France (Terminology) Flashcards
Assemblage
The process of assembling multiple vats or casks to unify a wine as a single cuvee for bottling. Can take place anytime after vinification
Ban de Vendange
Official proclamation of the start of harvest decided by the local INAO committee
Battonage
Traditional practice of stirring white wines to ensure even distribution of the lees throughout the liquid
Cepage
Grape variety
Climat
Vineyard site
Clos
Walled vineyard
Cordon de Royat
A system of training vines by laying the main vine stem horizontally across a wire of which several vertical fruting canes extend from
Coulure
The failure of flowers to set on a vine; typically caused by adverse weather conditions which make them drop (fewer flowers = fewer bunches = lower yields)
Cuvaison
The transformation of grapes to wine beginning from when the fruit is vatted until when the wine is racked from the vat (red wines only)
Debourage
The process of settling to allow the heavier, less desirable lees to precipitate out
Decuvage
Decanting a wine from vat after fermentation (red wine)
Delestage
An extraction technique for red wine involving the removal of the wines from the skins during fermentation and its subsequent return to the vat which is still full of skins (rack & return) - highly oxidative!
Demi-muid
A large oak barrel; typically 600L
Elevage
The “upbringing” or maturation of a wine from after vinification until bottling
Foudre
A large, wooden fermenting vat
Gobelet
A vine training system with several upright shoots from the main stem; resembles a goblet. Widely used in Beaujolais and the southern Rhone
Guyot
System of vine training invented by Dr. Guyot in the mid 18th century. A single or double fruiting cane is trained laterally from the main vine stem
Lieu-dit
A specific vineyard site; usually reserved for exceptional sites in Burgundy that were overlooked for 1er cru status
Fermage
A system of vineyard tenancy whereby the tenant farms the land and enjoys the totality of the crop in return for an annual rental, fixed in the cash equivalent of an agreed number of “pieces” (228L barrels) of that vineyard’s wine. Even if there is no harvest, the rental is still payable
Metayage
An alternative system of land rental in which rent is paid not in cash but in an agreed proportion of grapes or wine. The metayeur, or sharecropper, is typically responsible for all the running expenses of the vineyard
Microdosage
System for progressively injecting small doses of chemical (i.e. O2) to ensure thorough blending
Millerandage
A phenomenon of flowering; when embryo bunches form but fail to further develop
Oidium
Powdery mildew; a rapidly spread fungal disease of American origin which attacks new leaves and shoots, and splits, and rots the grapes. Treated with sulfur spray in the vineyard
Piece
A standard sized Burgundy barrel (228L)
