Calcium Sulphate See Gypsum.

Calibrated Jars are useful pieces of equipment for measuring fruit juices at pressing time. Measurement is important both with regard to yield of juice and also for working out necessary dilutions to achieve the proper balance in the must.

Candida A genus of yeasts called imperfecta due to the fact that they are incapable of forming spores. There are many species, varying from those which cause Thrush in man to wine spoilage organisms.

Candida Albicans The type of species Candida (it is the main species and all others are identified by reference to it). This is the species responsible for the condition known as Thrush; it is, however, not a wine spoilage organism.

Candida Mycoderma The species of Candida of greatest importance to the winemaker. It is a film yeast and its most commonly seen as a grayish-green scum or skin on the surface of the lees in the bottom of unwashed bottles. It is an aerobic organism and forms a pellicle or skin on the surface of the wine. At the same time it converts the alcohol to carbon dioxide and water. Infection starts as small whitish patches on the surface of the wine which gradually increase in size and join together to form the pellicle. Prevention is by hygiene and anaerobic conditions. Cure is to sulphite the wine heavily and break up the pellicle. After a few days, the particles sink to the bottom of the container and the wine can be racked off.

Candy Sugar is an expensive way of buying pure sugar, since granulated sugar is also pure. Many recipes recommend its use because they were drawn up in the days of grades of purity of sugar and they have not been updated. Some people claim it confers a better flavor on the wine; which, like many things, is a matter of personal preference.

Cane Sugar is refined from the juice of the sugar cane. Until recent years it was the only source of pure sugar, but with the improvement in refining techniques for beet sugar it forms only about two-thirds of sugar consumed in the world. As long as the packet says it contains pure sugar, it does not matter what name it goes by or its parentage, since its effect on the wine is the same whether the sugar is derived from cane or beet. See Sucrose.

Canned Fruit A most useful and restful way of picking fruit. Provided care is exercised in the choice, there is no reason why good wines cannot be made. However, for dry wines it is essential to ensure that no artificial sweetening agents have been used, for some of these are non-fermentable and, despite no residual sugar on assay, the wine will be sweet to the taste.

Cap of Pulp At the start of a pulp fermentation the pulped fruit lies at the bottom of the fermentation vessel but, within a few days, as carbon dioxide production increases, the gas entrapped between particles of fruit raises these to the surface to form the Cap of Pulp. It is at this stage that infection is most likely to occur and, to prevent this, in addition to ensuring maximum extraction from the pulp, the cap should be broken up twice a day and the must roused. It is useful to use a sinker to hold the cap below the surface.

Cap, Crown The name given to the metal caps used for sealing bottles. Mostly used for beer, they have in recent years come to be used for the second stage of champagne making (bottle fermentation). They have the advantage over cork of cost and of course the wine cannot become corked. They require capper for their application, but are much easier than champagne corks both to fit and remove.

Capsules Theoretically, these are used to seal the wine and its cork from the air, to prevent the wine from becoming corked. However, some capsules have holes pierced in them which destroys this hypothesis. Whether the pierced ones were originally intended for bottles expected to take years to come to maturity and therefore might benefit from some air is not certain. However, it is certain that they are decorative, thereby increasing the appeal of the wine.

Capsules, Lead Some commercial wines still use lead capsules on them. When opening a bottle protected in this way it is important to remove the whole capsule and not merely the top half-inch or so. This is because lead is a toxic metal which will not gain entry to the wine when used as a seal but, if not removed, may contaminate it. As lead is an accumulative poison its effects are not immediately seen.

Capsules, Plastic The amateur's posh capsule. Available in various colors, they are shrink fitted and will, as well as enhancing the look of the bottle, protect it from possible corking.

Caramel When sugar is heated about its melting point it turns from white to brown as it loses its structure and becomes amorphous. This brown substance is called caramel and is used for coloring and flavoring wines, particularly the dessert and sweet types. Delicate table wines should not have caramel added for its powerful aroma and taste will obscure the intended flavor.

Carbonates These are salts present in tap water and contribute to its pH and hardness. Since carbonates precipitate on boiling care must be taken with pH analysis if boiled water is to be used as there is the possibility that the pH may be increased with its use and the bacterial protection afforded by a low pH will be lost.

Carbonation is achieved by forcing carbon dioxide into a bottle under pressure (a dangerous technique for the amateur), or by encouraging a bottle fermentation as in champagne making or as seen in the case of a malo-lactic fermentation. In commercial "fizzy" drinks, a pressure of 90 psi is not uncommon, but this is dangerously high for the amateur who ought not to aim for more than 50 psi.

Carbonic Acid Carbon dioxide is very soluble in water and when it enters solution it partially dissociates and forms a weak acid. This acid is carbonic acid. It plays an important part in the buffering of fermenting wines, but when fermentation is complete and the carbon dioxide is lost, obviously so too is the carbonic acid. When racking a young wine the presence of carbonic acid helps to prevent oxidation by reacting with the oxygen absorbed.

Carbonyl Chemical compounds chiefly responsible for the bouquet of a wine. They are all members of the aldehyde or ketone series.

Carboxylase One of the most important enzymes in alcohol production. It is secreted by yeasts and its action is to promote the decarboxylation (removal of carbon) of pyruvic acid to acetaldehyde. In the process carbon dioxide is given off. Unlike most of the reactions involved in alcohol production this one is irreversible.

Carboys Large glass containers usually of 3-6 gallons US (12 L to 23 L) capacity ideally suited to amateur winemaking. See Vintner-s Deluxe Starter Kit   See Secondary Fermenters and Accessories

Casein The principal protein of milk. In its pure form (although expensive), it is an excellent fining agent. It is superior to charcoal as a de-coloring agent since it does not absorb flavors. The best way of using it is to dissolve the casein either in strong ammonia and then boil until the ammonia is driven off, or to dissolve it in sodium bicarbonate. It is common to prepare a tannin-casein mixture of equal proportion for fining, as tannin will combine with any excess protein to aid clearing.

Cask Sizes The most popular barrel sizes for the amateur are the 7, 11 and 22 gallon casks and with careful regulation of the time a wine is allowed to remain in the wood, suffice for most people. The range of sizes is from 1 to 45 gallons. For the amateur, space, manageability and scale of production will dictate the size. For most, sizes above 22 gallons are too unwieldy.

Cask Storage Never keep a cask on its side without proper supports. They should always be kept on their sides but supported at each end in order to prevent warping, and should have stillages to prevent rolling about, as well as bearing at least part of the weight. If being kept empty, a cask should have a few pints of stock sulphite in it and the cask upended. It should be turned every few weeks to ensure total sterility.

Cask Topping up Due to the pores in the wood, there is an inevitable loss of water and alcohol to the atmosphere. It is essential to prevent the over-oxidation which will occur should the cask become too empty, and therefore the cask must be topped up at regular intervals with a wine of a similar type to that maturing.

Catalyst Some chemical reactions progress so slowly that without help from other compounds they would make almost none of the final compound. Chemicals which speed up these reactions are called catalysts. They act by forming intermediate products, which are then changed into the final compound. The most peculiar characteristics of catalysts is that they are not changed at the end of the reaction that they catalyze. Thus, a small amount of a catalyst can speed up a large amount of compounds reacting together. Reactions needing catalysts are speeded up by increasing the temperature, but if it is raised too much the reaction will slow down since catalysts are often denatured by the heat as other proteins.

Catechol A tannin simple structure present in the grape, which contributes most of the astringency to a finished wine.

Cellar A dry cellar is the ideal place for a wine store, since the temperature can be kept constant while the sun is excluded. Nowadays the cupboard under the stairs often has to double as a wine cellar.

Cellarcraft embraces the care of wine from the moment a must finishes fermenting until it is served at table. This involves maturing, bottling, corking, labeling, storage and, finally, serving the wine.

Champagne Making consists of several special steps after fermenting and blending the dry base wine. The wine is sweetened and re-fermented in the bottle and, when this is complete, the sediment is collected in the neck by inverting the bottle over a period of time and finally the loss of wine from disgorging is made good. The wine is then matured and sold. 

Champagne Yeast A pure string of yeast which is unusual in that it can ferment in the presence of a high concentration of carbon dioxide. For successful sparkling winemaking this yeast is essential especially for the bottle fermentation. See Yeasts

Champagne, Sugar Additions prior to re-fermenting must be carefully gauged to obtain the maximum sparkle consistent with safety. The recommended amounts are given in See Appendix VIII.

Chaptalization The addition of sugar to commercial musts in a poor year when the natural sugar of the grape is not sufficient to yield a high enough alcohol level. The amount permitted is regulated by law in France and the process takes its name from its inventor, M. Chaptal. In virtually all amateur winemaking this is a normal practice, as it is rare to find a fruit high enough in sugar to give a satisfactory wine, except for the wine grape.

Chlorine has two actions to the winemaker; one beneficial, the other annoying. One the good side, it is in the form of bleach, a powerful cleaning and sterilizing agent. It is, on the other hand, an inhibitor of yeast, should the water supply have too high a concentration. This problem can be overcome by the use of bisulphite, 50 ppm, before inoculation with yeast.

Chlorophyl the green pigment present in leaves responsible for plant respiration. Yeasts are unusual plants in that they do not contain this compound and therefore cannot utilize sunlight to obtain energy as do all other plants.

Cider A weakly alcoholic drink made from the fermented juice of apples. Unlike the must prepared for apple wine production of the cider must is high in tannin. The use of bitter apples is responsible for this freshness and bite to be found in a good cider. 

Citral An example of a bouquet producing compound which is an aldehyde

Clarification and Pectin Most members of the plan kingdom contain pectin in varying quantities and if, in a wine, pectin is not broken down, the result will be a haze, due to its entering colloidal solution. To obviate this possibility the routine use of pectin destroying enzymes prior to fermentation is recommended; especially in the case of pulp fermentation, to aid extraction of juice, color and aromatic compounds.

Clarification and Refrigeration Many substances causing hazes are only partially soluble and by lowering the temperature they are forced out of solution, precipitate and leave a clear wine. A good example of this is tartaric acid and its potassium salts. It is important to rack the wine at as near the refrigeration temperature as possible in order to prevent these substances re-entering solution.

Clarification and Sulphite Apart from inhibiting the growth of a new yeast colony from the remaining cells after racking, sulphite also aids clearing by neutralizing the electrical charges one some colloidal particles so that they precipitate out of suspension.

Clarification and Tannin has the ability to combine with protein to form insoluble coagulates. Thus any suspected and diagnosed protein haze requires treatment with tannin after trial finings.

Clarity The term used to describe the clearness, or limpidity, of a wine. If there are no hazes, foreign bodies or deposits, and the wine is absolutely translucent, then it is described as being "star bright". The descendant stages are: clear, hazy and cloudy. The last term being used for a wine which is obviously opaque

Cloudiness the term used to describe a wine which has an obvious degree of opacity, usually when the opposite side of the container is not clearly visible. See Diagnosis of Faults, Appendix XI.?

Co-Enzymes are molecules usually smaller than their specific enzymes and are essential for its action. Often they act as carriers of ions from the substrate being acted on to an appropriate acceptor. Co-enzyme I accepts hydrogen ions from pyruvic acid to become dihydrocoenzyme I which, in order to fulfill the maxim that enzymes are not used up, is then changed back to its original structure. Having accepted hydrogen from a molecule of pyruvic acid, the specific enzyme zymase can then perform its part in oxidizing acetaldehyde to alcohol.

Co-Factor These have the same function as co-enzymes, but they are usually metals in their various ionic forms, instead of being complex organic molecules.

Co-Ferment Another term for co-enzyme.

Coagulation A phenomenon which occurs at the iso-electric point of a protein. Proteins are peculiar in that they can form either acids or bases depending on the pH of their solution. However, at the iso-electric point, they can form neither and lose their colloidal state, and fall out of solution or coagulate. Thus any change in the pH of wine will increase the chances of protein coagulation. This is likely to happen if two wines are blended. To prevent this occurring after bottling, blended wines must be allowed to stand a few months.