Vin cuit or cooked wine is an artisanal dessert wine produced in Provence, France. It is made by heating grape juice without boiling it so that the grape juice becomes concentrated and syrupy. It is then fermented in barrels. [1] [2] The alcohol content is around 14%. [3]
Vin cuit is not a fortified wine. Its Italian counterpart is the vino cotto.
Production of this wine style is limited. [3] It is regularly served on Christmas Eve. [3]
Vin cuit is a sweet wine that is mainly drunk as a dessert wine. It usually has an alcohol content of around 14 to 15 percent by volume.
Because the sweetness was achieved by artificially increasing the sugar content through cooking, the vin cuit is called "vin doux artisanal" (artisan sweet wine) in France, as opposed to the "vin doux naturel" (natural sweet wine, equivalent to the German liqueur wine), in which the fermentation of unthickened grape must is stopped by adding high-percentage drinking alcohol, thereby retaining much of the natural original sweetness of the grape in the wine. [4]
Provençal winemakers who have revived the production of Vin cuit are seeking AOC certification. [5]
Fortified wine is a wine to which a distilled spirit, usually brandy, has been added. In the course of some centuries, winemakers have developed many different styles of fortified wine, including port, sherry, madeira, Marsala, Commandaria wine, and the aromatised wine vermouth.
A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus Vitis. Grapes are a non-climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters.
Dessert wines, sometimes called pudding wines in the United Kingdom, are sweet wines typically served with dessert.
Icewine is a type of dessert wine produced from grapes that have been frozen while still on the vine. The sugars and other dissolved solids do not freeze, but the water does, allowing for a more concentrated grape juice to develop. The grapes' must is then pressed from the frozen grapes, resulting in a smaller amount of more concentrated, very sweet juice. With icewines, the freezing happens before the fermentation, not afterwards. Unlike the grapes from which other dessert wines are made, such as Sauternes, Tokaji, or Trockenbeerenauslese, icewine grapes should not be affected by Botrytis cinerea or noble rot, at least not to any great degree. Only healthy grapes keep in good shape until the opportunity arises for an icewine harvest, which in extreme cases can occur after the New Year, on a northern hemisphere calendar. This gives icewine its characteristic refreshing sweetness balanced by high acidity. When the grapes are free of Botrytis, they are said to come in "clean". This results in a very complex and sweet wine. Much icewine is made from the grapes Riesling, Vidal, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon, but there is also icewine made from Shiraz, Merlot, Sangiovese and others.
Fruit wines are fermented alcoholic beverages made from a variety of base ingredients ; they may also have additional flavors taken from fruits, flowers, and herbs. This definition is sometimes broadened to include any alcoholic fermented beverage except beer. For historical reasons, mead, cider, and perry are also excluded from the definition of fruit wine.
Grenache or Garnacha is one of the most widely planted red wine grape varieties in the world. It ripens late, so it needs hot, dry conditions such as those found in Spain, where the grape is believed to have originated. It is also grown in the Italian island of Sardinia, the south of France, Australia, and California's Monterey AVA, Paso Robles, Santa Barbara County and San Joaquin Valley.
White wine is a wine that is fermented without skin contact. The colour can be straw-yellow, yellow-green, or yellow-gold. It is produced by the alcoholic fermentation of the non-coloured pulp of grapes, which may have a skin of any colour. White wine has existed for at least 4,000 years.
Alsace wine or Alsatian wine is produced in the Alsace region in France and is primarily white wine. Because of its Germanic influence, it is the only Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée region in France to produce mostly varietal wines, typically from similar grape varieties to those used in German wine. Along with Austria and Germany, it produces some of the most noted dry Rieslings in the world as well as highly aromatic Gewürztraminer wines. Wines are produced under three different AOCs: Alsace AOC for white, rosé and red wines, Alsace Grand Cru AOC for white wines from certain classified vineyards and Crémant d'Alsace AOC for sparkling wines. Both dry and sweet white wines are produced.
Maury is an Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée (AOC) for fortified vin doux naturel wines made in the Roussillon wine region of France. Almost all wines are red, made from at least 75% Grenache noir (Garnacha). Other permitted grapes are Grenache blanc, Grenache gris, Macabeu (Macabeo), Malvoisie du Roussillon (Tourbat), Syrah, Muscat and other local varieties. Although the grapes are different, they are used and marketed very much like port. It is made in the communes of Maury, Saint-Paul-de-Fenouillet, Lesquerde, Tautavel and Rasiguères. The AOC was granted in 1936.
Rivesaltes is an appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) for naturally sweet, fortified wines. The name refers to both a production region within Languedoc-Roussillon in southern France, and the style of sweet wines produced there.
Rasteau is an Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée for wine in the southern Rhône wine region of France, covering both fortified and unfortified wines. The sweet fortified wines can be red, rosé or white, and have long been produced under the Rasteau AOC. In 2010 dry red wines (unfortified) were also added to the appellation, effective from the 2009 vintage.
Pineau des Charentes is a regional aperitif of western France, made in the départements of Charente, Charente-Maritime, and Dordogne. While popular within its region of production, it is less well known in other regions of France and somewhat uncommon abroad.
The glossary of wine terms lists the definitions of many general terms used within the wine industry. For terms specific to viticulture, winemaking, grape varieties, and wine tasting, see the topic specific list in the "See also" section below.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to wine:
Straw wine, or raisin wine, is a wine made from grapes that have been dried off the vine to concentrate their juice. Under the classic method, after a careful hand harvest, selected bunches of ripe grapes will be laid out on mats in full sun.. This drying will probably be done on well exposed terraces somewhere near the wine press and the drying process will take around a week or longer. Small scale productions were laid out on flat roofs; however, if this still happens, it is extremely rare nowadays.
Ice cider is the cider equivalent of ice wine: a fermented beverage made from the juice of frozen apples. Similar to ice wine, the use of frozen apples concentrates the natural sugars in the apples, resulting in a higher alcohol content than cider made by traditional methods.
A vin de liqueur (French) or mistela (Spanish) is a sweet fortified style of French wine and Spanish wine that is fortified with brandy to unfermented grape must. The term vin de liqueur is also used by the European Union to refer to all fortified wines.
Beaumes de Venise is an appellation of wines from the eastern central region of the southern half of the Rhône Valley. It produces wines of two distinctly different types:
This glossary of winemaking terms lists some of terms and definitions involved in making wine, fruit wine, and mead.
MutageMEW-tij is a wine making technique for making sweet wines.