Grape Varieties · Page 2

Guides to the grapes behind the wines you buy: where Malbec, Merlot, Grenache, Syrah, Riesling and other varieties come from, how they taste and what to pair them with.

Grape Varieties

Torrontés: Argentina's Floral White Wine Explained

Torrontés is Argentina's own white grape: it smells sweet and floral but tastes dry. Here are its three types, Salta's high vineyards and pairings.

6 min read

Grape Varieties

Trebbiano: Italy's Workhorse White and Cognac's Grape

Trebbiano is Italy's most common white grape and, as Ugni Blanc, the grape of Cognac. Here is how it tastes, where it grows and what to pair.

6 min read

Grape Varieties

White Merlot: The Pink Blush Wine From a Red Grape

White Merlot is a pink, lightly sweet blush wine made from red Merlot grapes, much like White Zinfandel. How it's made, how sweet it is and what to eat.

6 min read

Grape Varieties

Barbera Wine: Taste, Piedmont Regions and Food

Barbera is Piedmont's everyday red: deep purple, juicy, high in acid and low in tannin. Here is how it tastes, Asti vs Alba vs Nizza, and what to eat.

7 min read

Grape Varieties

Cabernet Franc: Taste, Regions and Food Pairings

Cabernet Franc is the fresh, peppery red behind Chinon and Bourgueil and a parent of Cabernet Sauvignon. Here is how it tastes and what to pair.

7 min read

Grape Varieties

Dolcetto: Piedmont's Everyday Red, Taste and Food

Dolcetto is Piedmont's soft, dark, everyday red, and despite the name it isn't sweet. How it tastes, Dogliani and Alba, and what to eat with it.

6 min read

Grape Varieties

Gamay Wine: Taste, Beaujolais Crus and Food Pairing

Gamay is the light, juicy red grape of Beaujolais, also grown in the Loire, Switzerland and Oregon. Here is how it tastes, where it grows and how to serve it.

8 min read

Grape Varieties

Grüner Veltliner: Taste, Austrian Regions and Food

Grüner Veltliner is Austria's dry, peppery white. Here is how it tastes, where it grows, what Steinfeder, Federspiel and Smaragd mean, and what to pair.

7 min read

Grape Varieties

Mourvèdre (Monastrell): Taste, Bandol and Food Pairing

Mourvèdre, called Monastrell in Spain and Mataro in Australia, makes dark, meaty, tannic reds. Here is how it tastes, where it grows and what to eat with it.

7 min read

Grape Varieties

Muscadine Wine: The South's Native Grape, Taste and Food

Muscadine wine comes from Vitis rotundifolia, a grape native to the Southeast. Here is what it tastes like, why it's usually sweet, Scuppernong and what to eat.

7 min read

Grape Varieties

Nebbiolo: Barolo's Grape, Taste, Regions and Food

Nebbiolo is the pale but powerful red grape of Barolo and Barbaresco. Here is how it tastes, where it grows, how to read the label and what to eat.

7 min read

Grape Varieties

Nero d'Avola: Sicily's Red Grape, Taste and Food Pairing

Nero d'Avola is Sicily's most planted red grape: dark-fruited, full-bodied and usually good value. Here is how it tastes, how to read the label and what to eat.

7 min read