sōˈtərn, sȯˈ-, -te(ə)rn noun
( -s )
Usage: often capitalized
Etymology: French sauternes, from Sauternes, commune in southwestern France, where it is made
1.
a. also sauternes plural sauternes : a usually semisweet golden-colored table wine produced from grapes that are allowed to become overripe and modified by a mold ( Botrytis cinerea ) before fermentation
b. : a similar California or New York wine
2. : a light brown that is redder, stronger, and slightly darker than cork, yellower and deeper than French nude, and yellower and stronger than French beige — called also Tuscan tan