Wine and Grape Varieties 

It’s more than likely that you’ve heard of many of the varietal wines available on the market. For those that haven’t here are some short definitions and defining characteristics for some of the more common varietals and grapes (most American wines are identified by their varietal name, in Europe it is more common for wines to be associated and named after the region in which they were produced) Although the contents of this Glossary play up where each variety originated, or is grown in the greatest abundance; most of these varieties are now grown right here in Texas as well.

·        Barbera… A red wine grape of Italian origin that produces sturdy, tannic wines capable of aging. Barbera is widely planted in Italy’s Piedmont region, where it accounts for half the total acreage. The grape is also found in California in the San Joaquin Valley.

·        Cabernet Franc… An Excellent red wine grape most often associated with the wines of Bordeaux. Cabernet Franc grapes produce wines similar in style to the more famous Cabernet Sauvignon, but lighter bodied with less tannin and a little aroma.

·        Cabernet Sauvignon… A superb red wine grape responsible for many of the great wines of the Bordeaux region as well as some of California’s finest red wines. The best examples of Cabernet Sauvignon are well structured, complex and among the longest lived of all wines.

·        Champagne… The true “Champagne Region” is a well delimited region about 90 miles northeast of Paris, and the sparkling wine produced there is known the world over as methode champenoise. The practice of making sparkling wine has spread throughout the world, but the popular drink takes it’s name from the region in France where it was first produced.

·        Chardonnay… Chardonnay are among the very finest of all the white wine grapes. The grapes have an unmistakable class and an appealing balance of fruit, acidity and texture. Some tasters associate Chardonnay with apples, ripe figs, and melons, while some others describe the wines as creamy or buttery. Winemakers play a particularly important role in the style of the Chardonnay, which can range from clean, crisp bottlings with a hint of varietal fruit to rich, complex, oak-aged examples that need several years to bottle age to fully display their character. Chardonnay grapes are also used to produce fine sparkling wines.

·        Chenin Blanc… An excellent grape capable of producing white wines that range from clean, crisp, and fruit to rich, sweet, honeyed, and exceptionally long-lived.

·        Chianti… A wonderfully agreeable and, in some cases, quite distinguished Italian red wine from Tuscany. Chianti is normaly consumed while still young, and sometimes looked upon as an inexpensive table wine of indifferent quality. Better examples of Chianti can be complex and enjoyable, and very pleasing with Italian food.

·        Dolcetto… An Italian red wine grape of good quality, widely grown in Piedmont (where it accounts for 15 percent of the total acreage). The grape gets its name from the sweetness of its juice at the time of harvest, and produces soft, lush, supple reds, at their best within two to three years of harvest.

·        Gamay… An excellent red wine grape, grown almost exclusively in the Beaujolais district of France. Cousins of this grape are grown in California, and the grape is characterized mostly for appealing lighter red-wines.

·        Gewurztraminer… An excellent and unusual grape that produces distinctive white wines with pungent, perfumed aroma and a rich, even oily texture. The grape is usually associated with Alsace, but it is also cultivated with some success in Germany. Austria and northern Italy. More recently it was introduced to California where it is generally used to produce sweeter wines with a hint of spice, that offset the natural bitterness of the grape.

·        Grenache… A productive red wine grape widely planted in Southern France, where it gives full bodied, somewhat alcoholic wine that tends to age quickly. It’s also an important variety in Spain, especially in Rioja and Navarre. Grenache is also planted in California, where it has lessened in importance over the years, likewise in Australia.

·        Madiera… A Portuguese island in the Atlantic Ocean – the wines produced in the area first gained international reputation in the American Colonies. Madiera has a unique taste, characterized by a pungent tang attributable to the volcanic soil of the island. Madiera has the reputation for being the longest lived of all the wines, and there are some expensive vintages, which can be found going back to the nineteenth century. The special characteristics of the grape are revealed as the wine ages, and can provide the remarkably intense and pungent flavor.

·        Malbec… A red wine grape cultivated in Bordeaux, where it is also known as Cot or Pressac and where it plays a relatively small role compared to Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, or Cabernet Franc. It is the principal variety in the Cahors district, where it is known as Auxerrois, and where it is used to produce firm, well-structured wines as well as lighter, more supple flavors. Malbec is also planted extensively in Argentina.

·        Marsanne… A white wine grape found in the northern Rhone, where it produces white versions of appellations such as Hermitage, Crozes-Hermitage, and Saint-Josephs. The wines are likely to be full bodied, sometimes characterized as heavy.

·        Mourvedre/Mataro… A French red wine grape grown in Southern France, where it is often used to add color and sturdiness to such wines as Cotes-du-Rhones and Cotes-du-Provence. The grape is known as Mataro in California.

·        Merlot… A distinguished red wine grape, as important as Cabernet Sauvignon in the Bordeaux region. Merlot contributes softness, fruit, suppleness, and charm to many of the famous wines that otherwise would be less attractive. Merlot ripens earlier than Cabernet, produces grapes with more sugar, and yields wines with fewer tanins, which are ready to be consumed sooner than Cabernets (although they also tend to be shorter lived). The grape was originally planted to take some of the edge off Cabernet varietals but in recent years has become one of the most successful varietal wines on the strength of its own merits.

·        Muscat… A table, raisin, and wine grape of which literally dozens of subvarieties exist. The grape ranges from prolific to shy-bearing, and in quality from excellent to poor. Muscats are widely planted in Italy, Southern France, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Tunisia and most of the Mediterranean Islands. The grape is also used to produce wines from the Piedmont region in Italy and used in sweet fragrant wines produced in the U.S.

·        Pinot Blanc… Considered a true Pinot grape variety, Pinot Blanc produces attractive dry white wines with perhaps less flavor than Chardonnay and not quite as aromatic as Pinot Gris. Pinot Gris is planted in Alsace, Germany, and more recently introduced into California.

·        Pinot Noir… A distinguished and celebrated red grape variety that produces all the great red Burgundies. Pinot Noir is a fragile grape and produces fine wines only in certain wine producing areas, and is not terribly reliable from year to year. At their best, wines made from Pinot Noir have a subtlety, complexity, elegance and finesse unmatched by any other wine variety, and it’s the search for those elusive qualities that have encouraged winemakers the world over to cultivate the grape. Some of the very best Pinot Noir grapes in the world are also grown in Oregon, where the Willamette Valley has gained international reputation for fabulous wine.

·        Petite Verdot… A superior red wine grape grown in Bordeaux in limited quantities, which produces full bodied, deep colored wines, high in tannin. Petite Verdot has declined a bit in importance in recent years because of its difficulty in harvesting.

·        Port… A sweet, red, fortified wine, probably the most famous of the fortified wines traditionally served with dessert or after a meal.

·        Riesling… One of the greatest white wine grapes, a native of Germany’s Rhine Valley. Riesling is the classic grape variety of Germany, where it is cultivated in all the best sites available. The grape is able to retain its acidity as it ripens, with flowery, fragrant aroma and distinctive fruity acidity. The grape ranges in style from light and delicate to full and ripe, depending on its region of origin. The grape is known as Johannisberg Riesling in California, where it has been planted extensively in the Napa and Sonoma Valleys.

·        Rose… The French word for pink, and adopted word in the English language… It is made from black grapes whose skins are left in contact with the fermenting juice just long enough to extract the desired amount of color. The grapes are then pressed and the now pink juice continues to ferment. Many of the resulting wines are simple, semi-sweet and undistinguished. Some made from such varieties, as Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Zinfandel can be distinctive and flavorful. The wine should be served chilled and consumed young.

·        Sangiovese… An excellent Italian red wine grape that is one of Italy’s two finest native red varieties. The dominant grape of Tuscany, it is the principal variety of Chianti. The grape can be found throughout Italy, from Umbria to Rome.

·        Semillion… An outstanding white wine grape, widely grown in Southern France, Australia, and Chile, and to a lesser extent in California. It usually produces its best results when blended with another variety, especially Sauvignon Blanc. In Washington State, the grape takes on the grassy, acidic flavors usually associated with Sauvignon Blanc.

·        Tempranillo… The most famous table wine produced in Spain and generally considered the best, especially for it’s reds. It takes its name from a small tributary to the Ebro River known as the Rio Oja. Since they are produced at high elevation, the wines tend to be lighter, lower in alcohol content, softer, and more polished than most Spanish Wines.

·        Sauvignon Blanc… A popular white wine grape, planted extensively in Bordeaux along the Loire, in California, and increasingly in Australia and New Zealand. It produces wines noted for a grassy herbaceous flavor, with aggressive acidity. Some of the most exceptional examples of this variety are now being produced in Australia and New Zealand.

·        Syrah/Shiraz… An excellent red wine grape, cultivated in the Northern Rhone Valley in France. It produces deep-colored, slow-maturing, long-lived wine rich in tannin, with a distinctive and memorable bouquet often reminiscent of spice or black pepper. Syrah is also the most widely planted grape in all of Australia, where it is known as Shiraz or Hermitage.

·        Viognier… A rare and celebrated grape found in the northern Rhone, which is used to produce excellent white wines characterized by hints of peach or apricot.

·        Zinfandel… Although virtually all of the world’s plantings are in California, this variety of grape is actually a transplant from Europe. The grape lends itself to a number of wine styles, and is most often described as spicy, berry like, or brambly. Zinfandels vary in character from light and fruity to ripe, rich, tannic and intensely flavored.