Glossary of Wine Terms
You can browse our topics using the letters below, or search for a term.
Word |
Description |
|---|---|
| Botryt's Cinerea | A beneficial mold that causes grapes to shrivel and sugars to concentrate, resulting in sweet, unctuous wines; common botryt's wines include Sauternes, Tokay, and German beerenauslese. |
| Bouquet | The sum of a wine's aromas; how a wine smells as a whole; a key determinant of quality. |
| Breathe | The process of letting a wine open up via the introduction of air |
| Brix | A scale used to measure the level of sugar in unfermented grapes. Multiplying brix by 0.55 will yield a wine's future alcohol level. |
| Brut | A French term used to describe the driest Champagnes. |
| Burgundy | A prominent French wine region stretching from Chablis in the north to Lyons in the south; Pinot Noir is the grape for red Burgundy, Chardonnay for white. |
| Cabernet Franc | A red grape common to Bordeaux; characteristics include an herbal, leafy flavor and a soft, fleshy texture. |
| Cabernet Sauvignon | A powerful, tannic red grape of noble heritage; the base grape for many red Bordeaux and most of the best red wines from California, Washington, Chile, and South Africa; capable of aging for decades. |
| Cap | Grape solids like pits, skins, and stems that rise to the top of a tank during fermentation; what gives red wines color, tannins and weight. |
| Cava | Spanish for 'cellar,' but also a Spanish sparkling wine made in the traditional Champagne style from Xarello, Macabeo, and Parellada grapes. |
| Chablis | A town and wine region east of Paris known for steely, minerally Chardonnay. |
| Champagne | A denominated region northeast of Paris in which Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier grapes are made into sparkling wine. |
| Chaptalization | The process of adding sugar to fermenting grapes in order to increase alcohol. |
| Chardonnay | Arguably the best and most widely planted white wine grape in the world. |
| Chateau | French for 'castle;' an estate with its own vineyards. |
| Chenin Blanc | A white grape common in the Loire Valley of France. |
| Chianti | A scenic, hilly section of Tuscany known for fruity red wines made mostly from Sangiovese grapes. |
| Claret | An English name for red Bordeaux. |
| Clos | Pronounced 'Cloh,' this French word once applied only to vineyards surrounded by walls. |
| Color | A key determinant of a wine's age and quality; white wines grow darker in color as they age while red wines turn brownish orange. |
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