Have you ever been to the Cabernet region of France?
Probably not.
Cabernet is a grape.
The naming conventions used in wine can be quite confusing, as a result of one simple fact. French wines, historically, were always named after the region in which they were grown. As the American winemaking industry developed, wines were more often named after the grape used in the production of the wine. As the winemakers in various countries like Australia, America, and South Africa refine their methods, eventually regions that have unique characters may evolve, and at that time, we’ll refer to a Napa red, or a Columbia Valley white, and be referring to a clearly defined wine. For now though, if you’re not already familiar with the various regions of winemaking around the world, we’ve assembled a quick overview below. Last month, we talked about grape types. If you’re not familiar with grapes mentioned below, please refer to our tutorial. It covers most of the more familiar types.
So, kick back with that nice bottle of Burgundy you picked up in Chardonnay last spring, and enjoy…..
Australia
Barossa Valley
Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon
Clare Valley
Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon.
Coonawarra
Cabernet Sauvignon
Hunter Valley
Chardonnay
France
There’s so much to cover regarding French Wine that we’ll be devoting several future issues to the topic.
This chart is a good starting place though. Be sure to check out last month’s piece on grapes.
Wine |
Region |
Grape |
Banyuls |
Pyrenees |
grenache |
Beaujolais |
Burgundy |
gamay |
Bordeaux |
Bordeaux |
cabernet sauvignon, merlot,
etc |
Chablis |
Burgundy |
chardonnay |
Champagne |
Champagne |
chardonnay, pinot meunier,
pinot noir |
Côte d’Or |
Burgundy |
pinot noir & chardonnay |
Macon |
Burgundy |
pinot blanc, chardonnay
gamay noir, pinot noir, pinot gris |
Sancerre |
Loire Valley |
sauvignon blanc, pinot
noir |
Sauternes |
Bordeaux |
semillon, cabernet, muscadelle |
Vouvray |
Loire Valley |
chenin blanc |
Germany
In Germany, wines are defined more by classifications:
Wine |
Region |
Grape |
Liebfrauenmilch |
various |
Riesling, Müller-Thurgau,
Silvaner, Kerner |
Qualitätswein |
various |
various |
Sekt |
various |
various |
Italy
In Italy, they make it even trickier. The wine typically has a name that’s derived from neither the grape nor the area in which it’s grown.
In spite of the reputation the French have regarding wine, they probably wouldn’t do it as well as they do if it weren’t the winemakers of ancient Rome. More on this in an upcoming installment.
Wine |
Area |
Grape |
Amarone |
Venice |
corvina veronese, rondinella,
molinara |
Asti Spumanti |
Turin |
muscat |
Barolo |
Piedmont |
nebbiolo |
Chianti |
Tuscany |
sangiovese, canaiolo,
trebbiano, malvasia |
Gavi |
Piedmont |
cortese |
Marsala |
Sicily |
grillo, catarratto, inzolia,
damaschino, pignatello, calabrese, nerello
mascalese, nero d’avola |
Montepulciano |
d’Abruzzo Abruzzi |
montepulciano |
Soave |
Venice |
garganega, trebbiano di
soave |
Spain
As you can see, a wide variety of grapes go into Spanish wines.
We’ll be doing a piece soon specifically about Spain and it’s wines.
Wine |
Region |
Grape |
Cava |
Spain |
Macabeo, Xarello, Parellada |
Malaga |
Spain |
pedro ximénez, moscatel
de málaga |
Rioja |
Spain |
tempranillo, garnacha
tinta, graciano, mazuelo, viura, malvasia,
garnacha blanca |
Sherry |
Sherry |
palomino, pedro ximenez,
muscatel |