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Palate
A tasting term for the feel and taste of a wine in the mouth. |
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Petiole
The stem that attaches a leaf to its main branch or shoot. Petioles conduct water, sugars and mineral ions between the leaf and the rest of the vine. |
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Phylloxera
A microscopic underground parasite louse that kills grape vines by attacking their roots. |
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Pièce
Traditional Burgundy barrel, 228 litres capacity, using thick oak staves to allow only minimal oxidation during the wines maturation in wood. Particularly suited for Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Syrah. |
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Pinot Blanc
A white wine grape variety that can be made into a crisp wine with some ability to age. |
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Pinot Gris
Thought to be a mutant clone of the Pinot Noir grape, the fruit is greyish-white giving rise to its name. The grape grows best in cool climates. |
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Pinot Noir
A cool climate grape variety that is particularly associated with the red wines of Burgundy, France. Widely planted in many countries including New Zealand. |
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Polyphenols
Chemical class of compounds which occur naturally in wine, giving it an astringent, bitter or mouth-drying taste sensation. Tannins and grape skin pigments are two prominent classes of polyphenols. |
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Pomace
The skins, stalks, and seeds that remain after making wine. Also called marc. |
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Potassium bitartrate
The crystals that sometimes precipitate in bottled wine, but which are normally removed by cold-stabilization. Made of the same compounds as Cream of Tartar. |
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Precipitation
The sudden formation of solids within a solution, as happens in the fining of wines. The solids normally settle to the bottom as sludge within a few hours or days and can be easily removed by filtration, centrifuging or racking. |
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Press juice
The juice obtained by pressing, as opposed to free-run juice. |
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Pruning
The process of cutting off various parts of grape vines, usually in winter when the vines are dormant. Pruning develops the shapes of vines when they are young and controls the growth, fruit quantity (and therefore, quality) of producing vines. |
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Pump over
To circulate fermenting juice of red wines from the bottom of the tank over the skin cap that forms during fermentation to ensure optimal extraction and prevent bacterial spoilage. This is necessary during fermentation of red wine in order to achieve complete extraction of colour and flavour from the skins. |
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Punch down
To push the skin cap down into the fermenting juice to ensure optimal extraction and prevent bacterial spoilage. This is necessary during fermentation of red wine in order to achieve complete extraction of colour and flavour from the skins. This is the traditional method, but it can only be used for small tanks. Larger tanks are "pumped over". |
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Puncheon
A wine barrel that holds approximately 318 litres. |
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Punt
The indentation in the base of a wine bottle. Punt depth is often thought to be related to wine quality, with better quality wines having a deeper punt. |
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Pupitre
The French name for the hinged, wooden "A-Frame" rack used for riddling Champagne bottles prior to disgorging. |
