My Hundred (plus) Wine Varieties
How many different wine varieties have you tried?
It's amazing how many varieties of grapes are used to make wine. Five or ten thousand, depending on who you read, and that's not counting clones. I find it a topic of never ending fascination.
So do hundreds of other people apparently. My friend Steve Delong has turned the study of wine varieties into an art form - literally, um, perhaps I mean visually. He has designed and published a superb table describing 184 of the most popular grape varieties. You can see an image of it below.
But that's not all. He has also established the wine century club for those of us who have tried a hundred different grape varieties, and can still count.
It's not as easy as you think. Getting to about fifty or so is a bit of a breeze. Sixty is a bit harder and you may find seventy or so a challenge.
But keep going and looking for odd varieties in your liquor store.
This lens will tell you about I managed to get my hundred, and a few more. Along the way I hope you will learn something about why wine is such a wonderful product full of incredible diversity and surprises.
Use the guestbook at the bottom of this lens to let us know about which unusual wine you have tried recently.
These are some of the varieties I have tried
Just the really obscure ones here
- Cygne blanc - a Western Australian special
- Aleatico - an Italian sweetie
- Aligote - a highly acid white burgundy grape
- Petit Meslier - you thought there were only three varieties in Champagne, think again
- Malian - A bronze Australian form of cabernet sauvignon
- Shalistin - A white form of cabernet
- Kerner - a cross of trollinger and riesling
- Siegerrebe - this is a modern German crossing known for its ability to produce very high levels of sugar. Snowy Vineyards in Australia's Snowy Mountains makes a "white port style" from his variety.
The wine grape varietal table
This is what started me going
New Wine Tasting Notebook
A handy guide to writing notes, plus 60pages to keep a permanent record of your notes
Steve De Long has just released a superb little wine tasting book. Each of the 60 pages is structured to allow you to record the information quickly and effectively. There is a guide to tasting terms and instructions on how to write a note.
More details here
Italian Grape Varieties
Not just in Italy!
A few have achieved worldwide fame, think Pinot Grigio, Sangiovese, Barbera and Nebbiolo.
Over recent years other Italian varieties are have attracted attention in the new world. Here are some that I have tried, mainly from Australia.
REDS
Montepulciano, Corvina, Rondinella, Nero d'Avola, Dolcetto, Negroamaro, Aglianico, Sagrantino, Lagrein, Lambrusco, Primitivo, Refosco, Teroldego, Marzemino, Schioppetino,
Whites
Arneis, Trebbiano, Fiano, Verduzzo, Vermentino, Gargenega, Cortese, Picolit and Malvasi Istriana
Information about wine varieties
- Australian wine from unusual varieties
- The site for Australian wine enthusiasts who want to go beyond chardonnay and cabernet. Explore and learn about Australian wine made from less common varieties
- De Long's Wine Grape Varietal Table
- De Long's Wine Grape Varietal Table is an incredibly useful wine reference
- The Wine Century Club
- Do you have what it takes to join this club?
Wine and food
What should you eat with those obscure varieties?
Remember many wines are much better with food.
Well why not head over tyo the Vinodiversity food-wine index and see some great ideas.
International varieties
These wine varieites are grown everywhere
Among whites the ubiquitous chardonnay is surely international. Around the winegrowing world it is used to make (often ordinary) dry white wines. They are often so bad that the winemaker tries to mask the flavour with oak. In cooler areas the variety is used to make sparkling wine.
Other international white varieties include Semillon, Sauvingnon blanc, Chenin blanc and Riesling.
Cabernet Sauvignon is the dominant red wine variety among the internationals. It is used to make varietal wines everywhere and is often used as the dominant variety in blends. It is more useful though as a minor blending partner with Syrah in such wines as the classic Australian dry reds (think Grange), with Sangiovese with the Super Tuscans or with Tempranillo as in some red wines from Spain.
Other internatal red grape varieites include Syrah (Shiraz in Australia), Merlot, Malbec and Pinot noir
So there's ten varieties that should be on everybody's wine century list.
How many wine varieties have you tried?
Count 'em up and let us know (no fibbing!)
Probably 103 now. I loved focusing on trying different wines in my quest to become a Wine Century Club member! My favorite experiences? Lambrusco at the Elks club bar in Cohoes, Scuppernong in Georgia,and my first taste of Viognier in NYC on the same day I met Jean Paul Brun.
Posted October 02, 2007
Some Wine Photos from Around the World
Courtesy of BKW wines
