WineVarietalsRed
AGIORGITIKO An excellent indigenous Greek variety responsible for the
rich, and often oak aged wines of Nemea.
ALICANTE Grenache
ALICANTE BOUSCHET
ARAMON The fact that this is the Ugni noir of the wine world says it all.
Its wines are usually thin and harsh, but it does have some importance in
terms of quantity.
Synonyms: Pisse vin, Ugni noir
BAGA Based on the potential of the Bairrada region of Portugal, where this
grape accounts for 80 per cent of all grapes grown, it is a dependable variety,
however, it has yet to establish truly fine varietal characteristics.
BARBERA A prolific Italian variety grown
in Piedmont, making medium size, fresh, fruity wines that are sometimes
very good.
BASTARDO The classic Port grape identified as the Trousseau, an ancient
variety once widely cultivated in the Jura, France.
BLAUFRANKISCH Some believe this Austrian variety to be the Gamay and judging
from its light and poor quality wine they could be
Synonyms: Blauer limberger, Crna Moravka Game, Kekfrankos, Lemberger
Schwarze frankishe
CABERNET An ambiguous name that refers to the Cabernet sauvignon or Cabernet
Franc
CABERNET FRANC
CABERNET SAUVIGNON
CAMINA A German Portugieser x Pinot noir cross that yields grapes with more
sugar and acidity than either parent.
CAMPBELL'S EARLY An American hybrid that is particularly popular in Japan.
Synonym: Island belle
CANAIOLO NERO A secondary grape used to add softness to Chianti's principal
variety of Sangiovese.
CARIGNAN
CARMENERE A Bordeaux grape that is not very widely cultivated, yet produces
deliciously rich, soft-textured wines of excellent color.
Synonyms: Cabarnelle, Carmenelle, Grande vidure
CESAR A minor grape variety of moderate quality that is still used in some
areas of Burgundy, most notably for Bourgogne Irancy
Synonyms: Romain, Roncain, Gros monsieur, Gros noir
CINSAULT
CONCORD The widest cultivated variety in North America outside of California.
It has an extremely pronounced flavor. A table grape responsible for much
of America's grape juice.
CORVINA A prolific Italian variety, found mainly in Veneto, where it is
blended into the wines of Bardolino and Valpolicella, the grape's thick
skins contributing color and tannin.
Synonyms: Corvina veronese, Cruina
DECKROT A Pinot gris x Teinturier farbertraube cross that produces a colored
juice that is welcomed by growers in the cool climate of Germany's vineyards,
as they are unable to grow black grapes with a dark skin in order to produce
red wines in the normal way.
DOLCETTO
DOMINA A Portugieser x Pinot noir cross that is more suited to Germany's
vineyards than either of its parents.
GAMAY
GRACIANO An important variety used in the production of Rioja, where a small
amount lends richness and fruit to a blend.
Synonyms: Morrastel, Perpignanou.
GRENACHE
GROLLEAU A prolific grape that has a high natural sugar content is important
for the bulk production of Anjou rose, but is rarely interesting in quality
terms.
Synonyms: Groslot, Gros lot, Plant Boisnard, Pineau de Saumur.
HEROLDREBE A Portugieser x Limberger cross that produces light colored,
neutral flavored wines in Germany.
KADARKA Hungary's most widely-cultivated grape variety grown throughout
the Balkans. It was once thought to be the same as the Zinfandel, but this
theory no longer persists. It makes pleasant, light and fruity wine.
Synonyms: Balkan kadarka, Codarka, Gamza, Kadarska.
KOLOR One of Germany's teinturier varieties, a Pinot noir x Teinturier farbertraube
cross developed to put color into the blends of the country's northern red
wines.
LAMBRUSCO An Italian variety, famous for its production of the medium-sweet,
red, frothy wine of the same name in the Emilia-Romagna area
MALBEC
MATARO Carignan
MAVROUD A Bulgarian variety that produces dark, rich and plummy wines. Synonym:
Mavrud
MAZUELO A variety grown in Rioja and believed to be the Carignan, though
it bears little resemblance to it, producing wines of light, yet rich, fruit
and low alcohol.
MERLOT
MISSION A native American varietal cultivated at the California Missions.
Little of this variety remains.
MONASTRELL An underrated Spanish variety that is usually hidden in blends.
However, it does have a full and distinctive flavor and could make individual
wines of some appeal.
MONDEUSE A variety that may have originally hailed from Friuli in northeastern
Italy where it is known as the Refosco. It is now planted as far afield
as the Savoie in France, California, USA, Switzerland Yugoslavia, the Argentine
and Australia, where it is often an important constituent of the fortified
port-type wines.
Synonyms: Grand picot, Gros rouge du Pays, Grosse syrah, Molette
noir, Refosco, Savoyanche, Terrano
MOURVEDRE
NEBBIOLO
PAMID The widest cultivated of Bulgaria's indigenous black grape varieties.
It makes light and fruity quaffing wine.
PETIT VERDOT
PINEAU D'AUNIS A grape best known for its supporting role in the production
of Rose d'Anjou.
Synonyms: Chenin noir, Cot a queue rouge, Pineau rouge, Plant d'Aunis.
PINOTAGE A Pinot noir x Cinsault cross developed in 1925. It occupies an
important position in South African viticulture where its rustic and high
toned wine is greatly appreciated.
PINOT MEUNIER
PINOT NOIR
PORTUGIESER The widest-planted black grape variety in Germany originating
not from Portugal as its name suggests, but from the Danube district of
Austria. As it makes very ordinary and extremely light red wine it is often
used in bad years to blend with the too acidic white wine.
Synonyms: Oporto, Portugais bleu, Portugalka.
PRIMITIVO An Italian variety grown in Apulia where it produces rich wines,
sometimes sweet or fortified. Some think it is the same variety as Zinfandel.
Synonyms: Primativo, Zingarello, Zinfandel.
RONDINELLA An Italian variety secondary to the Corvina grape in terms of
area planted, used for the production of Bardolino and Valpolicella.
ROTBERGER A Trollinger x Riesling cross. The parents seem an odd couple,
but the offspring is surprisingly successful, producing some excellent rose
wines.
RUBY CABERNET An American, U. C. Davis, Carignan x Cabernet sauvignon cross
that originated in 1936, first fruited in 1940 and made its first wine in
1946. The Carignan quality lightens the Cabernet quality to produce a lighter
red wine, more drinkable at a young age.
SANGIOVESE
SYRAH/SHIRAZ
TANNAT A grape that originated from the Basque region, with the potential
to produce deeply colored, tannic wines of great longevity though certain
modern methods of vinification often change the traditional character of
Tannat wines. The variety's best known wines are the attractive red Madiran
and Irouleguy. A little Tannat wine is used for blending purposes in and
around the town of Cahors.
Synonyms: Bordeleza belcha, Harriague, Madiran, Moustrou, Moustroun,
Tanat.
TEMPRANILLO The most important variety in Rioja, where it is traditional
to blend the grapes, although many pure Empranillo wines of excellent quality
are made. It is capable of producing long lived wines of some finesse and
complexity It is also an important variety in Argentina.
Synonyms: Aragonez, Cencibel, Grenache de Logrono, Ojo de liebre,
Tempranilla, Tempranillo de la Rioja, Tinta roriz, Tinto fino, Tinto Madrid,
Tinto de la Rioja, Tinto de toro, Ull de llebre.
TINTA AMARELA An important Port grape.
TINTA BARROCA One of the Douro's up-and-coming
varieties, this grape makes very full and well colored wines chat can be
somewhat rustic in character compared to the two Touriga varieties.
TINTA CAO One of the best Port grapes.
TINTA RORIX A principle grape used to make
Port.
TOURIGA FRANCESA A classic Port grape that
is no relation to the Touriga nacional. Its wine is less concentrated, but
of fine quality.
TOURIGA NACIONAL The finest Port grape
in the entire Douro. The wine is fantastically rich and tannic, with masses
of fruit, and is capable of great longevity and complexity.
Synonym: Touriga.
TROLLINGER A variety mainly restricted to the Wurttemberg region of Germany.
It produces fresh and fruity red wine.
Synonyms: Black Hamburg, Blauer malvasier, Frankenthaler, Gross oernatsch.
Red trollinger, Schiavagrossa.
VRANAC A grape indigenous to Yugoslavia where it makes dark colored, full
bodied, high character wines.
XYNOMAVRO An excellent Greek variety that produces the rich and smooch Naoussa.
ZINFANDEL