Viticulture: A Handy Lexicon of Wine Terminology

Hey there, wine enthusiasts! Whether you’re new to the world of wine or a seasoned connoisseur, understanding the lingo can be a bit bewildering at times. So, I’ve put together this glossary to help demystify the language of viticulture. Let’s dive in!

Tannins

Tannins are compounds that come from grape skins, seeds, and stems. They give wine its astringency and dryness. If your wine leaves your mouth feeling a bit puckered or you sense a bit of a drying sensation, those are the tannins doing their thing.

Terroir

The term “terroir” encompasses everything that contributes to the unique characteristics of a wine: the soil, climate, grape variety, and even the winemaking techniques. It’s the idea that every vineyard has its own special fingerprint.

Acidity

The acidity of a wine refers to how tart or crisp it tastes. Wines with high acidity tend to be refreshing and lively, while those with low acidity might taste flat or flabby. It’s all about finding that perfect balance.

Oak

Oak barrels can add flavors and aromas to wine, such as vanilla, toast, and spice. The use of oak in winemaking can greatly influence the character of the final product.

Body

“Body” describes the weight and texture of a wine in your mouth. Think of it as the difference between skim milk (light-bodied) and whole milk (full-bodied). Some wines can be described as medium-bodied, falling somewhere in between.

Malolactic Fermentation

Malolactic fermentation is a secondary fermentation process that converts harsh malic acid into softer lactic acid. This process can give wines a buttery or creamy quality.

Nose

The “nose” of a wine refers to its aroma or bouquet. It’s all about those delightful scents and how they come together to create a sensory experience.

Finish

The “finish” is the lingering taste that remains after you’ve swallowed or spit out a sip of wine. A long finish is often a sign of a high-quality wine with complex flavors.

Well, that’s just a snapshot of the fascinating world of wine terminology. Remember, the more you explore and taste, the better you’ll understand these concepts. So grab a glass of your favorite wine, savor the flavors, and expand your wine vocabulary one sip at a time. Cheers!

Imagine a special space that looks like a dashed oval. This space is where one worker can be placed at a time. The interesting thing is that workers can only be placed during the current season, and each worker can only be placed once per year. But wait, there’s more! Some action spaces are private, which means they are either on your player mats or on structures you’ve built. These private action spaces are just for you, which means only you can place workers on them.

Ace Grapes & Wine

Here’s something cool: you can increase the value of all grape tokens on your crush pad and wine tokens in your cellar. However, there’s a catch – wine tokens can only advance into cellars that you’ve already built. So, make sure you have those cellars ready!

Bonus

Ever heard of a bonus? It’s an extra benefit that you can find inside an action space. The great thing about bonuses is that you can place a worker on them even if you don’t actually use the bonus. You’re still required to take the action, but the bonus is optional. You have the freedom to take the bonus and the action in any order that you prefer.

Fall

When fall arrives, something exciting happens! Starting with the player at the top of the wake-up chart, each player will draw a summer or winter visitor card. It’s a surprise every time!

The “Grande Worker”

The grande worker is a special type of worker that I can use on any action, even if all the action spaces are already occupied. However, I can only use this ability on the game board. If I place my grande worker on a bonus action space, I can earn a bonus.

Harvest Time

When it’s time to harvest, I choose a field on my vineyard mat that I haven’t already harvested this year. Each field can only be harvested once per year. I collect all the red vines from that field and add up their total value. Then, I place a grape token on the space with the corresponding value on my red crush pad. I do the same for the white vines. The vine cards stay planted on the fields; I’m just picking the grapes from them.

Time to Make Wine

First off, grab some grapes from your crush pad. You’ll need 2 grapes to make 2 wine tokens. Oh, and by the way, the type of wine you make can be different for each token. Variety is the spice of life, after all!

Now, here’s the thing: you can’t just combine 2 grapes of the same color to get a wine token of the same color. Nope! If you have a red grape token, it’ll become a red wine token, but its value might change a little. So make sure you have enough space in your cellar to store it properly.

If you’re in the mood for something a little different, you can make a blush wine token instead. To do that, you’ll need 1 red grape token and 1 white grape token. Add up the values of those two grapes, and voila! You’ve got yourself a blush wine token. Just remember, the value has to be at least 4 to make it work.

And hey, if you’re feeling fancy and want to add some sparkle to your life, why not make a sparkling wine token? For this one, you’ll need 2 red grape tokens and 1 white grape token. Add up the values of all three grapes, and boom! You’ve got a sparkling wine token. Just remember, the value has to be at least 7 for it to be considered sparkling.

Now, where should you put those grape tokens and wine tokens?

Your options are either placing the grape tokens on the crush pad or storing the wine tokens in your cellar. It’s up to you and what works best for your winemaking style. You’re in control of your own fermentation destiny!

Have you ever heard of visitor cards, trade actions, or special workers in the world of vineyards? These allow you to place specific tokens on your own vineyard mat – it’s pretty unique! This is different from harvesting vines to get grape tokens or making wine tokens by moving grapes to your cellar.

When you place a grape or wine token, it’s like buying it from outside your vineyard. You’ll grab a glass token and put it on either your crush pad for grapes or your cellar for wine.

Playing a Visitor Card

First off, you’ll need to choose a visitor card from your hand. If there’s a cost, make sure you pay it. Then, you can enjoy the benefits. Just make sure you can fully pay the cost and fully gain the benefit. Afterward, place the card face-up on its discard pile.

Springtime

When it’s time to determine player order, each of us will place our rooster on the wake-up chart. We’ll go in clockwise order, starting with the player who has the first player token.

Summer

Now, let’s move on to the summer. We’ll start with the top player on the wake-up chart and go down the list. Each player can choose to place one worker on a yellow action space and take that action right away. Or, if they want to save their workers for the winter, they can pass.

This back-and-forth continues until all players have passed.

Temporary Worker

When I pick the final row of the wake-up chart, I get the gray temp worker for that year. From then on, the temp worker is mine for the rest of the year, just like my other workers.

At the end of the year, when it’s time to retrieve my workers, I make sure to put the temp worker token back on the wake-up chart.

Trading

In Viticulture, players can’t trade with each other.

Uproot

If I have the Yoke or some visitor cards, I can choose to uproot. All I have to do is select a vine card on my vineyard mat and put it back in my hand.

Wake-up Chart

When it’s time to start the game, the player who is ranked at the top of the wake-up chart goes first. This player can choose to either place a worker or skip their turn. The rest of the players take their turns in the same order as their ranking on the wake-up chart. It’s important to note that your wake-up order remains the same for the entire year. The wake-up order is used whenever players need to make sequential decisions, such as drawing cards during the fall or making decisions based on interactive visitor cards.

Winter

During the winter season, each player takes their turn starting from the top of the wake-up chart and going down. Each player places one worker on any available action space in the winter, which are represented by blue action spaces. After placing their worker, the player immediately takes the action associated with that space.

This cycle of turns continues until all players have used all of their workers.

Year End

When you play the game, you’ll notice a few important steps. First, I need to age my grape and wine tokens. This helps them gain value over time. Then, I’ll return my workers to their vineyard mats, giving me the resources I need for future turns. After that, I collect residual payments, which are bonuses for having certain structures on my vineyard.

Next, I remove rooster tokens from the wake-up chart. This helps me determine the order of play for the next round. Lastly, I rotate the first-player token counter-clockwise, so that someone else gets to go first in the next round.

The game will end if any player reaches or exceeds 20 victory points at any time during the year. This means that you need to be strategic and strive to accumulate points throughout the game.