Pronunciation Guide
Say it right. Every time.
Nobody wants to be the one who says "Geh-wurtz-TRAM-in-er" and watches the sommelier's face flicker. This guide covers every wine word that trips people up: grapes, regions, and winemaking terms. All phonetic, no linguistics degree required.
How to read this guide: syllables are written as they sound. CAPS = the stressed syllable. Hyphens separate syllables.
Red grape varieties
Name Say it like this Quick note
Cabernet Sauvignon cab-er-NAY saw-veen-YAWN The "t" in Cabernet is silent.
Merlot mair-LOH The "t" is silent. Never "mer-LOT."
Pinot Noir PEE-noh NWAH Both final consonants are silent.
Syrah / Shiraz sih-RAH / shih-RAZ Same grape. Syrah = French/European. Shiraz = Australian.
Grenache greh-NASH Spanish name: Garnacha (gar-NAH-cha).
Malbec MAL-beck Straightforward. Stress the first syllable.
Tempranillo tem-pra-NEE-yo The double "ll" in Spanish makes a "y" sound.
Sangiovese san-joh-VAY-zeh Italy's most planted red grape. Base of Chianti.
Nebbiolo neb-ee-OH-loh The grape behind Barolo and Barbaresco.
Barbera bar-BEAR-ah Italian red. Common in Piedmont.
Zinfandel ZIN-fan-del American. Same as Italian Primitivo.
Cabernet Franc cab-er-NAY FRONK The "c" at the end of Franc is silent.
Mourvèdre moor-VED-ruh French name. Spanish: Monastrell (mo-nas-TREL).
Gamay gam-AY The grape of Beaujolais.
Tannat tah-NAH Final "t" is silent. Native to southwest France and Uruguay.
Carménère car-meh-NAIR Chile's signature red grape.
Petit Verdot peh-TEE vair-DOH Blending grape. "Petit" and "Verdot" both have silent final consonants.
White grape varieties
Name Say it like this Quick note
Chardonnay shar-doh-NAY The most planted white grape in the world.
Sauvignon Blanc saw-veen-YAWN BLON "Blanc" rhymes with "on" in French, not "blank."
Riesling REEZ-ling German. The "ie" sounds like "ee."
Pinot Grigio / Gris PEE-noh GREE-joh / GREE Same grape. Grigio = Italian. Gris = French.
Gewürztraminer geh-VURTZ-tram-ee-ner The hardest one. "Gewürz" means spice in German.
Grüner Veltliner GROO-ner FELT-lee-ner Austria's signature white. Worth learning.
Viognier vee-oh-NYAY Aromatic white. Native to France's Northern Rhône.
Albariño al-bah-REEN-yo Spanish. The "ñ" makes a "ny" sound.
Chenin Blanc SHEH-nan BLON Loire Valley. "n" at the end of Chenin is softened.
Marsanne mar-SAN Rhône white. Often blended with Roussanne.
Roussanne roo-SAN Aromatic Rhône white. Often blended with Marsanne.
Verdejo ver-DAY-ho Spanish "j" sounds like English "h."
Torrontés tor-ron-TESS Argentina's aromatic signature white.
Muscat / Moscato MUS-cat / mos-KAH-toh Same family. French = Muscat. Italian = Moscato.
French wine regions
Name Say it like this Quick note
Bordeaux bor-DOH The "x" is silent.
Burgundy (Bourgogne) BUR-gun-dee (boor-GOHN-yuh) English vs. French names for the same region.
Champagne sham-PAN-yuh The French pronunciation has a subtle "yuh" at the end.
Côtes du Rhône COAT doo RONE The "s" in Côtes is silent.
Châteauneuf-du-Pape sha-toh-NUF doo POP Literally "new castle of the Pope."
Alsace al-ZAS The "c" at the end is silent. "Al-ZAS," not "Al-SASS."
Chablis sha-BLEE The "s" is silent. Unoaked Chardonnay from northern Burgundy.
Pouilly-Fumé poo-ee foo-MAY Loire Valley Sauvignon Blanc. The double "l" in Pouilly is silent.
Sancerre son-SAIR Loire Sauvignon Blanc. Rhymes with "air."
Muscadet moos-kah-DAY Loire white. Crisp, mineral, great with oysters.
Saint-Émilion san tay-MEEL-yon Right Bank Bordeaux. Merlot-dominant.
Pomerol pom-uh-ROL Home of Pétrus. Right Bank Bordeaux.
Beaujolais boh-zhoh-LAY "j" is the French soft "zh" sound, like the "s" in "measure."
Languedoc LONG-doh The "c" is silent. Large southern French wine region.
Italian wine regions & wines
Name Say it like this Quick note
Barolo ba-ROH-loh Nebbiolo from Piedmont. "The king of Italian wine."
Barbaresco bar-ba-RES-koh Also Nebbiolo. Piedmont. More approachable young than Barolo.
Brunello di Montalcino broo-NEL-oh dee mon-tal-CHEE-noh Tuscan Sangiovese. The "c" before "i" sounds like "ch."
Chianti kee-ON-tee "Ch" in Italian sounds like "k."
Amarone ah-ma-ROH-neh Rich, dried-grape red from Veneto.
Valpolicella val-poh-lee-CHEL-ah Veneto red. Lighter style made with same grapes as Amarone.
Prosecco pro-SEK-oh Italian sparkling. Not the same as Champagne.
Soave SWAH-veh White wine from Veneto. Made from Garganega.
Pinot Grigio PEE-noh GREE-joh The "g" before "i" sounds like "j" in Italian.
Montepulciano mon-teh-pul-CHAH-noh Both a grape and a town. Different wines — context matters.
Spanish wine regions & wines
Name Say it like this Quick note
Rioja ree-OH-ha The "j" is like an English "h." Never "ree-OH-ja."
Ribera del Duero ree-BEAR-ah del DWAY-roh Tempranillo region. Spain's answer to Bordeaux.
Priorat pree-oh-RAT Catalan name. Intense Garnacha and Cariñena reds.
Cava KAH-vah Spanish sparkling wine. Straightforward pronunciation.
Jerez (Sherry) heh-RETH The Spanish "j" sounds like "h." The "z" is lisped in Castilian Spanish.
Rias Baixas REE-as BY-shas Galician. Home of Albariño. "x" in Galician sounds like "sh."
Other regions worth knowing
Name Say it like this Quick note
Mosel MOH-zel German river and wine region. Home of great Riesling.
Rheingau RINE-gow "ow" rhymes with "cow." German Riesling region.
Wachau VAH-how Austrian wine region. "W" is pronounced as "V" in German.
Marlborough MARL-bruh New Zealand's Sauvignon Blanc heartland.
Condrieu kon-dree-UH Northern Rhône. Famous for Viognier.
Pfalz FALTZ German "Pf" sounds like "F." Warm German region.
Mendoza men-DOH-sah Argentina's main wine region. Malbec country.
Maipo Valley MY-poh Chile's best-known red wine region.
Wine terms that trip people up
Name Say it like this Quick note
Terroir teh-RWAH The "r" is slightly rolled. One of wine's most-mispronounced words.
Sommelier som-el-YAY The wine professional at a restaurant. French origin.
Cru KROO Means "growth" in French. Refers to a classified vineyard or village.
Crémant kreh-MON French sparkling wine made outside Champagne by the same method.
Brut BROOT Dry sparkling wine. The "t" is silent in French; either works in English.
Demi-sec dem-ee-SEK Semi-sweet sparkling. Literally "half-dry."
Mousseux moo-SUH French for sparkling (frothy). The "x" is silent.
Pétillant naturel pet-ee-YON nat-oo-REL Lightly sparkling natural wine. Often called "pét-nat."
Mis en bouteille mee zon boo-TAY "Bottled at." You'll see this on French labels.
Château sha-TOH French for castle. On Bordeaux labels it usually just means a winery.
Domaine doh-MAIN French for estate. Common on Burgundy labels.
Appellation ap-el-AY-shun A legally defined wine region with specific rules about what can be grown and how.
Pronunciation sorted. Now learn what all the tasting descriptors actually mean — acidity, tannins, body, finish — explained the same way.
Wine tasting vocabulary →