Apprendre le vin

cellar

A temperature and humidity controlled facility to store wine.

 

Chaptalization

Adding sugar to wine before or during fermentation to increase alcohol levels.  Chaptalization is illegal in some parts of the world and highly controlled in others.

 

citric acid

One of the three predominate acids in wine

 

claret

The name the English use when referring to the red wines of Bordeaux

 

closed

A term describing underdeveloped and young wines whose flavors are not exhibiting well

 

CMS

The Court of Master Sommeliers.

 

complex

A wine exhibiting numerous odors, nuances, and flavors

 

cork taint

Undesirable aromas and flavors in wine often associated with wet cardboard or moldy basements

 

corked

A term that denotes a wine that has suffered cork taint (not wine with cork particles floating about)

 

corkscrew

A device to remove a wine cork that includes a handle, worm, and lever.

 

cru classé

A top-ranking vineyard-designated in the Bordeaux Classification of 1855

 

crush

The English term for harvest

 

cuvée

In Champagne, a blended batch of wine

---