Becoming a member of a wine club, such as Formula Wine, is a good way to expand your knowledge of viticulture, wine and wine making, also known as viti and vini! If you are a novice to the subject, then it can be daunting to start learning about wine. Many UK wine experts are seen in the press and on television, espousing at length why certain wines must be chosen with certain foods and in specific situations. The fear that you may make a dreadful faux pas by serving the ‘wrong wine’ with a certain food is very real for many.
Fortunately, help is at hand with this simple bluffers guide to the most popular grapes used in wine production across the world!
Cabernet Sauvignon: One of the best-known brands of wine produced today. The grape is grown traditionally in the left bank region of Bordeaux and now has spread to California, Western Australia and South Africa. The grape is popular because it is easy to grow if situated where it can receive the warming rays of the sun. In a traditional Bordeaux, the Cabernet grape is often blended with Merlot and other grapes to give a textured, juicy taste to the wine.
Merlot: A lovely, plump red grape which produces outstanding wine across the right bank of Bordeaux, other regions of France, California, Washington State and Chile in particular. Merlot is a particularly versatile grape; it not only produces its own beautifully fruity wines from across the globe, but it is also a grape that blends superbly with other grapes to give added texture and taste. Whereas Cabernet prefers warmer climes, the Merlot grape is happier in slightly cooler conditions.
Shiraz: Also known as Syrah, the Shiraz grape is one of the classic blending varieties, along with Grenache and Mourvedre. In many ways Shiraz is an unusual wine, for the best results it requires warm conditions, but poor quality soil; in better conditions the berries can ripen too quickly.
Australia (and in particular New South Wales and South Australia) produces some outstanding examples where the conditions above are met. Each vineyard in these areas produces a good Shiraz with its own distinctive flavour; ranging from fruity sweetness in a Barossa, to the gentle floral scents that typify grapes grown in the northern Rhone region.
Pinot Noir: One of the hallmarks of a true expert winemaker is the ability to produce a quality Pinot Noir grape, such as the famous Burgundy. This fickle plant is one of the most difficult to grow successfully and each wine reflects the landscape (or ‘terroir’) in which it was grown. Oddly enough, the areas that successfully produce Pinot Noir (Burgundy, the Cote d’Or, New Zealand and Oregon in the US) all lie on a latitude of 45 degrees. This quality grape produces a delicate and gently flavoured wine that is not blended with other varieties and is usually best when aged between three and eight years.
Sauvignon Blanc: The distinctive fruity type of wine produced from the Sauvignon Blanc grape is one of the most popular in the UK and produces some of the world’s finest wine, including Sancerre and Poiully Fume, both from France, though New Zealand also produces some outstanding vintages of note. A characteristic of a great Sauvignon Blanc is the crisp, clean taste that contains a bewildering array of tastes and aromas.
Riesling: For many wine professionals, Riesling is the undisputed king of grapes; producing a rich flavour dependent on whereabouts in the world it is grown. German Rieslings produce a floral scent, while those from the Alsace region tend to be peachy, or hint of apples and offer a petrol or smoky complexity. A well-aged Riesling gives off stunning aromas and if you are seeking a wine to age, then Riesling is an undisputed first choice as it is a wine that ages superbly, provided it is not blended or aged in new oak casks.
This small guide to six of the most popular forms of grape variety is an ideal starting place for the novice wine buff and allows you to understand a little of each grape before investigating them in more detail, or expanding your knowledge of viticulture into other types of wine producing grape, such as Viognier, Semillon and Chenin Blanc.
With this little snippet of knowledge, continually trying new wines and expanding your palate and a little research on the topic, it is easy for the wine bluff, to become a wine buff! Best of all, in learning all about this detailed and fascinating subject, you get to sample some of the finest red and white wines available from all over the world.
More Information:Becoming a member of a wine Club such as
Formula Wine is a really great way of learning about different types of wines, their characteristics and even which wines go best with what food.
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