24 posts
Nebbiolo 🍷 Nebbiolo (neb-ee-oh-low) is one of Italy’s top red wine grapes, most famous for its role in the Piedmont (pyeh-MON-teh) region. Nebbiolo is ancient royalty. The first written record of the grape dates all the way back to 1268 in a docume...
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Mourvèdre & Monastrell🍷 Mourvèdre is a thick-skinned, late-ripening red wine grape native to Spain, where it is known as Monastrell. Though it originated on the Iberian Peninsula, it has also found a famous secondary home along France’s Mediterr...
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Montepulciano 🍷 Montepulciano (mon-tay-pull-chee-anno”) is an Italian grape, mostly found in the Abruzzo region of Italy. Although the Montepulciano grape shares its name with the Montepulciano region in Italy, the grape is from the Abruzzo region...
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Merlot 🍷 Merlot (murr-low) originated from the Bordeaux region of France. Its name is derived from merle, the French word for blackbird, likely due to the grape’s deep color. Modern DNA profiling proves Merlot is a natural cross between Cabernet Fr...
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Marsanne 🥂 Marsanne (mar-shon) is a white wine grape from France that has its origins in the Northern Rhône Valley. The grape’s cultivation was first recorded in the 16th century. It was formally documented as a distinct varietal in 1781, establish...
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Malbec 🍷 Malbec’s roots trace back to southwestern France, where it has been cultivated for over a thousand years. In the rugged Cahors region, it goes by many names — Côt, Auxerrois, or Pressac — and produces famously dark, tannic wines that the lo...
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Gruner Veltliner Grüner Veltliner (grew-ner felt-lee-ner) is a white wine grape that is prodomanatly grown in Austria, accounting for more than a third of the country’s total vineyard area with Slovakia, Hungary and the Czech Republic being the othe...
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Grenache 🍷 Grenache (grenn-nosh) is also known as Garnacha in Spain. More than 90% of Grenache is grown in either France or Spain, with Italy and the U.S. making up much smaller fractions. Grenache is used in the French Rhone GSM blends (Grenache,...
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Gewürztraminer Gewürztraminer (guh-VURZT-tra-mee-ner) has been around for centuries in Europe and prized for its wines with intense floral aromas. Its name is derived from the German word “Gewürz,” meaning “spice” or “perfumed,” reflecting its bold...
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Gamay 🍷 Gamay (gam-may), commonly referred to as Gamay Beaujolais, is almost entirely grown in France and Beaujolais (in the Loire Valley) is its home. Gamay is a natural cross between Pinot Noir and Gouais Blanc (a very obscure grape). But, a dire...
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Dolcetto 🍷 Dolcetto(dol-chet-to) is a black wine grape variety almost exclusively grown in the Piedmont region of northwest Italy. While its name translates to “little sweet one” the wines produced from this grape are anything but sweet and actually...
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Colombard (or Colombar) Photo from Pancrat on Wikimedia Commons The name Colombard likely comes from the French word for dove, “colombe”. Legend has it that the grape was so named because its white, dusty berries match the color of a dove’s pluma...
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Cinsault 🍷 Cinsault (sin-so) is also known as “Cinsaut.” Cinsault vines have been grown for centuries in southern France, making it one of the oldest grape varieties found in the region. It has traditionally been used in Southern Rhône blends alon...
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Chenin Blanc Chenin Blanc is a white wine grape variety that has been cultivated in France for nearly 1300 years. It is most commonly associated with France’s Loire Valley. French documents first mention Chenin Blanc as early as the year 845, and ...
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Chardonnay 🥂 Chardonnay is one of the most widely planted varieties. Although it is probably best known as the white grape of Burgundy it’s also a major grape in the production of Champagne. Chardonnay is a versatile grape, and its style can vary w...
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Carménère 🍷 The name Carménère (kar-men-nair) comes from the French word carmin (meaning crimson). Unlike many grapes whose leaves turn yellow or brown, Carménère leaves turn a brilliant, fiery red in the fall, long before the grapes are even ready ...
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Carignan 🍷 Carignan Grapes — Image from Wikimedia Commons (Sarah Stierch) Carignan (care-in-yen), also known as Carineña or Mazuelo, is a black-skinned wine grape variety, most likely native to Aragon, Spain. It is largely grown in France with ...
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Cabernet Sauvignon 🍷 Widely considered the “King of Red Wines,” Cabernet Sauvignon is the world’s most widely planted and renowned red wine grape. It originated in 17th-century France as a cross between Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc. It is cons...
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Cabernet Franc 🍷 Cabernet Franc (often referred to as Cab Franc) is a lesser know grape, but it’s actually the parent grape for both Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon! Nearly two-thirds of Cabernet Franc is grown in France, but Italy and the U.S. now h...
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Barbera 🍷 Barbera (Bar-BEAR-ah) is thought to have originated in the hills of central Piemonte (“peh-ah-MON-tey”) Italy, where it has been known from the 13th century. That’s significantly earlier than Cabernet Sauvignon that has only been around si...
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Aglianico 🍷 Aglianico (ahl-YAH-nee-koh) is a red wine grape that is thought to be native to southern Italy. Originally, it was thought that Aglianico was from Greece. Its name is actually a derivation of the word “Hellenic” meaning Greek. But, recen...
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Alicante Bouschet 🍷 Alicante Bouschet (ally-can-tay boo-shey) was created in 1866 by botanist Henri Bouschet when he crossed Granacha with Petit Bouschet in Southern France. This grape is unique in that both the skins and the flesh are red, yieldin...
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Albariño 🥂 Albariño grapes are mostly found in the northwest of Spain and Portugal but they owe their growing popularity to the success of wines coming from the Rias Baixas appellation in Spain. Albariño thrives in cool, maritime climates that pre...
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As we begin a new year, EverWonderWine will take you on a tour of the more common grapes, A to Z, used around the world to produce wine. We’ll look at where the grapes originated, where they’re grown, the various aroma and flavor profiles as well a...
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