Wine in French
The word for wine in French is vin. Find out types of wines in French with this free lesson! Listen to the audio of French wine words and practice your pronunciation with our voice recognition tool.
After this lesson you’ll be talking about wine in French like an expert! Whether you’re looking for some local French wine to accompany your picnic in the countryside, or you’re planning some serious wine tasting in France, I’ve got you covered… You’ll learn everything from how to ask for a glass of red wine in French to finding your way around the wine regions in France. Enjoy!
Resources for further reading:
Wine in French
“La dégustation” has nothing to do with being disgusted or disgusting! “La dégustation des vins” is all about wine tasting. If names like Côtes du Rhône, Beaune, Chablis, and Alsace bring a fond smile to your face, then you're in the right place!
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La dégustation des vins
Wine tasting
Mis en bouteille au château
Bottled at the chateau
Appellation contrôlée
Designated growing area
Le vignoble
The vineyard
Le sommelier
The wine waiter
Le grand cru
Regionally graded wine
Un verre de rouge
A glass of red wine
Un verre de blanc
A glass of white wine
Une coupe de champagne
A flute of champagne
Un litre de vin du pays
A litre of wine (from a cooperative)
À votre santé !
To your good health!
Wine terms in France
It could be said that France traditionally held a monopoly on wine production and appreciation until the second half of the 20th century. Currently, the French wine industry has to work very hard to compete with other leading edge technologies and successful award winning wine growers from all over the world.
As international wine mentors, all French wine producers are known by a distinct feature: their wines are labeled by their regions, not the type of grape.
A Château Margaux, to take a world class wine, is from south-west France and comes straight from a château in the Bordeaux region by the same name.
St Emilion is a village near Bordeaux, and is also the home of another “Grand Cru,” “great vintage,” Château Latour.
“Guides gastronomiques,” “culinary guides ,” are enjoyed by “dégustateurs” ( wine tasters) from all over the world, every one of them written by fans of France’s rich legacy in wine.
Traditionally, expertise in “ the soil” (“le terroir”) and “ grapes” (“les raisins”) has always been the key to making good wines. However, it’s the name of the wine that underpins the unique philosophy of wine appreciation in France, and it is something that was in place way before branding came into vogue.
The label continues to evoke and elevate a great wine’s status by specifying whether the wine is château produced and bottled “ mis en bouteille.” It gives the name of the producer’s property, mentions the vintage year, and whether it has come from a strictly defined growing area, “ appellation contrôlée.”
French wine vocabulary:
La Dégustation des Vins!
La vigne
The vine
Les vendanges
The harvest
La viniculture
The wine industry
Le sommelier
The wine waiter
Le grand cru
Superior vintage
Un Bourgogne
A bottle of Burgundy wine
Un Chablis
A bottle of Chablis wine
Le terroir
The soil, the land
La vallée de la Loire
The Loire Valley
Visiter
To visit
La région Sancerroise
The Sancerre Region
Connu de par le monde
World famous
Une ancienne tradition
An ancient tradition
Les bonnes directions
Good directions
Pour trouver
To find
Un des meilleurs
One of the best
Régionale
Local (feminine)
Régionaux
Local (plural with one masculin minimum)
Au moins
At least
Du pinard
Cheap wine
Un grand millésime
A vintage wine
I hope you enjoyed your lesson - happy wine tasting... If you want more French vocabulary on travel then check out the airport in French, booking a hotel in French and, so you don't get lost, directions in French!
À bientôt!
Marie-Claire Rivière and the Rocket French Team
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