Palo Cortado
A rare style of dry Sherry. It is the result of failure of complete development of the flor, so it starts life as neither Fino nor Amontillado.  What flor there is subsequently dies, and as a consequence the eventual wine develops a character midway between an Amontillado and an Oloroso.

Passito (Italy)
The passito method describes the drying of grapes prior to fermentation. The dehydration results in an increased sugar concentration. The practice is traditional in Veneto, Italy, particularly in the production of Amarone della Valpolicella and Recioto della Valpolicella, but also for Recioto di Soave and other sweet wines. Traditionally the grapes are dried on straw mats, but they may also be dried in baskets in warm lofts, or even hung directly from the rafters.

Pasteurization
The process of sterilizing liquids by heating.

Peak
A subjective evaluation of when a wine reaches its prime for drinking. This is usually expressed as a year or range of years rather than say this Thursday at midnight.

Pedro Ximénez
An important Sherry grape, which produces an intensely sweet juice. It may be bottled as an unblended PX Sherry - so obviously a very sweet wine - or may be blended with other wines to produce a sweet style.

Perfumed
An aromatic wine, often with a floral fragrance, that is usually due to
the grapes from which the wine is made. See also Bouquet.

Petillant
A light sparkle in bubbly.

Photosynthesis
The biological process in which plants, by virtue of chlorophyll and energy derived from the sun, convert carbon dioxide and water into sugar and oxygen. The result is the accumulation of sugar in the plant, including the fruit. The accumulation of sugar continues until the fruit is eventually considered ripe, although this only refers to sugar ripeness not physiological ripeness.

Phylloxera
A vine louse which devastated the vineyards of Europe in the late 18th Century. The cause of the disease was initially uncertain, but eventually the Phylloxera vastatrix louse was identified on the roots of the affected vines. It was imported from North America, where the indigenous American Vitis labrusca vines are resistant to the effects of the louse. The solution: graft the European Vitis vinifera vines onto American rootstock. Now, save for a tiny proportion of vineyards, all vines are grafted onto such rootstock before planting. This caused many difficulties - no longer could cash-strapped vignerons propagate vines by pushing a runner into the soil - they had to purchase more expensive grafted vines from the nursery. Some vignerons today continue to plant ungrafted material, because of heritage (such as the vines for Bollinger's Vieilles Vignes Française Champagne), expense, because of a belief that ungrafted vines make better wine, or because they have suitable soils - Phylloxera dislikes sandy soils.

Physiological ripeness
This refers to the ripening of substances other than sugar in the grapes, such as tannins. Picking grapes that have sugar ripeness ensures the wine will reach a sufficient alcohol content as the sugar is converted, but if the grapes are not physiologically ripe they will impart a green, harsh character to the wine. The onset of physiological ripeness is signified by the change in colour of the pips from green to yellow.

Pierce's Disease
A bacterial disease spread by insects known as sharpshooters or leafhoppers. It has devastated areas of California's vineyards. There is no known treatment, although the problem is subject to considerable research.

Pigeage (France)
This is one method of submerging the cap of skins and grape solids, which is kept in contact with the fermenting wine to increase extract during the cuvaison. Pigeage à pied is the process of pushing it down with the foot. The same may be achieved by pumping the fermenting wine over the cap, or be submerging it using boards laid across the top of the vat.

Pinot Blanc
Produces crisp and refreshing white wines that appeal to many people as the aromas and flavours are not pronounced.

Pinot Gris/Grigio
An interesting mutation of Pinot Noir that can produce full, rich and spicy whites, especially in Alsace, France and Germany. Pinot Gris is known as Pinot Grigio in Italy, where it's fresher and lighter. In Germany, it's called Grauburgunder.

Pinot Noir
A seductive variety known as the red grape of Burgundy, this "heart break grape" is difficult to grow. The best are complex and sensual in texture, with flavours of strawberries, cherries, violets and sometimes animal "barnyard" notes.

Pinotage
Pinotage is the name of both the red wine and the grape grown and made mostly in South Africa. The Pinotage grape was originally bred in 1925 from a cross between the grapes pinot noir and cinsaut. Well-made Pinotages are medium- to full-bodied wines, with rich red fruit aromas and flavors. Poor versions often have a rubbery aroma. This wine pairs well with hearty meat dishes.

Plonk
A common slang term for bulk or jug wines.

Plump
A plump wine has low acidity but tastes full and rich due to lots of
fruit flavors and glycerol. A plump wine is often delicious, though it
may not age well due to its low acidity. When there's too little
acidity, the wine is criticized for being flabby: as equally
unattractive in wine as it is on thighs and underarms.

Port
A sweet red wine that is made by adding neutral grape spirit (brandy) to the unfinished wine. This is the process known as fortification and increases the alcohol level.

Potential Alcohol
The potential alcohol depends on the must weight. The more sugar there is in the juice prior to fermentation, the greater the amount of alcohol in the final wine, hence it has a higher potential alcohol.

Powdery Mildew
See Oidium.

Prädikat (Germany, Austria)
The Prädikat is a classification of wine depending on the must weight, which may be reported in a variety of units including KMW, Oechsle, Baumé and Brix. The classification includes three basic levels, Kabinett, Spätlese or Auslese. Additional categories include Beerenauslese, Trockenbeerenauslese and Eiswein. This is the only classification system dependent on sugar content, implying (although it is not necessarily true) that the more sugar a wine has the better it is - a belief no doubt related to Germany's northerly location where ripening of grapes has been difficult in the past. It does not form a guide to taste, as a wine with a higher must weight may be vinified dry and so will not necessarily taste sweeter.

Press wine
During the winemaking process the wine must be taken from the grape solids - pips, skins, pulp and stalks. First it may be run off - this is the free-run wine and is of higher quality than the wine obtained by pressing the cap, which is the press wine. Press wine has more tannin. It may be blended back in in varying proportions according to the practice of the winemaker, or it may even be blended into another wine if more than one cuvée is produced, such as at Charles Joguet in Chinon.

Prüfungsnummer (Germany)
See Amtliche Prüfnummer.

Pruning
Essential vineyard practice, important in canopy management. For more information see my article on vine training techniques.

Pungent
A pungent wine has strong aromas that are often out of balance with the
others in its bouquet. Often, pungent wines are intensely sour,
astringent and grating on the palate ... much like the dinner guest
whose voice is too loud and whose opinions are tiresome.

Punt
This is the cone-shaped indentation in the bottom of a wine bottle, also known as the “kick up.” There is much speculation about its purpose, including making the bottle more stable when standing, strengthening the bottle to withstand the high internal pressure (especially for bubbly), making the bottle easier to hold when pouring (or at least adding an element of pure pageantry) and giving the mistaken impression you’re getting more wine than you actually are. Today, there’s no real need for the punt, but it’s one of many things in the wine world that hasn’t changed for the sake of tradition.

Pupitre (France)
A wine rack which holds bottles in a suitable position for remuage. For more information see my guide to Champagne.

Puttonyos (Hungary)
A 25kg basket used in the harvest of grapes, puttonyos have become a measure of the addition of sweet nobly rotten grapes known as Aszú to Tokay wine. The more puttonyos are added per gönc of dry wine, the sweeter the final wine will be. Generally wines range from three to six puttonyos. A wine made from harvested grapes where the Aszú are not separated out range from dry to sweet and are called Szamoridni. A wine made from the puttonyos grapes alone is called Aszú Essencia.