Gamay
These grapes produce light, fruity red wines and are used to make beaujolais nouveau and beaujolais. Grown in France, Canada and many other countries.
Garagistes
Winemakers whose production is so small it could fit into a home garage.
Geneva double curtain
A vine training method. More details may be found in my advice page on vine training techniques.
Gewürztraminer
Has a fragrant aroma of lychee and spice (gewürz). It's soft in acidity and often feels velvety and full on the palate. Best examples of wines made from this grape come from Alsace, France.
Glycerin
A chemical compound (sugar alcohol) in wine that is a natural byproduct of fermentation. Glycerin, also known as glycerol, improves wine's quality by making it taste richer, more full-bodied and viscous. Although glycerin is colorless and odorless, its slightly sweet taste and syrupy texture gives the impression of smoothness on the palate.
Gobelet
A method of vine training. The vines are cultivated as bushes. For more see my advisory article on vine training.
Gönc (Hungary)
A barrel used for making Tokay.
Grafting
The process of growing a cutting of Vitis vinifera on American or hybrid, phylloxera-resistant rootstock.
Gran Reserva (Spain)
This is the top category for Spanish wine. Such wines have received a minimum five years ageing, of which at least two are in cask and three in bottle. Related categories include Reserva and Crianza.
Grand Cru
A confusing term. In Burgundy Grand Cru refers to the best vineyard sites, which are on the slopes of the Côte d'Or. In St Emilion, however, the majority of interesting estates are classified as Grand Cru and thus here the term means very little.
Grand Vin
French for “grand or great wine,” and refers to the best quality wine made by a chateau. Many wineries make second and third labels that aren’t considered as good as their grand vin. Although it sounds impressive, it actually has no legal or official designation. However, giving a bottle of wine with this on the label to friends may increase its value (and yours) in their eyes.
Grande Marques
A term frequently used to describe the top Champagne houses.
Grassy
Wines that have slight vegetal-tasting undertones as part of the overall character like sauvignon blanc and certain other grape varietals.
Green harvest
The practice of removing unripe bunches of grapes in midsummer in order to reduce the yield per plant and increase the quality. Unlike other plants which will abort excess fruit, such as the peach, the vine will try and ripen the whole crop - which if large will increase the likelihood of producing a dilute wine.
Grey Rot
Grey rot grows on unripe grapes after long stretches of humid weather and spoils them for winemaking.
Gutsabfüllung (Germany)
Means estate-bottled. Related terms include abfüllung and erzeugerabfüllung.
Guyot
A vine training method. More details may be found in my advisory feature on vine training.
