|
Characteristics of Red Wine Grapes
General
Jump to Specific Grape Varieties
Color: From red to purple. The more blue or purple, the
younger. CM wines are very purple. Orange or bricky denotes age.
Fruit: From red fruits to dark bramble fruit. Raspberry and
cotton candy in CM wines. Older wines tend to be lacking fruit.
Tannins: When they are young they are the rough almost
tactile sensation in the mouth. The harsh ones are from the seed and
stems. The softer tannins are from oak. Harsh tannins can be softened
with careful winemaking during the maceration period (skin contact).
Leather flavors in aged red wine is are to be expected. TANnin is
used to TAN leather, so the smell is from the tannins. Leather tends
to be more pronounced once the fruit has faded.
Tobacco - along with cedar and leather a product of well aged
tannins.
Astringency: Different than tannins, this is the drying out
of the mouth. It is due to the acidity in general.
Off Flavors and Smells:
Wet cardboard - Corked wine.
Wet horse blanket - Brett, a common bacterial spoilage, in smaller
concentrations it is more like dirt than merde.
Slight sparkle - if it is slight it is dissolved CO2, if it is
accompanied by a wet forest floor smell, than it is Malo-Lactic
fermentation in the bottle.
Wine Making Flavors:
Malo-Lactic Fermentation - The process of changing the sharp malic
acid (in apples) into the softer lactic acid (in milk). The process
also leaves the by product DIACETYL, the taste of butter.
Carbonic Maceration (CM) - This is a quick way of making wine that
results in fruity wines with no tannin and only slight varietal
character. Strawberries, bananas and raspberries, as well as a cotton
candy sweetness in the nose, are typical.
Oak - If it is complex with cloves and woody spices, it is French
oak. If it is forward with vanilla, it is American oak. If it is
musty it is from old barrels.
Oxidation - Caramel and a dark, plum smell (Port). Light orange
hues in the wine are another hint.
Blending - While not always obvious, a wine that tastes complex
may have been blended with several grape varieties.
Climatic Characteristics:
Hot weather - A deep rich flavor lacking in acidity or bright
fruit. The hotter the region the more flabby (less acidic) the wines
tend to be. Because of the overripe fruit, and the propensity to
oxidize hot fruit, the color tends towards brown shades of red.
Cool weather - Long cool growing condition pronounce the fruit and
the acidity. Tannins and color are low.
Temperate weather - If it is not too hot nor too cool, the ideal
grape variety are those with long growing seasons, but thick skins to
protect the fruit. Tannin and color are products of the grape skin.
Specific Varieties
CLASSIC VARIETIES
|
Grape Variety
|
Cabernet Sauvignon
|
|
Use in Old World
|
Bordeaux, primary in Haut-Medoc
|
|
Use in New World
|
Pervasive
|
|
Color
|
Dark red with blue hints when young.
|
|
Aroma
|
Bramble fruit, cassis. Often mint or even green pepper.
|
|
Body
|
Heavy
|
|
Wine Making Flavors
|
Heavy use of oak, but incorporates well into the wine.
|
|
Blended with:
|
Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Petit Verdot, Syrah
(Australia).
|
|
Other
|
Increasingly being planted in Italy where it only
recently has an official status
|
|
Grape Variety
|
Merlot
|
|
Use in Old World
|
Bordeaux, primary in St.-Emilion and Pomerol
|
|
Use in New World
|
US and South America
|
|
Color
|
Tends towards medium dark and very blue.
|
|
Aroma
|
Red bramble fruit, chocolate, straw
|
|
Body
|
Moderate
|
|
Wine Making Flavors
|
Diacetyl and vanillic acid from American oak come through
well and are often prevalent. Brett is common in the Old
World, but it is the light dirt variety.
|
|
Blended with:
|
Usually with Cabernet Sauvignon.
|
|
Other
|
Increasingly being sold as a varietal wine even in the
Old world.
|
|
Grape Variety
|
Pinot Noir
|
|
Use in Old World
|
Burgundy. Also Germany and Switzerland.
|
|
Use in New World
|
US, Australia
|
|
Color
|
Light red, sometimes with a slight hint of blue.
|
|
Aroma
|
Dark cherries and linden (to some a 'Band-aid' smell).
|
|
Body
|
Light to medium.
|
|
Wine Making Flavors
|
Brett (horse blanket), sometimes strongly, especially in
Burgundy.
|
|
Blended with:
|
Rarely blended, except with Chardonnay in Champagne.
|
|
Other
|
The hardest of all wines to make, and often the most
rewarding when it is successful.
|
|
Grape Variety
|
Syrah
|
|
Use in Old World
|
Rhone, France
|
|
Use in New World
|
Australia (called Shiraz), US esp. CA
|
|
Color
|
Deep red with a good deal of blue.
|
|
Aroma
|
Violets and sometimes black pepper. Very Berry.
|
|
Body
|
Medium to heavy.
|
|
Wine Making Flavors
|
Minimal flavors intrude, even when much is done to the
wine.
|
|
Blended with:
|
Grenache and in Chateauneuf du Pape, 11 other grapes. The
white grape Viognier is used very well in the Cote-Rotie
(Rhone). In Australia it is a very important grape and is
often blended with Cabernet Sauvignon.
|
|
Other
|
The Syrah of Australia is an older clone than in the
Rhone. The clone was taken before phylloxera.
|
MAJOR VARIETIES
|
Grape Variety
|
Cabernet Franc
|
|
Use in Old World
|
Chinon in the Loire, as a blending grape in Bordeaux
|
|
Use in New World
|
US
|
|
Color
|
Light to medium, bright red
|
|
Aroma
|
Raspberry
|
|
Body
|
Light to medium
|
|
Wine Making Flavors
|
Often made in whole or partial CM style.
|
|
Blended with:
|
Alone or as part of a Cabernet Sauvignon blend.
|
|
Other
|
Just starting to catch on in the US.
|
|
Grape Variety
|
Grenache
|
|
Use in Old World
|
Rhone and Southern France. Rioja, Spain.
|
|
Use in New World
|
Some US
|
|
Color
|
Light red to orange.
|
|
Aroma
|
Spicy black pepper. Light red fruits
|
|
Body
|
Light to heavy
|
|
Wine Making Flavors
|
CM style in Southern France and Cote du Rhone. Much
blended in the rest of the Rhone. Often oxidized with a
strong vanilla aroma (from American Oak) in the wines of the
Rioja.
|
|
Blended with:
|
Extensively with Syrah in the Rhone and a zillion other
grapes in the south of France. In Rioja it is blended with
Tempranillo.
|
|
Other
|
Also used to make the excellent roses of Tavel and Lirac.
|
|
Grape Variety
|
Nebbiolo
|
|
Use in Old World
|
Piedmont, Italy.
|
|
Use in New World
|
Small amounts in US.
|
|
Color
|
Solid red.
|
|
Aroma
|
Light fruit, sometimes bitter
|
|
Body
|
Medium to heavy
|
|
Wine Making Flavors
|
Often old musty oak and oxidation in these wines
|
|
Blended with:
|
None
|
|
Other
|
The grape of Barolo and Barberesco. A difficult grape
that is often overlooked.
|
|
Grape Variety
|
Sangiovese
|
|
Use in Old World
|
Tuscany, Italy
|
|
Use in New World
|
Rare, but increasing in CA.
|
|
Color
|
From very light to very dark.
|
|
Aroma
|
Dark red fruits.
|
|
Body
|
From very light to very heavy.
|
|
Wine Making Flavors
|
Often heavily oaked and slightly oxidized.
|
|
Blended with:
|
In Chianti it is blended with red and white wines. In the
'Super-Tuscans' it is blended with Cabernet Sauvignon.
|
|
Other
|
There are huge differences in the various clones of this
grape. There is the Grosso clone which is the more common,
and the Piccolo clone which is smaller in size and
plantings. The Brunello grape is a Sangiovese Grosso clone
and yet still shows as the finest example of Sangiovese.
|
|
Grape Variety
|
Zinfandel
|
|
Use in Old World
|
Now known to be the Crljenak Kastelanski, of Croatia. All but extinct.
|
|
Use in New World
|
The only vinifera grape almost completely exclusive to the US.
|
|
Color
|
Deep purple, often inky.
|
|
Aroma
|
Blackberries and dark fruit.
|
|
Body
|
Light to very heavy.
|
|
Wine Making Flavors
|
Sometimes made in a CM style. Increasingly it is made in
a partial CM style (blended with traditionally made wine)
which preserves its character while adding complexity.
|
|
Blended with:
|
Any number of things, but Petite Syrah and Grenache are
the most successful.
|
|
Other
|
Often made into a rose wine this exceptional grape has
earned an undeserved reputation based on these insipid pink
wines.
|
|
