278 Port anD the Douro
glossary oF aCronyMs
Portugal has a bewildering number of different acronyms. These are the initials of
organisations, institutions and projects most closely involved in the day-to-day life of
the Douro.
ADVID: Associação para o Desenvolvimento da Viticultura Duriense (Douro Viticultural
Development Association).
AEVP: Associação das Empreseas do Vinho do Porto (Port Wine Shippers Association).
AVEPOD: Associação dos Viticultores Engarrafadores dos Vinhos do Porto e Douro (Port
and Douro Wine Growers and Bottlers Association).
CD: Casa do Douro.
IVDP: Instituto dos Vinhos do Porto e do Douro (Port and Douro Wine Institute).
IVV: Instituto do Vinho e da Vinha (Institute of Vines and Wine – formerly the Junta
Nacional do Vinho).
PDRITM: Projecto de Desenvolvimento Rural Integrado de Trás-os-Montes (Trás-os-
Montes Integrated Rural Development Project).
UTAD: Universidade de Trás-os-Montes e do Alto Douro (University of Trás-os-Montes
and the Alto Douro.
glossary oF teChniCal terMs
Anthocyanins: the principal member of a complex group of organic chemicals responsible
for the red/purple hue in wines.
Baumé: a measure of dissolved compounds in grape juice and therefore its approximate
concentration of sugars. The number of degrees Baumé is a rough indicator of
percentage alcohol by volume (i.e. grape juice with 12 degrees Baumé will produce a
wine with about 12% ABV). Its inventor was Antoine Baumé (1728–1804), a French
pharmacist.
Cuvaison: a French term that applies to red winemaking, for which there is no English
translation. It signifies an extended period of maceration on grape skins following
fermentation, resulting in the greater extraction of both colour and tannin.
Elevage: a French winemaking term which defies translation into English. It literally means
‘rearing’ or ‘raising’ as it might be applied to either young livestock or humans, but
in the context of wine it is the term applied to the series of operations between the
end of fermentation and bottling. At this stage in the process, the winemaker’s role
is analogous to that of a parent and there is much that can go wrong before a wine is
finally bottled, shipped and consumed.
Ethyl Acetate: the most common ester in wine formed by the reaction of acetic acid with
ethanol. At low to moderate concentrations, ethyl acetate contributes to the aroma and
flavour of the wine, but at high concentrations a wine will be unacceptably vinegary.
Many old tawny Ports have relatively high levels of ethyl acetate.