Glossary of Wine Terms
You can browse our topics using the letters below, or search for a term.
Word |
Description |
|---|---|
| Chablis | A town and wine region east of Paris known for steely, minerally Chardonnay. |
| Crianza | A Spanish term for a red wine that has been aged in oak barrels for at least one year. |
| Champagne | A denominated region northeast of Paris in which Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier grapes are made into sparkling wine. |
| 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. |
| Denominazione di Origine Controllata | Italian for a controlled wine region; similar to the French AOC or Spanish DO. |
| Denominacion de Origen | Spanish for 'appellation of origin;' like the French AOC or Italian DOC. |
| Dry | A wine containing no more than 0.2 percent unfermented sugar. |
| Disgorge | The process by which final sediments are removed from traditionally made sparkling wines prior to the adding of the dosage. |
| Decant | The process of transferring wine from a bottle to another holding vessel. The purpose is generally to aerate a young wine or to separate an older wine from any sediment. |
| Douro | A river in Portugal as well as the wine region famous for producing Port wines. |
| Dosage | A sweetened spirit added at the very end to Champagne and other traditionally made sparkling wines. It determines whether a wine is brut, extra dry, dry, or semisweet. |
| Enology | The science of wine production; an enologist is a professional winemaker; an enophile is someone who enjoys wine. |
| Earthy | A term used to describe aromas and flavors that have a certain soil-like quality. |
| Fining | Part of the clarification process whereby elements are added to the wine, i.e. egg whites, in order to capture solids prior to filtration. |
| Fume Blanc | A name created by Robert Mondavi to describe dry Sauvignon Blanc. |
| Fermentation | The process by which sugar is transformed into alcohol; how grape juice interacts with yeast to become wine. |
| Filtration | The process by which wine is clarified before bottling. |
| Fortified Wine | A wine in which brandy is introduced during fermentation; sugars and sweetness are high due to the suspended fermentation. |
| Gruener Veltliner | A white grape popular in Austria that makes lean, fruity, racy wines. |
| Gamay | A red grape exceedingly popular in the Beaujolais region of France. |
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