How to pronounce Cabernet Sauvignon

What is Cabernet Sauvignon?

A black grape variety known for producing full-bodied red wines with high tannins and flavors of blackcurrant and cedar.

Cabernet Sauvignon is a black grape that most grape historians trace to Bordeaux in southwest France. DNA testing at the University of California, Davis showed in 1996 that it is a natural cross of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc, which most likely happened in the 17th century. The name carries both parents.

The grapes are small and thick-skinned, and the vine ripens late, usually a week or more after Merlot. The wine is deep in color with firm tannins. Expect blackcurrant (cassis) and other black fruit, sometimes with mint or green bell pepper, and cedar or cigar box notes as the wine ages. It is often aged in oak.

In Bordeaux it does best on the warm gravel soils of the Left Bank, in the Médoc and Graves, where it is blended with Merlot and Cabernet Franc in appellations such as Pauillac and Margaux. It is also grown in nearly every major wine country. One buying tip: a United States wine labeled Cabernet Sauvignon must be at least 75 percent that grape, so it can contain other varieties.

Cabernet Sauvignon, syllable by syllable

Why Cabernet Sauvignon is hard to say

French often leaves a final consonant unsounded. That is why Cabernet ends in an open vowel, the same way Merlot is mer-LOH and Pinot Noir starts PEE-noh. In a French wine name, try a final t, d, s or x as silent first.

Sauvignon packs in three more rules. The pair au is read as o, as in Sauternes (soh-TERN). The pair gn is a single ny sound, as in Champagne (shahm-PAHN-yuh). And a vowel before a final n turns nasal: the air goes through the nose and the n itself is dropped. French also puts its weight on the last syllable of a word or phrase, which gives NAY and YAWN.

Other accepted pronunciations

These are also correct, and Vinolingo scores them as correct:

• KAB-er-nay SOH-vin-yohn — Established English form: oral vowel + plain n, English stress.

Tips for saying it

How to order Cabernet Sauvignon

At a restaurant or shop, either form works. The French form is kab-er-NAY so-vin-YAWN. The established English form, KAB-er-nay SOH-vin-yohn, with a plain n at the end and often the stress moved forward, is in standard dictionaries and is accepted. Many people shorten it to Cabernet or Cab.

• “Could we get a bottle of the Cabernet Sauvignon, please?” Works with either the French or the English form.
• “Do you have a Cabernet Sauvignon by the glass?”

Names often confused with Cabernet Sauvignon

• Sauvignon Blanc (so-vin-yawn BLAHNG): A white grape and one parent of Cabernet Sauvignon; the shared word Sauvignon is said the same way, but the wine is crisp and white.
• Merlot (mer-LOH): The usual Bordeaux blending partner, softer and earlier ripening, with the same silent final t.
• Pauillac (poh-YAK): A Left Bank Bordeaux appellation whose reds are led by Cabernet Sauvignon, though the label names the place and not the grape.

Questions about pronouncing Cabernet Sauvignon

How do you pronounce Cabernet Sauvignon?

Cabernet Sauvignon is pronounced kab-er-NAY so-vin-YAWN. The t at the end of Cabernet is silent, the gn in Sauvignon sounds like the ny in canyon, and the last syllable is a nasal vowel with no hard n. The English form KAB-er-nay SOH-vin-yohn is also accepted.

Is the t silent in Cabernet?

Yes. In French, and in the established English form, the final t of Cabernet is not sounded. The word ends on an open vowel close to the ay in day: kab-er-NAY. KAB-er-net is often heard from people reading the spelling, but dictionaries give the form without the t.

How do you pronounce Cabernet Sauvignon in American and British English?

American dictionaries give kab-er-NAY soh-vin-YOHN, with the stress at the end of each word. British dictionaries give KAB-uh-nay SOH-vin-yon, with the stress at the front of each word and the r not sounded. Both keep the t silent, and both are accepted alongside the French form.

What is the difference between Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc?

Cabernet Franc is one of the two parents of Cabernet Sauvignon, the other being Sauvignon Blanc. Cabernet Franc ripens earlier, and in Bordeaux the two are often blended with Merlot. Cabernet Sauvignon brings firm tannin, deep color and structure to the blend.

Sources: Dictionary.com: Cabernet Sauvignon, Bordeaux.com (CIVB): Cabernet Sauvignon, TTB: Grape Variety Designations on American Wine Labels, Wikipedia: Cabernet Sauvignon. Last reviewed 2026-10-10.