Getting To Know The Grapes Flashcards
How many grapes varieties are there thought to be?
5,000-10,000
How many grape varieties are commercially planted?
150
What are the two kinds are common crosses
Natural (spontaneously occurred in nature), and intentional (made by growers)
One of the liveliest white wines in Europe, considered the best wine for seafood. It is Spain’s most notable white wine, grown mostly in Rias Baixas. Floral and citrusy, but not quite as aromatic as riesling or gewurtztraminer. For all its’ fame in Spain, it probably originated in Portugal.
Albarino
Portuguese name for Albarino
Alvarinho
The most widely planted red grape in Piedmont, also planted in small amounts in Northern California.
Barbera
This grape plays an important role in most famous Bordeaux-style blends (famously the majority of Cheval Blancs wines). It is not as fleshy as merlot, nor as structured/intense as cabernet sauvignon. When unripe it has a green bellpepper taste. Loire Valley Chinon is 100% this grape. This grape originated in the Basque Region.
Cabernet Franc
What are the three chief founder varieties
Pinot Noir, Gouais Blanc, and Savagnin
The preeminent classic red grape variety, few other wines in the world as able to combine power and elegance like this grape. Black-currant, blackberry, mint, licorice, tobacco, dark chocolate. One of the most tannic red grapes. The most famous wine made with this grape are blends in Bordeaux.
Cabernet Sauvignon
One of the most successful white grapes in the world. Vanilla, butter, minerals, green apple, and exotic citrus fruit. The texture is creamy, lush, and full-bodied. Chablis is made of 100% this grape. It is a natural cross between gouais and pinot noir.
Chardonnay
Grown mostly in Loire (it also originated here), specifically in Vouvray and Savennieres, this grape tastes like apples, honey, has shimmering acidity and minerality. Also grown in South Africa
Chenin Blanc
What is Chenin Blanc called in South Africa?
Steen
The least tannic of the famous red grapes, its ancestral home is Burgundy, but it was banished to Beaujolais by a powerful Duke in the 14th century. It’s parents are pinot noir and gouais blanc. It’s best wines come from one of the ten cru villages in Beaujolais.
Gamay
The most aromatic white wine, smells like roses, lychees, gingerbread, grapefruit, fruit-cocktail syrup. This grape is not actually a distinct variety but rather savaagnin rose- a pink berried clone of savagnin. Most famously grown in Alsace, also grown in Trentino-Alto Adige in Italy.
Gewurztraminer
What does “gewurz” mean in German?
spice, outrageously perfumed
Well known both as a white grape and red grape. It’s red grape is the leading grape in Chateauneuf-de-Pape, Cotes-du-Rhone, and Gigondas. It is also grown in Campo de Borja and Priorat. The grape is Spanish in origin and should be called by this Spanish name.
Grenache / Garnacha
The leading white wine of Austria, the natural cross of savagnin and St. Georgener. Precise, lively, bold, dry, and minerally. Virtually never blended.
Gruner Veltliner
Indigenous to southwest France, the offspring of Magdeleine Noire des Charentes and Pruneland. One of the five grapes grown in Bordeaux, the leading red grape in Argentina, and the historic grape of Cahor. This grape is prized for its soft mouth-filling texture, and its deep, inky color. Taste is plummy, mocha, and earthy.
Malbec
Malbec is traditionally called what in Cahors?
Cot
The offspring of Cabernet Franc and Magdeleine Noire des Charentes. Similar in flavor and texture to cabernet sauvignon, though it lacks the taste of green tobacco and dried mint. One of Bordeaux’s leading blend grapes, and 99% of the famous wines from Chateau Petrus. Also grown very well in Chile and Washington State.
Merlot
Dark, hard-edged, almost brooding flavor that is never light, juicy, or lively. Spanish in origin, and grown famously in Castilla-La Mancha. A small amount of this grape is also used in Rhone blends.
Mourvedre
Not a single variety but rather a large group of different ancient grapes.
Muscat
One of the oldest and most important grapes grown in Piedmont, and a poster child for grape varietals not traveling well. Used to make Barolo and Barbaresco. Tar, violets, and espresso like bitterness from the wine’s pronounced tannin.
Nebbiolo
A clone of Pinot Noir that is grown most famously in Italy, and is also one of the four noble grapes in Alsace.
Pinot Gris
One of the founder varieties, light in body and low in tannin. Of the well-known grapes, this grape is considered the most difficult to grow and make into wine. All red wine in Burgundy are made from this variety, the most expensive being Romanee-Conti. Very genetically unstable, that’s why it has so many clones.
Pinot Noir
Thought to have originated in the Rheingau region of Germany, this grape has soaring acidity and incomparable purity and vividness. Taste like peaches, apricots, and vibrant minerality. Grown best in cool to cold climates, the best of which come from Germany, Alsace, and Austria.
Riesling
Italy’s most famous grape, the grape responsible for Tuscany’s great Chianti Classico, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, and Brunello di Montalcino. Also the major grape in many Super Tuscans. The offspring of Calabrese di Montenuovo and ciliegiolo. This grape takes its structure from acidity rather than tannin.
Sangiovese
This grape was born in Bordeaux, this grape has a broad mouth-filling character. It is commonly blended with Sauvignon Blanc in Bordeaux, and is used to make Sauternes in Sauternes. Also grown in Australia.
Semillon
Leather, smoke, roasted meats, bacon, game, coffee, spices, and white/black pepper. The only red grape grown in Hermitage, Cote-Rotie, and Cornas. Blended in Chateauneuf-du-Pape and Gigondas. The leading grape in Australia where it has an alternative name, and grown well in California.
Syrah
Spain’s most famous red grape, the main red grape in Rioja. Well structured and well balanced.
Tempranillo
One of the finest but rarest French white grapes. It went nearly extinct in 1960, before becoming fashionable again in California and Languedoc-Roussillon. In northern Rhone, this grape makes the prestigious wines Condrieu and Chateau-Grillet. Full-bodied, with the taste of honeysuckle, apricot, muksy aromas. It smells sweet but it almost always bonedry.
Viognier
Made famous by Sutter Home
Zinfandel
Tempranillo is called what in Portugal
Tinta Roriz
