Capitalization of Wine Varietal Names

[Vino]

It has been apparent to me for a long time that capitalization of the
names of grape varieties and wines that are named after them is highly
inconsistent. I'm even inconsistent about it myself. Should it be,
say, Chardonnay or chardonnay? Having grown up in Mississippi where
any kind of alcoholic beverage was believed to be made by the devil
himself, this was obviously not a topic covered in public school
textbooks.

Is there any authoritative source on this matter that anyone knows
about?

Vino
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[Dale Williams]

i AM ALL FOR STANDARDIZATION. dALE

Seriously, I'm totally inconsistent. But if I had to give a rule, I'd say one
does not capitalize grape names, but does capitalize grape names when used as a
varietal name on label:
Chablis is made from chardonnay. I like unoaked chardonnay. Pass the Montelena
Chardonnay.

Dale

Dale Williams
Drop "damnspam" to reply

[Tom S]

Post by Vino
It has been apparent to me for a long time that capitalization of the
names of grape varieties and wines that are named after them is highly
inconsistent. I'm even inconsistent about it myself. Should it be,
say, Chardonnay or chardonnay? Having grown up in Mississippi where
any kind of alcoholic beverage was believed to be made by the devil
himself, this was obviously not a topic covered in public school
textbooks.

Of _course_ it was - in English class! Grape names are proper nouns, and
therefore capitalized. Place names are also capitalized. For that matter,
the Devil should be in caps if you are referring to Lucifer. ;^D

Tom S

[Anders Tørneskog]

Post by Tom S
Of _course_ it was - in English class! Grape names are proper nouns, and
therefore capitalized. Place names are also capitalized. ...

Which leads me to ask the linguists of this group: Is it correct to
capitalize, like I see most often here, words like American, English or
Norwegian? These are not nouns, imho.
Anders

[Dale Williams]

Post by Anders Tørneskog
Which leads me to ask the linguists of this group: Is it correct to
capitalize, like I see most often here, words like American, English or
Norwegian? These are not nouns, imho.
Anders

Anders,

a proper adjective (adjective formed by a proper noun) is capitalized.

Tom,

you're probably right. A quick google on chardonnay capitalization led to many
opinions on the neccessity for having lots of cash in hand when starting a
winery, and a couple references :
http://www.editorsforum.org/forum_index_articles/tip_02_10speed_cookbook.html
and the French Champagne association, neither of which capitalize. But the pdfs
on the UC-Davis site do- well, kinda. Interestingly, they use Cabernet
Sauvignon, Chardonnay, and Riesling. But they use Pinot noir, Sauvignon blanc,
and Chenin blanc.

Just thinking about it, I would call grape varieties proper nouns. But think
I'll continue my inconsistency. :)

Dale

Dale Williams
Drop "damnspam" to reply

[Mark Lipton]

Post by Dale Williams
Just thinking about it, I would call grape varieties proper nouns. But think
I'll continue my inconsistency. :)

Funny thing, Dale: when initiating the Viognier thread, I actually sat
and asked myself whether the name should be capitalized. I came to the
decision that it was a proper name and hence should be. FWIW, my litmus
test for proper nouns is whether they take an article. Do you say "I
drink Chardonnay" or "I drink the chardonnay"? Of course, collective
nouns can get you into trouble, but few tests are foolproof ;-)

Mark Lipton

[Steve Slatcher]

Post by Mark Lipton

Post by Dale Williams
Just thinking about it, I would call grape varieties proper nouns. But think
I'll continue my inconsistency. :)

Funny thing, Dale: when initiating the Viognier thread, I actually sat
and asked myself whether the name should be capitalized. I came to the
decision that it was a proper name and hence should be. FWIW, my litmus
test for proper nouns is whether they take an article. Do you say "I
drink Chardonnay" or "I drink the chardonnay"? Of course, collective
nouns can get you into trouble, but few tests are foolproof ;-)

The usual definition for proper nouns is that they are names given to
unique entities. Personally I think it is pushing the rule a bit to
say that a *type* of grape is a unique entity, but I guess there are
precendents in other horticultural areas and, regardless, an initial
cap does seem to be common usage.

[Dale Williams]

I note that the NY Times stylebook must advocate non-capitalization, as today's
article on American bubblies doesn't capitalize pinot noir or chardonnay.

A quick check shows Karen McNeil's Wine Bible doesn't capitalize, but Andrea
Immer does.

Sounds like war.
Dale

Dale Williams
Drop "damnspam" to reply

[Steve Slatcher]

Post by Dale Williams
I note that the NY Times stylebook must advocate non-capitalization, as today's
article on American bubblies doesn't capitalize pinot noir or chardonnay.
A quick check shows Karen McNeil's Wine Bible doesn't capitalize, but Andrea
Immer does.

Just done a quick check through my library, with authors/editors Hugh
Johnson, Jancis Robinson, Clive Coates, Anthony Hanson, and pubishers
Mitchell Beazley (which must be quite influential), Oxford and Cassel.
All use intial caps.

[Anders Tørneskog]

Post by Dale Williams

Post by Anders Tørneskog
Which leads me to ask the linguists of this group: Is it correct to
capitalize, like I see most often here, words like American, English or
Norwegian? These are not nouns, imho.
Anders

Anders,
a proper adjective (adjective formed by a proper noun) is capitalized.

Thanks.
It is different in Scandinavian, you see. Neither Chardonnay nor American
would be capitalized - only what I have to call 'own names' - for individual
objects, like Christian names or, say, city names.
Germany on the other hand capitalizes all nouns, but not adjectives (right,
Michael?)

So, capitalizing adjectives looks funny to me
:-) Anders

[Michael Pronay]

Post by Anders Tørneskog
Germany on the other hand capitalizes all nouns, but not
adjectives (right, Michael?)

In principle yes, but derived adjectives that finish on -er are
capitalized, as in Kremser Wein, Wachauer Wein. (Those ending on
-isch are not, however, as in rheinische Weine.)

M.

[winemonger]

Post by Anders Tørneskog

Post by Tom S
Of _course_ it was - in English class! Grape names are proper nouns, and
therefore capitalized. Place names are also capitalized. ...

Which leads me to ask the linguists of this group: Is it correct to
capitalize, like I see most often here, words like American, English or
Norwegian? These are not nouns, imho.
Anders

Or how about "Southern California"? Also here in the States we refer
to a few regions such as "the South" and "New England." What to do?

e. winemonger
www.winemonger.com

[Hunt]

Post by winemonger

Post by Anders Tørneskog

Post by Tom S
Of _course_ it was - in English class! Grape names are proper nouns, and
therefore capitalized. Place names are also capitalized. ...

Which leads me to ask the linguists of this group: Is it correct to
capitalize, like I see most often here, words like American, English or
Norwegian? These are not nouns, imho.
Anders

Or how about "Southern California"? Also here in the States we refer
to a few regions such as "the South" and "New England." What to do?
e. winemonger
www.winemonger.com

With out my Strunk and White at hand, experience dictates to me, at least,
that "I travel south," but "I travel to the South." Same for Southern
California.

Hunt

[Hunt]

In article <oJgCc.515$***@juliett.dax.net>, ***@c2i.net
says...

Post by Anders Tørneskog

Post by Tom S
Of _course_ it was - in English class! Grape names are proper nouns, and
therefore capitalized. Place names are also capitalized. ...

Which leads me to ask the linguists of this group: Is it correct to
capitalize, like I see most often here, words like American, English or
Norwegian? These are not nouns, imho.
Anders

Yes. And I agree with Ton S on the proper noun capitalization in the varietal
names, though many fine wine writers do not ascribe to that feeling. I do not
hold anything against them for it and greatly enjoy their writings on the
subject.

And yes, it's the Devil, even in Mississippi.

Hunt

[Steve Slatcher]

Post by Tom S
Of _course_ it was - in English class! Grape names are proper nouns, and
therefore capitalized. Place names are also capitalized. For that matter,
the Devil should be in caps if you are referring to Lucifer. ;^D

I guess the fact that grape names are not translated into English (and
not italicised either to indicate a foreign word) is an indication
that they are proper nouns.

Sure, some countries and regions have their own names for grapes,
which very occasionally amount to a translation, e.g. Pinot Grigio and
Pinot Gris, but you never hear of "black pinot", "grey pinot" or
"white muscat with little grapes".

[Andy Perdue]

Post by Vino
It has been apparent to me for a long time that capitalization of the
names of grape varieties and wines that are named after them is highly
inconsistent. I'm even inconsistent about it myself. Should it be,
say, Chardonnay or chardonnay? Having grown up in Mississippi where
any kind of alcoholic beverage was believed to be made by the devil
himself, this was obviously not a topic covered in public school
textbooks.
Is there any authoritative source on this matter that anyone knows
about?

Here's a journalist's perspective:

According to The Associated Press Stylebook, a grape variety (among
other plant species) would not be capitalized unless the origin of the
word is a proper noun. For example, cabernet sauvignon and merlot
wouldn't be capitalized but Muller-Thurgau and Ehrenfelser would.

So that is what you would see in a newspaper. Most wine magazines,
however, have adopted an alternative style, which is to capitalize
wine grape varieties as proper nouns. But that isn't always consistent
from magazine to magazine.

For example, my magazine capitalizes all grape varieties, yet another
magazine I write a wine column for insists on researching the origins
of the name to see if it's rooted in a proper noun. Therefore, in that
magazine, "merlot" will be lowercase but "Syrah" will be uppercase
(based on the myth that the grape may have come from Egypt through the
Sicilian city of Syracusa).

I think this style must be confusing to the reader, and since clarity
is one of the goals of writing, then consistency (one way or the
other) is preferred.

Andy Perdue, editor
Wine Press Northwest
http://www.winepressnw.com

[Steve Slatcher]

Post by Andy Perdue
According to The Associated Press Stylebook, a grape variety (among
other plant species) would not be capitalized unless the origin of the
word is a proper noun. For example, cabernet sauvignon and merlot
wouldn't be capitalized but Muller-Thurgau and Ehrenfelser would.

So what would they recommend for Chardonnay I wonder?

My understanding is that there are competing theories about whether
the grape variety or the village came first. Any capitalisation rule
that requires detailed knowledge of etymology seems doomed to failure.

[Bill]

Post by Andy Perdue
According to The Associated Press Stylebook, a grape variety (among
other plant species) would not be capitalized unless the origin of the
word is a proper noun. For example, cabernet sauvignon and merlot
wouldn't be capitalized but Muller-Thurgau and Ehrenfelser would.
For example, my magazine capitalizes all grape varieties, yet another
magazine I write a wine column for insists on researching the origins
of the name to see if it's rooted in a proper noun. Therefore, in that
magazine, "merlot" will be lowercase but "Syrah" will be uppercase
(based on the myth that the grape may have come from Egypt through the
Sicilian city of Syracusa).
Andy Perdue, editor
Wine Press Northwest
http://www.winepressnw.com

Andy, since you have a vested interest in where this is going, I propose
that you choose a style for our news group to use and maybe we can
influence all those confused people out there in the print world.
Bill

[jcoulter]

I'm even inconsistent about it myself. Should it

Post by Andy Perdue

be, say, Chardonnay or chardonnay?

According to The Associated Press Stylebook, a grape variety (among
other plant species) would not be capitalized unless the origin of the
word is a proper noun.

Therefore Chardonnay after the commune in France?

[m***@rodan.syr.edu]

: Here's a journalist's perspective:


: For example, my magazine capitalizes all grape varieties, yet another
: magazine I write a wine column for insists on researching the origins
: of the name to see if it's rooted in a proper noun. Therefore, in that
: magazine, "merlot" will be lowercase but "Syrah" will be uppercase
: (based on the myth that the grape may have come from Egypt through the
: Sicilian city of Syracusa).

So I guess Chardonnay would be capitalized since it *may* have
once-upon-a-time originated from near the actual French village of
Chardonnay??

I say, "Why can't we all just get along?" :)

Mark S

[Ian Hoare]

Salut/Hi <***@rodan.syr.edu>,

le/on 24 Jun 2004 12:31:31 -0500, tu disais/you said:-

Post by m***@rodan.syr.edu
So I guess Chardonnay would be capitalized since it *may* have
once-upon-a-time originated from near the actual French village of
Chardonnay??
I say, "Why can't we all just get along?" :)

We can!! But we can still have different opinions as to what would be
correct usage.

I'm totally confused. If pressed, I'd suggest that the cepage would _not_ be
capitalised, if it were being described as a component of a wine. "Red
Burgundy is usually made from the pinot noir". However, when describing the
cepage for itself, I'd capitalise it. "The Pinot Noir is a difficult vine to
grow". However, I noticed that when I was trying to type the grape name in
the first example, my instinct was to try to capitalise it. Sigh.

As for the business of capitalising the grape if it takes the name of a
person or a village, I really couldn't bring myself to type "White Burgundy
is made from the Chardonnay, while red Burgundy is made from pinot noir." or
"the best Rheingau wines are made from riesling, and fortunately little
Muller-Thurgau is found there."

[winemonger]

Post by Ian Hoare
As for the business of capitalising the grape if it takes the name of a
person or a village, I really couldn't bring myself to type "White Burgundy
is made from the Chardonnay, while red Burgundy is made from pinot noir." or
"the best Rheingau wines are made from riesling, and fortunately little
Muller-Thurgau is found there."

I'm with you. Consistency is key, especially within a single
paragraph. My partner and I argued this for a while before deciding
to capitalize all wine varietals on our website. My final theory
being: I love this stuff, let's give it some respect. Totally
without grammatical value, but what the heck.

e. winemonger
www.winemonger.com

[st.helier]

"Ian Hoare" shared his thoughts thus......

Post by Ian Hoare
We can!! But we can still have different opinions as to what would be
correct usage.
I'm totally confused. If pressed, I'd suggest that the cepage would _not_
be capitalised, if it were being described as a component of a wine.
"Red Burgundy is usually made from the pinot noir".
However, when describing the cepage for itself, I'd capitalise it.
"The Pinot Noir is a difficult vine to grow".
However, I noticed that when I was trying to type the grape name in
the first example, my instinct was to try to capitalise it. Sigh.
As for the business of capitalising the grape if it takes the name of a
person or a village, I really couldn't bring myself to type "White
Burgundy is made from the Chardonnay, while red Burgundy
is made from pinot noir." or
"the best Rheingau wines are made from riesling, and fortunately little
Muller-Thurgau is found there."

I, myself, was a shocking English student, so I have kept my ignorance on
this subject to myself, until this point.

That said, I have visited many vineyards which have planted chardonnay, or
riesling or pinot noir - but offer most pleasant <Estate name> Chardonnay
or Riesling or Pinot Noir.

To me, White Burgundy is made from chardonnay - but I really love my
Wither Hills Sauvignon Blanc !

Go figure !!!!

---
st.helier (the grammatically challenged !!!!!)

[Hunt]

In article <nHQCc.3830$***@news.xtra.co.nz>, ***@xtra.co.nz.
says...

Post by st.helier
"Ian Hoare" shared his thoughts thus......

Post by Ian Hoare
We can!! But we can still have different opinions as to what would be
correct usage.
I'm totally confused. If pressed, I'd suggest that the cepage would _not_
be capitalised, if it were being described as a component of a wine.
"Red Burgundy is usually made from the pinot noir".
However, when describing the cepage for itself, I'd capitalise it.
"The Pinot Noir is a difficult vine to grow".
However, I noticed that when I was trying to type the grape name in
the first example, my instinct was to try to capitalise it. Sigh.
As for the business of capitalising the grape if it takes the name of a
person or a village, I really couldn't bring myself to type "White
Burgundy is made from the Chardonnay, while red Burgundy
is made from pinot noir." or
"the best Rheingau wines are made from riesling, and fortunately little
Muller-Thurgau is found there."

I, myself, was a shocking English student, so I have kept my ignorance on
this subject to myself, until this point.
That said, I have visited many vineyards which have planted chardonnay, or
riesling or pinot noir - but offer most pleasant <Estate name> Chardonnay
or Riesling or Pinot Noir.
To me, White Burgundy is made from chardonnay - but I really love my
Wither Hills Sauvignon Blanc !
Go figure !!!!
---
st.helier (the grammatically challenged !!!!!)

A question on the above examples - why did you capitalize "White" in White
Burgundy? Same question would, of course, apply to Red Burgundy. I'd type
white Burgundy, but that may just be a product of an education in the South!

Hunt

[Ian Hoare]

Salut/Hi Hunt,

le/on 26 Jun 2004 16:46:40 GMT, tu disais/you said:-

Post by Hunt

Post by st.helier

Post by Ian Hoare
As for the business of capitalising the grape if it takes the name of a
person or a village, I really couldn't bring myself to type "White
Burgundy is made from the Chardonnay, while red Burgundy

To me, White Burgundy is made from chardonnay - but I really love my
Wither Hills Sauvignon Blanc !
Go figure !!!!
---
st.helier (the grammatically challenged !!!!!)

A question on the above examples - why did you capitalize "White" in White
Burgundy? Same question would, of course, apply to Red Burgundy.

Feels right. No really logical reason, except that it's sort of a name.