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Red Grape Varieties
Barbera
Productive variety, widely planted in Italy. Also found in various New World vineyards. It is responsible for light, bitter cherry-flavoured wines with marked acidity. Produced at low yields and treated to barrel ageing it now makes extremely exciting wines.
Cabernet Franc
Grown throughout Bordeaux. This grape produces very aromatic but slightly earthy wines which are lighter in colour and tannins than Cabernet Sauvignon. The vines bud and ripen early, needing less heat. It is an ingredient in most of the reds of south west France and often the sole inspiration for the fine silky reds of the middle Loire such as Samur-Champigny and Anjou-Villages.
Cabernet Sauvignon
The world’s most renowned thick-skinned grape variety for red wine. A most important constituent in red Bordeaux especially those wines of the Medoc, but this grape can be found in many important wine regions of the world including Australia, California & Chile where the characteristic complexity and longevity can be found in their top wines. This grape ripens much later so is planted in warmer areas. It has a very powerful and recognizable aroma of blackcurrants.
Carmenère
Found in parts of Bordeaux and increasingly in Chile. Produces excellent deep coloured rich wines.
Carignan (Carinena)
One of the most important vines in France as it was chosen to replace the Aramon vines which perished in the frosts of 1956 and 1963. It is extremely productive and buds and ripens late so it can only be grown in warm to hot climates, producing a tannic, quite acid wine marked by the smell of hot berries. To counter this, most production in the Languedoc-Roussillon is vinified using some form of carbonic maceration. Carignan or Carinena origins are Spanish and it is still grown in the Costa’s del Segre, Penedès, Tarragona and Terra Alta.
Cinsault
Produces robust wines with good colour. Found in Languedoc and Southern Rhone. With its lighter skins and soft perfume it is particularly good for rosé and adding fruit and perfume to wines such as Minervois and Corbières. The variety withstands drought well and has been important in North Africa, Lebanon, Israel and South Africa. In Italy it is known as Ottavianello.
Gamay
Solely responsible for the distinctive wines of Beaujolais, but also found in the Loire, and to a small extent outside France. Simple Beaujolais is best drunk young but the Cru’s or single village wines can age well and develop more complexity. It has low tannins and high acidity and is very refreshing when served chilled.
Grenache
The world’s second most widely planted variety. Especially important in Southern France and all across Spain. Often blended with other varieties and is a permitted ingredient in most Languedoc-Roussillon AC wines. Produces rich, warm, alcoholic wines. Needs a hot climate and has to be pruned severely to stop it producing bland wine.
Malbec
Once popular in Bordeaux blends but now associated with Argentina and Cahors. Produces full coloured wines with good tannins that are well worth ageing.
Merlot
Often associated with the wines of Saint Emilion and Pomerol in Bordeaux; the early maturing, plump, rounded qualities complement, and is often used as a blending partner, with Cabernet Sauvignon. Important around the world, e.g. Italy, Australia, California, South Africa etc. Merlot conventionally makes lush, plummy, velvety wine.
Montepulciano
Vigorous variety found in much of central Italy. Ripens late and produces deep coloured, full-bodied wines.
Mourvèdre
A fashionable grape variety grown very widely in south east Spain becoming the second most important red grape variety. It needs a very warm site or summer to ripen it fully and the wine produced from it is deep coloured, alcoholic and almost aggressively gamey in flavour. It is best suited to blending, notably with the more structured Syrah (Shiraz).
Nebbiolo
A noble grape responsible for some of Italy’s finest and longest lived wines, e.g. Barolo. A late ripener, it’s wine is often markedly high in acidity and tannin. Often needs to be softened by the addition of e.g. Bonarda grapes.
Petit Verdot
One of Bordeaux’s classic black grape varieties. Thick skins contribute colour and tannin. Produces long lived wines but ripens late. Also used in Chile & Australia.
Pinotage
Hardy hybrid grape variety grown in South Africa. Can produce long lived, rich, deep coloured wines which benefit from oak maturation.
Pinot Noir
Grown around the world but particularly famous as one of the main varieties used for Champagne, and as the black grape variety of Burgundy. Can produce incredibly rich, velvety wines. An early ripener so is more suitable to cooler climates.
Pinot Meunier
An important variety in Champagne, adding youthful fruit and where its resistance to frost is particularly important. It is called the ‘Miller’s’ vine because its leaves are dusty white underneath.
Sangiovese
Italy’s most planted red wine vine and the principal grape used in Chianti and Montepulciano. Late ripening Sangiovese make well structured, often high-acid wine with a dense plumminess if fully ripe.
Syrah (Shiraz)
Syrah (France) and Shiraz (New World) is the same grape variety and one of the great grapes of the world. Responsible for the famous northern Rhone wines such as Hermitage where the wine is rich and tannic with a good deal of fruit. Shiraz is also an important variety in Australia where it can taste slightly sweet and can reach higher alcohol levels than the French Syrah.
Tempranillo
An important variety is Rioja and sometimes considered as Spain’s answer to Cabernet Sauvignon; its grapes are thick skinned and capable of making deep coloured, long lasting wines. It is high in tannins and acidity but not necessarily in alcohol.
Zinfandel
A versatile grape grown mainly in California where is produced whites, rosé’s and big, tannic reds. The vines tend to produce many grapes which ripen unevenly so needs careful management to yield good wine.
White Grape Varieties
Aligoté
Thin skinned variety grown mainly in Burgundy and Bulgaria producing fairly tart wines of moderate alcoholic content. The best wines are produced in Burgundy where they are sometimes blended with a little Chardonnay.
Chardonnay
Produced in most commercial wine growing areas and is arguably the greatest dry white wine variety and one of the most adaptable. One of the three main Champagne grapes and responsible for producing great white Burgundy. It buds and ripens early and can be applied to a very wide range of winemaking techniques to produce dry white wines, delicate sparkling wines and a few successful sweet white wines made with the benefit of ‘noble rot’.
Chasselas
A table grape that is widely planted in Switzerland where it is known as Fendant and is also an important, if neutral ingredient of some of the light whites of Savoie. In Germany it is known as Gutedel and has also been cultivated throughout central Europe and even in New Zealand.
Colombard
Often blended with other varieties e.g. Chardonnay in the New World, especially California, South Africa and Australia. The wine on its own can be acidic and is usually fairly neutral. It lends itself well to distillation e.g. Armagnac.
Chenin Blanc
A most versatile grape variety producing many of the world’s great dessert wines, sparking wines and easy-drinking from the New World, especially South Africa. The name comes from Mount Chenin in the Touraine district of the Loire.
Furmint
Famous in Hungary’s sweet Tokaji. The grape succumbs well to noble rot, producing fiery, heady wine with good acid and ageing potential.
Garganega Bianco
Italian variety, the main grape used in the production of Soave. Vigorous, over produced and can be bland but at its best, produces fine delicate wines.
Gewűrztraminer
Not easy to spell even for Wine Merchants but very easy to recognise. This pink skinned grape produces full-bodied, aromatic, pungent wines. Probably at its best in Alsace.
Grenache Blanc
Widely planted in France and Spain producing good quality, well scented, full wines. Ideal for early drinking.
Grüner Veltliner
Austria’s grape speciality making crisp peppery wines with real spark.
Macabeo (or Viura)
Northern Spain’s most planted white grape now much used in modern white Rioja. Its floral character develops at full ripeness but is often picked earlier to retain acidity. As Macabeo it is an important ingredient in Cava.
Marsanne
A fashionable vine and the most common variety in the white wines of the Northern Rhône. Its wines tend to be full-bodied with a marzipan flavour. Marsanne is a permitted ingredient of many of the Languedoc’s whites and is increasingly sold as a varietal, Vin de Pays. The Australian state of Victoria has some of the world’s oldest Marsanne vineyards.
Melon de Bourgogne
The Muscadet grape is very successful in this region because it withstands cold well and is quite prolific. The wine it produces is neither strongly flavoured or very acidic but a neutral base to embroider ‘terroir’ and ‘sur lie’. Some of California’s ‘Pinot Blanc’ may be Melon.
Muscadelle
Along with Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc it is the third grape of Sauternes and other sweet whites in Bordeaux and Bergerac. It is used to plump out the two more famous varieties with youthful fruitiness and can be very good in Monbazillac. It has also been identified as the variety responsible for the rich, dark fortified wines of north eastern Victoria, called by Australians, Liqueur Tokay.
Muscat
A family name for many varieties grown around the world, usually thriving in hot climates. They produce styles ranging from dry to sweet, still to sparkling and fortified.
Műller Thurgau
In 1990 this grape occupied nearly one quarter of Germany’s vineyards. It is the main constituent in Liebfraumilch and other well known names like Niersteiner.
Pinot Blanc
A white-berried mutation of Pinot Gris and therefore related to Pinot Noir. It is widely planted in Alsace and in Germany and Austria. Generally Pinot Blanc offers the body of Chardonnay with more smoke and less fruit and nut characters. It is used extensively for making sparkling wines in Italy and in Alsace it provides a basic, broad-flavoured, full-bodied dry white – often good value for money.
Pinot Gris
Another pink-skinned variety producing its best wine in Alsace where it can be fine, rich and complex. It can produce some rich wines from almost bone dry through to very sweet. The drier of these wines are some of the finest whites to drink with rich savoury food. In the Loire and Switzerland it is known as Malvoisie and its innate smoky flavours survive. The variety is more common in Germany where it is usually called Ruländer (sweet) and Grauburgunder (dry). In Hungary is it known as Szürkebarát and it is grown widely throughout Central Europe.
Riesling
One of the world’s greatest white varieties and indeed THE great variety in Germany. Can produce wines of intense flavour which may be long lived. The wines are best grown in cooler climates, usually light in alcohol with fruity acidity. It performs best when fermented cool and bottled early without any malolactic fermentation or wood influence.
Roussanne
A red-berried North Rhône variety which unfortunately has an irregular yield but its wine can be very fine. It is grown in Savoie as Bergeron and is also grown in Italy.
Sauvignon Blanc
Responsible for some of the world’s most popular dry white wines. Often recognised by its piercing gooseberry aroma. The finest wines come from the cooler climate of central Loire e.g. Sancerre and also from New Zealand. Ideal to be drunk when young, fresh and vibrant.
Semillon
Famous for its use in the great dessert wines: Sauternes and Barsac and also used as a partner in New World blends particularly with Sauvignon Blanc where it gives roundness to the wine. Planted throughout the world and used in many varietal wines.
Sylvaner
Prolific, early maturing variety originally from Austria, now widely planted in Central Europe. Produces wine that is high in acidity but fairly neutral tasting so is usually blended.
Trebbiano
A thin, tart wine, planted almost everywhere within Italy, it is responsible for about a third of all DOC white wine production. It has many different local strains. In California the occasional bottlings of wine made from old Trebbiano vines have shown extraordinary character and extract.
Ugni Blanc
France’s most planted white grape variety. Makes light, thin wines suitable for distillation e.g. Cognac and Armagnac
Viognier
Produces fine wines in Rhône e.g. Condrieu, and there are also some plantings in other areas of France and Australia. The vines need a warmer climate and the grapes are best picked late. It makes full-bodied wines with a very distinctive aroma of apricots. The wine is usually best drunk young.
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