Choose a letter to view. M - N - O -P - Q - R -S - T - U - V - W -X - Y -ZMalbec -- Responsible for the so-called ancient 'black wine of Cahors' in southwest France. Malbec is also a minor partner among the five main red varieties that make up the Bordeaux blend. While it can be harsh and rustically tannic in France (usually needing Merlot to soften it), Malbec is the red grape of Argentina, where it makes a softer, juicier style of red, especially from old vines, and has raspberry, mulberry and game-like undertones. It's also grown in Chile, Australia and California. Mavrud -- Balkan vine best known for the sturdy reds of Assenovgrad Mavrud in Bulgaria, where the grapes are small-berried and low-yielding. Melnik -- Bulgaria's other quality near-native variety capable of producing good age worthy, almost Rhône-like reds when produced from low-yields and aged in oak. Merlot -- A Bordeaux grape, Merlot has achieved growing popularity in the last decade of the 20th century thanks to the cult worship of certain Merlot-based Pomerols and Saint Emilions in Bordeaux. With its soft texture, and delicious plum fruit flavor and mellow tannins, Merlot is more approachable than Cabernet Sauvignon. Merlot ripens earlier and more easily than Cabernet Sauvignon. It is widely planted in eastern Europe. It is also widely grown in California, where it has become one of the 'hottest' varieties with plum flavors. It is also extensively grown in Chile, where it produces excellent value, supple-textured reds, and it’s becoming increasingly popular in Australia and New Zealand. Mondeuse -- A peppery red variety grown in the high altitude vineyards of Savoie, also known as Refosco in northeast Italy's Friuli region. Montepulciano -- Best known for the rustic reds of Montepulciano d'Abruzzo, this deep-colored variety is widely planted in central Italy and the main ingredient in Rosso Conero and Rosso Piceno. It is often used as a blender with Sangiovese. Mourvèdre -- This thick-skinned Mediterranean variety has a funky, animal-like character and is most widely planted in Spain where it's known as Monastrell. It is at its best where it gets lots of sunshine and has delicious blackberry intensity when grown close to the sea on Provence’s Mediterranean shoreline. It also performs well in blends with other Mediterranean varieties, especially Grenache and Syrah.
Petit Verdot -- This high quality Bordeaux variety should get more ‘respect’ as it doesn't always get ripe, especially in marginal climates. It is thick-skinned and produces richly concentrated, intense red wines which are usually added in small proportions to Médoc reds. It's grown in small quantities in California's Napa Valley and parts of Australia, notably the Riverland. Pinotage -- This red South African variety was developed by Professor A.I.Perold in 1924 as a cross between Cinsaut and Pinot Noir and then largely ignored for half a century. Revival began in the late 1980s thanks largely to Beyers Truter whose championing of the variety led to international recognition with Kanonkop. It comes in a wide range of styles according to growing conditions, vineyard management and winemaking. With an assortment of plum, cherry, blackberry and banana flavors, it takes to oak barrels and can age well. Pinot Meunier -- Not particularly well-known as a varietal, it is best known as the third main blending variety in Champagne. It is generally thought to add suppleness and youthful fruit to the Champagne blend. Meunier is also grown in Germany an Australia and to a lesser degree in California. Pinot Noir -- Pinot Noir is the classic grape of red burgundy, whose greatest wines are concentrated in the east and southeast-facing limestone hills of Burgundy's Côte d'Or. This thin-skinned grape is known as a temperamental variety, which has proved difficult to grow in certain climates and soils. There's no other grape like Pinot Noir with its wonderfully heady perfumes, and thrillingly pure, sweet, red berry flavors of raspberry, loganberry, mulberry, cherry and strawberry. It takes well to French oak and, in bottle, develops truffle and gamey undertones. Along with Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier, Pinot Noir is one of the major grape varieties in Champagne, and plantings of Pinot in the region are even more extensive than those in Burgundy itself. Despite its fickle nature, it is a tribute to its desirability among consumers and producers and it has inspired growers all over Europe and the New World. Syrah/Shiraz -- Syrah is a quintessentially Mediterranean-climate variety, resistant to pests and diseases, producing dark, inky, aromatic reds with black fruit flavors and peppery, spicy characteristics. It is the great red grape of the northern Rhône where it reaches its peak in the deep-hued, muscular, long-lived wines of Hermitage and Côte Rôtie. It is a component of southern Rhône reds and the fastest growing grape in France's Languedoc region, where it has been introduced as an improving variety. As Shiraz, it is Australia's most important red variety, where it forms the backbone of Grange, Australia's most famous red, and is grown with increasing confidence in South Africa and Argentina.
Sagrantino -- Big, powerful, sturdy Italian red grape variety best known for the DOCG Sagrantino di Montefalco in Umbria.
Sangiovese -- Meaning Blood of Jove, or Jupiter, Sangiovese is the Chianti grape par excellence, and responsible in Tuscany for Brunello di Montalcino and Vino Nobilo de Montpulciano. A fussy grape to grow, it can produce lively, almost fizzing young reds with juicy, cherry flavors, as well as more concentrated, long-lived, oak-matured reds with superb, savory, herb and spice flavors and great finesse. Sangiovese is widespread in Argentina thanks to the influx of Italian immigrants and has become fashionable in California and, to a more limited extent, in Australia.
Saperavi -- Deep-colored Russian red grape with good acidity which can age extremely well in bottle, and widely planted throughout the ex-Soviet Union republics. St Laurent -- Similar to Pinot Noir, this is one of Austria's best red grape varieties and grown too in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Tannat -- Deep-hued, intense, spicy red known best for the wines of Madiran in southwest France, but also the foundation of Uruguay's best reds. Also grown in Argentina. Tempranillo -- Spain's most important quality red variety, forming the backbone of Rioja and Ribera del Duero, where it's known as Tinto Fino (other synonyms include Ull de Llebre, Tinta del Pais, Tinta de Toro, Cencibel and, in Portugal, Aragonês and Tinta Roriz). Capable of making juicy young reds as well as serious, well-structured, fine, oak-aged reds with vanilla, tobacco spice and strawberry flavors. Usually blended with Garnacha, Mazuelo and Graciano, but sometimes made on its own. One of the major red varieties of Argentina and grown also in Languedoc-Roussillon region in France, California and Australia.
Teroldego -- A red variety from Trentino, also known as Teroldego Rotaliano, is deep-hued and capable of producing lively, juicy, Italian Beaujolais-style rosso. Tinta Barroca -- This is a robust Portuguese variety used as a blender in port. Also popular in South Africa and in Australia. Tinto Cao -- One of the rarest, high quality port grapes grown in the Douro Valley, highly prized for its spicy character. Touriga Francesa -- This scented red is one of the five main grape varieties grown in the Douro Valley to make port and also good in the Trás-os-Montes region of Portugal. Touriga Nacional -- Although not widely known as a varietal, this rare, small-berried, dark-skinned Portuguese variety is nevertheless the highest quality grape that goes into the Douro Valley melting pot to produce port (the others are mainly Touriga Francesa, Tinto Cão, Tinta Barroca and Tinta Roriz). Still in Portugal, it's also one of the major grapes of Dão. It is also grown in Australia, where it's known simply as Touriga. Xinomavro -- Xinomavro is, quite possibly, the greatest of Greece's red grapes and, quite definitely, a wine lover's wine. Fickle and inconsistent, it is capable of producing great wines only on specific sites and in vintages warm enough to ripen its low-tannin, high-acid grapes. The grape is, unique to the central Macedonian 'Xinomavro triangle' of Naoussa, Goumenissa and Amyndeo. The longest-lived wines come from Naoussa. Here, its tough, tannic, high-acid structure resembles Barolo. Merlot is now often grown alongside Xinomavro, and various new blends have emerged. Xinomavro and its blends are food wines, ideally paired with rich dishes. Zinfandel -- Responsible for the blush wine craze of the late 1980s, Zinfandel is a near-native grape of California, where at its best, it produces powerfully-constructed, brambly, spicy reds for the most part best drunk young or relatively young. Known as Primitivo in Italy, it flourishes in Puglia, Italy, producing similarly big, though more savory reds. Like South Africa's Pinotage, it has recently undergone a major revival in California, so much so that Italy, ironically, has recently won the right to the use of the name Zinfandel for Primitivo.
|
