A wine decanter such as this is not only a thing of beauty. When properly used, it improves the wine's quality.
DecantTo decant wine is to pour it slowly from the bottle into a crystal or glass container in order to remove the sediment. One usually decants only some mature red wines and Port. When decanting a wine a candle flame is often used to illuminate the bottle neck to reveal the sediment. It is very important not to heat the wine. Is it possible to decant a fine red wine into a plastic container? Not in my presence.
A synonym for concentrated, a fine wine with rich, full flavors.
Definition
A wine with good definition expresses well its grape variety.
Delicate
A delicate wine is pleasant and unobtrusive. White wines are usually more delicate than red wines.
Demi-sec
Demi-sec refers to a sweet champagne whose residual sugar by volume is between 4% and 8%. This French term literally means half-dry.
Diesel
This aroma suggests diesel or gasoline fumes. It is often a component of Riesling wines. In small quantities many people consider this characteristic to be positive.
Diffuse
A diffuse wine is one whose smell and taste lack focus and structure. This problem often occurs when red wines are served too warm.
Direct
A direct wine reveals all its characteristics at first smell and taste.
Dirty
The term dirty refers to the unpleasant odors coming from an improperly-made wine. While this problem may be detected by smelling the cork, the cork itself is not at fault.
Dreggy
A dreggy wine has the characteristic flavor and smell of the dregs with which it remained in contact for a long time.
Dry
A dry wine gives the impression of containing little, if any, sugar. Dry wines usually contain less than about 0.5% residual sugar.
Dry extract
Dry extract refers to a wine’s components that remain after the evaporation of water and alcohol. The higher the dry extract level, the fuller bodied the wine.
Dumb
A dumb wine has not yet developed, in a sense it can’t speak. It may be a white wine that is too chilled or an adolescent red wine, neither young nor mature.