Sparkling wines’ lexicon

A - B - C - D - E - F - G - H - I - J - L - M - N - P - R - S - T - V - Y

A.O.C.
The "Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée" guarantees the place of origin of each product and its method of production.

A.O.P.
The "Appellation d’Origine Protégée", an european-level equivalent of France’s A.O.C. It is the highest level of the French wine hierarchy. An AOP classification shows that a wine has been produced under specific legal quality-control requirements and also acts as an indicator of provenance.

Appellation
In strictest terms, appellation encompasses the wine and labeling laws of a particular geographical area, including a defined demarcation of regional boundaries, along with specifications outlining vineyard and winery pratices. In many traditional wine-growing countries, such as France, the appellation may also indicate the quality and style of the wine as the Champagne Appellation.

Astringency
Tactile, bitter sensation that makes the mouth pucker. Wines with high levels of astringency may be described as course, harsh, and rough o too much tannin.

Balthazar
A very large wine bottle with the capacity of about 12 litres, equivalent to 16 standard bottles.

Bead or in french "perlant"
A term ude to describe the bubbles in the sparkling wine.

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.

Blend
The combining of different grapes to make a final wine with certain characteritics. A sparkling wine may be a blend of three different grapes (Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier), or it may be a blend of the same grape variety from different vineyard sites. In most cases, the goal of blending is to create a sparkling wine that is greater than the sum of its parts.

Blind tasting
Form of wine tasting in which the taster attempts to evaluate and/or identify wines without knowing their identity. Most professional tastings are conducted blind or the labels are hidden.

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.

Bottle fermentation
It’s the method when the fermentatio n is made in the bottle.

Bottle maturation
It’s the method to mature the wine in a bottle instead of a tank or a barrel.

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.

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.

Crisp
Tasting term to describe good acidity and pleasant taste without excessive sweetness. This is an especially desirable trait in a sparkling wine.

Cru
A French term that literally means "growth". May refer to a vineyard or a winery, for ranking wines and the sparkling wines.

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.

Cuvée de prestige
There are the top-of-the-range releases from the Champagne houses and may come with a vintage on the label. Some examples include ’Dom Perignon’ from Moët et Chandon, "Cristal" from Louis Roederer and "La Grande Dame" from Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin.

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.

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.

Fermentation
The process by which grape juice is made into wine.

Flavor
Apple, pear, citrus, strawberry, cream and vanilla (typically on the finish), yeast and nutty flavors are all common denominators in sparkling wines and Champagnes.

Gaillac Method
This method consists in bottling wine earlier than forecast.

Gasified
Still wine made sparkling by addition of carbon dioxide.

Hectare
A metric measure equal to 10,000 square meters or 2.47 acres.

INAO
Institut National de l’Origine et de la Qualité, formely Institut National des Appellations d’Origine. The French government body responsible for the creation, maintenance and enforcement of French appellation laws since its inception in 1935. For example, it controls nearly 500 wine appellations.

Jeroboam
A Jeroboam is a 3-liter bottle of wine.

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.

Liqueur d’expedition or liqueur de dosage
French term for shipping liquid or "dosage" used to top up or sweeten sparkling wine after disgorging. It’s usually a sugar solution in wine.

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. A term used for the bottles which are produced only in the Chamapagne area. Others sparkling wines could only use this following term: "traditional method" or "méthode traditionnelle".

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 or screw cap
Wire muzzle that secures the cork to the Champagne bottle. The muzzle or screw cap consists of a piece of wadding that is compressed onto the lip of the bottle and held in place by the metal lined screw cap.

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.

Octave
A small barrel with a capacity varying between 54.5 litres and 81.8 litres (in general 63.6 litres).

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.

Crus Range
It’s similar to a wide range of french appellations. It’s a complicated system to classify french Champagne communes in fonction of the value of grapes produced. In others regions, this system organizes classified productions by several authorities.

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.

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.

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.

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...

Vintage
A champagne from a single year’s harvest. The label must show the year of the harvest.

Viticulture
The study, the cultivation and the science of the grape growing

Viniculture
The study and the science of grape production for the purpose for wine and the making wine.

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