Varietal wines
Any wine that takes its name from the predominant grape variety. This is common in the New World, but in Europe wines are usually labeled with the place name.

Velvety
A velvety wine has a smooth, silky, lush texture and is often rich in flavor.

Vendange (France)
Harvest.

Vendange tardive (France)
Delayed harvest. Wines labelled as such usually have a sweet palate.

Venencia (Spain)
The wonderful, long-handled ladle that features in so many pictures of Spanish winemakers tasting their Sherry. This allows samples of the wine to be drawn without disturbing the coating of flor.

Vertical trellis
A vine training method. More details may be found in my advice page on vine training techniques.

Vigne (France)
The French words for vine.

Vigneron/Vigneronne
The French words for winegrower.

Vignoble (France)
Vineyard.

Vigorous
Firm, lively fruit, strong body; assertive flavor.

Vin
The French word for wine.

Vin clair (France)
The base wine for Champagne, after the primary alcoholic fermentation and malolactic fermentation but before the second fermentation. For more details see my Champagne Guide.

Vin Délimité de Qualité Supérieure (France)
This is a classification for French wine one step above Vin de Pays, and certainly above the lowly Vin de Table. Many regions classified as VDQS are being upgraded to Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée, and so it is now infrequently seen.

Vin de Pays (France)
Essentially 'country wines', there are many very good wines to be found in this category. The category lies below Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée and the rapidly disappearing Vin Délimité de Qualité Supérieure, but is distinctly superior to the usually awful Vin de Table.

Vin de Table (France)
The lowest category for French wine. By law such wines may not even declare grape varieties or vintage on the label - that is if they ever get as far as being bottled. These are the wines that you still see dispensed by the petrol pump appliances en vrac at lowly co-operatives.

Vin doux naturel (France)
A style of wine common in the south, vin doux naturel describes fortified wines where grape spirit has been added before completion of fermentation. This action kills the yeast, and the unfermented sugar causes the wine to be sweet. See my feature on mutage, in my Sweet Wine series, for more detailed information.

Vin gris (France)
An old term which seems to have fallen from common usage. It describes 'grey' wines - really very pale rosés.

Vinegary
Having the smell of vinegar. It is a fault in wine.

Viniculture
Viniculture, also known as enology or oenology, is the study of making wine and of the grapes produced for the purpose of making wine.

Vintage
The year that the grapes were picked to make the wine, usually indicated on the label. The vintage is important in cool climates, such as France, Canada and Germany, where the weather varies significantly from year to year. In warmer climates, such as Australia, Chile and California, it's of less importance since the climate is more consistent and hospitable to grape growing.

Viticulture
Viticulture is the science of grape growing, which includes the cultivation of grapes and their vines.

Vitis labrusca
The fruit of the vine Vitis labrusca itself may be used in the production of wine, but is more often used for grape jelly or similar products. An American vine species, it was once an important source of rootstock for Phylloxera-sensitive Vitis vinifera.

Vitis vinifera
This is the one. The vinifera species includes all our favourites - Cabernet Franc, Chenin Blanc, Mourvèdre, Gewurztraminer, and so on. The species from which all the world's fine wines are made - even if they have to be grafted onto other rootstock in order to survive.

Volatile, Volatile Acidity (VA)
The smell of acetic acid and/or ethyl acetate. It is quite disagreeable when excessive though a tiny amount may enhance aromas.