Wine bottles resting in a dark cellar rack

Knowledge

The geography, the vines, and the vocabulary.

CellarTrove is built for collectors who want to understand their cellar, not just count it.

The resources here cover the regions, the grapes and the terms that give context to every bottle you own.

Try a region, an appellation, or a grape — “Mendoza”, “Barolo”, “Nebbiolo”.

Four terms every collector should know

Vintage, appellation, grape, varietal — the words appear on every label, but they mean different things. Here's how they relate.

When

Vintage

The vintage is the year the grapes were harvested. It matters because no two growing seasons are alike: rain at the wrong moment, a cool summer, an early frost — each leaves its mark on the fruit, and so on the wine. The same producer working the same vineyard can make a structured, age-worthy wine one year and a lighter, earlier-drinking one the next. When a sparkling wine carries no year at all, it's non-vintage: a blend across harvests, built for consistency rather than for the character of a single season.

Where

Appellations

A region is a geographically defined wine-producing area — France, Napa Valley, Tuscany. An appellation is a legally bounded sub-zone within it, with rules governing which grapes can be planted and how wine must be made. When a label says “Bordeaux AOC” or “Napa Valley AVA,” it's citing an appellation. The region shapes everything: climate, soil, tradition, and the rules a winemaker must follow.

Explore regions

What vine

Grapes

A grape variety is the vine itself — Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay. Each is a distinct cultivar of Vitis vinifera, with its own flavor profile, growing requirements, and aging potential. The same grape can taste radically different depending on where it grows: a Pinot Noir from Burgundy and one from Oregon are made from the same vine, shaped by entirely different climates and soils.

Browse grapes

What wine

Varietals

A varietal is a wine labeled by its primary grape. “Napa Cabernet Sauvignon” names both the place and the grape — that's a varietal wine. Not every bottle is: Bordeaux blends, Champagne, and many Italian DOC wines are labeled by region because no single grape dominates. In CellarTrove, the Varietal field identifies the primary grape a wine is made from, whether it's a single variety or a blend family like “Red Bordeaux Blend.”

Browse varietals

A moment in time. A sense of place. The soul of the grape. The touch of the varietal.

Tasting Notes

Tasting Notes Logic

The Tasting Wizard doesn't ask every question for every wine — it adapts to the style you're tasting. Here's the logic behind which structure questions and aroma groups show up, and why.

✓ Typical — offered by the wizard◐ Occasionally present, less common— Not typical for this style

The wizard currently only offers “Typical” groups, both as quick-tap buttons and when matching what you type — “Occasionally present” and “Not typical” groups are left out entirely, to keep the choices focused on what's actually likely for your wine.

Structure & Palate Fields

Sweetness, acidity, alcohol, and body are asked for every wine. Tannin and mousse (bubble character) only make sense for certain styles, so the wizard skips them otherwise.

Style	Typical colors	Tannin questions	Mousse question	Notes
Still	Red, White, or Rosé	✓	—	Tannin questions only appear for Red.
Sparkling	White or Rosé	—	✓	Mousse (bubble character) replaces tannin.
Fortified — Port	Red	✓	—
Fortified — Sherry	White	—	—
Fortified — Madeira	White	—	—
Dessert	White	—	—
Orange / Skin-contact	White (skin-contact)	✓	—	White grapes made with red-wine technique — tannin from skin contact.
Pét-nat	White or Rosé	—	✓

Nose: Aroma Groups

Which of the 18 WSET aroma sub-groups are relevant depends on style and color — a Tawny Port isn't going to smell like Citrus Fruit, but Deliberate Oxidation is front and center.

Primary — Fruit

Style — Wine Type	Floral	Green Fruit	Citrus Fruit	Stone Fruit	Tropical Fruit	Red Fruit	Black Fruit	Dried/Cooked Fruit
Still — Red	◐	—	—	◐	—	✓	✓	✓
Still — White	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	—	—	◐
Still — Rosé	✓	◐	✓	✓	—	✓	—	—
Sparkling	✓	✓	✓	✓	◐	◐	—	—
Fortified — Port	—	—	—	—	—	✓	✓	✓
Fortified — Sherry	—	◐	—	—	—	—	—	✓
Fortified — Madeira	—	◐	✓	—	—	—	—	✓
Dessert	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	—	—	✓
Orange / Skin-contact	✓	✓	✓	✓	—	—	—	✓
Pét-nat	✓	✓	✓	◐	—	✓	—	—

Primary — Vegetal & Spice

Style — Wine Type	Herbaceous	Herbal	Pungent Spice	Other Primary
Still — Red	✓	✓	✓	◐
Still — White	✓	✓	—	✓
Still — Rosé	✓	✓	—	◐
Sparkling	—	—	—	◐
Fortified — Port	—	✓	✓	—
Fortified — Sherry	—	—	—	✓
Fortified — Madeira	—	—	—	—
Dessert	—	◐	—	◐
Orange / Skin-contact	✓	✓	✓	✓
Pét-nat	✓	✓	—	◐

Secondary

Style — Wine Type	Yeast/Autolysis	MLF	Oak	Deliberate Oxidation
Still — Red	—	◐	✓	◐
Still — White	◐	✓	✓	—
Still — Rosé	—	—	◐	—
Sparkling	✓	✓	◐	—
Fortified — Port	—	—	✓	✓
Fortified — Sherry	✓	—	✓	✓
Fortified — Madeira	—	—	✓	✓
Dessert	—	—	◐	—
Orange / Skin-contact	—	—	◐	◐
Pét-nat	✓	—	—	—

Tertiary

Style — Wine Type	Fruit Development	Bottle Age
Still — Red	✓	✓
Still — White	✓	✓
Still — Rosé	—	◐
Sparkling	✓	✓
Fortified — Port	✓	✓
Fortified — Sherry	✓	◐
Fortified — Madeira	✓	✓
Dessert	✓	◐
Orange / Skin-contact	✓	✓
Pét-nat	—	—