Wine-Searcher Technical Wine Terms C to D

'C'

• Carbonic maceration: 'La macération carbonique' in French. A winemaking technique mostly associated with the wines from the Beaujolais region of France. In this process, whole grapes are subjected to a carbon di-oxide rich (anaerobic) environment in a sealed container. The carbon di-oxide penetrates the berry skins starting an intracellular chemical activity. At the same time, the grapes at the bottom of the container get split due to the weight of the fruit. The resulting juice starts to ferment conventionally due to action of the ambient yeasts.
  
  All this results in a wine which is extremely fruity and normally enjoyed young. Since they are very low in tannins, these wines lack the structure for extended cellaring.
  
  
• Chaptalization: A winemaking process where sugar or concentrated grape sugar is added to the grape 'must' before the start of alcoholic fermentation. The aim is to increase the alcohol content of the wine. It is normally practised in wine regions where the grapes do not attain optimum ripeness, mostly due to a marginal climate. The appellation laws of most countries stipulate whether chaptalization is legal or not. It is also sometimes referred to as 'enrichment'.
  
  
• Climat: A broad term used in Burgundy for a particular vineyard site on the basis of its 'terroir'. Should not be confused with monopole, which is classified by 'appellation laws', whereas climat is often used to indicate the prestige of a vineyard site.
  
  
• Continental Climate: A climate characterized by extreme variations in the winter and summer months' temperatures. These wine regions tend to be in the interiors of large continents and hence the name. Continental climate is responsible for marked vintage variations - notable difference in the ripening patterns according to the weather conditions of a particular year.
  
  
• Cool Climate Viticulture: Denotes matching grape varieties and vineyard operations with a region's cool climate. The aim is to ripen these grapes sufficiently for wine production. The regions which may adopt this method of growing grapes are normally found on higher 'latitudes' of both northern and southern hemispheres. Some prominent regions include, Germany, Switzerland, the Loire Valley, Champagne, Burgundy, most southerly vineyards of Chile, New Zealand and so on. Cool climate grape varieties include Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Gamay, Chasselas and Gewürztraminer among many others.
  
  Some vineyard sites on high 'altitudes' which do not receive enough sunlight due to fog or cloud cover also fall under this category.
  
  
• Cryoextraction: Is the process to artificially freeze the grapes in a sub-zero refrigeration unit before being pressed to obtain the concentrated juice high in sugars, leaving behind the frozen water content. The process replicates the natural 'Ice Wine' making process. The technique has been employed in sweet wine-producing regions where grapes do not attain the required 'must weight' in not so favorable vintages. Interestingly, the famous region of Sauternes has allowed this process since the late 1980s.

'D'

• Diurnal temperature variation: An important factor associated with the variation in temperature between day and night, calculated as the difference between the highest temperature of the day and the lowest temperature of the night. It has profound implications on the grape's ripening pattern as the heat of the day ensures accumulation of sugar and the drop in temperature in the night preserving the natural acids. A greater variability also helps to concentrate the color and flavor compounds ('phenolics'). It is also sometimes generically referred to as 'temperature variability'.
  
  
• DO: Stands for Denominación de Origen. The term denotes the quality control regime used in Spain to identify quality wine producing regions as specified by the local laws and regulations.