| If you are forced to learn a new language, why | | | | "sum it all up" description. An excellent wine is said |
| not skip the obvious ones and learn the language | | | | to have an excellent character. Depending on how |
| of wine. After all, practicing is a lot tastier! With | | | | far along you are in the tasting, many adjectives |
| that in mind, here are significant wine terms | | | | can be added before the character declaration. |
| beginning with the letter "C". | | | | Closed - A closed wine is usually a red wine that |
| Cab - You might think this refers to a way to get | | | | has not been aged much. It can also refer to a |
| home and it certainly can, but the more common | | | | red wine that has been opened, but not allowed |
| explanation is it is an abbreviated way of saying | | | | to aerate sufficiently to fully develop. Placing the |
| "Cabernet Sauvignon", a classic French Red. | | | | wine into a decanter to breathe can "open up" the |
| Cabernet Sauvignon - This phrase is almost | | | | closed wine. |
| always used to describe a wine from a particular | | | | Cork - The rather obvious definition is the means |
| region of France. This is an incorrect use. | | | | by which a bottle is sealed. There is, however, a |
| Cabernet Sauvignon is a type of grape grown in | | | | secondary meaning. A wine can be spoiled when it |
| France that produces some of the best red wines | | | | is "corked". This refers to the situation where the |
| in the world. It is not a place nor the wine itself. | | | | cork was not clean when inserted and bacteria |
| Chaptalization - This refers to the act of artificially | | | | spoiled the wine. It can also refer to situations |
| adding sugar to wine. The reason it is done is to | | | | where the cork did not seal correctly and air |
| bring up the alcohol content. Some grape varieties | | | | entered the bottle. |
| have trouble ripening sufficiently in certain cooler | | | | The world of wine is full of so many |
| areas of the world, and the chaptalization gives | | | | undercurrents that the terminology that must be |
| them the extra sugar needed to produce alcohol | | | | learned to understand it is simply staggering. Using |
| during the fermentation process. | | | | the terms above will make many think you are |
| Character - The character of a wine refers to | | | | an old pro when it comes to wine...even if you |
| the totality of the qualities it posses. This is the | | | | aren't! |