The state when a vine or other plant suffers from a lack of water. This can actually be beneficial for the production of quality grapes, as reduced quanitities of water will concentrate the flavor compounds, sugars and acids in relation to the water content in the grapes.

The changing temperature, winds, and precipitation and humidity which are responsible for our day to day environmental conditions. The weather of a region, when taken as an average over the course of the year defines the climate.

Winemakers differentiate between wild and indigenous yeasts. The former describes the undesirable yeasts that are blamed for unpleasant odors or flavors in a wine, whereas the latter is the kind of yeasts sought after by many winemakers.