New to wine? Than no doubt you've noticed that wine comes with a language all its own. Besides the many varietals (types of grapes), there is also an assortment of terms that help people talk about wine. These specifics may seem unimportant at first, but they become important if you're trying to describe something wine-related exactly so that someone else understands, or if you're referring to the winemaking process.

Here are a few wine terms (in no particular order) that we often receive questions about in the Peachy Canyon tasting room:

GSM: This is a local term used widely in the Central Coast of California's wine regions, it's an acronym for "Grenache, Syrah, Mouvedre," a popular Rhone varietal wine blend.

Rhone: A wine region of France. Varietals that were traditionally grown in the Rhone region of France are referred to as Rhone varietals, even though they are being grown elsewhere (namely, in Paso Robles).

Bordeaux: Another wine region, also located in France. See, 'Meritage,' below.

Meritage: The name given by California winemakers for a blend of Bordeaux varietals (usually Cab Sauvignon, Cab Franc, Merlot, Malbec and Petite Verdot, but not always) when they were informed that they could no longer refer to their wines, produced outside of France, as 'Bordeaux.'

One of the things that these terms have in common is that they can all be used to 'name' wines. For example, a person can order a Meritage or a Rhone at a restaurant and receive a bottle of wine. This can be confusing at first, because these names, while all calling out ones, don't have the same reference points. Bordeaux and Rhone are both geographic regions, GSM refers to grape varietal names, and Meritage is made up (a blend of the English words 'heritage' and 'merit').

Traditionally, European wines have been referred to by their designation of origin, or - in layman's terms - the area where they're made. In France especially, different wine regions grow traditional varietals of grapes. So, if you do happen to order a Rhone wine at a restaurant, you can be reasonably sure it will be made up of a certain blend of varietals as dictated by history and tradition.

This is completely turned on its head in the United States. In the US, wines are typically referred to by their varietal names. For instance, we refer to wines like a 'Chardonnay,' or a 'Zinfandel.' These are different kinds of grapes, and the names don't point out any specific geography.

The more adventerous names are common in the US as well, especially for blends. Creative names offer a winery a way to express the spirit of their wines, which is especially helpful when dealing with more avant garde blends.

Published 07.31.11 from Paso Robles, California