Champagne and Sparkling Wine
Glossary C
Carbon Dioxide / CO2 / Carbonic Gas
A gaseous product of the fermentation process. If the gas is contained through various methods and included in the bottled wine, it becomes a sparkling wine.
Category
One of the four general classifications of champagne: basic, blanc de blancs, blanc de noirs, and rose’.
Cave
Cellar. (French)
Champagne
Sparkling wine produced using the method champenois exclusively in the delimited area of Champagne in northern France.
Champagne house
Producer of champagne, typically a winery making champagne.
Champenois
The people in the area of Champagne, France.
Chaptalization
Adding sugar to grape must to increase the wine’s potential alcohol level. It is named after the developer of the process, Jean-Antoine Chaptal.
Charmat
See Tank Method.
Chef de caves
Cellar master, typically the head winemaker at a Champagne house. (French)
CIVC - See Comite Interprofessionnel du Vin de Champagne. (French)
Clarify
Remove particles suspended in wine or grape juice by a specific method such as fining, filtering, centrifuging or settling and racking.
Clone
A vine taken from a cutting of a mother vine that is genetically identical.
Clos
Enclosure. Vineyards correctly labeled as ‘clos’ should be enclosed by a wall or fence. Some vineyard walls may have been destroyed at some point and no longer exist. (French)
Closed
Wine that fails to show much character. Bottle maturation over time may help the wine open up.
Comite Interprofessionnel du Vin de Champagne (CIVC)
The trade organization that regulates the champagne industry established by law to direct the common interests of merchants and growers. (French)
Complex
Having multifaceted characteristics. Not simple. A complex wine has many flavors and scents.
Concentrated
Exhibiting condensed or strong nature on the nose and/or palate.
Cork Taint – See TCA.
Corked Wine – See TCA.
Crayères
Cavitities or caves dug into the chalk soil in Gallo-Roman times. The excavated chalk pillars were used in construction. (French)
Creamy
Mouthfeel in a sparkling wine created primarily from very tiny bubbles that release slowly and steadily on the palate.
Cremant
Sparkling wine created in areas of France outside the Champagne AOC using the traditional method. In the past it was used to signify a wine from Champagne with a lower atmospheric pressure than the regular 6.
Crisp
Used to describe a wine that has high acidity typically producing a clean refreshing taste.
Cross
Two or more varieties of the same species (for example vitis vinifera) are bred to create a new variety.
Crown cap
Soda bottle type cap primarily used in traditional method sparkling wine production as a closure during the second fermentation.
Cru
Refers to a vineyard. The literal translation is ‘growth’. (French)
Cuve
Tank or Vat. (French)
Cuve Close
See Tank Method
Cuvée
Generally refers to the blend of wines that make up the final product. In Champagne it is also used to refer to the first pressing of the grapes yielding the premium juice (the first 2050 liters). (French) |
