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Italian for “lightly sweet,” indicating that a wine contains a small amount of residual sugar. abboccato is used to describe a wide range of wines from semisweet to medium-dry.

German for “bottler” and “bottling.” For example, Erzeugerabfüllung on a wine label means “bottled by the proprietor,” which is equivalent to estate bottled in the United States.

see Palomino

Spanish for “semisweet,” indicating that the wine contains some residual sugar.

see Canary Islands

Abruzzi is a very mountainous region located east of Rome on the Adriatic Sea about midway down the coastline. There are approximately 82,000 vineyard acres. The main grape variety used for white wines is Trebbiano, but there are a multitude of other white grapes allowed including Bombino Bianco, Malvasia, and Pinot Grigio (Pinot Gris). Montepulciano is the main grape for rosso and Rosato, followed by Sangiovese. There are three DOCs in this area: Controguerra, Trebbiano d’Abruzzo, and Montepulciano d’Abruzzo.

see Maximin Grünhaus

Abbreviation for Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée.

Wines with acescence have a sharp, sweet-and-sour tang, sometimes accompanied by a vinegary smell. Such acescent characteristics signal the presence of acetic acid and ethyl acetate.

A natural element found in grapes and wine, acetaldehyde is colorless, volatile, and water-soluble. It has a pungent fruitlike odor and is present in small amounts in good table wine and in high amounts in oxidized wines. oxidation is a detriment in a normal table wine but intentional in wines like sherry or Madeira. Most acetaldehyde eventually converts to ethanol, the alcohol found in wine. If oxygen is introduced too fast or in excessive amounts, the production of acetaldehyde can temporarily cause a reaction like bottle sickness or, worse, give wine a permanent sherrylike trait.