French to English: Wine, Part 3

In our first wine blog, we talked about terroir and how it affects the quality of the wines produced in any given region.

One component of terroir is soil, another is climate.  And when it comes to climate, there are certain terms used by wine amateurs and enthusiasts to describe climate. Where I was born we talked of climate as being either wet or dry.  Of course we were never known as a wine-producing country, although we had a couple of strong liquors that sent drinkers on a wild and reckless rampage.

What are some climate terms used in wine lingo?

• continental climate - this kind of climate has extreme variations in temperature in any given 12-month period.  It is characterized by severe and cold winters and hot and humid summers.  A continental climate is typical of a geographical area that is far from lakes and rivers;
• degree days - this is a unit of measurement for determining the suitability of climates for the specific purpose of growing wine;
• macroclimate - a region's general climate;
• maritime climate - a region is said to have a maritime climate when it is partly dependent on a large body of water (sea or lake).  Stability of temperatures is a distinct feature of a maritime climate, which means winters are mild and summers are warm (without the humidity);
• marginal climate - this is a climate that is barely suited for wine growing.  Temperatures lean more towards the cold.  Wines coming from marginal climate areas tend to be less consistent in quality.
• mesoclimate - the climate on a smaller scale; that is the climatic condition of a small district or of a single vineyard;
• moderate climate - regions with a moderate climate are said to have minimal fluctuations in temperature during the year.  Regions are located near bodies of water.

 

FRENCH	ENGLISH
climat continental	continental climate
degrés-jours	degree days
macroclimat	macroclimate
climat maritime	maritime climate
climate marginal	marginal climate
mésoclimat	mesoclimate
climat modéré	moderate climate

The above lexicon was fairly easy, wasn't it?

Let's now go to wine styles.  What type of wine holds a special place in your heart (or should I say palate)?  Do you like sparkling wine (Chardonnay, Pinot Noir), full-bodied wine with rich flavors (Chardonnay, white Rioja) or do you prefer crisp, dry light bodied wines (Chablis, Vinho Verde)?

Maybe you're a Rosé fan.  I like ice wine and Sangria.  I'm a little barbaric when it comes to distinguishing wines.  I spent money on software, not on wine.

In fact, it was only a month ago that I acquired a bit of knowledge about wine.  I went to Niagara-on-the-Lake and joined a wine tour.  There the "bartenders" showed us how to examine a glass of wine against a clear backdrop, how to sniff, how to swirl the glass a few times and then how to take in air vigorously by clenching your teeth, after the first sip or two.

One final thing:  spitting the wine is considered de rigueur.  Fascinating...

FRENCH	ENGLISH
styles de vins	wine styles
effervescent	sparkling
bulles	bubbles
sensation de picotement	tingling sensation
piquant, corsé	tangy, steely
vin aromatique ou fleuri	aromatic or flowery wine
pierres humides	damp stones
pointe d'acidité	twang of acidity
groseilles à maquereau	gooseberries
sucre du raisin	grape sugar
cassis	black currant
domaines viticoles particuliers	individual wine estates
la législation française sur le vin	French Wine Law

We'll come back to our wine lexicon at a later date, but next week I think I'll talk about office/school supplies - to mark 'back to school" and "back to work" blues.

Please stay tuned!

French to English: Wine, Part 2

In my previous blog, I promised to show a video.  I found one that I thought was both educational and entertaining.  Gary Vaynerchuk speaks about decanting wine, especially top dollar wines.  In this video, he features the Amon-Ra Shiraz 2004 from the Barbosa Valley (Australia's equivalent of California's Napa Valley) to explain the benefits of decanting.

As I listened to Gary's engaging presentation, I couldn't help but think that decanting wine is like the courtship stage in a budding romance.  If a man meets a woman and proposes marriage after a few days' of wining and dining and then they tie the knot and hit the hay (pardon the  vulgar expression), they discover soon enough that the hasty decision to marry was a bad one.  The feelings of non-fulfillment and dissatisfaction nag at their psyche.  They come to another hasty decision:  they split up, bitter at the amount of money that was spent for the wedding, the reception and the honeymoon.

Gary Vaynerchuk says that if you buy an expensive Bordeaux, and then you take it straight to a restaurant to share with friends, you've just thrown away your precious dollars.  To get the FULL potential of wine and its  explosive and delightful combination of aroma, taste and texture, decanting is an indispensable step.  He suggests four to six hours of decanting to allow the wine to breathe freely.

Watch this video now.  You'll agree with me that his arguments are convincing!

You can tell Gary Vaynerhuk has discovered his passion.  I have a confession to make.  I have this secret wish of creating a video presentation with me as presenter, but my timid nature tells me that while I can convey the information I want to convey, I may not hold the attention of my audience long enough - the way Gary Vaynerchuk does so effortlessly!

Here's your lexicon:

FRENCH	ENGLISH
réfractomètre	refractometer
tenure en sucre	sugar level
machines à vendanger	machine harvesting
vendanges tardives	late harvest
vin de glace	ice wine
le buttage	banking up
chaufferettes	anti-frost smudge pots
trémie de réception	receiving hopper
fouloir/égrappoir	crusher/de-stemmer
cuve de fermentation	upright fermentation vessel
presse pneumatique	pneumatic press
chaptalisation et acidification	chaptalization and acidification
macération	maceration
remontage	remontage
remuage des lies	stirring the lees
fermentation malolactique	malolactic fermentation
vin de "goutte"	free run juice
vin de presse	press wine
tanins	tannins
décantation	racking
vieilissement en bouteille	bottle aging
collage et filtration	fining and filtering

More wine terms in part 3.  Come again!

French to English: Wine, Part 1

Terroir - this is one word that does not get translated into English.  Most English wine books you come across  use it because some writers say that the English doesn't quite capture the essence of this French word.

Terroir is the mirror, the total outcome, the all-encompassing description of wine.  It tells you a long story - the people, processes, soil and harvest - that come together beautifully producing a drink that acts like an eternal stimulant for wine lovers. 

It is this whole idea of terroir that explains why no two wines are ever the same.  It's up to each person to define how simple or complex wine is.  You can look at it from the purely physical perspective - that of a flavorful but subtle blend of the yeasts, sugar and alcohol on your taste buds.  Or you can look at it from the perspective of a particular moment in history and of the soil upon which that moment occurred.

I was surprised to learn that even if wine is made all over the world these days, majority of the world's vineyards are clustered around in that part of the northern hemisphere between the 32° and 51°, and between the 28° and 42° of the southern hemisphere.

It is no wonder then that some of the best wines come from old regions like the Bordeaux, the Rhône Valley, and Tuscany.  They enjoy more than 220 hours of sun a month with temperatures ideal for growing grapes with just the right amount of rainfall (600 mm). 

If we understand how geography and climate affect the quality of wines, we begin to grasp the essence of terroir.  Getting the right terroir will produce that unmistakable and magnificent blend of acid, sugar, fruit flavors and tannins.  Wine experts are aware that if wines come from vineyards where there is a happy balance of heat, water (as from a lake or coastline) and altitude (for coolness), those wines are likely to be top shelf quality.

FRENCH	ENGLISH
production de vin	wine production
consommation de vin	wine consumption
hectoliters	hectolitres
établissement vinicole	winery
les cepages	grape varieties
vinification	wine-making techniques
vin corpulent	full-bodied wine
grande garde	age worthy
vin moyennement corsé	medium-bodied wine
intensité des arômes fruités	fruit flavor intensity
vignoble	vineyard
la taille et le palissage de la vigne	pruning and wine training
labour	plowing
taille d'été	summer pruning
traitements	spraying
débourrement	bud break
premier feuillage	first foliage
la floraison	flowering
la véraison	veraison
la chute des feuilles	leaf fall
le danger du gel	frost danger
entretien du vignoble	vineyard maintenance
vendanges	harvest

In Part 2, we'll look at a video and give you more French and English terms.  À votre santé!

Or simply:  chin-chin!