AOC : "Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée". Certifies you that a wine is coming from a defined area know for its "terroir". Besides the need to have the vines planted in a delimited area, the vineyard must respect grape typicity, not overcome certain yields and submit the wines to a tasting every vintage, this to insure quality.
Full-bodied : Positive expression used to describe a wine that fills your mouth. Some people also use "fat" to explain this nice weight sensation.
Grand Cru : In the Champagne region, this means that the grapes can be sold at 100% of the market price, 1er Cru being from 90 to 99% of this price and the rest from 80 and 89%.
Late harvest : Indicates that grapes that are picked as late as possible in the season for maximum sugar content. Sometimes, the grapes will develop a noble rot thanks to botrytis cinerea mushroom which will not damage the quality of the grape while it looses water and gains sugars.
Tannins : A natural component of the wine coming from the skins, seeds and stems of grapes. Most prominent in red wines where it creates a dry and puckering sensation which can dry your mouth. With aging, they form sediments.
Terroir : French term with no translation to describe the characteristics of a defined area. That includes soil, underground, exposure, climate and local traditions.
Yield : A way to measure the volume of wine produced by "hectares" = 2,5 acres. This amount always has to be in perspective, depending on the number of vines planted which can be very different because of exposition and soil dryness. And on similar vine parcel conditions, the lower the yield, the better the quality.
