Chapter 3: Wine Varietals (Red Wines)
Barbera
Originated in Italy, Barbera grapes can be found in many generic red wine blends. The grape is hearty and grapey without a lot of nuances, but helps punch up the flavors of these blends. Well-cultivated and low-cropped Barbera vineyards, however, can produce flavorful grapes that result in a charming wine when bottled separately. This grape is part of the "Cal-Ital" varietal trend in California, but East Coast producers are experimenting with it as well.
Cabernet Franc
Cabernet Franc is one the five varietals that account for the stellar reputation of red Bordeaux. A cousin to the more well known Cabernet Sauvignon, this grape is normally used in minute quantities, blended with both Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon to create a sum that is greater than its parts. While American vintners also use the grape as a blending component, many have found a modicum of success with bottlings of 100 percent Cabernet Franc. The latter tend to show dark berry/cherry flavors with a certain chalkiness.
Cabernet Sauvignon
The king of red wines, Cabernet's reputation was established decades ago by the great estates of Bordeaux, although it has proved distinctive in other regions as well. While sometimes a bit harsh in its youth, it has the ability to mature into a most complex and full-bodied red wine. Its flavors are comfortable with simple grilled meats as well as more complex dishes like venison in mushroom sauce. Great and consistent producers of Cabernet can be found in the Napa, Sonoma and Long Island, as well as Australia, Chile, and, of course, the châteaux of Bordeaux, which produce the true benchmark of this varietal.
Carmenère
The now resurgent Carmenère grape was brought to Chile in the 1850s before it was virtually wiped out in Europe by the phylloxera epidemic in the 1880s. It has since thrived in Chile, and was mistaken for Merlot until its spicy and distinctive flavor was rediscovered and developed separately from Merlot in recent years.
Catawba
This was perhaps the earliest discovered native American grape, growing wild in Ohio and New York valleys, but it has since been surpassed by the Concord as the most widely planted native East Coast grape varietal. It primarily is used to make off-dry or sweet red wines, with a pronounced foxy (a unique aroma/flavor profile variously described as wild and musky) labrusca flavor. A number of producers also utilize this grape to make sparkling wine.
Chambourcin
A French hybrid that is native to the East Coast, Chambourcin is usually fashioned in a claret or Bordeaux style as a dry red wine. It is also used to make rosé.
Charbono
This uncommon Italian-style red grape is grown mostly in California’s Napa Valley and Mendocino County. Most Charbono wines are very dark purple in color and hold a distinct aroma of plums and other sharp flavors. The full-bodied wine is also very tannic and acidic, and can take more than five to ten years to develop.
Concord
This native American grape varietal (of the genus vitis labrusca) is used in making old- fashioned, "rustic" country-style red wines, often displaying what most people think of as a "grape jelly aroma." In fact, the Concord is widely used in the production of jellies and jams. This East Coast varietal produces wines that have been variously described as foxy, meaning they have a unique aroma/flavor profile variously described as wild and musky. Mogen David is perhaps the quintessential Concord wine.
Merlot (vinis vinifera)
This variety was once relegated to blending status, but in the last 20 years it has taken on an identity of its own. When varietally bottled, Merlot has herbal and fruity flavors similar to Cabernet, but also has a smooth and supple character in the mouth without the bite of tannins. It complements the same types of food that Cabernet does, albeit less distinctly. Top producers hail from Bordeaux (where the wine is mostly blended with Cabernet but sometimes bottled separately, depending on the region), Chile, Argentina, Napa, Sonoma and Washington state. Other successful regions in the U.S. include Virginia and Long Island, New York.
Muscadine
A species of native American vines that were first discovered by European explorers, who found them growing along the low lying Southern coastal regions. Most Muscadine wines (reds and whites) are blends, usually given proprietary names by the winery (e.g., "Vintners' Blend"), and vinified in the sweet or semi-sweet style. Muscadines and blends are usually sweet and foxy (a unique aroma/flavor profile variously described as wild and musky).
Norton
In 1835, Dr. Daniel Norton of Virginia developed this grape varietal that was originally known as the Virginia Seedling. Widely planted in the Midwest (where it is sometimes called Cynthiana), it has become a source of interest to East Coast vintners in recent years. It produces a dark, inky wine with flavors of plums and cherries. Horton Vineyards in Virginia is particularly interested in reviving the grape's reputation. In the South, look for Norton (or Cynthiana) from Moonrise Bay, Mountain Valley, Three Sisters, Tiger Mountain and Tennessee Valley.
Petite Sirah
A grape with a checkered history in the U.S. First brought to the continent in the nineteenth century as Syrah (the great red grape of France’s Rhône Valley), later clones were identified as Durif, a minor red variety of the Rhône. Recent DNA mapping technologies in California indicate that various varietals are among those grapes identified as Petite Sirah. Depending upon a given vineyard’s location and age, various clones of Durif, Peloursin, Mondeuse, Grenache, Zinfandel, Carignane and Syrah may be present. In practice, the so-called Petite Sirah generally produces wines of deep red color and lusty character that require aging.
Pinot Noir
Pinot Noir has the potential to be the most seductive, beguiling red wine in existence. In the past decade or so, however, Pinot Noir has shown the greatest increase in quality of any varietal in America. The perseverance of younger winemakers and traditional winemaking methodology is resulting in Pinots that can stand side by side with the benchmark wines of Burgundy. Lighter than Cabernet, Pinots have a richness and intensity of fruit that is unparalleled. The best of them drink like velvet and accompany a wide variety of foods. Top French Burgundies are bottled under different names and labels, depending on region, vineyard and producer. In America, considerable success with this Burgundian varietal has been from the cooler regions of Napa, Sonoma (Carneros), Santa Barbara and Oregon.
Sangiovese
Red variety that is the dominant grape in Italy's Tuscany region. It is being replanted in California and elsewhere. The revival is experiencing a bit of a renaissance. Sangiovese literally means "Blood of Jupiter," derived from the Latin Sanguis Iovis.
Syrah
The great grape of the Rhône Valley has become more widely planted in California, Washington, Arizona and Virginia, in the last ten years. Highly aromatic wines with meaty, smoky, spicy and peppery flavors are the trademark of the Syrah grape. When made in a lighter style, it's a good quaffing wine to pair with simple bistro food. When made in a richer style, it's a good accompaniment to lamb and wild game. Syrah is the grape found in French Côte Rôtie, St. Joseph and Cornas, and plays a major role in the spicy Châteauneuf-du-Papes of the southern Rhône, too. In California, the Syrah grape is being cultivated in such diverse regions as Santa Barbara, Sonoma, Monterey, and the Amador Foothills.
Zinfandel
Real Zinfandel is red, a fact many wine drinkers are rediscovering now that the trend for "white" Zinfandel has stabilized. "Peppery," "briary," "brawny" and "chewy" are only a few of the adjectives used to describe this mouth-filling wine. It has a real zest for matching up with tomato-based pasta dishes. It is one varietal that the first Italian winemakers propagated and cultivated when they came to California. Though it was previously thought to be the Italian primotivo and the Croatian plavac mali a grape, DNA profiling has linked the varietal to crljenak kastelanski—also from Croatia—and, in fact, the fahter of plavac mali. Today it's a grape variety that is almost unique to California. Vintners in Napa, Sonoma and Amador seem to do the best job with it. Other states like Arizona, New Mexico and Texas are trying as well. It has been planted in other world regions more recently.
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