"C" in wine glossary

California cult wines

Certain California wines for which consumers and others pay higher prices than those of Bordeaux's First Growths (Premiers Crus).

Cabernet Sauvignon

Cabernet Sauvignon is a variety of red grape mainly used for wine production, and is, along with Chardonnay, one of the most widely-planted of the world's noble grape varieties.

The plastic or foil that covers the cork and part of the neck of a wine bottle.

Carbonic maceration

A winemaking practice of fermenting whole grapes that have not been crushed.

To age wine for the purpose of improvement or storage. Cellaring may occur in any area which is cool (12-15°C), dark, free from drastic temperature change, and free from vibrations. Bottled wines are typically cellared on their sides.

Champagne flute

A piece of stemware having a long stem with a tall, narrow bowl on top.

Chaptalization

A winemaking process where sugar is added to the must to increase the alcohol content in the fermented wine. This is often done when grapes have not ripened adequately.

A type of wine, one of the "noble" white varietals.

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.

Generally a winery in Bordeaux, although the term is sometimes used for wineries in other parts of the world, such as the Barossa Valley.

British name for Bordeaux wine. Is also a semi-generic term for a red wine in similar style to that of Bordeaux.

Clarification

A winemaking process involving the fining and filtration of wine to remove suspended solids and reduce turbidity.

In Australia, wine bottled without a commercial label, usually sold cheaply in bulk quantities.

A mixture of red and white sparkling wine that has a high sugar content.

Cold stabilization

A winemaking process where wine is chilled to near freezing temperatures for several weeks to encourage the precipitation of tartrate crystals.

A wine bottle cork

A wine bottle stopper made from the thick outer bark of the cork oak tree.

A tasting term for a wine that has cork taint.

A tool, comprising a pointed metallic helix attached to a handle, for drawing Corks from bottles.

A type of wine fault describing undesirable aromas and flavours in wine often attributed to mould growth on chlorine bleached corks.

Country wine

See "Fruit wine".

Semi-sparkling wine; slightly effervescent. Also called frizzante.

French sparkling wine not made in Champagne region.

Sediment, generally potassium bitartrate, that adheres to the inside of a wine bottle.

Wines for which committed buyers will pay large sums of money because of their desirbility and rarity.

A large vat used for fermentation.

The pressing, or a blending of several wines.

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