Grape Terms
Amber – A special characteristic of many green grapes is the quality known as amber. Sometimes, normally bright-green grapes have a golden-yellow hue. This honey color means the grapes have been left to ripen longer and, as a result, the grapes are particularly sweet and juicy. Although some people might think that amber color means something is wrong with the grapes, it is in fact, a special quality, prized by knowledgeable grape lovers.
Bloom – A white naturally occurring coating, made mostly of waxy compounds, is common to many soft fruits including grapes. The bloom protects the grapes from moisture loss and decay. Bloom is sometimes mistakenly thought of as dust.
Seeded – Grapes that contain naturally occurring seeds in their berries.
Seedless – Grapes that do not have seeds in their berries.
Seed Trace – Soft, under-developed portions of a seed in some seedless grapes. Development is related to the weather during early phases of the growing season.
Shatter – Detachment of berries from the cluster is called shatter. Shatter increases with rough or excessive handling and can be reduced by gentle handling and maintaining recommended temperatures and relative humidity.
Terroir: – Terroir is French for “soil,” and most commonly used when describing and referring to wines produced from grapes grown in a particular region and/or soil type. However, terroir is a factor contributing to the flavor of fresh grapes as well.
Verjus: – Verjus is a French terms that means “green juice.” Verjus is an ancient ingredient made from unripe or semi-ripe grapes that were thinned from the vine and pressed. Now commercially available, verjus is tart, but gentler than vinegar or lemon juice. The accepted culinary lore is that when used in sauces and dressing, verjus complements rather than conflicts with the flavors of wine.
Brix – Brix is a measure of soluble solids content in grapes, mostly as sugars, using a refractometer and expressed in degrees. Each degree of brix equals 1 gram of sugar per 100 grams of grape juice.
Titratable Acidity (TA) – Grapes contain significant amounts of organic acids, which are determined by titration. The major organic acid in grapes – tartaric acid – accounts for over 90% of the total acid constituents of the juice. The titratable acidity is expressed as grams of tartaric acid per 100 ml.
