Wine-Searcher Glossary of Wine Terms

Wine-Searcher's database lists 4,261,711 items offered by 15,571 wine stores from almost every part of the world. Considering this volume and diversity, it is quite common to come across terms and abbreviations used to describe wine names which may not be familiar to all our users.

We have a compiled a list of such terms that you may find as a part of the wine name. In some cases, they are also part of the wine labels. Please visit our wine label information page for a broader insight into various labeling terms and laws.

We believe this page will prove to be a valuable reference point for finer details about the terms and abbreviations wine retailers use to specify wine names. Please note that the information provided here is specific to the abbreviations and terms used by our merchants to describe their wines. For a variety of other wine related topics, please visit our wine information and recommended wines pages.

Please use the bookmarks below to find the information you are looking for

Pricing and tax related terms including wine auctions:

• Per Unit - Indicates that the wine is only sold as a unit, be it a bottle, case or an OWC.
• PPU - 'Price Per Unit'.
• DDP - 'Delivered Duty Paid'. Signifies that the price quoted includes all the charges including shipping and any taxes as applicable up to the destination named by the buyer.
• DP - 'Duty Paid'.
• Pre-arrival - A wine sold as 'futures' or 'en primeur'.
• Futures - Simply means to buy/sell wine after it is made, but before it is bottled and/or released into the market. Some common examples of wines sold using this method include Bordeaux Classed Growths, top Burgundy and Rhone Valley wines and Port wines among others. Please see our wine futures page for more details. Here you will find up to date information on Bordeaux Futures campaigns going back to 2004.
• En Primeur - French for 'Futures'.
• Vendu à l'unité - French term meaning 'sold as a unit'. You may come across this term on our French merchants' wine lists.
• HT - 'Hors-Taxe'. French for 'excluding tax'. Another way of explaining the term is to say 'plus applicable taxes'.
• TC - 'Tout Compris'. French term for 'all inclusive'. May also be referred as 'TTC' or 'Tarifs Tout Compris' meaning 'all-inclusive price'.
• VAT - 'Value Added Tax'. Similar to GST (Goods and Services Tax) and basically means tax levied on the added value to the wine during different stages of production and selling.
• IB or I/B - 'In Bond'. Refers to wines stored in bonded warehouses or storage facilities and are exempt from Sales or Excise taxes. These also do not incur any taxes if bought or sold while still in bond. Another important feature of 'in bond' pricing is that if someone chooses to have the wine delivered at a later date, the Sales tax is payable on the original sale price of the wine and not the current market value.
• WET - 'Wine Equilisation Tax'. A form of VAT that you might come across on wine lists of our Australian merchants.
• Lot # - 'Lot Number'. An identification number allotted to a set of wines to be sold as a lot.
• BP or Buyer's Premium - is the charge or fee paid by the buyer to the auction house.

Availability:

• IS - 'In Stock'
• OS - 'Out of Stock'
• LS - 'Limited Stock or Low Stock'
• LI - 'Limited Inventory'
• Limited Release - More of a marketing tool used to indicate a wine of higher quality because of lower production but has no legal significance at all.

Bottling Information:

• MC - 'Mise en Bouteille au Château'. Estate bottled or bottled by the wine producer within the estate. Used on quality wine labels from Bordeaux in particular.
• EB - 'Estate Bottled'.
• Mise en Bouteille au Domaine - Estate bottled. Mostly seen on Burgundy wine labels.
• Mise en bouteille à la propriété - French term meaning bottled at the property.
• Mis en Bouteille dans nos Caves or Mis en Bouteille dans nos Chais - Means bottled in our cellars.

Packaging and storing abbreviations:

• OWC - 'Original Wooden Case'. Normally indicates wines that come in wooden cases and bear some form of identification of the estate or the producer. Quite a common practice for premium wines.
• OC - 'Original Case'.
• OHK - stands for 'Originalholzkiste', the German for OWC.
• IB or I/B - A wine stored 'in bond'. Apart from the pricing as described above, 'in bond' also theoretically signifies professional storage to maintain a wine's provenance.

Common abbreviations to indicate a wine's quality designation and origin:

• GC - 'Grand Cru'. Please have a look at our Burgundy wine label page for more on Grand Crus and Premier Crus.
• 1 Cru or 1er Cru - Premier Cru.
• GCC - 'Grand Cru Classé'. Seen on Bordeaux classed growth labels. For more information see the Bordeaux wine label page.
• Various ways of describing Bordeaux first growths - 1er GCC (Premier Grand Cru Classé), 1er CC (Premier Cru Classé), 1 GCC (Premier Grand Cru Classé), PGC (Premier Grand Cru) and 1er GCC 'A' or 'B' (classifications for wines from the Bordeaux right bank region of Saint-Emilion).
• AOP (AOC) - Appellation d'Origin Protegée, formerly AOC (Appellation d'Origin Controlée). You can find more on AOP in our French wine label page.
• IGP (VDP) - Indication Geographique Protegée, formerly VDP (Vin de Pays) or a French country wine that comes from a broad designated area and is of lower quality than AOP wines.
• VDT - Vin de Table and also Vino da Tavola. Basic table wine.
• AVA - American Viticultural Area. This abbreviation may follow a region's name like 'Columbia Valley AVA'. You can find more about the usage of this term in our US wine label page.
• DOCG - Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita. Highest classification for quality Italian wines. For more on Italian wine and labeling laws, please see our Italian wine label page.
• DOC - Denominazione di Origine Controllata. Below DOCG and equivalent to the French AOP.
• IGT - Indicazione Geografica Tipica. Denotes wine from a more specific region within Italy. Many of the finest wines in Italy may be labeled IGT to avoid DOC or DOCG regulations.
• QMP - Qualitätswein mit Prädikat. Top German wines which literally means 'quality wine with special characteristics'. To qualify for this level, the grapes must meet minimum ripeness levels which are explained in our German wine label page.
• QBA - Qualitätswein bestimmter Anbaugebiete. This is the second level German classification for quality wines within a designated region.
• DO - Denominación de Origen. A Spanish term to denote quality wine from a designated area.
• DOCa - Denominación de Origen Calificada. Highest quality of Spanish wines from Rioja, Priorato and Ribera del Duero.

Styles and types of wine:

• Sparkling Wines:
  
  • Méthode Traditionnelle - Traditional method of producing quality sparkling wines that involves a second fermentation in the bottle.
  • Blanc de blancs - Appears on Champagne labels. A wine made entirely from white grapes, in other words, Chardonnay.
  • Blanc de noirs - A Champagne made from black grape varieties, namely Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier. Please see the Champagne wine label page for additional information including the sweetness levels.
  • Crémant - Sparkling wines made outside the Champagne region using the traditional method.
  • Cava - The term is used for Spanish sparkling wines produced by the Champagne method.
  • Sekt - German term for sparkling wines.
  • Spumante - An Italian term meaning sparkling.
  • Frizzante - An Italian wine with a lighter sparkle than Spumante. Sometimes also referred to as 'semi-sparkling'.
  
  
• Dessert and Fortified wines:
  
  • Botrytized - Mostly referred to the wines that are made using grapes affected by the fungus Botrytis cinerea. In its beneficial form, the condition is also known as 'noble rot'. The affected berries split resulting in the loss of water leaving behind a higher percentage of solids especially sugars. This results in wines high in residual sugar and concentrated flavor. An example of a wine from our database - Alban 375mL Oechsle Botrytized Viognier Rousanne.
  • Noble - Similar to Botrytized. An example - Vinoptima Noble Gewurztraminer 2004 Gisborne.
  • Late Harvest - Wines left on the vine longer to attain higher sugar levels. Example - Chateau Ste. Michelle Ethos Late Harvest Riesling 2005 375ml.
  • Ice Wine - Wines produced from grapes that have been naturally frozen while still on the vine. The idea is to seperate the frozen water during pressing, leaving behind a liquid with higher dissolved sugars and other solids which do not freeze. Inniskillin 2006 Riesling Niagara Peninsula Ice Wine.
  • SGN - Sélection de Grains Nobles. A quality classification in Alsace which literally means 'select harvesting of berries affected by the noble rot'. Example - Tokay Pinot Gris Heimbourg SGN Zind-Humbrecht, Alsace.
  • VT - Vendange Tardive. An Alsace classification meaning wines made from late harvested grapes. Example - Albrecht Riesling VT 96.
  • TBA - Trockenbeerenauslese. 'Dry berry selection'. These grapes are left on the vine for the longest period which helps them reach a raisin-like state resulting in wines that are extremely concentrated and sweet. Example - 1959er Wehlener Sonnenuhr TBA J.J. Prüm
  • VDN - Vin doux Naturel. Literally a wine with high level of natural (residual) sugar achieved by fortifying the wine before the fermentation is finished.
  • Ruby Port - An inexpensive style of port wine that does not improve with age and hence retains its rich ruby color.
  • Tawny Port - A port wine often aged for a long period in wooden barrels with some oxygen contact (oxidation) resulting in a wine which attains a golden-brown color hence the name tawny. They are often preceded by number of years of the average age of the blend.
  • Colheita - A tawny port from a single vintage therefore instead of the number of years (like 10 year old, 20 year old and so on), the year is mentioned on the label.
  • LBV - Late Bottled Vintage. A port wine that is aged for a longer time in wooden casks than a vintage port (which improves in the bottle). LBVs can be filtered or unfiltered.
  • Crusted Port - Named such because the wine throws a crust or deposit due to bottle ageing. They are blends of several vintages.
  • Single Quinta Vintage Port - A house specialty and a high quality port wine made from grapes sourced from single vineyards which normally produce the fruits for vintage ports in declared years.
  • Vintage Port - Best quality of port wine only made in exceptional years. They age in the bottle for decades.
  • Fino - A style of sherry that is the driest and palest in color.
  • Manzanilla - A sherry matured in the Spanish coastal town of Sanlúcar de Barrameda. A distinct character of this wine is its salty tang.
  • Amontillado - A variation of Fino sherry. It is first matured as a Fino followed by a long and slow oxidative maturation resulting in a wine with some flavor characteristics of Fino but is much darker in color due to age.
  • Oloroso - A sherry oxidatively aged for a long time resulting in a dark and rich wine.
  • Cream Sherry - An artificially sweetened sherry.
  • PX - Stands for the grape variety Pedro Ximénez. A luscious sherry mostly produced from semi-dried grapes.

Abbreviated names of wine critics that often accompany a wine name along with the scores:

• RP - 'Robert Parker'. Here is an example from our database - Château Lafite Rothschild 1er Grand Cru Classé (98/100 RP) Pauillac 1998. You may also be interested in the Robert Parker's 100 point wines.
• ST - 'Stephen Tanzer. Example - 2000 Silvio Grasso 'Ciabot Manzoni', Piedmont, ST 91.
• JR - 'Jancis Robinson'. An example - Chateau Margaux 2008, 1st Grand Cru Classe, Margaux (JR 17.5+). Wines awarded '20 out of 20' by Jancis Robinson.
• JH - 'James Halliday'. Example - Yalumba Shiraz Viognier (12 packs) 2007 JH 92 points.
• WA - 'Wine Advocate'. Example - Petrus 2005 (750ML) WA 96 Points.
• WS - 'Wine Spectator'. Here is also an example of a wine from our database - Guigal Cote Rotie La Mouline 2004, 750ml, 95/100 WS. Here is a list of Wine Spectator's Top 100 wines for 2008.

Bottle conditions as described by the label, cork and capsule quality:

• Label Conditions:
  • STL - 'Stained Label'
  • WISL - 'Wine Stained Label'
  • WASL - 'Water Stained Label'
  • BSL - 'Bin Soiled Label'
  • GSL - 'Glue Stained Label'
  • TSL - 'Tissue Stained Label'
  • WL - 'Writing on Label'
  • WRL - 'Wrinkled Label'
  • TL - 'Torn Label'
  • TAL - 'Tattered Label'
  • LL - 'Loose Label'
  • FL - 'Faded Label'
  • SCL - 'Scuffed Label'
  • NOL - 'No Label'
• Cork and Capsule Conditions:
  • CC - 'Corroded Capsule'
  • CRC - 'Cracked Capsule'
  • CUC - Cut Capsule
  • WC - 'Wrinkled Capsule'
  • WXC - 'Waxed Capsule'
  • NOC - 'NO Capsule'
  • NC - 'Nicked Capsule'
  • PC - 'Protruding Cork'
  • SPC - 'Slightly Protruding Cork'
  • SDC - 'Slightly Depressed Cork'
  • DC - 'Depressed Cork'
  • SOS - 'Signs of Seepage'

A list of wine bottle sizes:

Miscellaneous wine terms:

• Proprietary Blend - A rather generic term used to denote a wine made using more than one grape variety. More specifically, the blend should consist of grape varieties native to the region.
• Meritage A term mostly used in the US for a style of blended red wines made by noble grape varieties of Bordeaux, namely Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot.
• Claret - A traditional English term for red wines from Bordeaux.
• Veilles Vignes - French for 'old vines'.
• Cuvée - Essentially a French term but increasingly seen on new world wine labels also. Denotes a wine of a specific blend or batch. In many cases this will also indicate a house specialty.
• Lieu-dit - French term for a named vineyard. You might come across this term emphasizing on the vineyard status. Here is an example "Lieu-dit Les Poyeux" Saumur Champigny AOC.
• Organic - In very general terms, a wine made without using any chemicals but the use of the word 'Organic' on wine labels is strictly regulated by the wine laws of a particular country. For more insight, have a look at our organic and biodynamic wine page.
• Kosher - Wines produced according to the Jewish dietary laws. Please see our kosher wine page for more information.
• Bin - Originally a batch or collection of wine bottles but more specifically a brand name that separates a particular wine from others from the same winery. Often appears on wine labels with a number like 'Penfold's Bin 407 Cabernet Sauvignon'.
• Blush - Widely used term in the US for a pale pink colored wine.
• Reserve - Often an aged wine. In more general terms, it can also suggest a higher quality.
• Unfiltered - To preserve the primary fruit characters of a wine.

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