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A grape variety refers to the
fruit of a specific type of grapevine. The Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay vines are
just a couple of the 10,000 different varieties of grape vines.
Serenading Grapes focuses its attention on about 50 of the world’s best grape varieties, all of which have acclaimed personality traits.Of those fifty grape varieties, many of our featured wines are of the noble variety, claiming potential
not just to be good wine, but exceptional wine.
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Best Regions |
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| Cabernet Sauvignon grape | Bordeaux, France | |
| Chardonnay grape | Burgundy, France | |
| Chenin Blanc grape | Loire Valley, France | |
| Nebbliolo grape | Piedmont, Italy | |
| Pinot Noir grape | Burgundy, France | |
| Riesling grape | Mosel and Rheingau regions, Germany | |
| Sangiovese grape | Tuscany, Italy | |
| Syrah grape | Northern Rhône Valley, France |
| White Grape Varieties | ||
| Chardonnnay | Most commonly "oaked", Chardonnnay wines often smell or taste toasty, smoky, spicy, vanilla-like, or butterscotch-like while the actual Chardonnay exhibits fruity aromas and flavors that range from apple to tropical fruits. Chardonnays can also display earthy aromas, such as mushroom or minerals. It has a medium to high acidity, and is generally rich and full-bodied. |
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| Riesling | The great Riesling wines of Germany have put the Riesling grape on the map as an undisputedly noble variety. While Chardonnay is usually gussied up with oak with a rich and full-bodied character, Riesling is more often light-bodied and refreshing. While many Rieslings are sweet, there are plenty that are not. Riesling wines are sometimes labeled as White Riesling or Johannisberg Riesling. | |
| Sauvignon Blanc | When it comes to white wine enjoyment Sauvignon Blancs often arouses the most controversy. That's because it has such distinctive character. Sauvignon Blanc wines are light to medium-bodied and usually dry. European examples are unoaked more often than oaked, but in California they are often oaky and not fully dry - in the Chardonnay-wanna-be style. Besides herbaceous character (sometimes referred to as grassy), Sauvignon Blanc wines display mineral aromas and flavors, vegetal character, or in warmer climates - fruity character such as ripe melon. | |
| Pinot Gris/ Pinot Grigio |
Pinot Gris is one of several grape varieties called Pinot. The Pinot Gris is believed to have mutaded from the black Pinot Noir garpe. Although it's considered a white grape, its skin color is unusually dark for a white grape variety. Wines made from Pinot Gris can be deeper in color than most white wines, medium to full-bodied, with rather low acidity and fairly neutral aromas. Sometimes the flavor can suggest the skins of fruit, such as peach skins or orange rind. | |
| Gewürztraminer | (ga-VERZ-tra-mee-ner) It's German for "spicy grape from Tramin," a town that's actually located in the German speaking part of Northern Italy. Gewürztraminer is a wonderfully exotic grape that makes fairly deep-colored, aromatic wines. Roses and lychee fruit are the classic descriptors for the aroma of Gewürztraminer wines. Although the wine smells floral and fruity and has a pronounced, exotic fruit and floral flavors, it is actually dry - fascinating and delicious. The Gewürztraminer grape tends to be high in sugar but low in acid. Its wines are therefore high in alcohol and soft. | |
| Chenin Blanc | A noble grape in the Loire Valley of France. The best wines have high acidity and a fascinating oily texture. Some good Chenin Blanc comes from California, but so does a ton of very ordinary off-dry wine. In South Africa, Chenin Blanc is called Steen. | |
| Muller-Thurgau | (MULE-er TOOR-gow) Germany's most-planted grape variety. | |
| Muscat | An aromatic garpe that makes Italy's sparkling Asti. Extremely pretty floral aromas. | |
| Pinot Blanc | Fairly neutral in aroma and flavors, but with far more character than, say, Trebbiano. High acidity and low sugar levels translate into dry, crisp, medium-bodied wines. | |
| Sémillon | (sem-ee-yohn) Sauvignon Blanc's blending partner and a good grape in its own right. Sémillon is relatively low in acid and has attractive but subtle aromas - lanolin sometimes, although it can be slightly herbaceous when it is young. | |
| Trebbiano | Called Ugni Blanc in France. A thoroughly unremarkable grape except that so much Italian wine is based on it. High acid, light body, neutral aromas, low sugar. Great for cooking. | |
| Viognier | (vee-ohn-yay) A grape from France's Rhône Valley that it becoming popular in California, although quantities are still minuscule. Floral aroma, delicately apricot-like, medium to full-bodied with low acidity. | |
| Red Grape Varieties | ||
| Cabernet Sauvignon | Cabernet Sauvignon is not only a noble grape variety but also an adaptable one, growing well in just about any climate that isn't very cool. The Cabernet Sauvignon grape makes wines that are high in tannin and are medium to full-bodied. Textbook descriptors for Cabernet Sauvignon's aroma and flavor is blackcurrants or cassis. Because Cabernet Sauvignon is fairly tannic, the wine is often blended with other grapes; usually Merlot - being less tannic - is considered an ideal partner. |
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| Merlot | Deep color, full body, high alcohol, and low tannin are the characteristics of wines made from the Merlot grape. The aromas and flavors can be plummy or sometimes chocolatey. This most-planted grape variety in Bordeaux is often much easier to like than Cabernet Sauvignon because it is less tannic. | |
| Pinot Noir | While Cabernet is the sensible wine to make - a good, steady, reliable wine that doesn't give the winemaker too much trouble and can achieve excellent quality - Pinot Noir is finicky, troublesome, enigmatic, and challenging. But a great Pinot Noir can be one of the greatest wines ever. The prototype for Pinot Noir wine is red Burgundy, from France. Pinot Noir wine is lighter in color than Cabernet or Merlot wine. It has relatively high alcohol, medium to high acidity, and medium to low tannin (although oak barrels can contribute additional tannin to the wine). Its flavors and aromas can be very fruity - often like a melange of red berries - or earthy and woodsy depending on how it is grown and or/vinified. | |
| Syrah/Shiraz | The northern part of France's Rhône Valley is the classic site of greatness for the Syrah grape, and Rhône wines like Hermitage and Côte-Rôtie are the inspiration for its dissemination to Australia, California, South Africa, and Italy. Syrah produces deeply colored wines with fully body, firm tannin, and aromas/flavors that can suggest smoked meat, roasted peppers, tar, or even burnt rubber. In Australia, though, Syrah (called Shiraz) is made in a broad range of styles - some of them soft, medium-bodied wines with strawberry-like flavor that are quite opposite of the northern Rhône's majestic Syrahs. Syrah doesn't require any other grape to complement its flavors, although in Australia it is commonly blended with Cabernet. | |
| Zinfandel | White Zinfandel is such a popular wine - and so much better known than the red version of Zinfandel - that its fans might argue that Zinfandel is not a red grape. But - it is so! Zinfandel is one of the oldest grapes in California; therefore, Zinfandel has a certain stature there. Zin - as devotees of red Zinfandel call it - is a rich, deeply colored iwne that is high in a alcohol and medium to high in tannin. It can have a blackberry or raspberry aroma and flavor, a spicy character, or even a jammy flavor. | |
| Nebbiolo | This noble grape is short on adaptability. Outside of scattered sites in northwestern Italy - mainly the Piedmont region - Nebbiolo just doesn't make remarkable wine. The Nebbiolo grape is high in both tannin and acid, which can make a wine tough. It also gives enough alcohol to soften the package. Its color can be deep when the wine is young, but can develop orangey tinges within a few years. Its aroma is fruity (strawberry and jam), earthy and woodsy (tar, truffles), and herbal (mint, eucalyptus). | |
| Sangiovese | This Italian grape has proven itself in the Tuscany region of Italy. Sangiovese makes wines that are medium to high in acidity and medium in tannin; the wines can be light to full-bodied, depending on exactly where the grapes grew and how the wine was made. The aromas and flavors of the wines are fruity - especially cherry, often tart cherry - with floral nuances of violets and sometimes a slightly nutty character. | |
| Tempranillo | Tempranillo is Spain's candidate for greatness. It gives wines deep color, low acidity, and only moderate alcohol. | |
| Aglianico | Little known outside of southern Italy, where it makes Taurasi and other age-worthy, powerful red wines. | |
| Barbera | Italian grape that, oddly for a red grape, has little tannin but very high acidity. When fully ripe it can give big, fruity wines with refreshing crispness. Lately, producers are aging the wine in new oak to increase the tannin level of their wine. | |
| Gamay | Excels in the Beaujolais district of France. It makes grapey wines that are deep in color and relatively low in tannin. Neither the grape called Gamay Beaujolais in California nor the grape called Napa Gamay is true Gamay. | |
| Grenache | A Spanish Grape by origin, called Garnacha there. (Most wine drinkers associate Grenache with France's southern Rhône Valley more that with Spain, however). Sometimes Grenache makes light-colored wines that are high in alcohol but not much else. Under the right circumstances, Grenache can make deeply colored wines with velvety texture and fruity aromas and flavors suggestive of raspberries. | |
