Types of Wine
Unfiltered Wines
White Varieties
Albariño - One of Spain's gems, with crisp acidity and aromatic peachy fruit.
Chardonnay - Full-flavored and easydrinking, Chardonnay is a favorite variety of wine drinkers and wine makers alike.
Chenin Blanc - Chenin Blanc is a sturdy grape with high natural acidity and versatility.
Fiano - Fiano is a trendy grape from Italy's Campania wine region.
Folle Blanche - Folle Blanche is a dry, acidic grape that is rapidly being replaced by its Baco offspring in its native France.
Grüner Veltliner - Grüner Veltliner is Austria's specialty, and is the most extensively planted grape there.
Gewürtztraminer - Gewürtztraminer is a sweet and spicy grape that people either love or hate.
Melon de Bourgogne - The famous grape of Muscadet wines from the Loire Valley in France, it creates a dry white wine.
Muller Thurgau - a white grape that produces fruity wine with low acidity.
Muscadelle - Muscadelle is a highly fragrant grape usually blended into other wines to impart its bouquet.
Muscat - is actually a family of grapes with more than 200 varieties
Pinot Bianco - Pinot Bianco (aka: Pinot Blanc) is a full-bodied, crisp white wine grape grown around Europe and the new world.
Pinot Gris - A well-known and fashionable grape, Pinot Gris is a mutation of Pinot Noir that looks quite similar in the vineyard.
Prosecco - An Italian import gaining popularity for making refreshing and affordable sparkling wine.
Riesling - What many people don't know about Riesling is that it is one of the truly classic grape varieties.
Sauvignon Blanc - The piercing aromas and crisp acidity of Sauvignon Blanc elicit strong and varied reactions.
Semillon - Semillon comprises one of three grapes in the famous Sauterne dessert wines.
Silvaner - The bland Silvaner grapes is losing dominance in Germany and Alsace but is still commonly used in blends.
Tokaji - "The king of wine and wine of kings," Tokaji Aszú is Hungary's famous dessert wine.
Torrontés (Torontel) - The crisply fragrant white wine grape comes from Spain but is best known for creating Argentina's best white wine.
Viognier - Until the 1980's, Viognier was hardly ever seen outside the northern Rhône.
Red Varieties
Barbera - An Italian grape with deep garnet colors and a medium to full body.
Bordeaux Varieties - learn about the 5 grapes allowed for use in Red Bordeaux wines.
Cabernet Franc - Cabernet Franc is best known as the third grape of Bordeaux, and is is a key blending partner in most Bordeaux-style blends.
Cabernet Sauvignon - The most transportable and adaptable of all of the classic grapes, Cabernet Sauvignon has spread from its historical home in France to areas throughout the globe.
Carmenère - Carmenère is one of the six varietals used in making red Bordeaux wines.
Carignan- is popular as a blending grape because it brings red fruit characteristics, deep purple color, strong tannin structure, and high levels of alcohol
Cinsaut - Cinsaut, known as Hermitage in South Africa, grows well in drier climates.
Dolcetto - The light red Dolcetto wine from Piedmont is chock full of berry, chocolate and spicy flavors.
Gamay - Gamay is the French variety solely responsible for the distinctive wines of Beaujolais
Grenache - In the Rhône, Grenache has always taken a back seat to Syrah as a blending grape.
Grolleau - a highly acidic grape often used for blending.
Malbec - Malbec is soft, yet robust, intense, and full-bodied
Merlot - Merlot, with its soft, lush, fruity character, is referred to as Cabernet Sauvignon without the pain.
Mourvèdre - Mourvèdre produces tannic wines that can be high in alcohol, and is most commonly found in Rhône style blends.
Nebbiolo - Nebbiolo takes its name from the fog, or nebbia, that settles in the hills and valleys of Piedmont.
País - A weak red wine grape native to Chile, País is rarely exported except in jugs.
Petite Sirah -The thick-skinned Petite Sirah grape produces a very tannic, full-bodied wine with overtones of raspberry and plum.
Petit Verdot - A small, concentrated berry from Bourdeaux, the Petit Verdot has major fruit flavor.
Pinot Meunier - Meunier comes from the French word for "miller" because the underside of a Pinot Meunier leaf looks like it has been dusted with flour.
Pinot Noir - Out of all red varieties, Pinot Noir is the most difficult to grow.
Pinotage - Pinotage is a cross of Pinot Noir and Hermitage (also known as Cinsault), created in South Africa.
Sangiovese - Sangiovese is Italy's most planted variety and is responsible for all of the great red wines of Tuscany.
Syrah - There is a bit of a debate in the wine world as to the origins of the Syrah grape, known as Shiraz in Australia...
Tempranillo - Tempranillo, whether blended or not, forms the backbone of wines throughout Spain.
Trollinger/Schiava - Trollinger is a red wine grape that makes very easy drinking reds.
Zinfandel - Zinfandel is synonymous with the Italian primitivo grape, though its origins are unknown.
