Grape Encyclopaedia 130 varieties

Zweigelt is Austria's most planted red, a 1922 crossing of Blaufränkisch x St. Laurent. It produces fruity, approach...

Zinfandel/Primitivo

Croatia Red

Zinfandel and Primitivo are the same grape variety, though the wines can taste quite different depending on where the...

Zierfandler (also called Spätrot for its late-ripening, pinkish berries) is Rotgipfler's aromatic partner in the The...

Xinomavro ("acid black") is Greece's noblest red grape, often compared to Nebbiolo for its high acidity, firm tannins...

Xarel-lo is the most characterful of Cava's trio, contributing body, earthy notes, and ageing potential. It produces ...

Welschriesling is unrelated to true Riesling but widely planted in Austria and Central Europe. It produces crisp, lig...

Weissburgunder (Pinot Blanc) produces rounded, subtle wines in Germany, often oaked for added complexity. It's partic...

Viognier

France White

Viognier is an aromatic white grape that produces voluptuous, perfumed wines with notes of apricot, peach, and orange...

Vidiano is a Cretan grape recently revived after near extinction. It produces rich, aromatic wines with tropical frui...

Vidal is a French-American hybrid created by Jean Louis Vidal in the 1930s by crossing Ugni Blanc with Rayon d'Or. While...

Vermentino is a Mediterranean white grape thriving in coastal Italy and southern France (as Rolle). It produces crisp...

Verdicchio is the Marche's great white grape, producing wines with distinctive bitter almond character, citrus freshn...

Verdelho is famous for Madeira's medium-dry style but also produces excellent dry wines on mainland Portugal and Aust...

Verdejo is Spain's aromatic answer to Sauvignon Blanc, producing zesty, herbal wines from Rueda. The grape nearly dis...

Ugni Blanc is France's most planted white grape, primarily for Cognac and Armagnac production. Its high acidity and n...

Trousseau is a rare Jura variety producing delicate, perfumed reds with surprising structure. The grape is thin-skinn...

Trollinger is Württemberg's everyday red, producing light, cherry-scented wines drunk locally in vast quantities. Kn...

Trincadeira is an aromatic grape important in Alentejo and Douro, contributing perfume and freshness to blends. It ca...

Touriga Nacional is Portugal's noblest grape, the backbone of finest Port and increasingly impressive dry Douro reds....

Touriga Franca is the Douro's most planted variety, an essential Port grape that contributes elegance, floral notes, ...

Teroldego is Trentino's flagship red grape, historically grown on the Campo Rotaliano plain between Mezzolombardo and...

Tempranillo ✓

Spain Red

Tempranillo is Spain's most noble grape variety, forming the backbone of Rioja and Ribera del Duero wines. Its name d...

Tannat is an intensely tannic grape from Southwest France, the backbone of Madiran and Saint-Mont wines. The name der...

Sémillon

France White

Sémillon is a golden-skinned grape that produces rich, waxy wines with low acidity. While rarely vinified alone outs...

Syrah ✓

France Red

Syrah (or Shiraz in Australia and South Africa) is a noble grape that produces powerful, age-worthy wines. Despite le...

St. Laurent is a Pinot Noir relative producing silky, aromatic wines with cherry and forest floor character. It's Aus...

Silvaner is Franken's signature grape, producing earthy, mineral wines often bottled in the distinctive Bocksbeutel. ...

Sciacarello is Corsica's finest indigenous red grape, producing perfumed, medium-bodied wines with pepper, herbs, and...

Scheurebe is a Riesling x Silvaner crossing producing aromatic wines with grapefruit, blackcurrant leaf, and tropical...

Savagnin is the Jura's signature white grape, producing the unique Vin Jaune (yellow wine) aged under a veil of flor ...

Sauvignon Blanc ✓

France White

Sauvignon Blanc is one of the world's most recognizable white varieties, known for its pungent, herbaceous aromatics ...

Saperavi is Georgia's greatest red grape, one of few teinturier varieties with both red skin and red flesh. It produc...

Sangiovese ✓

Italy Red

Sangiovese is Italy's most planted and important grape variety, the soul of Tuscany and the primary grape in Chianti,...

Sagrantino is one of the world's most tannic grapes, native to the tiny commune of Montefalco in Umbria. For centurie...

Roussanne is the more aromatic, herbal partner to Marsanne in Rhône white blends. Named for its russet (roux) skin a...

Rotgipfler is an Austrian specialty from the Thermenregion, producing rich, spicy wines often blended with Zierfandle...

Roditis is a pink-skinned grape widely planted across Greece, producing fresh, light wines for everyday drinking. It'...

Rkatsiteli is Georgia's most planted grape, one of the world's oldest cultivated varieties (over 3,000 years). It pro...

Riesling ✓

Germany White

Riesling is considered by many to be the world's greatest white grape, capable of producing wines across the entire s...

Ribolla Gialla is an ancient Friulian variety famous as the grape behind orange wine - white wine made with extended ...

Prieto Picudo is a rare grape from Tierra de León, producing distinctive rosé wines by the "clarete" method and cha...

Poulsard is the Jura's most planted red grape, producing extraordinarily pale, delicate wines that can appear more ro...

Pinot Noir ✓

France Red

Pinot Noir is the grape of Burgundy and one of the oldest cultivated varieties, with records dating back to the 1st c...

Pinot Grigio ✓

France White

Pinot Grigio/Pinot Gris is a mutation of Pinot Noir, with grayish-pink skin that can produce wines ranging from light...

Picpoul (meaning "lip stinger" for its high acidity) is the signature grape of Picpoul de Pinet, producing crisp, cit...

Petit Verdot is a late-ripening Bordeaux variety used in small percentages to add colour, tannin, and violet notes to...

Petit Manseng is the grape behind sweet Jurançon, producing intensely flavoured wines from shrivelled grapes. Its th...

Pedro Ximénez (PX) is famous for producing intensely sweet, syrupy Sherry-style wines from sun-dried grapes. The gra...

Parellada is the most aromatic of Cava's traditional trio (with Macabeo and Xarel-lo), contributing floral, apple not...

Négrette is the unique grape of Fronton, just north of Toulouse, producing aromatic wines with violet and licorice c...

Neuburger is a naturally occurring Austrian crossing (probably Roter Veltliner x Silvaner) producing soft, nutty wine...

Nero d'Avola is Sicily's flagship red grape, named after the town of Avola in the island's southeast. It produces dee...

Nerello Mascalese is the elegant red grape of Mount Etna, producing wines of surprising finesse from volcanic soils. ...

Nebbiolo

Italy Red

Nebbiolo is one of the world's great noble grapes, producing Barolo and Barbaresco – Italy's most prestigious and a...

Müller-Thurgau is a Riesling x Madeleine Royale crossing, once Germany's most planted variety. It produces soft, flo...

Muscat ✓

Greece White

Muscat is actually a family of over 200 grape varieties, all sharing the distinctive grapey, floral character that ma...

Mourvèdre

Spain Red

Mourvèdre is a late-ripening, heat-loving grape that produces dense, tannic wines with wild, gamey character. Origin...

Moschofilero is an aromatic pink-skinned grape from the high-altitude Mantinia plateau. It produces perfumed, light w...

Montepulciano (the grape, not to be confused with the Tuscan town that produces Vino Nobile from Sangiovese) is one o...

Mondeuse is the signature red grape of Savoie in the French Alps, producing peppery, structured wines with alpine fre...

Merlot ✓

France Red

Merlot is the most widely planted grape in Bordeaux and produces some of the world's most celebrated and expensive wi...

Mencía is northwest Spain's rising star, producing elegant, perfumed reds from the steep slopes of Bierzo and Ribeir...

Melon de Bourgogne is the grape behind Muscadet, producing crisp, mineral wines perfect with Atlantic seafood. Origin...

Mavrodaphne is famous for sweet, fortified wines from Patras - Greece's answer to Port. It produces deeply coloured, ...

Maréchal Foch is a French hybrid created by Eugène Kuhlmann in 1911, named after the World War I French general Ferdin...

Marsanne is the rich, full-bodied partner to Roussanne in the Northern Rhône, producing weighty wines with stone fru...

Malbec ✓

France Red

Malbec has become synonymous with Argentina, where it has found its most successful expression, but it originated in ...

Malagousia was nearly extinct until rescued by Evangelos Gerovassiliou in the 1970s. It now produces aromatic, full-b...

Macabeo (Viura in Rioja) is Spain's most planted white grape, essential for Cava production and white Rioja. It produ...

Loureiro is Vinho Verde's most aromatic grape, producing intensely perfumed wines with floral and citrus notes. Often...

Limnio is one of the world's oldest cultivated grape varieties, mentioned by Aristotle. It produces aromatic wines wi...

Lemberger is Germany's name for Blaufränkisch, an important Central European variety producing spicy, structured red...

Lambrusco is actually a family of related grape varieties producing Italy's beloved sparkling red (and rosé) wines. ...

Lagrein is Alto Adige's indigenous red grape, producing deeply coloured wines with velvety texture and distinctive ch...

Kadarka is Hungary's traditional red grape, producing light, spicy wines with floral and peppery character. It's the ...

Grüner Veltliner

Austria White

Grüner Veltliner is Austria's signature white grape, producing wines that range from light and peppery to rich and a...

Gros Manseng is Petit Manseng's more prolific sibling, producing primarily dry wines with tropical fruit character an...

Grillo is a Sicilian grape historically associated with Marsala production, now increasingly bottled as dry table win...

Grenache ✓

Spain Red

Grenache is one of the world's most widely planted red varieties, thriving in hot, dry climates around the Mediterran...

Greco is an ancient variety brought to Italy by Greek colonists, now thriving in Campania where it produces mineral, ...

Graciano is Rioja's aromatic blending partner, adding perfume, acidity, and ageing potential to Tempranillo-dominated...

Godello is Galicia's finest white grape, producing textured, mineral wines that rival white Burgundy. Nearly extinct ...

Glera is the grape behind Prosecco, Italy's phenomenally successful sparkling wine. Renamed from "Prosecco" in 2009 t...

Gewürztraminer

Italy White

Gewürztraminer is one of the most distinctive and polarizing white grapes, producing intensely aromatic wines that y...

Garnacha Tintorera is one of the few "teinturier" grapes with red flesh as well as red skin, producing extremely deep...

Garganega is the principal grape of Soave, producing wines that range from simple and refreshing to complex and age-w...

Gamay

France Red

Gamay is the grape of Beaujolais, producing joyful, fruit-forward wines that are among the most gulpable reds in the ...

Furmint is the principal grape of Tokaji Aszú, one of the world's great sweet wines. It's thin-skinned and susceptib...

Friulano (formerly Tocai Friulano until an EU ruling gave the name to Hungarian Tokaj) is Friuli's signature white gr...

Fiano is Campania's noble white grape, producing complex, aromatic wines with honey, hazelnut, and spice notes. The a...

Fernão Pires is Portugal's most planted white grape, producing aromatic, easy-drinking wines with floral and citrus ...

Fer Servadou (meaning "hard servant") is a rustic Southwest French variety producing deeply coloured, tannic wines wi...

Falanghina is an ancient Campanian variety, possibly the grape behind the legendary Falernian wine of Roman times. It...

Encruzado is the finest white grape of the Dão, producing complex, age-worthy wines often compared to white Burgundy...

Dornfelder is Germany's most planted red grape, a 20th-century crossing producing deeply coloured, fruity wines. It w...

Dolcetto ("little sweet one") is Piedmont's everyday red, producing soft, fruity, early-drinking wines. Despite the n...

Corvina is the star grape of Valpolicella and the Veneto, responsible for wines ranging from light, cherry-scented Va...

Cortese is Piedmont's principal white grape, best known as the variety behind Gavi. It produces crisp, mineral wines ...

Clairette is an ancient southern French variety used in white Châteauneuf-du-Pape blends and the sparkling Clairette...

Cinsault is a southern French variety prized for rosé production and as a softening blender for Grenache and Mourvè...

Chenin Blanc ✓

France White

Chenin Blanc is one of the most versatile grapes in the world, capable of producing wines from bone-dry to intensely ...

Chardonnay ✓

France White

Chardonnay is the world's most popular white grape variety, beloved for its versatility and ability to reflect both t...

Castelão is Portugal's most planted red grape, producing soft, fruity wines in the Setúbal Peninsula and beyond. It...

Carménère

France Red

Carménère is a Bordeaux variety that virtually disappeared from France after phylloxera but was rediscovered in Chi...

Carignan was once France's most planted grape, prized for its high yields and deep colour. Though often maligned for ...

Cannonau is Sardinia's most important red grape, genetically identical to Grenache/Garnacha. Sardinians claim it orig...

Callet is Mallorca's signature indigenous red, producing medium-bodied wines with herbal, Mediterranean character. Ne...

Cabernet Sauvignon

France Red

Cabernet Sauvignon is often called the "king of red grapes" and is the most widely planted red wine variety in the wo...

Cabernet Franc

France Red

Cabernet Franc is one of the parent grapes of Cabernet Sauvignon and produces some of the world's most elegant and pe...

Bobal is Spain's third most planted red grape, long used for bulk wine but now producing serious, age-worthy wines fr...

Blaufränkisch is Austria's finest red grape, producing spicy, structured wines with dark fruit and distinctive peppe...

Barbera is Piedmont's most widely planted red grape, prized for its deep colour, high acidity, and low tannins. It pr...

Baga is Bairrada's tannic, high-acid grape that produces Portugal's most age-worthy reds. Often compared to Nebbiolo ...

Bacchus is a German crossing ((Silvaner x Riesling) x Müller-Thurgau) producing aromatic wines with Muscat-like char...

Assyrtiko is Greece's greatest white grape, famous for volcanic, mineral wines from Santorini. The ancient bush vines...

Arneis ("little rascal" in Piedmontese) is an aromatic white grape from the Roero hills, nearly extinct until revived...

Arinto is Portugal's most important quality white grape, producing crisp, mineral wines with remarkable ageing potent...

Antão Vaz is Alentejo's signature white grape, producing tropical, full-bodied wines that handle oak well. It's the ...

Aligoté is Burgundy's "other" white grape, producing crisp, lemony wines traditionally mixed with crème de cassis t...

Alfrocheiro is an aromatic Dão grape contributing perfume and freshness to blends. It produces fragrant wines with v...

Albariño ✓

Spain White

Albariño is Spain's finest white grape, producing aromatic, refreshing wines in the maritime climate of Galicia's R�...

Aglianico is southern Italy's noblest grape, often called the "Barolo of the South" for its powerful tannins, high ac...

Agiorgitiko is Greece's most planted red grape, producing soft, fruity wines from the hills of Nemea. It's more appro...