What Is A Grape Varietal?

A varietal is a wine that is labeled as being made from one grape variety. Typically you’ll see varietals from New World countries, while Old World wines are more frequently labeled by their region of origin. So wines labeled as Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay or Zinfandel are varietals.

What does grape variety mean?

“Variety” is used to refer to different types of grapes. Grape varieties include Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Barbera, Sauvignon Blanc, and so on. “Varietal” is used to refer to a wine that has been made from one grape variety . For example, a Napa Cabernet is a varietal wine.

Does varietal mean grape?

Although it sounds similar, varietal does not mean variety. A varietal wine is one that’s made from a single grape variety and bears the name of that grape. For a wine to be considered varietal, it has to contain at least 85% of the wine grape listed on its label (75% in the USA).

What is the meaning of varietals?

Definition of varietal
(Entry 1 of 2) 1 : of, relating to, or characterizing a variety varietal names also : being a variety in distinction from an individual or species varietal corn. 2 : of a varietal wine (see varietal entry 2 sense 1) varietal grapes varietal blends.

What does varietal mean when it comes to wine?

Definition of varietal wine
: a wine (such as merlot) bearing the name of the principal grape from which it is produced.

What’s the difference between variety and varietal?

Varieties are types of grapes, i.e. Cabernet Sauvignon grapes, Chardonnay grapes, Zinfandel grapes, etc. A varietal is a wine that is labeled as being made from one grape variety. Typically you’ll see varietals from New World countries, while Old World wines are more frequently labeled by their region of origin.

Which wines are not grape varietals?

Wines that display the name of two or more varieties on their label, such as a Chardonnay-Viognier, are blends and not varietal wines. The term is frequently misused in place of vine variety; the term variety refers to the vine or grape, while varietal refers to the wine produced by a variety.

Is pinot noir a varietal?

Pinot noir is both a grape and the name of the wine varietal consisting solely of such grapes. The name comes from the French word for “pine” (pinot), because the grapes grow in pine cone-shaped clusters, and “black” (noir), a reference to their dark hue.

Is Pinot Grigio a varietal?

Pinot grigio is a white wine grape varietal from the pinot grape family, which includes pinot blanc and pinot noir. Pinot grigio grapes typically have a grayish-blue color when ripe (grigio means “grey” in Italian).

How many grape varietals are there?

10 000 varieties
There are around 10 000 varieties out there. But there are many good reasons to stick to the well-known and famous. One being that it is easier to sell the wine. However, there is a trend, among certain producers and certain wine geeks at least, to search for old, forgotten grape varieties on the verge of extinction.

What percentage of grapes are varietals?

Many American wines list the primary grape used in the wine on the front label. This is called “varietal labelling.” But the wines do not have to be 100% of the named variety. U.S. law dictates only that 75% or more of the grapes used for a wine be of the stated variety.

What is a single grape called?

Expert Response. We usually call individual grape a berry.

What is the opposite of varietal wine?

Blended wines can be a bit softer and smoother than varietal wines. An intense Cabernet, for example, can be softened beautifully by the addition of Merlot. Some wine makers are softening their single-varietal wines by combining grapes from different regions.

What is the most popular wine varietal?

Here’s a rundown of the top 10 selling varietals in the US.

• Cabernet Sauvignon. The Cabernet Sauvignon grape is a small grape with a thick skin.
• Chardonnay.
• Pinot Gris.
• Pinot Noir.
• Sauvignon Blanc.
• Merlot.
• White Zinfandel.
• Malbec.

Is Cabernet Sauvignon a varietal?

Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot are two varietals grown in Bordeaux). There are thousands of wine varietals in the world, but here is a short list of popular varietals. Barbera – Barbera is a red wine grape found primarily in Italy’s Piedmont region.

Is Bordeaux a varietal?

What are the Bordeaux Varietals? The six Bordeaux Varietals include Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, Malbec, and occasionally Carménère. Bordeaux blends are made up of differing combinations of these grapes, all of which bring unique characteristics to their wines.

What is the difference between generic and varietal wines?

Throughout most of Europe, wines are identified only by regional names, not by the name of the grape variety used in them. These wines are known as generic wines.

What makes wine a vintage?

At its most basic description, the meaning of vintage is the year when a wine’s grapes were harvested. Even if two particular wines are from the same vineyard and are the same varietal, made with all the same techniques, a 2011 will taste quite different than a 2017.

What is difference between variety and cultivar?

In short, a cultivar is a plant that is produced and maintained by horticulturists but does not produce true-to-seed; whereas, a variety is a group of plants within a species that has one or more distinguishing characteristics and usually produces true-to-seed.

How do you identify wine varietals?

These days the most reliable way to identify a grape variety is to do a DNA test (made famous in the wine world by the Swiss botanist José Vouillamoz). But few people carry around a DNA test kit in the vineyards.

What are the 5 classifications of wine?

What’s In Your Glass? The Main Wine Categories

• Red Wine.
• White Wine.
• Rosé Wine.
• Sparkling Wine.
• Fortified Wine.