Viticulture - Grape varieties

15 important questions on Viticulture - Grape varieties

What are the factors to consider when planting a certain grape variety?

  • Around 10'000 grape varieties --> 13 of them 1/3
  • Main aspect to consider:
  1. The climate
  2. To check if required a specific region or appellation (E.g. In Barolo, winemakers must plant the Nebbiolo varietal to obtain the Barolo label)

What kind of white grapes do we have?

  1. Chardonnay
  2. Sauvignon
  3. Riesling
  4. Chenin blanc
  5. Ugni blanc

What are the characteristics of Chardonnay?

  • Hot and cold climates
  • Light to full-bodied
  • Dry white wines
  • Napa valley in US and Burgundy in France
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What are the characteristics of Sauvignon?

  • Cold climates
  • Light-bodied wines
  • Refreshing and dry
  • Marlborough in New Zealand and Loire Valley in France

What are the characteristics of Riesling?

  • Cold climates
  • refreshing, light to medium-bodied wines
  • Sweet wines
  • Alsace in France and Mosel region in Germany

What are the characteristics of Chenin blanc?

  • Usually cold climates but sometimes also hot
  • Refreshing, light to full-bodied wines
  • Sweet wines
  • Loire Valley in France and Stellenbosch in South Africa

What are the characteristics of Ugni blanc?

  • Hot climates
  • Refreshing, light to medium-bodied wines
  • Provence in the South of France and Trebbiano in Tuscany

What kind of red grapes do we have?

  1. Cabernet Sauvignon
  2. Merlot
  3. Pinot Noir
  4. Gamay
  5. Tempranillo

What are the characteristics of Cabernet Sauvignon?

  • Hot climates
  • Full-bodied wines with strong tannins
  • Bordeaux in France and Napa Valley in US

What are the characteristics of Merlot?

  • Mild to hot climates
  • Full-bodied with soft tannins
  • Ticino in Switzerland and Mendoza in Argentina

What are the characteristics of Pinot noir?

  • Cold climates
  • Light to medium-bodied wines
  • If the climate is warmer, it produces full-bodied wines with soft tannins
  • Burgundy in France and Central Otago in New Zealand

What are the characteristics of Gamay?

  • Cold climates
  • Light to medium-bodied wines with soft tannins
  • Vaud in Switzerland and Beaujolais in France

What are the characteristics of Tempranillo?

  • Hot climates
  • Full-bodied wines with strong tannins
  • Rioja in Spain

What are the characteristics of Syrah?

  • Relatively hot climate, international grapes
  • Medium to full-bodied wines
  • Rhone valley in France, Valais in Switzerland, Barossa in Australia (very hot place) but there they don't call it that, they call it Shiraz

Why do we blend to make a wine?

Blanding grapes is to balance the taste by playing with the main characteristics of each varietal.

Cabernet Sauvignon with Merlot to make a "Bordeaux Blend": Cabernet Sauvignon has strong tannins and the Merlot gives the wine a rounder taste.

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