being pressed after crushing as they provide passages for the juice to run out. A varying proportion may be included in the vat during fermentation of red wines to boost extraction of tannins.
Related words Acerbic,

(tast.) Aroma sometimes found in fresh white wines.

Small quantity of fermenting must placed in the bottom of a vat before the main volume of must is introduced. The purpose is to get alcoholic fermentation off to a fast start.

Any wine which is not sparkling/effervescent.

(tast.) Quality found in a wine made from well-ripened grapes and rich in good tannins.

Di-basic organic acid synthesised by yeasts and present in all wines.
Related words Organic acid, Alcoholic fermentation, Yeasts

(tast.) Sometimes used to describe the sensation of mellowness but sugar has a drier mouth-feel than the sources of mellowness, notably glycerol..
Related words Rough / "bourru"

See Sulphur
Related words Acescent,acetic

Used in wine-growing and wine making as a sterilant. It takes three forms. (1) Powdered sulphur (flowers of sulphur) is used in fungicide sprays in the vineyards (sulfatage); (2) sulphur dioxide (SO2) is used to kill off undesirable organisms in the wine (sulfitage); (3) (mêchage).

Barrels and wooden vats are sterilised by burning sulphur candles in their interiors.
Related words Additive

See Sulphur

Related words Additive

(tast.) Pleasingly smooth and with an absence of rough tannins.