"Mike Tommasi" > skrev i meddelandet
...
> Nils Gustaf Lindgren wrote:
>> Hello,
>> Delving into wine history I come upon a conundrum, namely, the name
>> cabernet. I find it recorded, for Cabernet Sauvignon, first in 1736
>> (earlier apparently it was called petit vidure). However, I find no
>> indication of the provenience of the word "cabernet". Sauvignon, OTOH,
>> would indicate somthing wild, sauvage - untrue, as the grape is a
>> crossing, most likely form the vineyard, but, udnerstandable.
>> Does anybody know?
>
> Most dictionaries give its etymologie as "unknown".
>
> CABERNET, subst. masc.
> Étymol. et Hist. 1866 (Lar. 19e). Terme du Médoc, peut-être dér. du lat.
> caput, désignant un cépage de vigne noire qu'on appelait au Moyen Âge
> vitis biturica (A. Cavignac, Les Noms de lieux du canton de Blanquefort
> [Gironde], thèse de l'École Nationale des Chartes, 1968, 3 vol. dactyl.,
> t. 1, pp. 205-206); v. aussi R. Dion, Hist. de la vigne et du vin en
> France des origines au XIXe s., Paris, 1959, pp. 124-125; FEW t. 22, fasc.
> no 138, p. 67a.

Yes - and I find the derivation from caput slightly less than believable ...
Perhaps it means riesling?

Cheers

Nils