Cabernet Franc
An important variety in Loire and Bordeaux, it's blended with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. This grape also does well in Ontario, as it's well-suited to cool climates. It tends to be lighter in tannins and more fruit forward, with some herbaceous notes.

Cabernet Sauvignon
The most renown grape for making cellar-worthy reds. While it's most famous in Bordeaux, this grape is grown worldwide. At its most powerful, Cabernet Sauvignon is deeply coloured, tannic and oaky from barrel aging. Lighter versions are made fresh and fruity. Its aromas can evoke black currant, cedar, herbaceousness, berries and, with age, undergrowth and tobacco.

Cane pruning
A method of pruning vines. More details may be found in my advice page on vine pruning techniques.

Canopy management
This term describes the processes used in the care of the leaf canopy, such as pruning, trimming and leaf thinning. There can be a number of benefits in altering the microclimate in this way, such as increased exposure of foliage to the sun which improves photosynthesis, and reduced moisture within the canopy, therefore protecting against rot.

Cantina (Italy)
A winery or cellar.

Cantina Sociale (Italy)
A wine co-operative.

Cap
The mass of skins, pips and other solid matter that rises to the surface of the wine during alcoholic fermentation. Pigeage helps to keep the solid matter mixed in with the wine, imparting colour, flavour and tannin. See cuvaison.

Carbonic Maceration
A process of winemaking in which whole grapes are fermented without crushing them or breaking the skins. The flesh of the grape starts to ferment inside the skin. This produces a wine that is less tannic, less acidic, and more light and fruity and ready to drink quickly. Beaujolais nouveau is most famously made this way. Just saying “carbonic maceration” will make many people think that you are a wine expert.

Centrifuge
A centrifuge is a rapidly spinning device for the purpose of separating out mixed materials. It has found in use in the winery as it may be used to clarify the must. It may also be used to separate out fractions of the liquid must, which has led to its use as a dealcoholisation tool. Also known as a spinning cone.

Cépage (France)
Grape variety.

Cépage améliorateur (France)
An "improving variety", as this translates, is one encouraged for viticulture in order to improve the quality of a region's wines. In the Languedoc the term refers to varieties such as Mourvèdre, Syrah and Grenache, which are encouraged in place of Carignan, Cinsaut and other lesser grapes. The minimum quantity of "improving varieties" is laid down in appellation regulations.

Chardonnay
A popular and versatile grape that thrives in most wine-growing countries. Aromas range from lemon to apple to tropical fruit. It adapts well to oak, which adds scents of vanilla, butter and spice. In its home region of Burgundy, it makes some of the world's finest whites.

Chaptalisation (France)
The process of adding sugar to the fermenting vat, which is converted to ethyl alcohol by the yeast. The intent is to increase the final alcohol content. A surprisingly widespread practice in many French wine regions, but particularly in Burgundy. So much so that French sugar sales absolutely rocket at harvest time.

Chenin Blanc
A native of the Loire Valley in France, where it's made in many styles from bone dry to dessert sweet. Chenin Blanc can have aromas of quince, honey, flowers and minerals, not to mention a steely acidity that gives it longevity. In South Africa and California, this grape is often made into a simple, off-dry fruity wine.

Chewy
Chewy refers to a wine that is full-bodied, robust and often tannic. The texture or mouthfeel of the wine is therefore often rich and chewy.

Chianti
The name of a specific geographical area between Florence and Siena in the central Italian region of Tuscany, associated with tangy, dry red wines of varied quality.

Clarify
Wines are clarified using either fining or filtering. Fining agents such as egg whites attract any unwanted particles, which either settle at the bottom or float along the top of the wine where they are removed or filtered.

Classed growth
A literal translation of Cru Classé.

Clos (France)
Traditionally, a  walled vineyard, although the term is much abused on wine labels.

Closed
A young, undeveloped wine that does not easily reveal its character.

Cloudy
A cloudy wine is visually dull and hazy because particles haven’t been removed during winemaking. This sediment can be removed by fining or decanting.

Cloying
An overly sweet wine that lacks balancing acidity and is therefore unpleasant and not refreshing. This should not be confused with the false praise that some winery visitors lavish on the vintner in the hope of a free bottle or two.

Coarse
Although a coarse wine may be full-bodied, it’s also harsh in flavor and texture and often too tannic. Its lack of balance and flavor is usually the result of inferior grapes. A coarse wine is a person whose opinions are too blunt: you can’t swallow too much of either of them.

Cold stabilisation
This process merely involves chilling wine prior to bottling. This causes tartaric acid to crystallise out, thereby avoiding the formation of tartrate crystals, specifically potassium hydrogen tartrate, when the wine is in the bottle.

Colheita (Portugal)
An aged tawny Port from a single vintage which will be declared on the label.

Commune (France)
Refers to a village and the surrounding vineyards, for example, the communes of the left bank of Bordeaux include Pauillac, St Julien, St Estèphe and so on.

Complex
Wines with a combination of flavours and aromas.

Confected
A tasting term to describe a sweet aroma/flavour, but more manufactured (like candy) than honey. I generally find it a negative aspect of a wine.

Co-operative
A winery run and owned by a group of local winemakers. Quality varies - some can turn out high quality wines, others produce little of interest.

Cordon
That part of the vine that is permanent - that is it to say it is left from year to year, whereas other parts are pruned away.

Cordon training
A vine training method.

Corked/corky

A musty, wet cardboard smell and taste. This is most often caused by TCA (trichloroanisole) found in a defective cork, hence the name. A wine that has been corked is unsalvageable. A tasting term used to describe wines contaminated by trichloroanisole (a corked wine is not one with bits of cork floating in it). This chemical compound is the product of mould infection in the cork. Said to affect 5% of bottles (some say more, some less) it is one of the main reasons behind the drive towards the increasing use of screwcaps and synthetic closures. It may result in a wine that simply lacks fruit and can be difficult to spot, or it may be horribly obvious, with cardboardy, musty, mushroomy, dank aromas and flavours, rendering the wine completely undrinkable. See my advice page on faulty wine for more information.

Cosecha (Spain)
Vintage.

Côte (France)
A côte is a slope or hillside. The term is used in many regions of France - Côte Rôtie (Rhône Valley), Côte d'Or (Burgundy), Côte de Brouilly (Beaujolais).

Coteau (France)
Like côte, this also refers to a slope or hillside.

Coulure (France)
Once the vine has flowered, there should develop a small fruit (the grape) in place of each flower. Failure of the fruit to set in this way is coulure. It is often worst when the weather is particularly cold or wet. Some coulure is beneficial as a vine would have difficulty in ripening a full crop, resulting in a reduction in quality - although this can be adjusted for with a green harvest. Heavy coulure will result in a very small crop.

Crémant (France)
A sparkling wine made by the Méthode Champenoise.

Crianza (Spain)
A term describing the ageing that a wine has undergone. This is the youngest category, which is aged for two years, with at least six months in barrel. Related terms include Reserva and Gran Reserva.

Crisp
A wine with fresh, brisk character, usually with high acidity.

Crossing
A crossing is the result of breeding two Vitis vinifera plants. This is distinct from a hybrid which involves using American vines.

Cru
A French term meaning growth that is used in classifying vineyards. Often, but not always, grand cru refers to the best wine.

Cru Bourgeois (France)
Bordeaux châteaux t