winelore · noun — knowledge of the history and craft of wine and winemaking; oenology. It carries an Arena rating of 1649, earned across 3 head-to-head judged battles.
Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, winelore ranks #3,324 of 17,137 for Most Elegant Words, #6,554 of 17,135 for Most Beautiful Words, #7,177 of 17,155 for Most Whimsical Words, #7,735 of 17,147 for Most Malleable Words.
Why “winelore” is a great word
Winelore is the accumulated body of knowledge concerning the history, traditions, and craft of wine and winemaking, passed down through story and practice. From wine (from Old English wīn, from Proto-Germanic *wīną, ultimately from Latin vīnum) + lore (from Old English lār, meaning 'instruction, knowledge'), it marries the substance to its inherited wisdom. Unlike oenology, which denotes the precise science of fermentation and chemistry, or viticulture, the specific art of the vineyard, winelore is the living tapestry woven around them. It is the monk feeling the slope’s sun for his vines, the anecdote about a vintage that saved a marriage, and the regional toast spoken in a dialect nearly forgotten—the whispered, human sediment settled in the bottom of the glass.
❧ Essay by Lexicurio’s AI · definition, etymology & citations from published sources
Etymology
From wine + lore.
noun
- Knowledge of the history and craft of wine and winemaking; oenology.e.g.“I am not going into the subject of ampelography or viticulture, yet it is a part of common winelore to know that the kind of vine is the most important element in determining the quality of the wine.” — 1873, Robert Druitt, Report on the Cheap Wines from France, Germany, Italy, Austria, Greece, Hungary, and Australia: Their Use in Diet and Medicine, page 7:
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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