PICK OF THE BUNCH

There are more than a thousand different grape varieties currently being grown commercially to make wine. Here’s just a handful to get the conversation flowing…

Pinot noir

Notorious for its capricious nature – it demands precisely the right conditions before it will flourish – pinot noir nevertheless remains one of the most important red grapes in the world because it can make such exceptional wine. Relatively delicate, with gentle tannins and characteristic red berry and cherry flavours, it is used to make the great reds of Burgundy, and is one of the three principal grapes (along with chardonnay and pinot meunier) used for Champagne. Best suited to cooler climates, pinot noir is also the most widely planted grape in English vineyards – used for many years to make sparkling whites, it is central to the exciting new genre of English red wine too.

Grenache

Also called garnacha, this is an old, widely planted red variety that looks set for a rosy future too, because it enjoys a warmer climate. The vines flourish in dry, sun-baked regions and can remain productive for a century or more. The grape’s relatively high sugars (and therefore alcohol), and its fruitsof-the-forest character contribute a rich, multi-layered fruitiness to wines, sometimes hinting at strawberry jam, but it can reveal notes of spice and liquorice too. Grenache is used in everything from the delicate, barely pink rosés of Provence, to the magnificent reds of Chateauneuf du Pape, and is widely employed in wines from Spain, Italy, California and Australia, too.

Riesling

This white grape, most often associated with Germany but grown internationally, is a real wine buff’s favourite. It is rarely blended but usually used alone to make wines that are crisp and fresh, but with aromatic complexity and touch of lushness that make them delicious drunk alone but also great with food. Riesling may be bone-dry or quite sweet and anything in between. Examples that are a little off-dry are particularly recommended with spiced dishes such as Thai curries. As it ages in the bottle, riesling is known for developing a characteristic petrol-like aroma.

Nebbiolo

One of Italy’s great regional grapes, nebbiolo gives us barolo and barbaresco: big, structured red wines with famous tannic ‘grip’ in the mouth. Nebbiolo wines are also intense, floral and fragrant, with a delicate, red-gold hue. This is another fussy fruit, that demands much skill from the winemaker, and provides a great example of how grape variety and terroir come together to make something unique. Nebbiolo (named after the nebbia, or fog, of its hilly homeland) is highly regional, not much grown outside Piedmont, and producing very different wines when it is. The foods of northern Italy pair well with it: butter and cheese, pasta and gnocchi, truffles, meaty stews, hazelnuts.

Cabernet Franc

This is a fascinating red grape. Open a bottle of 100% cabernet franc wine, swirl, sniff and taste and you should be able to detect a definite mineral note most often described as being like pencil shavings! There’s also pepper, red fruit and herbs in there. This grape’s unique nuanced character is often employed in a blend with other grapes, notably in Bordeaux wines. But on its own it’s quite a talking point: certainly the very thing if you are a bit weary of big, powerful, Ribena-esque reds. Sip it alone to get to know it, then pair it up with tomato-based dishes or try with cheese.

Tempranillo

Quintessentially Spanish, tempranillo forms the rugged backbone of delicious, food-friendly red Rioja wines. It’s known for its muscular tannins, notes of leather and tobacco and a quality often described as ‘meaty’ or ‘savoury’. A good bet for barbecues, and full-flavoured, Mediterranean-influenced food, tempranillo wines like Rioja are often aged in oak, which enhances their body. Plain ‘Rioja’ is the youngest, fruitiest wine, followed by Rioja crianza, reserva, and finally gran reserva (aged at least two years in oak, and more in the bottle). Tempranillo goes by many other names, including tinto fino, tinto del pais, tinta de toro, cencibel and ull de llebre.

Bacchus

Named after the Greek god of wine, this is a grape you’ll see on the label of many award-winning English white wines. Sometimes described as a British rival to sauvignon blanc, it’s currently being studied to see just what it’s capable of in the English climate. At its best, it is aromatic, apple-y and floral, crisp and clean. Drink English bacchus as an aperitif or pair it up with nibbles, asparagus, goat’s cheese or fish.

Viognier

Despite its exquisite floral character – you should definitely get a whiff of honeysuckle from it – this hard-to-grow white variety was all but extinct by the 1960s. Luckily, it has been revived to make luscious, sultry, scented wines the world over. Try it as a change from chardonnay. Tasting quite ‘big’ and alcoholic for a white wine, it can go down a treat with savoury dishes that include fruit.

Gewürztraminer

One sexy grape, ‘gewürz’ bursts with distinctive, lychee-perfumed, exotic character. It is one of the easiest white wine grapes to recognise in the glass. One description has it ‘smelling like a tart’s boudoir’ – but others love its forward charms. Many gewürz wines are slightly sweet but like riesling, off-dry examples can be very good with spicy food. Sweet gewürz pairs well with puds.