French tasting term

How to pronounce Réserve

Réserve is pronounced ray-ZAIRV, written /ʁeˈzɛʁv/ in the International Phonetic Alphabet. The stress falls on ZAIRV.

ray-ZAIRV

IPA /ʁeˈzɛʁv/

What is Réserve?

Reserve wine indicating special selection or aging though not legally defined in most regions.

Tips for saying it

Often heard as rih-ZURV.

Don't say it like English 'reserve'; the French è before r is an open eh: ray-ZAIRV.

Often heard as ray-ZAIR-vuh.

The final e in French réserve is silent, so the word ends on v: ray-ZAIRV.

Often heard as ruh-ZAIRV.

The é with an accent is a clear ay sound, not uh: ray-ZAIRV.

Related pronunciations

All French wine terms →

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