Sauternes

American

[soh-turn, saw-, soh-tern] / soʊˈtɜrn, sɔ-, soʊˈtɛrn /

noun

a rich, sweet white table wine of France.
the district near Bordeaux producing this wine.

Sauternes British

/ səʊˈtɜːn /

noun

(sometimes not capital) a sweet white wine made in the southern Bordeaux district of France

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of Sauternes

C18: from Sauternes, the district where it is produced

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Musings also run to the amount of sugar in Sauternes, or the pairing of wine and food, a notion James contends did not exist until the 1980s.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 6, 2025

We relished a superb glass of Sauternes while watching the sun set behind the Siskiyous.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 25, 2022

I also highly recommend Château Moulin de Tricot, Château le Puy and, if you like Sauternes, Cru d’Arche-Pugneau.

From New York Times • Mar. 31, 2022

This might also be an opportunity to crack that bottle of Sauternes you’ve saved for years.

From New York Times • Feb. 18, 2022

He went on to the verandah where the people sat eating perch and asparagus, and drinking Sauternes and Champagne.

From Married by Strindberg, August

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023