A
A.O.C. Controlled Origin Appellation. All fine wines are subjected to strict rules created by the INAO in order to be authorised to list the following: delimited production area, varietals that can be planted, maximum yield per hectare etc. France has a very large number of AOCs, reflecting the extraordinary diversity and richness of its winemaking heritage.
Alcoholic Fermentation Conversion of sugars contained in the grape into ethyl alcohol and carbon dioxide, thereby allowing the grape juice to become wine.
Amber This term describes the golden colour of certain wines, similar to that of amber.
Aroma Volatile substances that are released into the air by the wine. Also a synonym for bouquet.
Aromatic An aromatic wine releases penetrating aromas.
Astringency Bitterness due to tannins
B
Balanced Les vins blancs sont dits sec ou moëlleux suivant leur taux de sucre. Leur élevage se distingue des vins rouges car ils sont rarement élevés en barriques.
Barrel or cask Un vin dit "blanc de blancs" a été fait avec des raisins blancs uniquement.
Bitter Unpleasant taste; if it is due to excess tannins, it may attenuate or even disappear over time.
Blanc de Blancs A "blanc de blancs" wine is made with white grapes only.
Blend This operation consists of mixing grape juices or wines of the same origin to obtain a homogenous product.
Bouquet See "aroma"
C
Capsule The capsule covers the upper bottleneck to dress up a wine bottle.
Cellar Location in which vinification operations are performed.
Cellar Master The success of a wine depends on his or her judgement and authority. With an experienced eye and infallible sense of smell and taste, this person is the uncontested master of the cellar in a wine estate.
"Chambrer" Slowly bring the wine to the temperature of the room in which it will be tasted.
Chewy mooth and velvety.
Colour This term describes the colour of the wine and may be very or only somewhat pronounced and covers a wide range of tints in red, white or rosé.
D
Decanting This operation consists of pouring a wine from its original bottle into a carafe to separate the wine from any deposits. Decanting also aerates the wine, thereby developing the subtlety of its bouquet.
Developed This term is generally used to describe the bouquet of a wine that is sully expressed.
Dry This term is used for white wines and refers to a wine that is low in sugar content, or at least does not give the impression that it contains sugar when tasting.
Dull Neutral wine of no great interest.
E
Easy to drink This term describes a light refreshing wine that is pleasant to drink.
Effervescent Characteristic of a wine that is slightly effervescent.
Elegant Representative, distinguished, delicate and harmonious wine.
F
Fat Fleshy, generally full-bodied wine that is rich in glycerol. Some wines seem very velvety and leave traces on the sides of the glass known as "legs".
Fine Distinguished, elegant and delicate wine.
Flabby Wine lacking in acidity, liveliness and nerve (the opposite of lively).
Flat Insipid wine without body with no character or liveliness.
Fleshy Expression used to describe a wine that has a lot of texture.
Fresh Lively wine with pleasant acidity which has conserved the freshness of fruit.
Fruity A fruity wine has the special taste and aroma of fresh fruit. This is particularly true for young wines. Fruitiness is specific to each varietal and varies according to its nature.
Full This term describes a wine that is rich in alcohol, balanced and pleasantly full-bodied.
Full-bodied This describes a wine whose aroma, bouquet and flavour are very rich and full, while being perfectly harmonious and balanced.
G  
Generous A generous wine is vigorous, rich in alcohol and noble substances, without being too strong.
Grape stalk The stalk without the grapes.
Green Wine that is too young, or in any case too acid.
H
 
Has body A well-crafted, round and full-bodied wine.
L
Light Pleasant and easy to drink. For a wine, "light" is the opposite of "full-bodied".
Lively Wine that is nervous or has a bite. When tasting, such a wine will be stimulating to the palate thanks to its pleasant acidity.
M
Maceration Vinification phase for red wine in which the solid parts of the grape are mixed with the grape must, giving it aromas, colour and tannins.
Must Grape juice being fermented.
N
Nervous Wine that is well-balanced in acids, often vigorous.
Œ
Oenology The science of wine.
Old Wine that is too old and has lost its initial qualities.
P
Persistence Quality of a wine whose tasting sensations are pleasantly prolonged on the palate..
Powerful A full-bodied, ample and rich wine.
Primeur Wine that is produced for rapid consumption. This is a young wine that is fresh and pleasant to drink. A.O.C Primeurs are authorised for sale starting on the third Thursday of November.
Production/aging All of the care that must be taken with a newly produced wine to ensure and improve its quality.
Primeur Vin élaboré pour une consommation rapide. C'est donc un vin jeune, frais et agréable à boire. Les A.O.C Primeurs sont autorisées à la vente à partir du 3ème Jeudi du mois de novembre.
Pungent A pungent wine is rude, astringent and feels like it is scraping the palate.
R
Representative A representative wine possesses the characteristics of its varietal and "terroir" of origin, along with elegance and personality.
Robust A robust wine is both full-bodied and powerful.
Rosé A rosé wine is never simply a mix of red and white wine! Rosés wines are made from red grapes. The colour and characteristics of rosé wine are also determined by the selected vinification mode, which can vary from one region to another, providing us with a wide variety of rosés wines. We can distinguish between rosé produced by direct pressing (the grapes are pressed, then only the grape juice is used for fermenting), and rosé "de saignée", produced by removing some of the grape juice at the start of red wine vinification.
Round A wine that has this characteristic is always a very enjoyable wine: supple and full-bodied, with no asperity.
S
Smooth Term used to describe a harmonious wine in which all of the elements are combined perfectly, and where no element dominates or stands apart. A smooth wine is refined: a delicate, harmonious bouquet and smooth taste.
Sound This describes a wine with no excess or weakness in its bouquet or taste.
Supple Such a wine is perfectly balanced in terms of alcohol and acidity with no excess tannins.
Sweet In general, the word sweet is used to describe a pleasant flavour. For wine, this word mainly refers to the presence of sugar in small or large quantities and revealed while tasting.
T
Tannin This term describes the organic particles that come mainly from the seeds and the skin, or from the wood for wines aged in barrels. Tannins are present in higher concentrations in red wines since the grape maceration time during which the tannins are released is longer. Tannins give a wine structure that is in perfect harmony with the fruity aromas of wine.
Tasting Tasting a wine involves three steps to examine its quality. First, the eye examines a wine's colour and clarity, then the nose appreciates the wine's aroma or bouquet, and finally the palate perceives sensations involving the balance of substances that make up the wine (sugar, acidity, alcohol, tannins, etc.) as well as the persistence of these sensations.
Terroir This term describes the vineyard soil or land, but also the climate and customs of the region. A wine of the "terroir" will reflect the characteristics and special features of its "terroir" of origin.
Thin Not full-bodied; empty; the wine is thin and uninteresting.
Typical This term describes a wine that harmoniously reflects the main characteristics of its origin.
V
Varietal Term used to define a particular variety of grapevine.
Velvety Wine that caresses the palate; very supple.
Vin Gris A vin gris is a rosé wine that is barely coloured, and produced by handling a red grape harvest as if it were a white grape harvest. The grapes are immediately pressed when they arrive, but more slowly than if this were white wine. Fermentation occurs without skins, seeds or stalks.
Vine stock This term refers to the grapevine stock.
Vinous

Having a very pronounced wine taste (pejorative).
Vintage This is the year in which a wine was made.
Virile A virile wine is powerful, vigorous and full of character.
W  
Well-developed Silky and solid with well-defined characteristics.
White White wines can be dry or sweet depending on their concentration of sugar. Their production is distinguished from red wines in that they are rarely aged in barrels.
Wine Steward In a restaurant, this term designates the person in charge of everything involving the cellar and wines.
Y  
Young Some wines must be drunk young because they quickly lose their personality and characteristics; they are best appreciated in their youth. Note that "a young wine" is not the same thing as a "primeur".