A Grape by Any Other Name.....

Hey wine darlings!

So I'm talking to my sister on the phone the other day, and we're gabbing about Cabernet Sauvignon. She'd tried something yummy whilst in California, and was thinking about sampling the same grape but from a different country, just to compare. When I suggested some Bordeaux, she got the confuseds--she didn't realize that Bordeaux is pretty much synonymous with Cabernet Sauvignon/Cabernet Sauvignon blends. And for what its worth, I didn't know it either until I started writing about wine. And why would a person know that?! Grape varieties are not printed on French labels! For the life of me I don't know why there can't be some sort of worldwide wine-label standard, but until I'm queen of the universe we'll all just have to familiarize ourselves with the different wine pseudonyms. Here's a cheat sheet for some of the most popular grape varieties. Print it out and tuck it in your wallet, so you have it handy the next time you're in the liquor store trying to figure out what Meritage is. FYI, for this I am using Wikipedia and What's a Wine Lover To Do ? by Wes Marshall as references (I'll write a little review of the book in a future blog post, but in the meantime just take my word for it and buy this book, it's a good 'un!).

Shiraz is aka: Syrah, Hermitage; Crozes-Hermitage; St-Joseph; Côte-Rôtie; Cornas.

Pinot Noir is aka: Pinot Nero (Italy); Spatburgunder (Germany); Blauburgunder (Austria, Switzerland); Burgundy (France). Special Note: Champagne is usually made with Pinot Noir.

Cabernet Sauvignon: Bordeaux (is often a blended with smaller amounts of Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Malbec. Left-Bank Bordeaux usually has a higher percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon); Meritage (means Bordeaux-style blend).

Sauvignon Blanc is aka: Sauvignon; Sancerre; Pouilly Fume; Saint-Bris; Fume Blanc.

Chardonnay is aka: Chablis; Pouilly Fuisse; Batard-Monrachet; Meursault; Côte d'Or. Special Note: Blanc de Blancs means champagne made from only Chardonnay grapes.

Pinot Grigio is aka: Pinot Gris.

Gamay is aka: Beaujolais; Beaujolais-Villages; Beaujolais-Nouveau.

Sangiovese is aka: Brunello; Sangiovese Grosso; Chianti (which is70%-100% Sangiovese).

Malbec is aka: Auxerrois; Côt Noir; Pressac. Special Note: if your wine bottle says Mendoza and it's red wine, it's probably Malbec (the Mendoza region is becoming synonymous with Malbec, although it does produce other good wines like Tempranillo and Chardonnay).

Tempranillo is aka: Rioja

I'm relying on you more experienced winos to fill in the blanks for me. I'm sure I've made some egregious omissions!

Now off with you, go wine shopping! It's almost the weekend for heaven's sakes!

'Til next time,

Barb