Newbie Question: Different Types of Wines!?

Actually both, and then some. In many wine producing areas of the world, the grape type (varietal) is the basic name of the wine, i.e. Merlot. In others, the name is refering to a place, i.e. Bordeaux, Chianti. In still some areas, and wineries, the name refers to a propriatary handle, often a blend of grapes. This can be very confusing and a good deal of reading and research is necessary to differentiate what is what. Google is a good place to start. For instance, Joseph Phelps Insignia should yield a definition that this is a Cabernet based "Bordeaux style" blend from Napa, CA. There are a lot of Web sites that offer great identification for these names. Experience and good research are invaluable in this respect. This NG is also a good resource, when you encounter a name with which you are not familiar. It is almost certain, that someone here has some experience with almost any wine you could possibly run across, so do not hesitate to ask.

Hunt

Goyan wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@news.teranews.com:

yes and well.

New world wines tend to be classigied according to the grape hence all fo the Cab saubignon from Cal and Australia

French and other European wines historically were described by the region and the aracteristic wines of that region, hence Bordeaux, Bourgogne (Burgundy) Rhone etc. MOre recent efforts in Europe have been met with the grape name esp in the south of France the Pays d'oc (Languedoc region) where wine exportation is fairly new and the styles have evolved inthe more international manner.\

All being a rough guide and quick answer to your question

Salut/Hi Goyan,

le/on Tue, 06 Jul 2004 00:14:12 GMT, tu disais/you said:-

Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon are both grape names, Bordeaux is a famous wine making region in France (in which both merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes are used).

It's pretty obvious that just as different varieties of apple taste different, the same applies to grapes and the wines made from them.

It is also true that while the major influences on the taste of the wine are the grape variety(ies) going into the wine, and how the winemaker treats the vine during the growing season and the wine during its fermentation and vatting, there is a not insignificant effect from the _place_ in which the vines grow. So you can have a wine with _just_ a place name as in "Chateau Latour" Pauillac. You are not supposed to be interested in the exact mix of grapes, and to know more or less what is in it, and trust the winemaker to make something worth the hundreds of euros the wine will cost you. Equally (as in the USA) you can have a wine where both the place name AND the grape variety are mentioned, such as Ridge (the name of a great winery in Santa Cruz) Zinfandel or Cabernet Sauvignon. Then in Germany, you can have not only the place name - right down to the individual field where the grapes were grown - and the type of vines, but also how much sugar there was in the grapes when they were picked "Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling spätlese" from the Mosel river in Germany.

the REASON these details are mentioned is because they all go to make the wine taste different.

Feel free to ask on, you'll get plenty of answers.