Vinification
Dead yeast cells, which are often left in contact with white or sparkling wines to achieve a rich, creamy flavor and texture.
Lees
Region in France most closely known for its use of carbonic maceration, an intracellular fermentation process marked by flavors of banana, bubble gum, and hard candies?
Beaujolais
The five major grapes of Bordeaux.
Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Petit Verdot
The climate category of the Champagne region
The compound in wine skins, seeds and stems, responsible for the drying sensation on the palate.
Tannin
The process of soaking the must, or grape skins and seeds, with its juice in order to achieve color extraction and flavor/texture.
Maceration
Country on France's northeastern border, sharing rich history in territories such as Alsace.
Germany
This is the most planted grape in all of Bordeaux.
Merlot
The formal name for the "tank method" used to make wines with fruit-forward flavors, like Moscato, Prosecco and Lambrusco.
Charmat Method
A structural component of wine that can be measured by a "drool test".
Acidity
The unique step of the traditional method that captures CO2 within the bottle.
Secondary Fermentation
Major regulating body of water to the country's west, influencing all wine-making regions in France.
Atlantic Ocean
The year in which the left bank was classified by Emperor Napoleon III, yielding five "Growths" that still stand today?
1855
The grape variety(s) in a Blanc de Noirs bottle of Champagne.
Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier
The responsible factor for aromas and flavors of cedar, baking spices, toast, smoke, sawdust.
Oak Aging
A process which all reds wine undergo, yet only those whites as selected by a winemaker undergo, to convert harsher malic acids to softer, creamier lactic acids.
Malolactic Fermentation
The acronym for the signature blends found in the Southern Rhone and similar territories throughout the world.
GSM
The area of Bordeaux that encompasses Pomerol and Saint-Emilion.
Right Bank
The term used on all French sparkling wines (outside of Champagne) that use the traditional method.
Cremant
Measured in ABV but sensed as heat in the nasal cavity, or a burning sensation down to the chest cavity.
Alcohol
The formal name for a "screw cap" bottle closure, as pioneered in Australia
Stelvin
The longest river in France, running from coastal Pays Nantais inland to the home of Sancerre in the Central Vineyards.
Loire
The key soil type revealed in the Medoc after the Dutch drained the region, now heralded for its prized Cabernet Sauvignon.
Gravel
A sediment accumulation technique, or step of the Champagne making process that made Madam Veuve Clicquot famous.
Riddling
The responsible factor for aromas of honey, ginger, and saffron.
Botrytis / Noble Rot