Grape Variety Colour Important in  Character Synonyms Problems Blended with Climate Soil Types Famous Examples
Aligote White Burgundy and Bulgaria Burgundy Aligote, high in acidity, early ripening, high yields, early drinking. Traditionally used for Kir           Bourgogne Aligote
Chardonnay White Burgundy (Chablis, Cote de Beaune), Champagne, but planted worldwide; California, notably Sonoma and Napa, Oregon, Chile's Casablanca and Argentina's Mendoza, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa. Fashionable and ubiquitous.
Moderate-high yields, ages well in wood giving it a round buttery flavour when going through MLF. Can be very dry (Chablis) or display tropical fruit flavours (Australia). Very versatile and able to express terroir.
Medium - High Acidity		 Beaunois (Chablis), Aubaine, Morillon Powdery Mildew (Oidium) and Chlorosis. Coulure and Millerandage due to early budding
Grey rot		 Pinot Noir/Pinot Meunier (Champagne)
Semillon inexpensive blends (new world)		 Cool / Moderate / Hot Calcareous soil (Chablis, Champagne), limestone, but very versatile and adaptable. Corton-Charlemagne (marzipan); Meursault (buttery); Puligny-Montrachet (fine and steely); Chassagne-Montrachet (hazelnuts); Chablis (steely dry and mineral), Champagne (acidity, minerality and finesse); Pouilly-Fuisse (full bodied)
Chasselas White France/Switzerland Table grape in France, lesser wines in Alsace, Pouilly s/Loire and Savoie (Crepy). High yield, light wines Dorin, Fendant, Perlan (Switzerland); Edelzwicker (Alsace)         Dezaley (Vaud, Switzerland)
Chenin Blanc White Loire (Anjou-Saumur, Touraine); South Africa; California Broad spectrum; Sweet Loire  with tropical and dried fruit, honeyed flavour due to botrytis (Bonnezeaux and Quart de Chaume) or bone-dry with green apple, citrus or stone fruit, leafy/vegetal and vaguely floral aromas. High acidity, which it easily retains. MLF is discouraged. Steen (S.Africa); Pineau (de la Loire) Botrytis.
Uneven ripening.
Can be frost prone due to early budding		 Not normally blended, although in California it can be blended with Colombard for bulk production.
Up to 20% Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc is allowed for Anjou or Saumur (and slightly more in Touraine)		 Cool / Moderate Calcareous soils (Tuffeau) Bonnezeaux; Quarts de Chaume; Coteaux de Layon; Savennieres; Saumur; Vouvray; Montlouis; Cremant de Loire
Elbling White Germany (Mosel); Luxemburg High acidity, relatively low alcohol. Mainly sekt production.   Coulure     Chalk  
Gewurztraminer White (pink skinned) Alsace and Northern Italy (Alto Adige). Also found in the pacific north-west (Washington state and Oregon) and sometimes in New Zealand (Gisborne). Less interesting versions are grown in Australia's irrigated areas, displaying little of the true character. Aromatic wines with hints of exotic fruit (lychees) and roses. Pungent, full bodied. Deeply coloured, the pink grapes giving the wine a copper hue, opulent, with a heady perfume.
High alcohol potential, with medium to low acidity. MLF is discouraged. Has a tendency to oiliness if acidity drops.		 Traminer Aromatico; Traminer is related but less aromatic (also known as Savagnin in the Jura). Botrytis
Frost prone due to early budding
Virus diseases		 Rarely, but sometimes with Muscat or Riesling Cool / Moderate The Alsace has a multitude of soil types among which are granite, sandstone, volcanic soils as well as clay, limestone and marl. Leon Beyer and Zind-Humbrecht. Wines from the Alsace labelled Vendange Tardive (late harvest) or Selection des Grains Nobles (berries affected by noble rot) are invariably sweet, but good ones have acidity to boot.
Kerner White Germany Early ripening, resistant to frost, Generous yields. Characterful wines Crossing of (black) Trollinger and Riesling         Used in Liebfraumilch blends
Muller-Thurgau White Germany Cross between Riesling and (possibly) Sylvaner. High yields, undistinguished. Ripens early. Medium acidity, flowery with a hint of muscat. Also described as mousy Rivaner Downy mildew (Peronospera) and black rot; damage from frost       Liebfraumilch
Muscadet White Loire Crisp dry white, neutral flavour. Melon de Bourgogne         Muscadet Sevre-et-Maine
Grape Variety Colour Important in  Character Synonyms Problems Blended with Climate Soil Types Famous Examples
Muscat White Mediterranean (Spain/Italy/Greece), Roussillon, Alsace, Australia, California, South Africa, South America. MBaPG: Grapey, floral aromas (orange flowers), sometimes peaches and spice. Medium acidity, usually sweet. The most noble of the muscats.
Often fortified or sparkling wines with an intensely grapey taste. Low yields.
MoA: Grapey, peachy aromas with medium-low acidity. Usually strong and sweet and much less subtle.
MO: The simplest muscat giving simple grapey wines with medium-low acidity.		 Muscat Blanc a Petits Grains (Muscadel; White Muscat; Moscato) - the superior variety.
Muscat of Alexandria (Zibibbo; Muscat Romain; Muscat Gordo Blanco; Lexia; Hanepoot)
Muscat Ottonel - mainly in Alsace		 Mildew.
Coulure and millerandage
Fungal diseases		 Grenache for VDNs. Other Muscat varieties and Gewurztraminer. Mediterranean Varied Samos (Greece); Moscato d'Asti (Italy); Muscat de Rivesaltes and other VDNs; Moscato di Pantelleria; Rutherglen's Orange Muscat
Palomino White Jerez (Spain), South Africa Used for Sherry, high in sugar and low in acidity Listan (de Jerez) (France); Perrum (Alentjo) and Malvasia Rei (Portugal); Fransdruif (SA) Downy Mildew (Peronospera) and Anthracnose     Chalky albariza Sherry
Pedro Ximenez White Montilla (Spain), Jerez and Argentina High yields of grapes with high sugar levels. For sherry production grapes are dried to concentrate sugars, resultant wine used for sweetening purposes. PX sensitive vine, susceptible to disease       Montilla, Sherry
Pinot Blanc White Alsace, Cote d'Or and Macon (although disappearing), Italy (Trentino-Alto Adige, Friuli), Germany (Pfalz and Baden) Good yield of fresh, fruity, simple wines.Often almond-scented with medium-high alcohol. Displaying green fruit and citrus with high acidity in cool climate and more citrussy, melon characters in moderate climate with a slight drop in acidity. Able to go through most wine treatments suitable to Chardonnay. (MLF, barrel ageing etc) Clevner (Alsace), Weissburgunder (Austria, Weisser Burgunder (Germany), Pinot Bianco (Italy) Botrytis Welschriesling in Austria; Auxerrois in Alsace Cool / Moderate Varied Cremant d'Alsace
Pinot Gris White Alsace, Friuli, Alto Adige (Italy), Oregon, New Zealand, Tasmania.
Central and Eastern Europe and Northern Italy for bulk/inexpensive		 Flavourful, sometimes oily wines, rather high in alcohol and medium acidity. Perfumed, honeyed and nutty with some spice and tropical fruit. Can be  dry, off-dry or sweet. In Italy it tends to be a more neutral, dry wine with delicate pear and citrus character, high acidity and light body. (similar in Central-Eastern Europe.) Tokay-Pinot Gris (Alsace); Rulander/Grauburgunder (Germany); Pinot Grigio (Italy); Pinot Beurot (Burgundy); Malvoisie (Valais) Botrytis Not normally blended. Cool / Moderate Varied Alsace Pinot Gris
Riesling White Germany (Mosel, Rheingau, Pfalz); Austria (Kamp- and Kremstal, Wachau); Alsace; Australia (Clare and Eden Valley, Great Southern (WA), Tasmania); New Zealand's South Island. High acidity with a minerally, peachy, honeyed and/or petrolly/diesel aroma. Very clean, floral, crisp wines with relatively low alcohol. Ideal for late harvest wines. Relatively low yields. Ripens late and slow ripening is best. Can produce bone dry, crisp whites as well as intensely sweet wines of great complexity. Very expressive of terroir. Has enormous ageing potential, especially from Beerenauslese up to Trockenbeerenauslese. Rhine Riesling, Johannisberg Riesling (New World), Weisser Riesling (SA) Botrytis and Coulure Best unblended.
Can form part of the Liebfraumilch blend with Muller-Thurgau, Silvaner and Kerner, although likely to be in small quantities.
Sometimes gewurztraminer.		 Cool / Moderate Loves the slate soils in the Mosel. Rheingau (Schloss Johannisberg) and Mosel (Joh.Jos. Prum, Dr. Loosen).
Grape Variety Colour Important in  Character Synonyms Problems Blended with Climate Soil Types Famous Examples
Sauvignon Blanc White Bordeaux; Loire (Sancerre, Pouilly-Fume); New Zealand (Marlborough); Australia (Margaret River - for classic Bordeaux blend); Chile (Casablanca); South Africa (Coastal Region); California (Napa) Dry wines with marked acidity, either with or without oak ageing. Important, if minor, constituent of Sauternes, used to add acidity. Tends to have a distinctive herbaceous, grassy green, vegetal taste. Showing gooseberries but also stone fruit in warmer climates. Fume Blanc (Napa Valley) Powdery Mildew (Oidium) and Black Rot Semillon and Muscadelle for classic white Bordeaux, incl. the sweet ones. Cool / Moderate Poorer soils, gravel and calcareous, limestone soils Sancerry, Pouilly Fume, Menetou-Salon, Quincy, Reuilly. Bordeaux (Sauternes and Graves, as a minor constituent)
Scheurebe White Germany Late ripening on good sites. Suited for late harvest due to high sugar content. Capable of top quality, but if not fully ripe gives bitter taste. Crossing between Silvaner and Riesling          
Semillon White Bordeaux (Pessac-Leognan, Graves both dry. Sauternes and Barsac, sweet); Bergerac (dry); Monbazillac in South-West France (Sweet); Australia's Hunter Valley (aged Hunter Semillon is classic), Margaret River; Livermore Valley (California) Shows at its best blended with Sauvignon Blanc. Susceptible to Botrytis and therefore responsible for such great sweet wines as Sauternes. Can be neutral or vegetal, with a light body, low in alcohol and high acidity in cool climates. Warmer climates bring out citrus fruit, oiliness, custard often through MLF. More body and a slight drop in acidity. More tropical fruit becomes apparent in later harvested grapes as well as a honeyed nutty character when aged.  Hunter Riesling (Hunter Valley) Botrytis
 		 Sauvignon Blanc and Muscadelle in Bordeaux.
Sometimes with Chardonnay in the new world		 Cool / Moderate Varied although classic Bordeaux soils tend to be gravelly. Sauternes (Chateau d'Yguem); Hunter Valley Semillon
Silvaner White Germany (Franken); Alsace and South Tirol Popularity in decline. Great wine on exceptional sites, but more often main characteristic is low acidity and neutral fruit. Big yields Sylvaner (Alsace); Franken Riesling; Johannisberg (Valais) Frost damage        
Trebbiano White Italy (North-East, Tuscany, Abruzzo); France (Cognac, Armagnac, Provence); Australia Dull wines, light body with green fruit characters. Due to the high acidity the grape is ideal for distillation. Suits handling in stainless steel for simple, neutral style. Procanico; Ugni Blanc (France); St. Emilion (Cognac).
Subvarieties include Trebbiano di Toscana (most ubiquitous and bland), Trebbiano di Soave (may be a subvariety of Verdicchio instead of Trebbiano), Trebbiano Romagnolo and Tebbiano Giallo or Greco.
Trebbiano d'Abruzzo also known as Bombino is not a subvariety of Trebbiano.		 Downy mildew (Peronospera) Garganega (Soave); Malvasia (Frascati); Verdello and Grechetto (Orvieto) Moderate Varied Cognac, Armagnac
Viognier White Northern Rhone; Languedoc; California; Australia Apricot, peaches, pears and blossom (floral) hints, low to medium acidity and medium to high alcohol. Full-bodied with a silky texture. Tolerates oak. Low yields. Co-vinified with Syrah in Cote Rotie to aid colour extraction and fixing. Some new world regions simply blend to give floral characters. None Powdery mildew (oidium)
Coulure		 Syrah (as part of the typical northern Rhone Cote Rotie, Hermitage etc);
Other white Rhone varieties (white Chateauneuf du Pape);
Chardonnay		 Moderate / Hot Varied Chateau Grillet; Condrieu
Welschriesling White Central Europe; Northern Italy Big yields, easy to drink. No relation to true Riesling Riesling Italico (Italy); Laski Rizling (Slovenia)       Varied  
Grape Variety Colour Important in  Character Synonyms Problems Blended with Climate Soil Types Famous Examples
Barbera Red Piemonte, Oltrepo Pavese (Italy); California; Mendoza, San Juan (Argentina) Easy drinking red sour cherry fruit. High acidity with low tannin. Medium -light bodied wines.
When oaked can tend towards cherry, plum and spiciness and oak characters.
Can go jammy, raisins when overripe.
Ripens late and very versatile and easy to grow.		 None   Nebbiolo and Cabernet Sauvignon occasionally. (Italy);
Other varieties in California and Argentina.
 		 Moderate / Hot Poor calcareous soils, but will grow pretty much anywhere. Barbera d'Alba; Barbera d'Asti; Monferrato.
Cabernet Franc Red Loire; St. Emilion, Pomerol, Fronsac (Bordeaux); North East Italy (Friuli); California Raspberry fruit and herbaceous (leafy). High acidity with light to medium alcohol and body as well as tannins. When the climate warms up the character goes more plummy and everything else turns to medium.
When aged it can pick up tobacco and cedar notes with a tendency towards savoury/vegetal.		 Bouchet (St-Emilion, Pomerol, Fronsac); Bouchy (Madiran); Breton (Loire) Coulure Cabernet Sauvigon / Merlot in Bordeaux blends and Meritage (California) Cool-moderate, inland climates   Cheval Blanc St-Emilion (approx. 60%);
Bourgeuil, Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgeuil, Chinon, Saumur (-Champigny)
Cabernet Sauvignon Red Medoc, Graves (Bordeaux); Tuscany (Italy); Rapel, Maipo (Chile); Mendoza (Argentina); Coonawarra, Margaret River (Australia); Napa, Sonoma (California); Stellenbosch (South Africa); Lebanon as well as a whole host of warm regions for bulk wine. Late budding and ripening, low yield.Full bodied, tannic wines with a blackcurrant character. Picks up a herbaceous character, mint/cedar, in moderate climates with a high acidity, sometimes bell pepper when not fully ripe. Acid levels drop slightly in the hotter climates and the fruit goes deep black with a medicinal (menthol) edge. Ages well, picking up tobacco and cedar notes and an earthiness. High pip to pulp ratio, thick skins ensuring high tannin levels.   Powdery Mildew (Oidium); Eutypa and Excoriose. Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Petit Verdot for Bordeaux blends and Meritage. Sometimes blended with Shiraz in Australia and Sangiovese in Tuscany. Moderate / Hot Gravel Chateau Latour,
Mouton-Rothschild (Pauillac)
Solaia, Sassicaia (Tuscany)
Chateau Musar (Lebanon)
Stag's Leap (Napa)
Carignan Red France (Languedoc); Spain Very high yields of poor wine on the plain. On slopes, yields are lower and quality higher. High in tannins, colour and bitterness, but not in finesse and charm. Carinena, Mazuelo (Spain); Carignane (California); Carignano (Italy) Fungal diseases. Powdery Mildew (Oidium), Downy Mildew (Peronospera), rot and infestation by grape worms       Fernand Vaquer, Roussillon
Dornfelder Red Germany Recent variety (1956). Red coloured flesh. Wines deep in colour for Germany. Great potential.            
Gamay Red Beaujolais; Cote d'Or; Touraine; Ardeche; Switzerland High yield, poor quality. Drunk young. Flavours of red fruit (cherry, raspberry), purplish tinge. Gamay Noir a Jus Blanc Prone to spring frost.     Granite Crus de Beaujolais
Grape Variety Colour Important in  Character Synonyms Problems Blended with Climate Soil Types Famous Examples
Grenache Red Southern Rhone, Languedoc;
Spain (Priorato, Penedes, Navarra, La Mancha, Calatayud, Valdepenas);
Australia (McLaren Vale, Barossa)		 Produces red fruit characters (strawberry) and white pepper aromas. High alcohol, full bodied wines with soft tannins. With ripeness can come a certain baked/dried fruit character and/or jamminess. Caramel/toffee and meaty characters are a sign of age. Faily pale in colour. Old vines and low yields tend to produce more intense wines both in colour and aroma/flavour. Garnacha (Spain); Cannonau (Sardinia); Lladoner Pelut (Languedoc) is very closely related. Mildew; Coulure Syrah, Mourvedre, Cinsault etc. in blends like Chateauneuf-du-Pape. Hot and dry. Tolerates wind Poor soil Chateauneuf-du-Pape, Gigondas, Rasteau, Vacqueyras, Lirac, Tavel (Blends).
Banyuls, Rivesaltes (Vins Doux Naturel)
Merlot Red Saint Emilion; Pomerol (Bordeaux) South-West France, Languedoc; Tuscany (Italy); Ticino (Switzerland); Napa, Sonoma (California); Rapel, Maipo (Chile); Mendoza (Argentina); Stellenbosch (South Africa); Margaret River (Australia); Hawkes Bay (New Zealand) Produces smooth red fruit (raspberry, plum) characters, with medium acidity and body, relatively high alcohol and low to medium tannin in moderate climates. In hot climates the fruit turns more black and baked. Acidity drops and results in a full bodied, high alcohol wine with soft ripe tannins.
Oak ageing adds toastiness, coffee, vanilla and nutty flavours. When aged it devolops tobacco and cedar characters as well as an earthy, vegetal note.		 Merlot Noir Downy Mildew (Peronospera); Grey rot; Coulure;
Can be frost prone due to early budding.		 Cabernet Sauvigon and Cabernet Franc in Bordeaux blend and Meritage. Moderate / Hot The cooler damp clay soils of Saint Emilion and Pomerol. Too much drainage may leave berries underdeveloped. Chateau Petrus
Nebbiolo Red Piemonte. (Barolo, Barbaresco, Langhe)
Very little is planted outside Italy but there is occasional (successful) experimentation with the variety in the new world.		 Full bodied wines with a taste commonly described as tar and roses. Floral, red fruit and savoury notes are also found. High tannin and acidity. Medium to high alcohol. Long cask ageing where the fruit disappears and the wines take on a very meaty/savoury complexion. It produces low yields and is difficult to grow and ripen well. Vinification can pose its own problems with very tough tannins. Some of Italy's longest lived wines. Spanna; Picutener; Chiavennasca (in Valtellina, Lombardy) Viruses Barbera, Bonarda. Moderate. Calcareous marls north and south of Alba on the right bank of the Tanaro. Exposed hillsides facing south-southwest. Barolo and Barbaresco
Petite Sirah Red California; South America; Australia Relatively tannic and structured. Deep colour. Sturdy wines. Durif (Duriff)     Warm/Hot    
Petit Verdot Red Bordeaux (Medoc) Concentrated tannic wines. Rich deep colour. Spicy (pepper/salt for the winemaker) often used in small quantities (5% of blend)     Cabernet Sauvigon / Franc in Bordeaux blends and Meritage Warm/Hot   Medoc
Pinot Meunier Red Champagne; Germany (Wurttemberg) Highest quantity champagne grape; later budding, but earlier ripening than pinot noir. Adds youthful fruitiness Mullerrebe, Schwarzriesling (Germany)   Chardonnay and Pinot Noir in Champagne Cool / Moderate   Champagne (especially cooler vineyards)
Pinot Noir Red Burgundy, Champagne, Sancerre, Alsace (France); California; Oregon; Martinborough and Central Otago (New Zealand); Geelong, Yarra and Mornington Peninsula in Victoria and Tasmania (Australia) Small yields. Soft red fruit flavours "Summer Pudding" and cherries. High - medium acidity and low - medium tannins. Older wines can take on an aroma of rotting vegetation, more euphemistically described as forest floor. Other characters found are mushrooms / truffles and an animal savouriness. High quality with the ability to express terroir. In the wrong (too warm) climate the flavours turn to jam pretty instantly. Spatburgunder (Germany); Pinot Nero (Italy);
Pinotage is a cross between Pinot Noir and Cinsault		 Mildew and rot; Spring frost; Coulure;
Virus infections (fanleaf, leafroll)
Difficult to grow and vinify well.		 Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier in Champagne.
Gamay in Switzerland to produce 'Dole'.		 Cool / Moderate Damp cool soils on low-lying land; Limestone Grand Crus Cote-de-Nuits, Cote-de-Beane, Krug Champagne is heavily biased to Pinot Noir
Portugieser Red Germany Early ripening, exceptionally high yields of light, flavoursome wine.            
Grape Variety Colour Important in  Character Synonyms Problems Blended with Climate Soil Types Famous Examples
Sangiovese Red Italy, mainly Tuscany, but also seen in the rest of central and southern Italy in IGT wines.
California (Napa, Sonoma; Argentina (Mendoza)		 Rich fruit, notably cherry and plum. Dried herbs. Medium-high tannins, can be fairly astringent. High acidity and medium body. Can take on a savoury character with age. Blended with Cabernet Sauvignon to produce 'Super-Tuscan'. Varied quality throughout Italy, although it has a good quality potential. Brunello; Prugnolo Gentile; Morellino Rot Canaiolo as part of the Chianti blend (and to lesser extent Mammolo, Colorino, Malvasia, Trebbiano which are also allowed as part of Chianti)
Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Merlot (Supertuscan)		 Moderate / Hot Limestone seems to be preferred although the variety is fairly adaptable. Chianti; Brunello di Montalcino; Vino Nobile di Montepulciano.
Syrah Red Northern Rhone; South of France; Italy (Tuscany), Australia and New World Full, deep, dark wines with black fruit and pepper. Medium to high acidity, tannin and body and a hefty alcohol content. Responds well to oak-ageing, giving it the typical smoky, toasty vanilla flavours. Aged in American oak it picks up a coconut character. When aged it develops chocolat and animal (fleshy, meaty) characters. Shiraz (Australia/New World) Sensitive to Coulure and Chlorosis Grenache, Mourvedre, Cinsault etc. (Chateauneuf-du-Pape) Southern Rhone.
Cabernet Sauvignon (Australia)
Viognier, blended as well as co-vinification.		 Moderate / Hot Poor soil Crozes-Hermitage, Hermitage, Cornas, Saint-Joseph, Cote-Rotie; Penfolds Grange; Isola e Elena.
Tempranillo Red Rioja, Northern half of Spain (Navarra, Ribera del Duero, Toro, Penedes; Portugal (blended); Argentina (Mendoza) Strawberry, plum flavours. Medium-high acidity and tannins. In hot climates the colour and fruit is darker and can get jammy. Medium acidity and tannins. Often matured in American oak, imparting a typical coconut and vanilla flavour. Goes meaty, spicy, savoury, leathery with age. Can get a certain soapy, creamy character from MLF as it ripens with high levels of malic acid. Ull de Llebre [Catalan], Ojo de Liebre [Spanish]; Cencibel; Tinto del Pais; Tinto de Toro; Tinto Fino (Spain); Aragonez; Tinta Roriz (Portugal)   Garnacha;
Typical Rioja blend is Mazuelo (Carignan), Garnacha and Graciano.
In Navarra it is also blended with Garnacha, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.		 Moderate / Hot Calcareous Rioja; Vega Sicilia.
Trollinger Red Germany (Wurttemberg) Dry wine, light in colour. Very late ripening Schiava (Italy)          
Zinfandel Red California (Sierra Foothills, Sonoma, Central Valley; Italy (Puglia and Southern Italy) Broad variety of styles from White Zinfandel, a rose blush wine, fairly sweet strawberry with low acidity to late-picked Californian 'Ports'.
The dry reds have a dark plum, peppery/spicy character, herby, full bodied, high alcohol and medium acidity.
In a hot climate blueberries and dried, raisined fruit. Very full bodied and high alcohol, keeping the medium acidity. Suitable for oak ageing adding the touch of vanilla.		 Primitivo (Italy);
Crjenak Kastelanski.		 Uneven ripening. Bunchrot Other Italian black varieties.
In California sometimes a field blend with Petite Sirah and Carignan.		 Moderate / Hot Well drained hillsides Dry Creek Valley (Sonoma); Ravenswood

copyright www.corkandbottle.co.uk 2006.