E

earthy - Describes a characteristic of some wines to cause a drying sensation in the mouth.

eau-de-vie - French - Meaning literally "water of life", it is a French term applied to distilled spirits such as brandy.

Edelfäule - German - The common name in Germany for Botrytis cinerea.

édes - Hungarian - Sweet.

edge - Refers to a bitterness found in some wines usually caused by tannins, which can often improve with age.

Einzellage - German - Translating to "individual site", this is the smallest parcel of land officially recognized under German wine law with a minimum size of 5 hectares (12.5 acres). It equates very roughly to château in Bordeaux and domaine in Burgundy, and as a general rule, wine labelled by its Einzellage will be of higher quality than one labelled from a broader geographic region. See also Grosslage, Bereich and Anbaugebiet.

Eiswein - German - Ice wine. Eiswein has only been widely produced in Germany since the early 1960s and has only been a category of Qualitätswein mit Prädikat since 1982.

élevage - French - Meaning literally "bringing up" or "raising" (as with children), this refers to all of the stages of wine production between fermentation and bottling. Since it carries with it the implication of the winemaker's nurturing love and guiding hand, the term is normally used only in connection with well-made wines.

embryo bunch - Forming on vines in the spring, this is a cluster of small blossom buds that gives the grower an idea of the potential size of the crop.

en primeur - French - Refers to wine sold before bottling as futures. Generally this practice is limited to investment wines such as Bordeaux Crus Classés.

encépagement - French - A winemaking term referring to the relative proportions of grape varieties making up a particular blend.

enology - The science or study of wine and wine-making. An expert in the field is called an enologist. The English spelling is "oenology".

enophile - A wine connoisseur The English spelling is "oenophile".

enoteca - Italian - A wine library. Also, a wine store with a comprehensive selection.

enrichment - The addition of fermentable sugar to grape juice to increase the amount of alcohol produced during fermentation. Simply adding sugar is called chaptalization, but other methods include the addition of concentrated forms of must.

Erzeugerabfüllung - German - Producer bottled. This term on a German wine label equates roughly with the phrase mise en bouteilles au château used in Bordeaux.

espumante - Portuguese - Sparkling.

estate-bottled - A term used on American wine labels equivalent to château-bottled in Bordeaux, and strictly controlled under American wine law.

esters - Organic chemical compounds that form when acids react with alcohols. Esters develop in wine both during fermentation and as a result of ageing, and they can contribute a wide variety of flavors and aromas.

estufagem - Portuguese - A process used in making madeira wherein the wine is artificially aged by being heated. Beginning in the 17th century, madeira was shipped as far as India and the Americas and it was found that such long, hot sea voyages actually improved the wine. As a result, winemakers began sending shiploads of casks on round trips across the tropics to induce the effect. This practice was continued until the beginning of the 20th century when it was deemed too expensive. The alternative was to heat the wine in ovens or hothouses called estufas.

Eszencia or Essencia - The rarest and most expensive Tokay produced only from the juice that runs freely from the aszú grapes under their own weight and resulting in a wine of such high must weight that it could ferment for years and still achieve an alcohol content of less than 2 or 3% while leaving more than 50% residual sugar. In the 18th and 19th centuries this nectar was largely reserved for the wealthiest of the aristocracy, and due its supposed miraculous healing properties it was sometimes given to monarchs on their deathbeds. Eszencia is one of the best ageing wines in the world with samples two hundred years old and more having been pronounced excellent for drinking. As with South Africa's Constantia, the demand for Eszencia largely dried up with the Russian revolution and, despite renewed worldwide interest, the wine has yet to recover to its former glory.

ethyl alcohol - Also called ethanol, it is the primary intoxicating alcohol found in wine.

extract - Refers collectively to the non-evaporating soluble solids present in a wine. These include certain acids and sugars, minerals, tannins and proteins and can add considerable body and depth to the wine.

eye - The appearance of a wine, its color, clarity and visible viscosity (see tears) as well as the size and behaviour of bubbles if any are present.