Portuguese term for palace, in viticulture it corresponds to the French château; see there.
French term for a vineyard. However, it does not necessarily have to be a "castle" or even a "castle-like building". The use of the term is therefore not linked to whether there is a castle or not, as it is not uncommon for there to be none at all. However, individual, especially historic, wineries do indeed have magnificent buildings that truly deserve the name. Among the most attractive are Château Beychevelle (Saint-Julien), Château Chasse-Spleen (Moulis), Château d'Issan (Margaux), Château Margaux (Margaux) and Château Pichon-Longueville Baron (Pauillac). More similar to a castle are Château Rauzan-Ségla (Margaux) and Château d'Yquem (Sauternes). There are over 4,000 châteaux in France, but the term is most commonly used in Bordeaux. According to another version, "Château" is not derived from the French word for "castle", but from "Chai" (Chaisteau) for "barrel cellar". The correct name would therefore be "Chaisteau".
Especially in the Médoc region, the term château has a very special meaning. There, it is a trademark, so to speak, which, at least for the 61 wineries classified in 1855, is almost equivalent to the significance of an own appellation (see under Bordeaux classification). Often, a better quality is...
![]()
I have great respect for the scope and quality of the wein.plus encyclopaedia. It is a unique place to go for crisp, sound information on terms from the world of wine.
Dr. Edgar Müller
Dozent, Önologe und Weinbauberater, Bad Kreuznach