One of the biggest obstacles to enjoying the whole wine experience is having to pronounce wine words. Makes me wish I’d taken high school French. It’s bad enough when you’re faced with a wine list of completely unfamiliar names. But what about popular names that you’ve seen a million times? It can be downright embarrassing when you don’t know how to pronounce them…or think you do but don’t. Here are my nominations for the five most mispronounced wine words.Meritage. MEHR-ih-tihj. Not mehr-ee-TAHZH. I understand the confusion because I was once one of the confused. Knowing the origin of the term is a help. First of all, it’s not French. It’s an American invention. A group of winemakers coined the phrase in 1988 from the words “merit” and “heritage” to identify their wines made from traditional Bordeaux grapes.Riedel. Rhymes with NEEDLE. I like to drink out of it. And, apparently, so do millions of others. It’s just that some of those crystal fans have 60s teen idol Bobby Rydell stuck in their heads.Willamette. (No “i” as in William.) Rhymes with DAMNIT. Etymologists say the name originated with the Indians who lived in that part of Oregon. No one really knows the meaning of the word, but these days the valley is synonymous with Pinot Noir.Freixenet. Fresh-ehn-EHT. I did take Spanish in high school, but it was just enough to confuse me with the name of this cava. An “x” can be pronounced four different ways. I take my cue from the folks who actually make the stuff.Moët & Chandon. Mo-EHT ay shahn-DAWN. It’s the “t” that seems to cause the problem here. I’ve read countless online discussions from self-described French experts about whether it’s mo-EHT or mo-AY. Such vitriol over one little letter. I’d rather be sipping the Champagne than fighting about it.Now that you’ve mastered the pronunciation of these wine words…can you say guh-VURTS-trah-mee-ner?
