How to pronounce Sauternes

What is Sauternes?

A wine region in Bordeaux known for sweet wines made from Sémillon affected by noble rot.

Sauternes is a village about 40 km southeast of the city of Bordeaux, inside the Graves area, and the name of the appellation around it. Five communes may use the name: Sauternes, Barsac, Bommes, Fargues and Preignac. Barsac also has its own appellation, so its wines can be labeled either way.

The wine is made mainly from Sémillon, with Sauvignon Blanc and Muscadelle, from grapes affected by noble rot (Botrytis cinerea). The cool Ciron river meets the warmer Garonne here, and the mist that forms encourages the fungus. Sun later in the day dries the grapes, which concentrates their sugar.

Sauternes is sweet and golden, with acidity to balance the sugar and notes such as apricot, honey and peach. It darkens with age. In the 1855 classification the estates were ranked as Premiers Crus and Deuxièmes Crus, with Château d'Yquem alone above them as Premier Cru Supérieur. The wine is often sold in 375 ml half bottles and served chilled. Foie gras is a classic match.

Sauternes, syllable by syllable

Why Sauternes is hard to say

French au is one sound, a closed oh, so the native first syllable is soh, where English spelling habits suggest the aw of sauce. The same spelling gives the oh in Sauvignon and in Haut-Médoc. The opening s is voiceless, as in Sancerre and Sémillon.

The ending is the part that catches people. A final s is usually silent in French, and an unaccented e before it is silent too. That silent e still does a job: it makes the consonant in front of it heard, which is why the n in Sauternes is sounded. Graves and Côtes work the same way. French stress falls on the last sounded syllable, so TERN takes the beat.

Other accepted pronunciations

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

• saw-TERN — English variant vowel.

Tips for saying it

Saying Sauternes when you buy wine

The spelling is the same for one bottle or several, and so is the sound: soh-TERN. In English-speaking shops and restaurants the English forms saw-TERN and soh-TURN are fine and are listed in dictionaries. Sauternes usually sits on the dessert wine list, so asking for it by the glass is normal.

• “Do you have a Sauternes by the glass?”
• “I'd like a half bottle of Sauternes to go with dessert.” Half bottles are a common size for this wine.
• “Is this one a Sauternes or a Barsac?” Barsac lies inside the Sauternes area and may use either name.

Names often confused with Sauternes

• Sémillon (say-mee-YOHN): The main grape in Sauternes, though the label shows the place name and not the variety.
• Pourriture noble (poo-ree-toor NOHBL): The French name for noble rot, the fungus that concentrates the grapes used for Sauternes.
• Sancerre (sahn-SAIR): A similar-looking French name, but from the Loire and best known for dry Sauvignon Blanc, not sweet wine.
• Bordeaux (bor-DOH): The wider region that contains Sauternes; a bottle labeled Bordeaux is usually dry, not sweet.

Questions about pronouncing Sauternes

How do you pronounce Sauternes?

Sauternes is pronounced soh-TERN in French: a short oh, then a stressed second syllable with the e of ten, a sounded r and n, and a silent final s. In English it is also heard as saw-TERN or soh-TURN, and both are accepted.

Is the s silent in Sauternes?

The final s is silent in French, and the e before it is silent as well, so the word ends on the n: soh-TERN. English dictionaries also give the word without a final s sound. The first s is sounded, as a sharp s like the one in sun.

Is it soh-TERN or saw-TERN?

Both are in use. The native French form is soh-TERN, because French au is an oh sound. Saw-TERN is an established English form listed in American dictionaries. Either will be understood in a wine shop or restaurant, and the stress stays on the second syllable in both.

What is the difference between Sauternes and sauterne?

Sauternes, with a capital S and a final s, is the French sweet wine from the appellation near Bordeaux. Sauterne, lowercase and without the s, is a semi-generic name that some United States wines may use. Those wines do not come from that region and are not required to be made the same way.

What is the difference between Sauternes and Barsac?

Barsac is one of the five communes of the Sauternes appellation, where the Ciron river meets the Garonne. Its wines may be labeled Sauternes or Barsac. Both are sweet wines made from the same grapes with noble rot, and Barsac is generally described as a little lighter in body.

Sources: Dictionary.com: Sauternes, Wikipedia: Sauternes (wine), Wikipedia: Barsac AOC, Wikipedia: Semi-generic. Last reviewed 2026-10-10.