Wine words, in plain English.

Assemblage Blending process, especially important in Champagne across grapes, villages, par… Autolysis Breakdown of spent yeast cells that gives sparkling wines bready, toasty, or bri… Bâtonnage Lees stirring used to add texture, roundness, and subtle savory notes, especiall… Climat Burgundian term for a precisely named vineyard parcel with a defined identity. Cold stabilization Chilling wine before bottling to reduce later tartrate crystal formation. Cru French term for a recognized growth, site, village, or classification unit depen… Disgorgement Removal of the spent-yeast sediment plug from a traditional-method sparkling win… Dosage Sweetening and topping-up addition made after disgorgement in many sparkling win… Filtration Passing wine through a filter to remove particles, haze, microbes, or sediment. Fining Clarification step in which added agents bind to particles so they can be remove… Gran Reserva Spanish aging designation generally used for wines with extended barrel and bott… Lees Sediment of spent yeast cells and fine solids left after fermentation. Lieu-dit A named place or parcel that may appear on French wine labels. Liqueur de tirage Sugar-and-yeast mixture added to start secondary fermentation in bottle. MGA Italian named geographic mention used for sub-zones in places such as Barolo. Phenolics Compounds from skins, seeds, stems, and oak that shape color, bitterness, tannin… Racking Moving wine off sediment from one vessel to another during aging or clarificatio… Residual sugar Sugar left in wine after fermentation, usually measured in grams per liter. Superiore Italian term that often signals higher minimum alcohol, stricter rules, or added… Sur lie French term for aging wine on its lees to build texture, freshness, and subtle s… Total acidity A lab measure of the total acid concentration in wine, usually expressed in g/L. Volatile acidity Acetic-smelling acidity that can add lift at low levels and become a fault at hi…