élévage

Strictly this is a process referring to the wine after fermentation where it is put in oak barrels up until the bottling of the wine. The general acceptance of the word 'aging' by English journalists is insufficient and to be avoided. It refers more specifically to: taking out the residue of fermentation, removing any carbonic gas, clarifying the wine, preserving its aromas, equilibrating the flavours. To translate in a word: either 'raising' a wine from fermentation to release. Perhaps 'rearing' is the best word although some prefer 'upbringing' .