maceration

[ mas-uh-rey-shuhn ]

noun

1. the act or process of macerating.
2. a process in winemaking in which the crushed grape skins are left in the juice until they have imparted the desired color or the proper amount of tannins and aroma.

Other Words From

• self-macer·ation noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of maceration¹

1485–95; < Latin mācerātiōn-, stem of mācerātiō; macerate, -ion

Example Sentences

A brief maceration coaxes out the fruit’s sweet-tart juices, which mix with the olive oil to create the dressing.

From New York Times

The "maceration" of the sewage that was being pumped out along the outfall pipe was, they said, not treatment, and it would be washed back in to Scarborough's bays.

From BBC

Juice from the white grapes macerates with the skins as with red wines, absorbing tannins and pigment depending on the length of the maceration.

From New York Times

His 2018 Pinot Gris Carbonic Maceration marks a clear-cut example of one of the few times it's worthwhile to say "carbonic maceration" in front of a stranger.

From Salon

This enormous and authoritative work of scholarship, nearly a decade in the making, covers nearly every aspect of its subject matter, from absinthe spoons to maceration to the Zombie.

From New York Times