Wine Varietals Directory

Alicante

Alicante Bouschet or Alicante Henri Bouschet is a wine grape variety that has been widely cultivated since 1866. It is a cross of Petit Bouschet (itself a cross of the very old variety Teinturier du Cher and Aramon) and Grenache. It’s deep color makes it useful for blending with light red wine. It was planted heavily during Prohibition in California for export to the East Coast. 

Aglianico

Aglianico is a black grape grown in the southern regions of Italy, mostly Basilicata and Campania. Wines produced from Aglianico tend to be full-bodied with firm tannins and high acidity, endowing them with good aging potential. The rich flavors of the wine make it appropriate for pairing with rich meats such as lamb.

Barbera

As with many grapes that are widely planted, there is a wide range of quality and variety of Barbera wines from medium bodied, fruity wines to more powerful, intense examples that need cellaring. Some characteristics of the variety are more consistent—namely its deep ruby color, pink rim, pronounced acidity and normally rather modest levels of tannins.It produces good yields and is known for deep color, full body, low tannins and high levels of acidity.

Burgundy

Red Burgundy is wine that is made in the Burgundy region of eastern France using 100% Pinot Noir grapes.  Sweetness: Dry,Body: Medium-full, Tannins: Light, Acidity: Medium-high

Cabernet Franc

Cabernet Franc is one of the major black grape varieties worldwide. It is principally grown for blending with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot in the Bordeaux style, but can also be vinified alone, as in the Loire's Chinon.  Cabernet Franc is lighter than Cabernet Sauvignon, making a bright pale red wine that contributes finesse and lends a peppery perfume to blends with more robust grapes. Depending on the growing region and style of wine, additional aromas can include tobacco, raspberry, bell pepper, cassis, and violets.  It has slightly less tannins than Cabernet Sauvignon and tends to produce a wine with a smoother mouth feel

Cabernet Sauvignon

Cabernet Sauvignon is one of the most widely planted grape varieties in the world. Wine made from Cabernet Sauvignon is generally stronger than Merlot and full flavored. The Cabernet Sauvignon grape has a thick skin that results in wines that can be high in tannin which provides structure and the ability to age. This grape is strongly associated with the red wines of Bordeaux and is blended with Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, and Malbec. The aroma of Cabernet Sauvignon has been described as chocolate, ripe jammy berries, oak, pepper, earth, violets, blackcurrant, spice, and cedar.

Carnelian

This grape was created using a cross of Grenache with an existing cross of Carignan and Cabernet Sauvignon. Carnelian grape variant is basically the genetic twin of Centurian.

Carignane

Carignan is a late budding and late ripening variety that is often one of the last grapes to be harvested during a vintage.

Cinsault (Black Malv)

Cinsaut planted in California as Black Malvoisie.  The vine can produce heavy crops, but wines are much better if yields are controlled. Cinsaut is very drought resistant but can be susceptible to disease, so appreciates a dry climate. It is often blended with grapes such as Grenache and Carignan to add softness and bouquet.

Chianti

Chianti Classico are premium Chianti wines that tend to be medium-bodied with firm tannins and medium-high to high acidity

Dolcetto

The Italian word dolcetto means "little sweet one", but it is not certain that the name originally carried any reference to the grape’s sugar levels.  They can be tannic and fruity with moderate,or decidedly low, levels of acidity and are typically meant to be consumed within a few years after release.

Grenache

One of the most widely planted red wine grape varieties in the world.  It is generally spicy, berry-flavored and soft on the palate with a relatively high alcohol content, but it needs careful control of yields for best results. It tends to lack acid, tannin and color, and is usually blended with other varieties such as Syrah and Carignane. 

Malbec

is a purple grape variety used in making red wine. The grapes tend to have an inky dark color and robust tannins, and are known as one of the six grapes allowed in the blend of red Bordeaux wine. It ripens mid-season and can bring very deep color, ample tannin, and a particular plum-like flavor component which adds complexity to claret blends.

Merlot

Merlot is a red wine grape that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. Merlot based wines usually have medium body with hints of berry, plum, and currant. Its softness and “fleshiness”, combined with its earlier ripening, makes Merlot a popular grape for blending with the sterner, later-ripening Cabernet Sauvignon, which tends to be higher in tannin. 

Montepulciano

Montepulciano is Italy's second most widely dispersed indigenous grape variety. Montepulciano is rarely found in northern Italy because the grape has a tendency to ripen late and can be excessively "green" if harvested too early.  When fully ripened, Montepulciano can produce deeply colored wines, with moderate acidity and noticeable extract.

Mourvedre

Mourvedre is variety of wine grape used to make both strong, dark red wines and rosés. Mourvèdre wines often have wild game, or earthy notes to them, with soft red fruit flavors.

Nebbiolo

Nebbiolo produces lightly-colored red wines which can be highly tannic in youth with scents of tar and roses. As they age, the wines take on a characteristic brick-orange hue at the rim of the glass and mature to reveal other aromas and flavors such as violets, tar, wild herbs, cherries, raspberries, truffles, tobacco, and prunes. Nebbiolo wines can require years of aging to balance the tannins with other characteristics.

Nero D’Avola

Is "the most important red wine grape in Sicily and is one of Italy's most important indigenous varieties.  Colour: cherry or ruby red. Perfume: typically winy, fruity, strongly reminiscent of blackberries. Flavour: dry, slightly acidic, rounded, warm and full-bodied. Serving temperature: ambient.

Petite Sirah

Petite Sirah is a variety of red wine grape primarily grown in California, Australia, France, and Israel. Petite Sirah is also called Durif. These grapes produce a deep colored, robust, peppery wine that packs plenty of tannin and has good aging ability. Compared to Syrah, the wine is noticeably more dark and purplish in color.

Pinot Noir

The name is derived from the French words for “pine” and “black” alluding to the varietals’ tightly clustered dark purple pine cone-shaped bunches of fruit. Originally from France where it is used in all of the great red burgundies. This grape produces a wine that is clear, brilliant, and medium to deep red in color. It is rich, velvety, and full of flavors such as cherries, raspberries, and strawberries.

Petite Verdot

Petit Verdot is a full-bodied red wine that originates in southwestern France (in Bordeaux). It is highly desired as a blending grape in red Bordeaux blends because of its plentiful color, tannin and floral aromas of violet

Primitivo

A dark-skinned grape known for producing inky, tannic wines, particularly Primitivo di Manduria and its naturally sweet Dolce Naturale variant. Although there have been contentious and long-running debates about the variety's geographical origins, there is little question that Primitivo's modern-day home is in southern Italy, particularly Puglia

Ruby Cabernet

Ruby Cabernet is a red Olmo grape variety that is a cross between Cabernet Sauvignon and Carignan, it can produce wines with good colour and a pleasant cherry flavour, but is mostly blended into bulk wines.

Sangiovese

Sangiovese is prized for its high acid, firm tannins and balanced nature. Savory flavors of dark cherries and black stonefruit are characteristic, and may be backed by secondary notes of tomato leaf and dried herbs.  Young Sangiovese has fresh fruity flavors of strawberry and a little spiciness, but it readily takes on oaky, even tarry, flavors when aged in barrels

Syrah

Wines made from Syrah are often full bodied with aromas ranging from from violets to berries, chocolate, espresso and black pepper. Syrah is widely used to make a dry red table wine and is often blended with Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Grenache, Mourvedre, and Viognier. 

Tannat

Tannat is a red-wine grape whose origins lie in the Basque country, on the border between France and Spain.  Softer, higher-alcohol wines are in demand, so grapes like Tannat, with its high natural acidity and aggressive tannins, are in danger of being overrun by well-known favorites like plump Merlot and spicy, juicy Syrah.

Tempranillo

Tempranillo is native to Spain and is the main grape used in Rioja. The grape makes a full-bodied red wine which can be consumed young. Tempranillo wines can be also be aged in oak and the best are ruby red in color, with aromas and flavors of berries, plum, tobacco, vanilla, leather and herb.

Touriga Nacional

A dark-skinned grape variety that is currently very fashionable and is widely believed to produce the finest red wines of Portugal. ouriga Nacional is Portugal's answer to France's Cabernet Sauvignon. Both varieties display bold dark-fruit flavors, often with hints of spice, leather and violet.

Valdepena

The Valdepena grape is thick skinned and deep red in color. Wines produced from these grapes tend to be medium to deep red. Aromas have been described as leather, tobacco, vanilla, and earthy.

Zinfandel

Zinfandel is a variety of red grape planted in over 10 percent of California vineyards. The grapes typically produce a robust red wine. The grapes can have a high sugar content which will ferment into a high level of alcohol. Styles include: a light spicy flavor with a berry-like aroma, or a full bodied, oak aged, berry-like, dark colored.