WineVarietalsRed
AGIORGITIKO An excellent indigenous Greek variety responsible for therich, 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 interms of quantity.
Synonyms: Pisse vin, Ugni noir
BAGA Based on the potential of the Bairrada region of Portugal, where thisgrape 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 grownin Piedmont, making medium size, fresh, fruity wines that are sometimesvery good.
BASTARDO The classic Port grape identified as the Trousseau, an ancientvariety once widely cultivated in the Jura, France.
BLAUFRANKISCH Some believe this Austrian variety to be the Gamay and judgingfrom its light and poor quality wine they could be
Synonyms: Blauer limberger, Crna Moravka Game, Kekfrankos, LembergerSchwarze frankishe
CABERNET An ambiguous name that refers to the Cabernet sauvignon or CabernetFranc
CABERNET FRANC
CABERNET SAUVIGNON
CAMINA A German Portugieser x Pinot noir cross that yields grapes with moresugar 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 principalvariety of Sangiovese.
CARIGNAN
CARMENERE A Bordeaux grape that is not very widely cultivated, yet producesdeliciously 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 someareas 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 muchof America's grape juice.
CORVINA A prolific Italian variety, found mainly in Veneto, where it isblended into the wines of Bardolino and Valpolicella, the grape's thickskins contributing color and tannin.
Synonyms: Corvina veronese, Cruina
DECKROT A Pinot gris x Teinturier farbertraube cross that produces a coloredjuice 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 producered wines in the normal way.
DOLCETTO
DOMINA A Portugieser x Pinot noir cross that is more suited to Germany'svineyards than either of its parents.
GAMAY
GRACIANO An important variety used in the production of Rioja, where a smallamount lends richness and fruit to a blend.
Synonyms: Morrastel, Perpignanou.
GRENACHE
GROLLEAU A prolific grape that has a high natural sugar content is importantfor the bulk production of Anjou rose, but is rarely interesting in qualityterms.
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 throughoutthe Balkans. It was once thought to be the same as the Zinfandel, but thistheory 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 farbertraubecross developed to put color into the blends of the country's northern redwines.
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, thoughit bears little resemblance to it, producing wines of light, yet rich, fruitand 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 individualwines of some appeal.
MONDEUSE A variety that may have originally hailed from Friuli in northeasternItaly where it is known as the Refosco. It is now planted as far afieldas the Savoie in France, California, USA, Switzerland Yugoslavia, the Argentineand Australia, where it is often an important constituent of the fortifiedport-type wines.
Synonyms: Grand picot, Gros rouge du Pays, Grosse syrah, Molettenoir, 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 productionof 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 animportant position in South African viticulture where its rustic and hightoned wine is greatly appreciated.
PINOT MEUNIER
PINOT NOIR
PORTUGIESER The widest-planted black grape variety in Germany originatingnot from Portugal as its name suggests, but from the Danube district ofAustria. As it makes very ordinary and extremely light red wine it is oftenused 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 ofarea 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 rosewines.
RUBY CABERNET An American, U. C. Davis, Carignan x Cabernet sauvignon crossthat originated in 1936, first fruited in 1940 and made its first wine in1946. The Carignan quality lightens the Cabernet quality to produce a lighterred wine, more drinkable at a young age.
SANGIOVESE
SYRAH/SHIRAZ
TANNAT A grape that originated from the Basque region, with the potentialto produce deeply colored, tannic wines of great longevity though certainmodern methods of vinification often change the traditional character ofTannat wines. The variety's best known wines are the attractive red Madiranand Irouleguy. A little Tannat wine is used for blending purposes in andaround the town of Cahors.
Synonyms: Bordeleza belcha, Harriague, Madiran, Moustrou, Moustroun,Tanat.
TEMPRANILLO The most important variety in Rioja, where it is traditionalto blend the grapes, although many pure Empranillo wines of excellent qualityare made. It is capable of producing long lived wines of some finesse andcomplexity 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-comingvarieties, this grape makes very full and well colored wines chat can besomewhat rustic in character compared to the two Touriga varieties.
TINTA CAO One of the best Port grapes.
TINTA RORIX A principle grape used to makePort.
TOURIGA FRANCESA A classic Port grape thatis no relation to the Touriga nacional. Its wine is less concentrated, butof fine quality.
TOURIGA NACIONAL The finest Port grapein the entire Douro. The wine is fantastically rich and tannic, with massesof 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, fullbodied, high character wines.
XYNOMAVRO An excellent Greek variety that produces the rich and smooch Naoussa.
ZINFANDEL