Cabernet Sauvignon
Cabernet Sauvignon is a variety of red grape mainly used for wine production, and is, along with Chardonnay, one of the most widely-planted of the world's noble grape varieties.

California cult wines
Certain California wines for which consumers and others pay higher prices than those of Bordeaux's First Growths (Premiers Crus).

Capsule
The plastic or foil that covers the cork and part of the neck of a wine bottle.

Carbonic maceration
A winemaking practice of fermenting whole grapes that have not been crushed.

Catch Wire
Sets of wires used to support new growth on the vines and “lead” the shoots in a vertical direction. The wires lie parallel to one another in a horizontal plane.

Champagne flute
A piece of stemware having a long stem with a tall, narrow bowl on top.

Chaptalization
A winemaking process where sugar is added to the must to increase the alcohol content in the fermented wine. This is often done when grapes have not ripened adequately.

Chardonnay
A type of wine, one of the "noble" white varietals.

Charmat process
The Charmat or bulk process is a method where sparkling wines receive their secondary fermentation in large tanks, rather than individual bottles as seen in Méthode champenoise.

Château
Generally a winery in Bordeaux, although the term is sometimes used for wineries in other parts of the world, such as the Barossa Valley.

Claret
British name for Bordeaux wine. Is also a semi-generic term for a red wine in similar style to that of Bordeaux.

Clarification
A winemaking process involving the fining and filtration of wine to remove suspended solids and reduce turbidity.

Cleanskin
In Australia, wine bottled without a commercial label, usually sold cheaply in bulk quantities.

Cold Duck
A mixture of red and white sparkling wine that has a high sugar content.

Cold stabilization
A winemaking process where wine is chilled to near freezing temperatures for several weeks to encourage the precipitation of tartrate crystals.

Cordon
The part of the vine that is permanent and remains from year to year through the seasons while other parts fall off or are pruned off.

Cork
A wine bottle stopper made from the thick outer bark of the cork oak tree.

Cork taint
A type of wine fault describing undesirable aromas and flavours in wine often attributed to mould growth on chlorine bleached corks.

Corked
A tasting term for a wine that has cork taint.

Corkscrew
A tool, comprising a pointed metallic helix attached to a handle, for drawing Corks from bottles.

Country wine
See "Fruit wine".

Crackling
Semi-sparkling wine; slightly effervescent. Also called frizzante.

Crémant
French sparkling wine not made in Champagne region

Crust
potassium bitartrate, that adheres to the inside of a wine bottle.

Cult wines
Wines for which committed buyers will pay large sums of money because of their desirbility and rarity.

Cuve
Wines for which committed buyers will pay large sums of money because of their desirbility and rarity.

Cuvee
The pressing, or a blending of several wines.