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 To reply, add "x" between letters and numbers of e-mail address.
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.
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" skrev i melding news:%s6Cc.45$ snipped-for-privacy@newssvr27.news.prodigy.com...
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
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 :
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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. :)
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" skrev i melding news: snipped-for-privacy@mb-m10.aol.com...
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
: 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??
le/on 24 Jun 2004 12:31:31 -0500, tu disais/you said:-
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'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.
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 Chardonnay or Riesling or Pinot Noir.
To me, White Burgundy is made from chardonnay - but I really love my Wither Hills Sauvignon Blanc !
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