Home › Glossary › Letter F

Flor

Viniculture
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

Want to hear it? Click the Listen button to hear the browser speak the word using text-to-speech!

The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A living veil of yeast that grows on the surface of certain wines during aging.

Detailed Definition
Flor protects wine from some oxygen while contributing distinctive almond, dough, saline, and savory aromas, especially in biological aging. It is a delicate paradox, both shield and alteration, a skin that breathes above the liquid. In poetry, flor may become a pale ceiling over hidden depth, evoking secrecy, preservation, and the fragile boundary between exposure and shelter. What floats on top is also what changes everything below.
Example
Example in poetry:
“Flor formed a pale veil across the wine’s surface,” uses the term for a layer of yeast that can grow on certain wines during aging; “Beneath the flor, the wine gathered almond and salt”; A poet might imagine flor as “a thin cloud protecting a hidden sea”; The image teaches that this living yeast layer changes the wine’s contact with air and its resulting character.
Additional Notes
Flor is a surface-growing yeast veil that protects wine from direct oxygen while allowing distinctive biological aging. It is central to styles such as fino and manzanilla Sherry and can create almond, dough, chamomile, and saline aromas. Flor requires suitable alcohol, nutrients, and cellar conditions.
Also Known As
Yeast Veil Voile
Skip to main content