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Glite Dictionary
Rhine wine

Rhine wine

7.4
A white wine from the Rhine River region of Germany often called hock
  • noun
translation icon : vino del Rin
  • At the dinner party, we served a refreshing Rhine wine that everyone enjoyed.

Examples

  • The sommelier recommended a crisp Rhine wine to pair with the seafood dish.

  • Outselling Rhine wine eight to one.

    One, Two, Three (1961)

  • Perhaps, while he did so, he took care to lavish flattery on a woman who drank it up as eagerly as Rhine wine.

    Academic text (1999)

  • If the plot succeeds, I should be able to confess that I've always preferred Burgundy to Rhine wine.

    The Night of the Generals (1967)

  • She prefers to drink Rhine wine during summer afternoons on the terrace.

Synonyms

hock
vsRhine wine
  • Archaic
5 9.2

A white wine from the Rhine valley in Germany

has the same meaning but is the more general non-British term
Rhenish
vsRhine wine
1 8.0

A white wine from the Rhine valley in Germany

has identical meaning but uses the standard noun phrase rather than adjective

Surface Forms

Rhine wine singular
Rhine wines plural
hocks plural
hock singular

Morphology

Rhine + wine

The noun phrase is transparently compositional: 'Rhine' indicates the geographic origin and 'wine' the product, so a learner who knows both words can infer it means wine produced in the Rhine valley. Although there is a more specific traditional sense (often white wine called 'hock'), the basic place‑of‑origin meaning is directly derivable and cross‑linguistically common.

Etymology

Rhine wine comes from the vineyards along the Rhine River, where cool air and steep banks help make crisp white wines. In old times, barrels from that area were sent down the river and labeled 'Rhine', so today Rhine wine means a white wine from the Rhine valley and is sometimes called 'hock'.