"F" in wine glossary

Farm winery

A United States winery license allowing farms to produce and sell wine on-site.

Fault

An unpleasant characateristic of wine resulting from a flaw with the winemaking process or storage conditions.

Vigorously fermenting red wine.

Fermentation

The conversion of grape sugars to alcohol by yeast.

Fiasco

The straw-covered flask historically associated with Chianti.

Fighting varietal

A term that originated in California during the mid 1980s to refer to any inexpensive cork-finished varietal wine in a 1.5 liter bottle.

Fining

A clarification process where flocculants, such as bentonite or egg white, are added to the wine to remove suspended solids.

Finish

A tasting term for the lingering aftertaste after a wine has been swallowed.

Flabby

Tasting term used to indicate a wine lacking in structure, often marked by low acidity.

Flagon

A glass bottle that holds two litres of (usually inexpensive) table wine.

Flor

The yeast responsible for the character of dry Sherries.

Fortified wine

Wine to which alcohol has been added, generally to increase the concentration to a high enough level to prevent fermentation.

Foxy

A tasting term for the musty odor and flavor of wines made from Vitis labrusca grapes native to North America.

Free run

Juice obtained from grapes that have not been pressed.

Frizzante

See "crackling".

Fruit

The main component of the wine, usually grape but other fruits are also used to make wine, such as pear, plum, etc. Often mentioned when the fruit isn't grown in the same site as the winery, such as "the wine is produced here on-site, but the fruit is purchased from a vineyard upstate."

Fruit wine

A fermented alcoholic beverage made from non-grape fruit juice which may or may not include the addition of sugar or honey. Fruit wines are always called "something" wines (e.g., plum wine), since the word wine alone is often legally defined as a beverage made only from grapes.