Many years ago, while in college at Allegheny in Meadville, Pennsylvania, I had a French professor who frequently introduced words from his beloved language which he felt were virtually impossible to translate literally into English. From his perspective, a single, rather coarse English word just could or would never suffice. We sat through lengthy discussions about the nuances of words he only hoped we could fully appreciate. I would never have imagined that those conversations about the subtleties of words’ definitions would help me understand wine in the world where I now work.
There are many Francophile-wine-based words with complex and sometimes obtuse definitions. A couple examples include ‘Meritage’ and ‘terroir.’
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DONNIELLA WINCHELL is executive director of the Ohio Wine Producers Association. She can be reached at dwinchell@ohiowines.org.
Dining and Cooking