One of the things I absolutely L-O-V-E to do is to expose more people to the pleasures of sipping champagne and sparkling wine. That’s why I often go into detail when I’m doing my tasting reviews–I want bubbly lovers to be more comfortable with, and confident about drinking champagne anytime; not just for special occasions.

The more exposure you have to a subject, the more confident you are about it, right? That said, I think part of the strategy of getting more people on this lovely “bubbly-drinking bandwagon” of mine is to make the topic as approachable as possible. That’s where this new series comes into play. Allow me to introduce you to “Wine Wednesday Wordologie” {insert a “tah-dah” here}!  I came up with this idea because I thought that, in addition to increasing the number of tastings and reviews that I do {don’t forget to follow me on Instagram for my mini wine reviews!}, learning descriptive terms and definitions would be a fun and cool way to increase the  effervescent education quotient. And knowledge is power, n’est-ce pas?

You know that I like to keep things fun and unconventional though, so that’s how “wordologie” came into play. What exactly is wordologie? I am so glad you asked, my dear–you’re the best readers in the world {wink}! Here’s a definition from http://www.wordology.co.uk/whatiswordology.htm:

I decided to spell it closer to its plural form because it stands out a bit more, and, well, I just like the way that it looks. And everyone should know by now how I feel about how things look and aesthetics.

Starting today, and continuing for most Wednesdays thereafter, I will regularly post a wine word that pertains to champagne and sparkling wine that will help expand our bubbly vocabulary. Now that I’ve broken down what #WineWednesdayWordologie is and how it will work, let’s jump right into our first word!

Appellation d’origine contrôlée (AOC): translates to “controlled designation of origin.” It is meant to serve as certification that the wine originated in certain designated French geographical regions.  When you see this on a champagne label is meant to be an indicator of certification that the grapes used to make the wine came from a regulated region and that the wine will be made in a certain style. I also think the champagne houses would like for the consumer to infer a certain level of, or guarantee of, quality.

Here is a label from a bottle of Nicolas Feuillatte that is currently part of my bubbly stash:

I hope you enjoyed the inaugural edition of #WineWednesdayWordologie. Cheers to getting our bubbly knowledge on!