Vocabulary for Talking About French Wine

A glass or a bottle of French wine shared among friends is always a delightful experience. You will enjoy this experience even more if you have some of the necessary vocabulary at the tip of your tongue when discussing wine, or when ordering from a French restaurant. Following are some useful expressions:

Our first word is wine which is vin in French. There are various types of wine, for example: red wine, which is le vin rouge, rosé wine – le vin rosé and white wine- le vin blanc.There is also sparkling wine - le vin mousseux and sherry – un sherry.

You also need to understand the descriptions of wine, to know what to shop for or what to order at a restaurant to go with your meals.

Descriptions of wine include, for example: light, young, dry, light-bodied, full-bodied or heavy. Memorize the following expressions:

mulled wine - le vin chaud

vintage wine - le vin de marque

local wine - le vin de pays

table or dinner wine - le vin ordinaire

house wine - le vin maison

wine from a famous vineyard, vintage wine - le grand vin

full-bodied or heavy wine - le gros vin

a full-bodied wine - le vin corsé

light wine - le petit vin

a light-bodied wine - le vin léger

sweet wine - le vin doux

dry white wine - - le vin blanc

red wine - le vin rouge

sparkling sweet wine - le vin mousseux et doux

young wine - le vin jeune

To order your wine in a restaurant, you need to ask the waiter for la carte des vins. A good word for you to know is le tire-bouchon (the corkscrew), and at the same time, it is good to know l’ouvre-bouteille (the bottle opener). You can enjoy some léger, jeune, rouge Beaujolais with meat, poultry, fowl or cheese.  A gros vin or gros corsé rouge like a Châteauneuf-du Pape goes well with game, poultry or meat. A Muscadet which is a vin léger blanc is good with with fish or seafood especially scallops. Try a Vouvray blanc or blanc et mousseux with fish, seafood or meat.and some Sauternes which is a vin blanc et doux, is the best for dessert.

If you find that your friend is slightly tipsy at the end of the meal, you can use this little wine expression être entre deux vins which means to be slightly tipsy, and tell your friend “Tu es entre deux vins”(You are slightly tipsy); or you can describe a tipsy person to your friend by saying “ Il(elle) est entre deux vins” (He (she) is slightly tipsy.)

Make sure they are not your designated driver, and:

Bon appétit!