Wine dictionary
Cepa/Vine
The vine plant. The trunk of the vine from which the shoots appear.
Chacolí
A light and acid wine that comes from wine produced from unripe grapes. Vol 9 degrees. Basque country.
Chaptalización
The addition of sugar to the crushed grapes in order to enrich and increase the alcohol content.
Clarete/Claret
A light and fruity red wine in which the fermentation has taken place with the crushed grape skins. To be drunk young. The English call it ´Claret´, a red wine from Bordeaux
Complejo/Complex
A wine rich in texture, well-balanced and made from a variety of grape with a complete and expressive bouquet.
Corcho/Cork
A bottle stopper. When tasting wines if the cork has a disagreeable smell the wine has not been well-kept.
Corona
The shape that the bubbles form in the glass in a good sparkling wine or Cava when they arrive at the surface.
Coupage
The mixing of grapes from different harvests or wines or grape juices. They can be from the same harvest or from different years.
Criaderas
The containers in which wines from Jerez (Sherry) are aged in order to make vintage wine. The Criaderas are put on several floors, piled up in rows according to their vintage.
Crianza/Aging
The controlled ageing of a wine in barrels, containers or a bottle. The ageing allows in a small amount of oxygen that along with the wood and the aromas from spices facilitates the wines development. The ageing of the wine in bottles is important to develop a rounded flavour.
Cuero/Leather
A noble aroma found in some red wines that is due to ageing in the bottle.
Cuerpo/Body
The structure of the wine.
Decantación
The sediments at the bottom of the wine. To drink: decant an aged wine from the bottle to another vessel in order to let it breath.
Degüelle
The removal of the deposits formed during the second fermentation in a bottle of sparkling wine.
Descube
The process of emptying the container in order to separate the wine from the grape skins.