A
Better No Frills Wine Guide
Grapes
Explained
Sadly, many wine
labels today are born in the marketing office and
are designed to sell you the wine. However, we are
protected by law and you can always trust the wine
label to provide you with the facts about the wine
- if you know how to read it! . Review the label at
the back of the bottle too, it may be rich in important
information about the wine, the grower and origination.
Grape Variety: Most
of the world’s wines are produced from no more
than a handful of different grape varieties. Here
are some of the most common types of wine.
Red grapes in alphabetical order:
Cabernet Sauvignon
- Experts have named it the king of red grapes, it
has an intense blackcurrant flavour.
Gamay
- A Beaujolais grape that produces cherry and raspberry
flavoured wines.
Grenache
- Producing velvety, fruity wines, especially rosés,
part of the Châteauneuf-du-Pape blend.
Merlot
- Soft black cherry and blackcurranty flavours, quite
often blended with Cabernet Sauvignon.
Pinot Noir
- Younger Pinots are silky, light, and fruity. Whilst
the more mature Pinots often have an earthy aroma
and that of game and truffles.
Sangiovese
- This Chianti grape produces light and attractive
wines with herby, fruity flavours.
Syrah/Shiraz
- New World
wine grapes are plump, velvety grapes
producing rich full bodied wines with fruity, spicy
overtones.
Tempranillo
- Stylish wines with a very characteristic strawberry
flavour.
Zinfandel
- A speciality grape of California,
has a distinctive taste of ripe-berried fruits.
Zinfandel is also known as Primitivo.
White
grapes in alphabetical order:
Chardonnay - The perfect simple introduction
to white wines. Varying styles from light/fresh, to
heavy-oaky, buttery, tropical flavours.
Chenin Blanc - Used for many wines from dry
and sharp, sparkling, medium to sweet wines. Mature
examples have a nutty, honey taste.
Gewürztraminer - An intense aromatic spicy
flavour, dry or sweet. Alsace produces some quality
Gewürztraminers.
Muscat - Unusually the wine actually smells
of the grape itself. Muscats vary from rich, sweet
and fortified to light and dry.
Riesling - Rieslings range from dry, light
and crisp to rich, sweet and honey flavours.
Sauvignon Blanc - Also known as Fumé Blanc,
it has a very fresh, tangy style with flavours of
gooseberries, elderflower and asparagus.
Sémillon - Ranging from dry, light lemon
to sweet flavours with smells of barley sugar and
peaches.
Viognier - Becoming increasingly fashionable.
This produces dry wines with a rich apricot aroma.
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