Wine glossary: Champagne and wine terms explained

diWine · wine glossary

In our product descriptions we use the precise terms of the wine world – some in Estonian, some in French or German, just as they appear on the bottle label. Here they are, briefly explained.

Champagne styles and labels

Blanc de Blancs

White Champagne made only from white grapes, usually Chardonnay.

Blanc de Noirs

White Champagne made from black grapes (Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier). The grapes are pressed gently so that the juice stays pale. Blanc de Blancs and Blanc de Noirs describe the colour of the grapes, not the sweetness or quality of the wine.

See also: Blanc de Blancs · Rosé de saignée

Rosé de saignée

Rosé Champagne made by leaving black grapes in contact with their skins and drawing off part of the coloured juice for fermentation. The other common method is blending white and red wine.

Rosé de macération

Rosé Champagne whose colour and part of its flavour come from contact with the skins of black grapes. Unlike the saignée method, the juice does not have to be bled off separately.

Non-vintage

NV, sans année, BSA

Champagne that may blend wines from different harvest years. No vintage is stated on the label.

Millésimé

Vintage Champagne, made from grapes of a single harvest year.

Cuvée

A specific wine or blend that the producer bottles under its own name.

Grand Cru, Premier Cru

Champagne's historic village-based classification of growing sites. 17 villages carry Grand Cru status and 42 Premier Cru. In some villages the classification depends on the grape variety. Today the term shows where the grapes come from, not a quality rating given to the wine. Elsewhere, for example in Burgundy, the same terms denote classified vineyards.

Lieu-dit

A traditionally named piece of land or growing site. It does not automatically mean an officially classified single vineyard.

RM, NM

RM (récoltant-manipulant) is a Champagne producer who generally makes wine from grapes they grow themselves. An NM (négociant-manipulant) may also use bought-in grapes, must or wine in addition to its own grapes.

Coteaux Champenois

Still (non-sparkling) wine from the Champagne region with a protected designation of origin. It is made as red, white and rosé; the best known are the Pinot Noir reds.

Ratafia Champenois

A sweet liqueur from the Champagne region with a protected geographical indication, made by blending fresh grape must with a spirit distilled from wine or grapes. The alcohol stops fermentation and keeps the natural sweetness of the grapes.

Magnum, Jeroboam

A magnum is a 1.5-litre bottle, i.e. two standard bottles. In Champagne a Jeroboam is a 3-litre bottle, i.e. four standard bottles.

Sweetness: dosage

Dosage

A mixture usually of wine and sugar added to sparkling wine after disgorgement. Dosage affects the final sweetness of the wine, but the sweetness category on the label depends on the residual sugar in the finished wine.

See also: Residual sugar · Brut Nature · Disgorgement

Residual sugar

g/l

The amount of sugar left in the wine after fermentation, in grams per litre. It is not the same as dosage.

Brut Nature

Non Dosé, Dosage Zéro

A very dry sparkling wine with no sweetening dosage added and less than 3 g/l of residual sugar. No dosage does not necessarily mean the wine contains exactly 0 g/l of sugar.

Label	Sugar in the finished wine
Brut Nature	under 3 g/l, no dosage added
Extra Brut	0–6 g/l
Brut	under 12 g/l
Extra Dry	12–17 g/l
Sec	17–32 g/l
Demi-Sec	32–50 g/l
Doux	over 50 g/l

Winemaking

Base wine

The still wine made by the first fermentation, from which Champagne is blended.

Reserve wine

Base wine from earlier years that is kept back and blended into the new year's wine.

Coquard press

The traditional Champagne basket press, which presses the grapes slowly and gently.

Natural yeasts

Fermentation starts with the yeasts present on the grapes and in the cellar, without adding commercial yeast.

Malolactic fermentation

A bacterial process in which the malic acid in wine turns into softer lactic acid. It can reduce the sharp sensation of acidity and change the wine's mouthfeel. It is not an alcoholic fermentation.

Second fermentation in bottle

Sugar and yeast are added to the base wine and the wine is bottled; the yeast ferments the sugar and creates the bubbles.

Tirage, liqueur de tirage

Tirage is bottling the wine for its second fermentation; liqueur de tirage is the mixture of sugar and yeast added to the base wine for this.

Tirage au moût

A variation of the traditional method in which grape must is used to start the second fermentation instead of the usual added sugar solution. The must provides the sugar for fermentation; yeast must also be present.

Tirage sous liège

During the second fermentation the bottle is closed with a cork rather than the usual crown cap.

Lees, ageing on the lees

After fermentation, yeast cells and other sediment remain in the wine. During ageing on the lees, notes reminiscent of bread, brioche, nuts and toasted pastry may develop. Their intensity depends on how the wine is made and how long it ages.

See also: Ageing time · Remuage · Disgorgement

Ageing time

Under Champagne rules, non-vintage Champagne must age in the cellar for at least 15 months and vintage Champagne for at least three years, counted from bottling for the second fermentation.

Remuage

Gradually turning and tilting the bottles so that the lees collect in the neck before they are removed.

Disgorgement

dégorgement

After the second fermentation in bottle, the lees are collected in the neck of the bottle and removed. The bottle is then topped up with dosage or wine as needed and sealed with its final cork. The disgorgement date shows when the lees were removed, not when the grapes were picked.

Fining and filtration

Two different ways of reducing haze and solid particles in wine. Fining uses agents or methods that help remove sediment; filtration passes the wine through a filter.

Sans sulfites ajoutés

No added sulphites. It does not mean the wine is completely sulphite-free, as sulphites are also formed during fermentation.

Vessels

Barrique

A small, 225-litre oak barrel.

Foudre

A large wooden wine cask, often holding several thousand litres. In a large cask each litre of wine touches relatively less wood surface than in a small barrel, so the influence of the wood can be more restrained.

Amphora

A clay vessel for fermenting and ageing wine.

Œuf de grès

An egg-shaped stoneware vessel used for fermentation or ageing. It does not give the wine the wood-derived aromas typical of oak barrels.

Steel tank, concrete tank

Vessels used for fermenting and ageing wine. Stainless steel gives the wine no wood-derived aromas; the thermal properties and possible oxygen exchange of concrete differ from those of steel.

Vineyard

Terroir

The combined effect of a wine's growing site and human activity: soil, climate, location and farming practices.

Kimmeridgian limestone and marl

Limestone and marl deposits named after a geological age, found in many vineyards of Champagne and Chablis. It is not a flavour characteristic in itself.

Massal selection

sélection massale

Propagating vines from material taken from several selected mother plants, to preserve genetic diversity in the vineyard. It differs from propagating a single selected clone.

Ungrafted vines

Vines growing on their own roots, not grafted onto a rootstock. They are rare in Europe, because most European vineyards use rootstocks resistant to phylloxera.

Organic and biodynamic farming

Organic farming follows set requirements and restricts the use of fertilisers and plant-protection products, allowing certain natural and mineral substances. Biodynamic farming adds special preparations and farming principles. Demeter is one of the certifications for biodynamic production. Uncertified organic farming is not the same as official organic certification.

German wines

Spätburgunder

The German name for Pinot Noir.

Sekt

German sparkling wine.

Trocken

German for dry wine. Usually up to 4 g/l of residual sugar, or up to 9 g/l with higher acidity, under the applicable rules.

Wine glossary