Terminology Flashcards
Assemblage
The blending or assembling of still wines before the secondary fermentation, which creates the bubbles.
Baumé
The scale used in France and much of the rest of Europe for measuring sugar in grapes and hence, their ripeness.
Chai
Above-ground facilities that are used to store wine.
Cuverie
The building that houses fermentation tanks or vats. The place where wine ferments.
De Primeur
wines that are sold and drunk very young. The most famous = Beaujolais Nouveau.
Dosage
The degree of sweetness of the Liqueur d’Expedition, which is used to top up Champagne before its final corking. The dosage is what determines whether a Champagne will be Brut, Extra Dry, Demi-Sec et cetera.
Eau-de-Vie
Literally, water of life. Clear brandies that have been made by distilling wine or pomace.
En Coteaux
Vines planted on slopes, usually making superior wine.
En primeur
A method of buying, wherein the wine is bought before its released. Also known as buying futures.
Gout de terroir
The distinctive taste imparted by the combination of a given grape variety grown in a specific terroir
Grande Marque
A member of a particular association of about thirty of the longest-established Champagne houses. The syndicat de Grand Marques is devoted to upholding a written charter of high standards in the production of Champagne.
Liqueur de Tirage
The mixture of wine and sugar added along with yeasts to the blend of still wines in a Champagne bottle in order to induce the second, bubble-forming fermentation.
Liqueur d’Expedition
The wine added to the Champagne bottle after disgorging to top it up and, usually, to add some sweetness. The liqueur d’expedition is often made up of wines reserved from previous years.
Mas
The southern French term for a domaine, sometimes translated as farm.
Millesime
A vintage Champagne
Mousse
The French term for the actual effervescence, froth, foam, or sparkle of Champagne or sparkling wines.
Oeil de Perdrix
Literally “partridge eye”, a pale rose
Remuage
The riddling (rotating and tilting) of Champagne bottles to concentrate yeast sediments in their necks. Done by hand in A-shape frames called pupitres, or by a computerized machine called a gyropalette.
Saignee
A process used to make rose by drawing pink-colored juice off fermenting red grapes. This process also results in concentrating the remaining red juice since the ration of skins to juice in the tank is increased when some juice is drawn off.
Vin de Garde
a wine to save
Vin Liquoreux
A very sweet, syrupy wine, generally made from grapes affected by Botrytis Cinerea.
Pigeage
Traditional stomping of grapes…maceration.
Debourbage
Refers to a process in which the must of a white wine is allowed to settle before racking off the wine, this process reduces the need for filtration or fining.
Degorgement tardive
French term for a Champagne that has been aged sur lie for an exceptionally long time (far beyond the usually 5-10 years of vintage Champagne) before going through degorgement.
