Glossary of Wine Terms
You can browse our topics using the letters below, or search for a term.
Word |
Description |
|---|---|
| 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. |
| Body | The impression of weight on one's palate; light, medium, and full are common body qualifiers. |
| Brut | A French term used to describe the driest Champagnes. |
| Blanc de Blancs | The name for Champagne made entirely from Chardonnay grapes. |
| Blanc de Noirs | The name for Champagne made entirely from red grapes, either Pinot Noir or Pinot Meunier, or both. |
| Beaujolais | A juicy, flavorful red wine made from Gamay grapes grown in the region of the same name. |
| Chateau | French for 'castle;' an estate with its own vineyards. |
| 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. |
| 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. |
| Chenin Blanc | A white grape common in the Loire Valley of France. |
| Cru | A French term for ranking a wineis inherent quality, i.e. cru bourgeois, cru classe, premier cru, and grand cru. |
| Chianti | A scenic, hilly section of Tuscany known for fruity red wines made mostly from Sangiovese grapes. |
| Chaptalization | The process of adding sugar to fermenting grapes in order to increase alcohol. |
| Claret | An English name for red Bordeaux. |
| 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. |
| Chablis | A town and wine region east of Paris known for steely, minerally Chardonnay. |
| Cooperative | A winery owned jointly by multiple grape growers. |
| Corked | A wine with musty, mushroomy aromas and flavors resulting from a cork tainted by TCA (trichloroanisol). |
| Crianza | A Spanish term for a red wine that has been aged in oak barrels for at least one year. |
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