Lexicon
Sparkling wines’ lexicon
A - B - C - D - E - F - G - J - L - M - N - P - R - S - T - V - Y
- A -
A.O.C.
The "Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée" guarantees the place of origin of each product and its method of production.
- B -
Balthazar
A very large wine bottle with the capacity of about 12 litres, equivalent to 16 standard bottles.
Blanc de Blancs
A French term that means "white of whites", used to designate champagnes made exclusively from Chardonnay grapes.
Blanc de Noirs
A French term (literally "white of blacks") for a white wine produced entirely from black grapes.
Bottle
A bottle of Champagne or sparkling wine, most of the time of 75cl, is designed to withstand the pressure caused by the second fermentation.
Brut
A French term for a very dry champagne or sparkling wine. Drier than extra dry.
Bubbles
The bubbles capture the carbon dioxide in the wine and rise to the surface to form a delicate pearl necklace.
- C -
Carbonation
This method consists in injecting carbon dioxide gas into a wine to make it bubbly. It is mostly used in the production of inexpensive and inferior quality sparkling wines.
Cava
Cava is the name of a type of Catalan white or pink sparkling wine, produced in different areas of Catalonia but mainly in the Penedès region in Catalonia, 40 km to the south west of Barcelona. It is made according to the Traditional Method with second fermentation in the bottle.
Champagne (wine)
Champagne is a sparkling wine produced by inducing the in-bottle secondary fermentation of the wine to effect carbonation. It is produced exclusively within the Champagne region of France, from which it takes its name. The Méthode Champenoise is the traditional method by which champagne is produced and today Champagne is associated with luxury and power.
Champagne flute
A Champagne flute is a piece of stemware having a long stem with a tall, narrow bowl on top.
Champagnisation
French term which refers to the treatment of a wine by fermentation and addition of alcohol to make it sparkling.
Chaptalization
Process of adding sugar to unfermented grape must in order to increase the alcohol content after fermentation. The technique is named after its developer, the French chemist Jean-Antoine-Claude Chaptal. This process is not intended to make the wine sweeter, but rather to provide more sugar for the yeast to ferment into alcohol.
Charmat process
The Charmat or bulk process is a method where sparkling wines receive their secondary fermentation in large tanks, rather than individual bottles as seen in Méthode champenoise.
CM
This French mention meaning “Coopérative de Manipulation” refers to a cooperative producing the wine itself within its premises and selling the wines under its own brand, knowing that the grapes are gathered by its members.
Cork
To make sure the bottle is airtight, it is sealed with a cork which is squeezed into the neck and secured to the bottle with a wire muzzle.
Crayères
Old chalk pits dating from the Gallo-Roman era. They have long been used to supply materials for the construction of Rheims and the region cities. Today, the 150 km of galleries in converted cellars house the bottles of champagne during their maturation.
Crémant
Sparkling wines designated Crémant are produced using the traditional method, and have to fulfil strict production criteria. In France, there are seven appellations for sparkling wine which includes the designation Crémant in their name. French appellation laws dictate that a Crémant must be harvested by hand with yields not exceeding a set amount for their AOC. The wines must also be aged for a minimum of one year.
Cru
A French term that literally means "growth". May refer to a vineyard or a winery.
Cuvée (or Cuvee on some English language labels)
It is a French wine term derived from cuve, meaning vat or tank. The term cuvée is used with several different meanings, mostly based on the concept of a tank of wine.
- D -
Demi-sec
It is a French wine term to define moderately sweet to medium sweet sparkling wines.
Dioise Method
The basic principle is the same as for the ancestral method.
All the sugar comes from the grapes. The process is controlled by very sophisticated, modern equipment and techniques.
Disgorgement
A step in the Methode Champenoise process in champagne production which expels sediment from the bottle.
Dosage
After disgorging the wine, the bottle is topped up with the dosage until it reaches the desired level of sweetness. This is a mixture of wine and sugar syrup.
Dry
Wines with zero or very low levels of residual sugar. The opposite of sweet, except in sparkling wines, where dry means sweet.
- E -
Élevage sur lies
Conservation of a wine without removing the sediments during the ageing process.
Extra-dry
A champagne or sparkling wine with a small amount of residual sugar (slightly sweet). Not as dry as Brut.
- F -
Fermentation
The process by which grape juice is made into wine.
- G -
Gaillac Method
This method consists in bottling wine earlier than forecast.
Gasified
Still wine made sparkling by addition of carbon dioxide.
- J -
Jeroboam
A Jeroboam is a 3-liter bottle of wine.
- L -
Lees
It refers to deposits of dead yeast or residual yeast and other particles that precipitate, or are carried by the action of "fining", to the bottom of a vat of wine after fermentation and aging.
- M -
MA
This French mention meaning “Marque d’Acheteur” appears on Champagne bottles. It expresses the point that the brand doesn’t belong to the professional producing the Champagne.
Magnum
A Magnum is a 1.5-liter bottle of wine.
Malolactic Fermentation
The conversion of malic acid (green apple) to the lactic acid (milk acid) by special bacteria. This fermentation process is a tool selected by the wine maker to reduce acidity and soften the wine. Depending on the strain of bacteria used, flavours and aromas of the wine can also be changed. Use of malolactic fermentation is something that the wine maker determines on a per-lot basis. Vintage variances and variations from terroir will determine whether malolactic fermentation is utilized and which culture is used.
Méthode Champenoise or Méthode Traditionnelle (Traditional Champagne Method)
Process whereby sparkling wines receive a second fermentation in the same bottle that will be sold to a retail buyer.
Methuselah
A Methuselah is a 6-liter bottle of wine.
Mousse
The sparkling effervescence of a wine. In the glass it perceived as the bubbling but the surface of the glass can affect this perception. Premium quality sparkling wine has a mousse composed of small, persistent string of bubbles.
Mousseux (Wine)
Generic French term for a sparkling wine.
Moustillant
French word which refers to a slightly sparkling wine.
Muzzle
Wire muzzle that secures the cork to the Champagne bottle.
- N -
ND
This French mention meaning “Négociant-Distributeur” refers to a person buying “nude” wine bottles on which he adds his own label; his own brand.
Nebuchadnezzar
A Nebuchadnezzar is a 15-liter bottle of wine.
NM
This French mention meaning “Négociant-Manipulant” refers to a physical or moral person buying grapes and producing the wine within his own premises.
- P -
Perlant (or Perlé)
French term for a very lightly sparkling wine with less effervescence than a Cremant or a sparkling wine.
Phylloxera
A root-feeding aphid that has probably had a more damaging impact on wine production than any other vine pest or disease. It attacks only grape vines and kills by attacking the roots.
Pointe (Mise sur)
This process consists in revolving Champagne bottles so that they are turned upside down and by the end, the deposit settles in the neck of the bottle. It becomes much easier to get rid of it.
- R -
Ratafia
A liqueur made by combing unfermented grape juice with a brandy made from the residue of seeds, skins and grape stalks left over from pressing.
RC
This mention appearing on Champagne’s bottle’s label means “Récoltant-Coopérateur”. It refers to a person who supplies a cooperative with his own harvest.
Rehoboam
A Rehoboam is a 4.5-liter bottle of wine.
Riddling
Also known as "Remuage" in French, part of the Méthode Champenoise process whereby bottles of sparkling wine are successively turned and gradually tilted upside down so that sediment settles into the necks of the bottles in preparation for disgorgement.
RM
French mention meaning “Récoltant-Manipulant” which means that the wine is elaborated by this person thanks to his own grapes.
Russian Method
The secondary fermentation (“prise de mousse”) is a slow, continuous process. After addition of sugar and yeast, the wine is circulated through a series of fermentation tanks. These tanks contain rings with a proprietary composition, or more simply they are filled with oak chips. The yeast cells adsorb to these rings or chips and ferment the sugar as the wine circulates around them. At the outlet of this series of fermentors, the wine contains only a few dead yeast cells. It is effervescent and sparkling.
- S -
Salmanazar
A Salmanazar is a 9-liter bottle of wine.
Sekt
Sekt is the German term for sparkling wine. The majority of Sekt produced (around 95%) is made by the Charmat method with the remaining premium Sekt being made according to the Méthode Traditionnelle.
Sparkling wine production
Step that allows a wine to become a sparkling wine. There are several methods to obtain such a result.
Sparkling wine
Sparkling wine is a wine with significant levels of carbon dioxide in it making it fizzy. The carbon dioxide may result from natural fermentation, or as a result of carbon dioxide injection.
SR
The mention SR (“Société de Récoltants” in French) appears on a bottle of Champagne’s label and it refers to the production of wines elaborated within the family property.
Still wine
A still wine is a wine that is not a sparkling wine.
- T -
Tirage (En)
French for "in pulling". It refers to the period of time in which bottled sparkling wine is rested in contact with lees generated during secondary fermentation. Part of the Méthode Champenoise process.
Tirage (Liqueur de)
French term for a liquid containing saccharose and yeast used to effect the second fermentation in sparkling wine production.
Transfer Method
A method of sparkling wine production where a wine undergoes normal secondary fermentation in the bottle but then after the bottles are open, its contents transferred to a tank where they are filtered and then rebottled in small "splits" or large format size bottles.
- V -
VMQPRD
"Vins Mousseux de Qualité Produits dans des Régions Déterminées". It refers to the official appellation of sparkling wines, such as Champagne, Crémant d’Alsace, Crémant de Bourgogne, Clairette de Die...
- Y -
Yeast
Yeasts are eukaryotic micro-organisms classified in the kingdom Fungi, with about 1,500 species currently described. The yeast species Saccharomyces cerevisiae has been used in baking and fermenting alcoholic beverages for thousands of years.
Sources:
Wikipedia - The glossary of winemaking terms
CIVC
Harris Teeter.com
Nataliemaclean.com
Picture: Marion Guilloteau
