Wine Glossary

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Acidity
Many acids are present in wine and are essential for wine's longevity. They are a vital component in wine that gives "bite" to the wine. Too much acid can spoil the wine. Too little affects wine quality. Acid needs to be present in balance with other components of the wine.

Aftertaste
Aftertaste is the flavour that lingers in the back of your mouth after tasting or swallowing that indicates complexity. It is used interchangeably with "finish". Harsh or unpleasant aftertaste might indicate volatility or the presence of excessive acidity or tannins in the wine.

Alcohol
The substance that makes the difference between grape juice and wine! Alcohol is produced by fermentation, and in this context means ethyl alcohol (C2H50H) produced by the action of yeasts on grape sugars during the fermentation.

Aperitif
An appetiser taken before a meal.

Appellation
A term used to describe a specific wine region's boundaries. Only the wines made within the regions boundaries can be claimed to be of that appellation i.e. Burgundy. French appellation laws also prescribe various viticultural and winery practices.

Aroma
Aroma is the word used by wine experts to describe the grapey smell of wine, largely used to describe the wines with a floral or spicy smell. It comes from the grapes and often accompanies the wood aromas.

Astringent
Tannins produce a drying taste in the mouth. It is the tactile sensation that an excess of tannin leaves on the insides of your mouth. You can detect astringency by the 'puckering' of your mouth as the tannins hit your tastebuds. Tannins come from grape-skins, seeds and oak.

Austère
Means different things to different palates, though generally meant to indicate a wine that has vinous characters without strong recognisable varietal fruit or oak influence.

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Balance
Balance is vital relative measurement of different elements in wine, sweetness, acidity, fruit, tannins and alcohol. A balanced wine has flavour components in complete harmony, where no single element dominates.

Barrique
A term originating from Bordeaux used to call a 225 litre (60 gallon) barrel. It is now commonly used around the world.

Baumé
A method of quantifying sugar levels in grape juice.

Beefy
Describes a wine that has lots of body and tannins.

Berries
The unique fruit smell of grape varieties is often used to define the aroma or taste of wine i.e. warm berries is a certain giveaway of Zinfandel.

Bin
A bin (or binning) is a term, which means the laying down of a wine in bins for the purpose of ageing. Winemakers to indicate strictly controlled conditions usually use the term.

Bitterness
Bitterness is an unpleasant characteristic of wines. This is usually detected in the aftertaste (should not to be confused with acidity).

Blackcurrants
Blackcurrant is the aroma of Cabernet Sauvignon, called cassis in French.

Bland
Bland is the wine-tasting term denoting a wine without character, though not necessarily having any wine faults.

Blend
Mixing of two or more grape varieties, vintages or locations to increase quality or maintain consistency.

Blind Tasting
Blind tasting is an attempt to identify and/or assess wines without knowing the identity of the wine.

Blueberries
A deep rich blueberry like fruit flavour present in the wine.

Body
'Full-bodied' describes a wine with fullness of flavour in the mouth; conversely, 'light-bodied' means the opposite. It is an important measure of a wines weight that is predominantly determined by its alcoholic strength and also the extract. The more body that a wine has the less like water it tastes.

Bottle age
The time a wine has spent in the bottle after making and oak aging.

Bottle sizes
Bottle (750ml or 375ml - other)
Magnum = 2 bottles
Tappit-Hen = 3 bottles
Jeroboam = 4 bottles
Rehoboam = 6 bottles
Methuselah = 8 bottles
Salmanazar = 12 bottles
Balthazar = 16 bottles
Nebuchadnezzar = 20 bottles

Botrytis
A Latin term for fungus encompassing all the rots, which can affect grapes and damage the resulting wine. In one specific form however, it does not harm the grapes and produces a lush complex sweet wine commonly called "desert wine" or "Sauternes style".

Bouquet
Bouquet is the smell given off by a wine when the bottle is opened. It arises from the slow oxidation of alcohol and fruit acids into esters and ethers.

Breathe
What a wine will do once you open a bottle and expose the wine to air. In older wines it will allow for off-flavours to dissipate however, modern winemaking hygiene is making this process unnecessary. This is more necessary for young wines as they are very often taut and closed and will benefit by the process of sloshing a wine into a decanter and leaving it for a while before drinking.

Bright
Perfectly clear wine with no suspended particles. Bright colour is an important pointer to wine quality, except in premium red wine where some crust can be expected to form after bottle maturation.

Brix
Brix is method of quantifying the amount of sugar in grape juice. Winemakers in the USA, New Zealand and Australia mainly use this method.

Brut
Dry, usually applied to sparkling wines. Commercial brut styles now have a small amount of liquoring added to sweeten the wine somewhat, hence the growth of the term brut-de-brut, suggesting that the wine is fully dry.

Bung
A bung is the stopper of a barrel in which wine is being aged. They are commonly wood but modern bungs are also made of hard rubber.

Buttery
Buttery is a term that describes the richness and colour acquired by mature Chardonnay, traditionally associated with Mersault.

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Cabernet Sauvignon
A major variety of red (or black) grape, considered by many to produce the finest red wines in the world. It is the classic centrepiece of the clarets of the Médoc in Bordeaux. Widely grown in most areas of Australia.

Cane
The aged shoots of a grapevine. It produces the vine leaves and bunches of grapes.

Cap of Skins
The mixture of skins, stalks, seeds, pips, leaves and other solids that accumulate at the top of fermenting must.

Capsule
Metal or plastic protector sealed over the neck and cork of a bottle.

Cellar or Cave
A cellar or cave is a place of storage for wine. Usually underground where the temperature can be maintained at constant levels. 14-15c is the preferred temperature for wines.

Cellarmaster
A cellarmaster is the manager or "the Chief" of a cellar.

Chaptalisation
The process of adding sugar to fermenting must to increase the resulting alcohol level.

Chateau
A chateau is a vineyard or property, usually with an impressive building or castle.

Chewy
A big wine with noticeable tannins is usually described as "chewy".

Chocolaty
A flavour found in sweeter style red wines in Australia and South Africa.

Cigar Box
This is a term to describe a smell of a wine that is synonymous with Cedar wood.

Claret
What the red wines of Bordeaux are commonly were called until recent years whereby mimicking French wines has been outlawed.

Classed Growth
One of the 60 or so Chateaux organised in 1855 into the top 5 classes from the Médoc and Graves, or included in subsequent classifications or other Bordeaux regions. Cru Classe is the French term.

Clean
Describes a wine that has no off-flavours or other nasties in a wine. Usually used to describe a wine that is refreshing.

Clone
A clone describes a particular group of vines produced from one cutting. Chosen for particular attributes such as "high yield" or "specific disease resistant".

Clos
A clos is a walled vineyard or one that was once walled, especially in Burgundy.

Closed
Describes a wine without much smell (same meaning as "dumb").

Coarse
Course is the term for a rough or crude very ordinary wine without much interest.

Colour
The depth of colour is an extremely important indicator of quality and condition. Darker colours in whites usually indicate older wines, while red wines tend to lighten and tawny with age.

Complexity
Complexity in a wine indicates many different, well-merged flavours to add interest and personality to a wine to the point of being fascinating.

Concentrated
Concentrated is the term to describe a wine that has lots of fruit, flavour and colour.

Condition
Condition is a term to describe the state of a wine being assessed. Whether or not it has any faults.

Cooperage
A term for wooden casks/barrels, or vats used for storage in a particular cellar or winery.

Cordon
A cordon is a permanent branch of a vine.

Corked (Cork Taint)
Corked (or cork taint) describes a wine whose quality is affected by an off-flavour from the cork. It is perceived as a mouldy, 'rotten wood' smell and sometimes bitter taste. About 3% of wines worldwide are affected.

Côte
A Côte is the slope in vineyards, often above a river valley.

Cru
Cru is a French term, which literally means "growth". Usually used to denote Premiere Cru or First Growth that is the highest quality wines.

Crisp
Crisp is a complimentary term for white wine with refreshing acidity.

Crust
Crust is the heavy sediment, which forms in a wine.

Cuvaison
The extra time that wine is left to ferment on the skins to extract more from the grapes.

Cuvé
Large Vat or Tank, which wine, is fermented.

Cuvée
The entire contents of a Cuvé made at any one time.

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Decant
Transferring red wine from a bottle to a decanter for the purposes of removing the crust or to allow the wine substantial exposure to air so that it can breathe.

Delicate
Rather fine light bodied wine without very strong flavour but well balanced.

Deposit
Deposit is the residue of a wine that forms in the bottle (see crust).

Disgorgement
Disgorgement is the process of removing the frozen yeast lees from a bottle of sparkling wine, which has undergone secondary fermentation to ensure that the wine is clear.

Dumb
A wine with very little or no nose, common in youthful well made wines.

Dry
Dry is a term to describe the absence of sweetness in a wine. This is a description, which all sugars have been converted to alcohol.

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Eiswein
Eiswein is a sweet wine made in Germany from grapes gathered and crushed whilst frozen.

Elegance
A complimentary term to describe wine that has class, breeding, finesse and style.

En Primeur
The French term for the first sale of a vintage in Bordeaux in which the wine is sold prior to bottling is described as en Primeur.

Esters
Esters are compounds of alcohol and organic acids that give flavours and bouquet to a wine.

Estery
Estery is the fruity odour developing from the slow formation of esters in the wine.

Extract
Extract is the sum of all solids in the wine including sugars, tannins, pigments and minerals, giving the wine substance.

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Fat
Describes a fleshy wine with too much alcohol and rich in glycerol and extract.

Figs
A distinctive smell often associated with ripe deep flavoured reds and sometimes found in Sémillon.

Filtration
The clarifying of a wine is called filtration and is done prior to bottling by passing the wine through a very fine filter.

Finish
The lingering taste of a wine after it has been swallowed or spat out. High tannin content might produce a 'firm finish', or lack of flavour might yield a 'short finish'.

Fino
Sherry made from wine that has developed Flor during maturation. Fino is the best and driest of all Sherries.

Firm
Term referring to taste experience at the back of the palate, caused by tannins.

Flabby
Flabby describes a wine, which has too low in acid structure, leaving the wine "bland".

Flat
Used by wine experts to describe a wine that is lifeless, dull and boring.

Flavour
Flavour refers to the taste of a wine.

Flinty
Term usually applied to dry whites, especially of the Chablis type.

Flor
A yeast that forms haphazardly on some butts of sherry during fermentation whereupon they are classified as Fino's.

Flowery
An attractive scent reminiscent of flowers. 'Floral' and 'fragrant' are similar words of approval often applied to pleasing young white wines, especially rieslings.

Fortified
Fortified wines are where spirit has been added to increase their natural strength. Brandy is added to sherry and Port.

Free run
The juice released from the grape berries when first crushed at the winery, before being pressed further. Usually the highest-quality juice, because it contains less material extracted from the skins, stalks or seeds.

Fresh
An appealing refreshing wine because of its youth.

Fruit
The prime component of a young wine, deriving from the grape flavour itself.

Fruity
A wine with lots of appealing sometimes quite sweet fruit flavours and aromas

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Gamey
Wines that smell pungent in a ripe animal sense, such as a bold gamey Shiraz.

Geranium
An unpleasant chemical smell, often associated with too much sorbic acid additive in the winemaking chemistry.

Glycerol
A colourless, sweet-tasting substance which can add to the "impression" of body in a wine.

Gooseberries
A sharp "green" smell often associated with Sauvignon Blanc, especially from New Zealand.

Grappa
Brandy distilled in Italy and California from grape must.

Grapey
A wine that smells of grapes, usually Muscaty.

Grassy
An herbaceous green taste usually used found in white wines (see Herbaceous).

Green
A young wine with too much acidity.

Grey Rot
See Botrytis.

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Hard
Describes a wine with too much tannin.

Heavy
Heavy describes a wine with too much alcohol and too little acidity for the fruit and sugar levels.

Herbaceous
An aroma related to vegetative or grassy characters. Some reds, notably under-ripe cabernet sauvignon, and some whites (sauvignon blanc, for example), are sometimes described as being 'herbaceous'.

Herby
Herby is the smell of herbs, ie Thyme, Lavender or mint.

Hermitage
Synonym used frequently for the red-grape variety Shiraz. Its origins comes from Hermitage in the Rhone valley in France.

Hollow
A wine with quite a lot of alcohol but too little fruit to give the mouth a satisfying flavour or weight once in the mouth.

Horizontal Tasting
Horizontal tasting refers to a comparative tasting of different but related representatives of the same wine or vintages.

Hot
A wine with too much alcohol is described as hot.

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Inky
A red wine that tastes metallic, acidic and often rather thin.

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Lanolin
Lanolin is a rich, almost lemony flavour/aroma that is taken on by good quality desert wines (Sauternes).

Late Picked
Certain grapes ie Riesling may be left on the vine after the first picking of selected bunches. Such grapes accumulate much sugar and thus a sweeter wine is the result.

Lean
A thin wine lacking in fruit but not acid.

Lees
The course sediment remaining in the barrel when wine is racked.

Legs
Columns of wine, especially fortified wine, which trickle down the inside of a glass is usually called legs. Supposed to indicate high alcohol content in wine.

Licorice
The distinctive taste/smell of Licorice in a wine, often associated with red Burgundies.

Luscious
A full-flavoured, rich, ripe, fruity and sweet-flavoured wine is described a luscious.

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Maceration
Extracting flavour and colour from grapes by steeping them in their own juice before fermentation.

Maderised
The term used for white wines as oxidised is used for reds. It is usually dominated by the smell of acetic acid (vinegar).

Malbec
A grape variety once important in Bordeaux. A small amount is grown in Australia.

Malic Acid
A tart fruit acid converted into lactic acid during malolactic fermentation.

Marc
The grape skins, stems, leaves, seeds etc, which remain after pressing wine grape must.

Maturity
The period in a wines life that can be described "after youth but before its decline". It can be 3 years or 3 decades depending on the wine. Mature is a complimentary term as opposed to old or faded.

Meaty
A substantial and full-bodied fruit flavour, often just as the tannin is beginning to allow the emergence of the fruit.

Medals
Awards from Australian wine shows for well-made wines. The capital-city wine shows are the most reliable indicators of quality. Gold medals are awarded to wines attaining 18.5 points or more out of twenty points; silver medals, 17.0 to 18.4; and bronze, 15.5 to 16.9.

Merlot
Premium red-grape variety, usually blended with other reds (such as Cabernet Sauvignon). Widely grown in France and used as a blend in Bordeaux and other areas. Can lend a pleasing 'velvety' texture and agreeably fruity flavours to a red-wine blend. Increasingly popular as a single varietal wine.

Metallic
Describes a taste noticeable in strong reds that cannot be described otherwise.

Méthode Champenoise
Méthode Champenoise is the authentic French method for making bottled-fermented sparkling wines.

Mildew
Mildew is a fungal disease, which attacks the vine during persistent wet growing conditions.

Minty
This is the smell of spearmint - never peppermint flavour in a wine often found in California Cabernets.

Mousey
The nasty smell of brettanomyces, a bacteriological fault in the winemaking process.

Mulberries
The distinctive smell of mulberries is often associated with rich ripe Shiraz grapes.

Must
Crushed grape berries with the storks and stems removed.

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Noble Rot
See Botrytis.

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Oak
Oak is a variety of the wood Genus Quercus. Wines are usually stored in oak containers, to impart extra and more complex flavours. French, American and German oak barrels are widely used in Australia, but are getting quite expensive as quality oak becomes scarcer.

Oakey
Oakey describes a wine that smells and/or tastes of oak.

Oenology
Oenology is the science of winemaking.

Off Odours
Unpleasant or unexpectedly displeasing smells in a wine.

Oxidised
Wine that has been exposed to air has become stale and flat. It usually takes on a strong acetic acid (vinegar) smell.

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Peachy
The distinctive smell/taste of peaches often associated with Viognier and Riesling.

Pencil Shavings
A smell of wood (not lead) often found in Cabernet Franc.

Perfumed
A perfumed wine has lots of smell, usually of a slightly musky sort. This is typically a white wine term.

Peppery
A not entirely unpleasant spicy characteristic sometimes found in young red wines (especially shiraz wines) and ports. Rather raw, biting, and reminiscent of black pepper.

Petrol
Mature Rieslings (especially German) can often smell of petrol.

Phylloxera
Phylloxera is a vine louse, which attacks grape vine with a devastating effect. It is a native of America's Eastern regions it destroyed most of Europe's vines during 1862 and the end of the nineteenth century.

Pinot Noir
The classic red grape of Burgundy, and one of the varieties that helps make champagne in France. Generally produces lighter styles of red wine, though can (when well made) have intense and deep flavours.

Plummy
The very rich flavours of a ripe Merlot are often described as plummy.

Port
Port is a fortified red wine, the name coming from Oporto on the Douro River in Portugal. Port is an after-dinner drink of quite high alcohol content (17 to 20 per cent). There is considerable confusion about port wines, but the differences can be simply summed up: tawny ports are blended wines that have usually been kept by the maker in wood barrels for some years in order to mature them for drinking when sold: vintage ports (which bear a year of origin on the label) are usually sold early by the maker and you, the consumer, are expected to do the cellaring until the wine is ready for drinking. Australia makes excellent examples of both styles.

Powerful
Powerful describes a wine with lots of very easy to discern flavour and alcohol.

Proof
The measure of the degree of alcohol by volume present in a wine is called proof.

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Racking
Drawing clear wines from one barrel to another and leaving the lees behind.

Raspberries
The characteristic scent of Pinot Noir (and some Zinfandel).

Residual sweetness
The natural grape sugar left behind (usually by design) after the fermentation has finished. Characteristic of many modern white wines, usually pleasant though cloying if overdone - or done with the wrong type of wine.

Rich
Luscious and full bodied taste in a wine although not necessarily sweet.

Riesling
Riesling is a grape from the Rhine area of Germany and is one of the world's classic grapes. A grossly underestimated and misunderstood variety that still makes, and always will make, some of the finest Australian white wines. Also known as Rhine Riesling.

Rosé
Rosé is a much-misunderstood wine style. It should be the classic summer red of Australia. Light, fresh and fruity wine made from red grapes, either sweet, medium or dry - but best as a dry, yet flavoursome, young wine.

Rotten Eggs
Rotten eggs smell of Mercaptan or Hydrogen Sulphur (H2S).

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Sauvignon Blanc
Sauvignon Blanc is a white-grape variety from Bordeaux and the Loire areas of France, where it makes superb sweet and dry white wine. Its grassy/steely and sometimes asparagus-like character attracts either love or loathing. Do try a good one or two, because it is different. Sometimes blended with Semillon.

Sémillon
Sémillon is a great French (especially Bordeaux) white-grape variety. Usually makes dry, sometimes wood-matured, full-bodied whites in Australia, notably in the Hunter Valley.

Sharp
Sharp is a term to describe the acid taste on the palate. Not necessarily unpleasant.

Shiraz
Versatile Australian red-grape variety, also widely referred to (especially on old labels) as hermitage. Makes some excellent and often reasonably priced red wines in most areas, and is best known for its parentage of Penfolds Grange.

Short
A wine with no length of finish or flavour is described a short.

Soft
A wine with mild tannin or acid sensation with no harshness on the palate and after-palate is called soft.

Sommelier
The manager of a wine head wine waiter.

Spicey
Some white varieties (particularly Gewürztraminer) have a noticeable floral spicy smell (like lychees), while some reds particularly Merlot have a fruity sort of spice.

Sulphur dioxide (SO2)
Chemical used as an anti-oxidant in winemaking. The smell of sulphur dioxide can be present in a newly opened bottle of wine, but it should dissipate. With today's truth-in-labelling laws, it is referred to on food and wine labels as 'Preservative(220) added'.

Sweet
More than fruity; pertaining to sugar.

Steely
Steely is a rather generic term indicating that white wines (mainly Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay) have lots of acidity and a very pure mono flavour.

Sweet
Sweet is a self-explanatory term that defines very sweet (often desert) wines.

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Tannin
Tannin is a vital ingredient in wines, especially red wines. It comes from the stalks, skins and pips of grapes. Tannins in a young wine produce a bitter, puckering taste on the palate.

Tar
This is sometimes associated with Nebbiolo wines although some people say they have smelt in on Shiraz.

Tart
Noticeable acidic taste of natural grape acids, less pleasant in excess.

Thin
A wine lacking body to the extent of being watery is called thin.

Tobacco Leaves
A unique, pleasant smell on wine often associated with older wines with great complexity and maturity.

Truffles
The beautiful smell of truffles often associated with Nebbiolo wines of the Piedmont, a great truffle region.

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Ullage
The natural evaporation through the wood of wine/spirit from ageing in casks or through the cork of bottles is called ullage.

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Vanilla
Vanilla is a term that is the self-explanatory flavour which is associated with American oak.

Varietal
Wine made from a particular grape variety (for example, Cabernet Sauvignon); the opposite of a generic wine (for example, Chablis).

Vegetal
Vegetal is the smell in wines of decaying yet fresh vegetative matter.

Vertical Tasting
A vertical tasting is a comparative side-by-side tasting of different vintages from the same region.

Velvety
A description of texture, usually used for wines with lots of glycerine and not much tannin.

Vigneron
Grape-grower.

Vigorous
In wine, a lively taste or feel.

Vin
Vin is a French word for wine as in "vin ordinaire", or ordinary wine. To vinify is to make grapes into wine.

Vinegary
Wine spoiled by the vinegar bacteria, not pleasant to drink. Vinegar is a major winemaking fault that is easily detected by a sharp sensation on the nose or palate.

Vinosity
Vinosity is a wine-tasting term pertaining to the alcoholic strength of a wine and its grape character.

Vintage
The period of picking or harvesting grapes each year, as in 'the vintage'; also the year a wine was made or 'vintaged'.

Vintner
Winemaker.

Violets
The smell of the violet flowers often associated with Pinot Noir.

Viscous
Viscous is the thick appearance in wine; showing the presence of glycerol.

Vitis
The botanical name for a vine is Vitis. Vitis vinifera, the grape-bearing vine, is responsible for most of the world's quality wines. The North American Vitis labrusca is a native vine.

Volatile
A wine spoiled by the presence of acetic acid is said to be volatile, or to have volatile acidity. It is acceptable as a by-product of alcoholic fermentation but only up to a level of 600-800ppm.

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Weedy
A term to combine Herbaceous and tart smells/flavours is weedy.

Weight
All wines have weight and just like people it describes how much weight a wine has.

Woody
Woody is a smell, which describes the nasty side to oak wood, an unacceptable mouldy sort of flavour that comes from a barrel in poor condition.

Wine
The fermented juice of grapes becomes wine.

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Yeasty
The fresh/pleasant smell of fermenting yeast is called yeasty.

Yield
The amount of grapes picked (or wines made) from a given area.

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Zinfandel
Zinfandel is a red grape variety mainly grown in the old world but experiencing a rediscovery in recent times.

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