CHAPTER 8
Grape Varieties and Home-Made Wine
In this chapter, we will describe the grape varieties that are most often chosen to make wine (for both industrial and home production). As we explained in Chapter 5 and elsewhere in this book, in most countries, there is no clear legislation controlling the use of the names of grape varieties in the domain of home winemaking. Although the companies that sell must are not allowed to directly label their product “Bordeaux” or “Burgundy,” they may still call them “Bordeaux type” or “Burgundy type.”
As we know, these labels do not mean that the must even comes from the Bordeaux or the Burgundy regions; it simply indicates that the wine produced from the must will taste somewhat like Bordeaux or Burgundy wine. These musts or concentrates are, for the most part, consitituted of grape varieties that have little in common with Cabernet Sauvignon grapes, which are grown in the greater part of the vineyards of the Bordeaux region, or Pinot Noir grapes, which are the basis of many Burgundy wines. Some companies, not content with the uninspiring “Bordeaux-” or “Burgundy-type” labels, have devised evocative names such as “Bergamay” or “Bordailles” for their products.
The people in the business of selling must buy their grapes wholesale in the world marketplace. Their objective is to achieve the best possible quality at the lowest possible price. It is now easier for them to reach this goal: there has been a phenomenal increase in world grape production over the last twenty-five years, resulting in an overproduction of wine grapes in general, and even an overproduction of the great classic grape varieties. Several countries that used to have a strictly domestic market for their wine grapes have now become serious international competitors in the export market: Australia, Chile, Argentina, the U.S.A. (California), and Russia, to name a few.
We have included fifty of the grape varieties most commonly used, or best-known for winemaking. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list—far from it. But all the great classic varieties appear here, as well as the semi-classic varieties, and the 20 bulk varieties that are most often sold for winemaking purposes. Some will be familar to you; others, less so. Did you know that the Airén grape is the most widely-grown wine grape in the world? Or that Thompson Seedless (which are the grapes used for raisins, including Sultana) are often used as one of the blending components in concentrated musts? Although Thompson Seedless grapes produce an undistinguished wine, they attenuate the harshness of concentrates made from grape varieties with an overbearing flavour.
The grape varieties presented here produce variable results, depending on the regions where they are grown. The grapevine can adapt to any temperate climate, but the way its fruit grows and ripens is strongly influenced by the amount of sun it recieves and the particular properties of the soil. The influence of these factors is quite astonishing, sometimes making it impossible to recognize that grapes grown in different regions are actually the same variety. This is the case, as we will also mention below, of the Melon de Bourgogne grape, which is used in making Muscadet wine: when it was moved to California, it underwent a spectacular transformation (for the better!). Also, some rather humble varieties have produced exceptional wines when their cultivation and vinification have been carried out with great care and expertise (including the delay of the grape harvest, in some cases).
For these reasons, each must put on the market by a producer is never exactly the same as a must of the same generic name made by a competitor. This is true even when the grapes of the two musts in question come from the same region, and are harvested at the same time. The difference may be due to the attentiveness with which a particular producer has selected the grapes, to the care with which they were transported (or processed on the spot) in optimal storage conditions, and to harmonious blending with other complementary varieties. Another producer may have carried out the same procedures with less care, resulting in a lower-quality must.
Therefore, if you wish to make the best possible choices for your own home-made wine, you will have to seek those retailers who can best inform you of the different musts available. However, be warned: as in every other commercial domain, there is a certain amount of cut-throat competition in the marketing of products for home winemaking. Some wholesalers manage to persuade retailers to sell their products exclusively (by various means, fair or foul). This, of course, does not affect the retailer’s ability (and responsibility) to give you all the pertinent information about the products sold in the store, including the processing methods used, and the best ways to get good value from them. Don’t hesitate to ask any questions that you may have.
• AIRÉN (red and white, ordinary): few people know that Airén is the world’s most widely-grown wine grape. Spread over more than a million acres in La Mancha, in south-central Spain, Airén is used for red as well as white wines. Until about twenty years ago, this variety produced a wine of doubtful quality that contained too much alcohol. However, since the beginning of the 1980s, it has been treated with greater care and fermented using modern methods. The results have been pleasantly surprising: the wine now produced is clean and fruity, with a medium body. It is harvested as early as the end of August to obtain a lower sugar content; this has decreased the wine’s previous very high alcohol rate to 13 % or 14%.
Airén is used to lighten red wines that are too thick and heavy.
• ALICANTE BOUSCHET (red, ordinary): this grape variety was developed in the 19th century by Bouschet (and son) to serve as a tinting grape (to pigment red wines). It has been spectacularly successful in this respect. Because of that success, and because of its high yield, it has overtaken most of its competitors. It ranks 11th in world production; it is grown in Europe, North Africa, and California.
It is not a great variety. On the contrary, wine made exclusively from Alicante Bouschet grapes is insipid, flabby, and has an unstable colour.
• ALIGOTÉ (white, semi-classic): this variety is the poor cousin of the Chardonnay grape, although some wine-lovers swear by Bourgogne Aligoté wine. The main reproach made against it concerns its lack of body and excessive acidity. Apart from France, Aligoté grapes are grown in Eastern Europe and in California, where they are used to make commercial brands of “coolers.”
• BARBERA (red, ordinary): this grape is native to Piedmont (northwestern Italy) and was introduced to the United States at the end of the 19th century. It makes a heavy wine, rather tannic, and dark-coloured. There is some speculation in California that if this grape were grown in a cooler region than the San Joaquin Valley, excellent wines might be the result. This opinion is based on the fact that it has produced some high-quality wines when grown in optimal conditions.
At present, it is mainly used for blending, to give more oomph to insipid wines.
• BOBAL (red, ordinary): this grape variety is grown in large quantities in Spain. It produces a wine of a very deep red. It is used mostly for blending, contributing to the composition of concentrated and semi-concentrated musts.
• CABERNET FRANC (red, semi-classic): this is the somewhat despised cousin of the Cabernet Sauvignon grape. Although it is not very rich in tannin and acidity, it still produces a very aromatic wine, with a bouquet of raspberry and violet, very pleasant to drink. Its interesting qualities unfortunately disappear when it is blended with other wines, particularly with Cabernet Sauvignon.
This is nevertheless its main function in the California wine industry, where Cabernet Sauvignon is infinitely more favoured. This is a pity, as Cabernet Franc has more potential than is generally recognized.
• CABERNET SAUVIGNON (red, classic): a noble variety of wine grape, Cabernet Sauvignon serves as the basis for most of the great Bordeaux reds. Cabernet Sauvignon demonstrates a balance that cannot be found in any other wine. Its flavour, structure, complexity, and potential for longevity all mark it as a wine for aging: the fine wines made from this variety are obligatorily aged from five to ten years before drinking. It has a wonderfully complex nose of cherry, blackcurrent, and raspberry, with hints of green pepper and occasionally, tobacco.
This variety is becoming increasingly common in the United States. It is grown as much on the East Coast (particularly on Long Island) as it is in California, where excellent wines are made from it in the most temperate regions of the state. In the warmer regions of California, its alcohol content is a bit too high, and its acidity is a little too evident. Cabernet Sauvignon grapes are also widely grown in Australia, Argentina, Chile, Italy, and New Zealand.
• CARIGNAN (red, semi-classic): there is no doubt that this is the variety that produces the most red wine in the world (although it only ranks 5 th in the quantity grown) and the one which makes up the largest proportion of grapes in concentrated and semi-concentrated musts. The Carignan variety produces a strongly-coloured wine, rich in tannin and alcohol. It is used for blending, to give more body to wines which are deficient in it.
• CHARDONNAY (white, classic): also known by the name of Pinot Chardonnay, this wine grape variety is grown in huge quantities in the Champagne region, where it is used to make the wine called Blanc de Blancs. It is also found in the Chablis subregion and other parts of Burgundy. It is the basic variety in Macon, Meursault, Montrachet and Pouilly-Fuissé wines.
Over the past 20 years, Chardonnay has become the cosseted darling of wine-growers. Endowed with a good amount of acidity, it has apple, lemon, melon, and pineapple fruits, and notes of butter, hazel-nut, and vanilla. It ages well in a cellar for several years.
The demand for Chardonnay grapes is so high that its price has become almost prohibitive. Easy to cultivate, it has spread all over the world; particularly large quantities are grown in Australia and South Africa.
In the United States, it produces wines with a lot of character and fruity, lemony scents. Chardonnay is a wine that definitely gains by maturing in oak casks. It is also one of the rare white wines that should undergo malolactic fermentation.
• CHASSELAS (white, grown in small quantities): this variety is found in Switzerland, France, and New Zealand. It is mainly used to produce a Swiss wine, also known as Perlan.
• CHENIN BLANC (white, semi-classic): this wine grape variety, very common in France, is also called Pinot de la Loire. Chenin Blanc is a nervous and lively wine, with intense floral, lemon, and even melon aromas. This grape variety is capable of producing remarkable and varied vintages, from dessert wines to dry wines. It also make excellent sparkling wines!
When it leaves its native shores, Chenin Blanc does not travel very well: many of its best qualities are lost, and it becomes a humble, although good, table variety. None the less, it is grown almost all over the world, in South Africa (where it is used to make sherry, port, and brandy), New Zealand, Australia (where it is mistakenly called Sémillon), Argentina and Chile, and the United States.
• CINSAUT, also written CINSAULT (red, semi-classic): a grape variety from the south of France. It is mainly used as a blending component in Côtes-du-Rhône wines. It is popular in Lebanon and South Africa, where it is used to make table wine.
• CLAIRETTE RONDE: see UGNI BLANC.
• COLOMBARD (white, ordinary): although this variety has been losing ground in its native Charentais, north of Bordeaux, French Colombard is very popular in the United States for the pleasant dry, semi-sweet, and blended wines that are made from it. It is widely used for “coolers” and “cham-pagnettes,” and is occasionally blended with Chenin Blanc. It makes quite a good wine, lively, with good acidity, a bit spicy, with floral notes.
• COT (red, ordinary): this red-wine grape variety, also called Malbec, is mainly used in blending with Bordeaux wines to produce claret. Rich in tannins, aroma, and colour, it is an admirable complement to lighter varietals. It is the jewel in the crown of Cahors, where it has become the emblematic wine of that region. It is also grown in Chile, Argentina, and Australia.
• FOLLE BLANCHE (white, grown in small quantities): a grape variety used mainly in the elaboration of cognac, as well as for Muscadet wines in the western part of the Loire valley.
• FRENCH COLOMBARD: see COLOMBARD.
• GAMAY (red, semi-classic): the grape variety of predilection in the Beaujolais region. It produces a wine of a purple-red colour, with quite a high acidity rate, but little tannin. Its main characteristic is its bouquet in which a plethora of fruits burst forth. It is not as fine as the Pinot Noir grape of the same region, but it is still an excellent variety, with the added benefit of longevity.
Not to be confused with NAPA GAMAY (see below).
• GARNACHA (see GRENACHE, below).
• GEWÜRZTRAMINER (white, classic): this celebrated Alsace variety is a hybrid of Traminer grapes. It creates a powerful, well-structured wine with an intense nose. Its name is evocative (Gewürz means spice): it releases aromas of lychee and lavender, enhanced by undertones of clove and nutmeg.
It is also grown in northern Italy (it is believed that the Traminer grape originated there), Austria, and Germany, as well as in Eastern Europe (Slovenia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Romania), New Zealand and Australia.
Gewürztraminer wines produced in the United States have not been impressive so far, especially in the warmer regions, where the grape’s acidity rate becomes too low.
• GRENACHE (red, ordinary): Grenache takes second place in world grape cultivation and first place in its native Spain (where it is called Garnacha). It is very often used for blending. The wine is a light red which nevertheless possesses a solid structure and a high alcohol content (15% or 16%). The variety is also widely grown in the south of France and in California. It is used in the production of several Côtes-du-Rhône wines, and is blended with Mourvèdre and Cinsaut to produce the famous Châteauneuf du Pape.
• JOHANNISBERG RIESLING: see RIESLING.
• JURANÇON (red, grown in small quantities): this grape variety is grown in the Cahors region, east of Bordeaux, to make wines for local consumption. When blended with Malbec and Merlot, it produces robust wines with a pronounced aroma. Without blending, however, this varietal is bitter and inky.
• LEMBERGER, or LIMBERGER (red, grown in small quantities): an Austrian wine grape variety known in its homeland as Blaufränkisch (or Blauer Lemberger/Limberger), it is also grown in Washington State. It produces wines ranging from a pale pink to a clear ruby. It has a high acidity and an exhuberant, spicy aroma.
• MALBEC (red, ordinary): see COT, above.
• MALVASIA (white, ordinary): one of the oldest known wine-grape varieties, originating in Asia Minor. Its present name evolved from “Monemvasia,” the name of a port in the Peloponnesus. It is an excellent variety grown throughout the world, although it is rapidly losing ground to Ugni Blanc, which produces table wines that can be drunk younger than those made from Malvasia grapes. This is not a particularly positive development, as Malvasia, also used for making port, ages very well and is much more distinguished than the Ugni Blanc bulk variety.
• MALVOISIE (white, ordinary): with Muscat and Malvasia, Malvoisie is among the oldest wine-grape varieties cultivated today. It produces a very good wine, although unfortunately, it is losing favour in these times, with so many people choosing to drink younger, lighter wines. It is still widely grown in Europe, perhaps because these older, longer-maturing varieties are better appreciated there.
• MATARO: see MOURVÈDRE, below.
• MELON DE BOURGOGNE (white, semi-classic): better known as Muscadet, Melon de Bourgogne is hardly found anymore in the Burgundy region of its origins. However, it has adapted very well in the Loire valley, where the famous Muscadet Sèvres-et-Maine is matured sur lie (allowed to mature on its lees, or yeast sediment). It produces a very dry wine with a light, floral bouquet. It must be drunk young, as it does not age well.
This variety is grown in California under the name of Pinot Blanc. Transplanted into another climatic zone and grown with ultra-modern techniques, California Pinot Blanc is now astonishingly different from its parent variety. This new breed of Melon de Bourgogne produces surprisingly good, rich wines which age quite well for several years.
• MERLOT (red, classic): considered inferior to Cabernet Sauvignon grapes, Merlot is still a great red-wine grape variety. We shouldn’t forget that it alone accounts for 95% of the composition of Château Petrus! Fruity, ample, and nicely tannic, with a bouquet of blackcurrent, cherry, and mint, Merlot is quite self-sufficient, although it blends harmoniously with Cabernet Sauvignon.
Merlot grapes do not travel as well as their Cabernet Sauvignon counterparts, but they can be found in a wide variety of wine-producing regions in Eastern Europe, California, Chile, Argentina, and New Zealand. This grape variety is extensively grown in Italy, where it makes very good wines.
In California, oddly enough, Merlot is sometimes confused with the Cabernet Franc variety.
• MISSION (red, ordinary): this grape variety is one of the first to be imported to the New World. It was planted by Spanish Jesuits (although some people claim that they were Franciscans!) in California in the 17th century. It produces a very fleshy wine with a high alcohol content. It is believed to be a descendant of the Monica grape which is grown in Spain and Sardinia. Although the wine made from it is rather ordinary, it is grown abundantly in all the main wine-producing regions of the world, especially in North America. Mission grapes grown in Chile are known by the name of Pais. This variety occupies sixth place in world production, and is used mainly for blending.
• MONASTRELL (red, ordinary): the second most widely-grown wine grape in Spain, after the Grenache variety, and 9th in the world. The advantage of Monastrell is that it is easy to grow: it tolerates hot weather well, and is even resistant to phylloxera! The fruit is small and sweet, producing highly alcoholic wines that are rather flabby and pale.
• MONTEPULCIANO (red, ordinary): originally a Tuscan grape, Montepulciano is now grown in many other parts of Italy, especially in the centre and the south. Not very acidic but sufficiently tannic, with a robe of a rich, deep red and a blackberry scent with notes of pepper and spices, Montepulciano wines are supple, mellow wines which age beautifully.
This variety is often blended with Sangiovese to produce a fruity wine with a pleasant aroma, rounded and perfectly balanced. An excellent variety for winemaking.
• MOURVÈDRE (red, ordinary): this variety is grown mostly in the southern part of the Rhône valley. It is used in blending to give more body and colour to feebler wines. It is not grown very much in California, where it is sometimes called Mataro. In North America, Mourvèdre is said to have a green tea herbaceous flavour; its nose is qualified as “animal” by the French.
• MOSCATO: see MUSCAT, below.
• MÜLLER-THURGAU (white, ordinary): a cross between Riesling and Sylvaner, the Müller-Thurgau is the most abundantly-grown wine grape in Germany, and has spread throughout the wine-producing world. It is the basic wine grape for the majority of wines produced in New Zealand, and occupies a place of honour in Hungary and Austria. Alone, it produces a respectable wine which, however, has been criticized for its animal nose (some people say that it gives off an odour of cat, or even mouse!). A small quantity of Müller-Thurgau is grown in North America.
• MUSCADET: see MELON DE BOURGOGNE, above.
• MUSCAT (white and red, semi-classic): called Muscat de Frontignan in France and Moscato di Canelli in Italy, this variety ranks 8th in world production. Its very distinctive taste and bouquet cannot be mistaken. Its best-known wines are sweet and semi-sweet vintages, but it can also make good red and white table wines. There is a wide range of Muscat wine grapes: Muscat of Alexandria, Muscat Ottonel, and Muscat Hamburg, among others.
• NAPA GAMAY (red, ordinary): Napa Gamay (or Gamay 15) grapes are grown extensively in the Napa and Monterey regions, and produce some superlative California wines. However, the name is misleading: oenologists have classified Napa Gamay as a clone1 of Pinot Noir and not a true Gamay variety. It is also called Gamay Noir and Gamay Beaujolais. It produces a heavy, rich, and strongly-coloured wine. Depending on the individual producer, it is sold either as Gamay or as Pinot Noir.
• NEBBIOLO (red, semi-classic): grown mostly in Italy, this great wine-grape variety produces red wines which are considered among the best in the world; it is sometimes classified as a noble variety. In spite of this, Nebbiolo is not grown in many parts of the world, which is our loss.
• PETITE SIRAH (red, ordinary): some wine experts have claimed that Petite Sirah, as it is grown in California, is completely unrelated to the Syrah grown in the Rhône Valley and in Australia. It has also been said that this variety is actually a hybrid called Durif. Today, the experts are much less categorical on this subject.
Whatever the case may be, Petite Sirah produces a tannic wine of a deep hue, robust and fleshy, very peppery and perfumed, with good aging potential. An interesting wine grape with unexploited possibilities, it is also blended with Zinfandel to give the resulting wine greater complexity.
• PINEAU DE LA LOIRE: see CHENIN BLANC.
• PINOTAGE (white, semi-classic): one of the most celebrated South African varieties, a hybrid of Pinot Noir and Cin-saut. It produces wine of an intense aroma and “roasted” flavour. It has good colour and ages well.
• PINOT BLANC (white, semi-classic),: notwithstanding the different arguments concerning its origins, it seems that the Pinot Blanc grape is a close relative of Pinot Noir, just as the Pinot Gris grape is.
Pinot Blanc is often used as a table wine, or for blending. It is full-bodied, but is rather lacking in aroma, unless we count a light spiciness with a hint of Muscat scent. It is grown in Alsace, Germany, Italy, and Eastern Europe.
In Chile and Australia, wine is made from a grape known as Pinot Blanc, but it is doubtful whether it is the true Pinot Blanc variety.
In the United States, an excellent wine labelled Pinot Blanc is actually made from Melon de Bourgogne grapes.
• PINOT CHARDONNAY: see CHARDONNAY.
• PINOT GRIS (red, semi-classic): Pinot Gris grapes have been known since the Middle Ages, when they were cultivated in Burgundy. Like Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris wines are full-bodied, but have little aroma. This does not prevent the Italians from cherishing their Pinot Grigio, and the Hungarians from venerating their style of Pinot Gris, which is made to resemble Tokay by leaving the grapes on the vine as long as possible before harvesting them.
Elsewhere in the world, from North America to Australia, this grape is under-represented in wine production.
• PINOT NOIR (red, classical): the greatest red-wine grape of Burgundy, it generally produces rich, fruity wine with marked cherry, strawberry and raspberry flavours. It ages well and can be preserved for many years, after which it develops a delicious bouquet of chocolate, venison, figs, and truffles. Pinot Noir is also used in the preparation of Champagne.
Some people prefer it to Cabernet Sauvignon, which they find austere in comparison. Grown in small acreages throughout the world, its regions of predilection are in Australia and the United States (California and Oregon).
• RIESLING (white, classic): grown mainly in Germany and Austria, this grape variety produces one of the world’s best white wines, although its cultivation is prohibited in France. Fruity, slender and elegant, Riesling wines have a floral aroma with scents of apple, apricot, and even peach! It has a desirable acidity and ages wonderfully.
In other wine-producing regions of the world, Riesling is often confused with other varieties (Sémillon, for one). California Riesling grapes produce spicy, fruity wines.
• RKATSITELI (white, ordinary): surprisingly for those who are not familiar with Eastern varieties, Rkatsiteli, which originates in Turkey and Armenia, is the third most widely-grown wine grape in the world. It is now grown largely in Eastern Europe, especially in Russia, and produces quite good table wines resembling Rieslings and Gewürztraminers.
In the Western Hemisphere, it is found mainly in the Finger Lakes region of New York State.
• RUBY CABERNET (red, ordinary): a hybrid of Carignan and Cabernet Sauvignon, Ruby Cabernet is grown mostly in California, where it has adapted very well. Ruby Cabernet grapes are used as tinting grapes, and for blending in the production of light, unpretentious table wines. Alone, it becomes a tannic, fruity wine with a dark robe. It is also grown in Argentina, Chile, Australia, and South Africa.
• SAINT-ÉMILION: see UGNI BLANC, below.
• SANGIOVESE (red, semi-classic): this variety grows in Tuscany and is the basis for Chianti wines. In the best of conditions, wine made from Sangiovese grapes can resemble a very good Bordeaux vintage. It is not a wide-spread variety, although it is now in the process of being implanted in California; it has produced some well-balanced wine there, and hopes are high for its development.
• SAUVIGNON BLANC (white, classic): this variety produces some excellent Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé wines. Even though Sauvignon Blanc is not reputed to age well (it should be drunk within two years of bottling), it is still increasingly appreciated because its characteristics correspond to the image of 20th-century modernity: it is a dry and nervous wine, thirst-quenching and refreshing. It has a very aromatic nose with herbaceous notes.
• SÉMILLON (white, classic): grown all over the world, Sémillon is often used for blending purposes. However, by itself, it produces excellent wine, for example, Hunter Valley, an Australian Sémillon.
Sémillon is not grown very much in the Unted States, as Chardonnay and Riesling grapes are preferred for white wines; American Sémillon wines are of a respectable quality, but are rather limp.
• SHIRAZ: see SYRAH, below, or PETITE SIRAH, above.
• SYRAH (red, classic; see also PETITE SIRAH, above): this variety is almost the only wine grape grown in the Rhône Valley, where excellent Hermitage and Côte-Rôtie wines are made from it. Very popular among wine-growers in Australia, accounting for 40 % of the red wine grapes grown there, Syrah produces a wine of a very dark colour, often referred to as inky. Robust, fleshy and tannic, Syrah is a wine with a generally unappreciated potential.
• SYLVANER (white, ordinary): this variety is losing ground these days because of its absence of nose. It produces a rather insipid wine, which is none the less very pleasant to drink because of its lightness. In fact, it is lacking in neither body nor acidity. As it does not have much of a bouquet however, it may soon be left behind by varieties with more character.
• THALIA: see UGNI BLANC.
• THOMPSON SEEDLESS (white, ordinary): among the most widely-grown wine grape varieties in California, where a phenomenal quantity is grown in the San Joaquin Valley. Of course, it is a very popular table grape and raisin grape, as well as wine grape. The wine does not have much flavour, and is used for attenuating the too-strong taste of certain other wines.
• TOCAI FRIULANO (white, grown in small quantities): limited to the Friuli region of northeastern Italy, this Tokay variety produces light wines with a floral and hazel-nut bouquet, for drinking very young. It is believed that this grape is grown in Chile under the name Cabernet Vert.
Transplanted to the United States, it produces a wine with intense aromas of green fruits. It has a medium acidity. Vintners often use it to make fat and mellow dessert wines.
• TRAMINER (white, semi-classic): this name was given to the Gewürztraminer variety until the beginning of this century, and is still occasionally used.
• TREBBIANO: see UGNI BLANC, below.
• UGNI BLANC (white, semi-classic): the Ugni Blanc grape ranks 4th in world production. It goes under several names, depending on where it grows (Saint-Émilion and Clairette in France, Trebbiano in Italy, Thalia in Portugal, and White Shiraz in Australia). It is easily grown, and produces nicely acidic, clean, pleasant-tasting and unpretentious wines, which are also used for blending to contribute acidity, or to attenuate heaviness. It is also used in France in the making of cognac.
• VERDICCHIO (white, ordinary): this variety owes its name to the greenish-yellow colour of its grapes. It has largely remained in its native Italy, where it has been grown since the 15th century in the Ancona and Macerata regions. Even though it has not emigrated very much, it is grown in such large quantitities that it now ranks 15th in world grape cultivation. It is not particularly easy to grow, and produces rather characterless wines, but its high acidity makes it an ideal variety for sparkling wines.
• WELSCHRIESLING (white, ordinary): although “Riesling” is part of its name, this variety does not originate in Germany, where moreover, it is generally the object of derision! It is believed to be a variety of French origin. It generally produces wines that wines that, although they lack body and acidity, are very aromatic. When the grapes are harvested very late, as is the practice in northeastern Italy and in Austria, the resulting wines are superb.
Welschriesling grapes rank 16th in world production, and are grown mainly in Eastern Europe (Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, and in regions of the former Yugoslavia). The wine is widely used for blending.
• WHITE SHIRAZ: see UGNI BLANC, above.
• ZINFANDEL (red, ordinary): the origin of the Zinfan-del grape is obscure; no one knows from where it was imported to the United States. Although a DNA analysis recently showed that it belongs to the same family as the Primitivo d Apulia variety of southern Italy, Zinfandel fanatics persist in giving a greater mystique to its pedigree, claiming that it predates the Apulian variety!
This is a versatile wine grape: it is the basis for table wine, for rosés, and for quite exceptional reds. It has infinite possibilities. Vintners have established its credentials by producing wines that are firmly-structured and robust with elderberry flavours, often spicy and peppery. Strongly tannic with good alcoholic strength, deep and complex, this is a wine that could have the same longevity as Cabernet Sauvignon. And that’s saying a lot!
1. Cloning is the modern way of propagating grape varieties. It consists in selecting the best vine branch of a variety and planting a whole vineyard with graftings from it. The resulting plants will be genetically identical to the parent vine, and will have the same resistant properties.