Whether you’re planning to dive right into Wet February or eagerly awaiting World Drink Wine Day, now is the perfect time to brush up on your knowledge of wines around the world.
But with varieties hailing from France, Spain, Italy, and beyond, knowing how to even correctly say the name of your favourite wine can be difficult.
To help even the most casual of wine connoisseurs sound like professional sommeliers, the online language learning platform Preply has created the ultimate wine pronunciation guide.
Preply first gathered and analysed Google Search data for 100 of the most popular wines around the globe to reveal which are the most troublesome to pronounce. Native language experts then investigated the linguistic background of each of the most mispronounced wines, shedding some light on exactly how to pronounce them correctly.
20 wines you’ve been pronouncing wrong and how to say them
According to Preply’s research, these are the top 20 types of wine that people most commonly mispronounce around the world.
|
Difficulty Rank |
Wine |
Number of pronunciation searches each month |
How to say it |
|
1 |
Pinot Noir |
2,380 |
PEE-noh nwar |
|
2 |
Sauvignon Blanc |
1,620 |
soh-VIN-yohn blan |
|
3 |
Cabernet Sauvignon |
1,260 |
kab-er-nay soh-VIN-yohn |
|
4 |
Pinot Grigio |
1,090 |
PEE-no-GREE-jo |
|
5 |
Champagne |
1040 |
sham-peyn |
|
6 |
Bordeaux |
810 |
baw-DOH |
|
7 |
Chianti |
700 |
KEE-ahn-tee |
|
8 |
Riesling |
700 |
rees-ling |
|
9 |
Merlot |
680 |
mer-loh |
|
10 |
Prosecco |
570 |
proh-SEHK-koh |
|
11 |
Rioja |
570 |
REE-oh-hah |
|
12 |
Burgundy |
510 |
BUR-guhn-dee |
|
13 |
Sangiovese |
500 |
SAN-joe-veh-see |
|
14 |
Tempranillo |
490 |
tem-pruh-NEE-yo |
|
15 |
Gewurztraminer |
460 |
ga-VERTZ-trah-mee-ner |
|
16 |
Vermouth |
460 |
VUR-muhth |
|
17 |
Chardonnay |
430 |
shar-dah-nay |
|
18 |
Shiraz |
370 |
schuh-RAAZ |
|
19 |
Syrah |
370 |
see-rah |
|
20 |
Sancerre |
300 |
son-seuh |
Preply’s research reveals Pinot Noir is the most commonly mispronounced wine in the world, with an average of 2,380 people searching for how to correctly pronounce this French wine each month.
The name ‘Pinot Noir’ is actually derived from the French words for pine (pin) and black (noir), describing the deep red colour of the grapes and their pinecone-shaped bunches. The French pronunciation can be tricky for non-native speakers; fortunately, Preply has revealed the correct way to say it is ‘PEE-noh nwar’.
Two other French wines follow closely in second and third place: Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon, with a respective 1,620and 1,260 monthly searches for pronunciation guidance. The former is correctly pronounced ‘soh-VIN-yohn blan’, while the latter is pronounced ‘kab-er-nay soh-VIN-yohn’.
Other commonly mispronounced wines include Pinot Grigio (PEE-no-GREE-jo), Riesling (rees-ling), Prosecco (proh-SEHK-koh) and Sangiovese (SAN-joe-veh-see).
Yolanda del Peso, Marketing Specialist at Preply commented:
“The key to getting the pronunciation right for different types of wine – and beverages in general – is to know what language their name originates from. For example, Tempranillo seems like it should be pronounced ‘tem-pruh-NILL-o’ to an English speaker, but knowing that it is a Spanish wine tells us that we should follow Spanish rules of pronunciation. That means the double ‘LL’ is actually pronounced as a ‘Y’ sound, giving us ‘tem-pruh-NEE-yo’.
While non-native speakers may still find it tricky to get the pronunciation spot on, knowing the wine’s country and language of origin is a huge help!”
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