Glossary of Wine Terms - C

C

C.A.

Abbreviation seen on Spanish wine labels meaning Cooperativa Agrícola or local co-operative.

Cane pruning

Cane pruning is when one or two canes from a vine's previous year's growth are cut back to six to fifteen buds which will be the coming growing seasons grape producers.

Cantina

Italian term for winery.

Cantina Sociale

Italian term for a co-operative

Capsule

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

Carbonic maceration

Whole, uncrushed grapes are fermented in a sealed vat containing a layer of carbon dioxide. This results in fruity, soft and distinct red wines. These wines have little tannin and are immediately drinkable. This is the method used throughout France's Beaujolais region.

Cave

See wine cave

Cellar door

The area of the winery where point of sale purchases occur. This can be a tasting room or a separate sales area.

Cépage

French term for grape variety. When it appears on a wine label it will usually refer to the varietals used to make the wine.

Chai

A wine shed, or other storage place above ground, used for storing casks, common in Bordeaux. Usually different types of wine are kept in separate sheds. The person in charge of vinification and ageing of all wine made at an estate, or the chais of a négociant, is titled a Maître de Chai. The New World counterpart to the chai may be called the barrel hall.

Champagne flute

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

Chaptalization

The practice of adding sugar to the grape must prior to fermenting, to compensate for low sugar content in the grapes.

Château

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

Clairet

A French term for a wine that falls between the range of a light red wine and a dark rosé

Claret

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

Classico

An Italian term for the historical or "classic" center of a wine region — sometimes located in the heart of a DOC.

Cleanskin

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

Climat

French term for Lieu-dit used in Burgundy for a single plot of land located within a vineyard that has its own name and demonstrated terroir.

Coates Law of Maturity

A principle relating to the aging ability of wine that states that a wine will remain at its peak (or optimal) drinking quality for as long as it took to reach the point of maturity. For example, if a wine is drinking at its peak at 1 year of age, it will continue drinking at its peak for another year.

Commercial wine

A mass produce wine aimed for the wide market of wine drinkers made according to a set formula, year after year. These wines tend to emphasis broad appeal and easy drink-ability rather than terroir or craftsmanship.

Cordon training

A method of vine training. Unlike cane pruning where the trunk itself is the only permanent, inflexible piece of the vine, cordon trained vines have one or two woody arms extending from the top of the trunk. These are then spur pruned.

Corkscrew

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

Côtes

French term for the hillside or slopes of one contiguous hill region.

Coteaux

French term for the hillside or slopes of a hill region that is not contiguous.

Country wine

A quality level intermediate between table wine and quality wine, which in France is known as vin de pays and in Italy as Indicazione Geografica Tipica (IGT) . Also a synonym for Fruit wine.

Crémant

French sparkling wine not made in Champagne region.

Cru

A French term that literally means "growth". May refer to a vineyard or a winery.

Cru Bourgeois

A classification of Bordeaux wine estates in the Medoc that were not part of the originally 1855 Bordeaux classification.

Cru Classé

A French term for an officially classified vineyard or winery.

C.S.

An Italian abbreviation for Cantina Sociale that appears on wine labels denoting that the wine has been made by a local cooperative.

Cult wines

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

Cuvaison

The French term for the period of time during alcoholic fermentation when the wine is in contact with the solid matter such as skin, pips, stalks, in order to extract colour, flavour and tannin. See also maceration.

Cuvée

French term, meaning vat or tank. On wine labels it is used to denote wine of a specific blend or batch.

Cuverie

French term, along with cuvier that refers to the building or room where fermentation takes place. Essentially, the room, building, grange, barn, garage or shed, or other building, used for "making wine." When the grapes are first picked, they arrive at the cuverie.

C.V.

Abbreviation for the French term Coopérative de Vignerons that may appear on wine labels to denote that the wine has been made by a local cooperative.