Wine is never boring. There are hundreds of grape varieties grown in dozens of countries - Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Malbec, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz/Syrah, to name only a few you may have heard of before. And just when you thought you could recognize a Merlot grape wine, you tried a Monastrell grape wine, or someone poured you a Petit Verdot, and on it goes. Portugal alone has some 120 unique grape varieties. Many bottles list the specific grape variety or grape varieties on the front of the wine bottles, while many wines are made of numerous grape varieties and may only mention them on the back of the bottle if at all.
When thinking about the daunting scope of grape varieties, I find it helpful to compare the world of wine grapes to apples. Most of us recognize and have preferences among different apple varieties - Delicious, Macintosh, Gala, Spartan, Winesap, Granny Smith - and blindfolded we could probably identify a few of them by their unique texture and flavour profile. While all of these apple varieties can (and should) be eaten raw, each have characteristics that make them especially suited to one or another style of cooking or baking - some for sauce, some suited more for pies than others and some freeze better.
Few of us can expect to know the vast world of grape varieties, nor need we bother - we just enjoy the wine results. I thought it might be fun to pick out a few grape varieties, describe their main characteristics and let you do the follow-up research.
Starting with a couple of red varietals. Cabernet Sauvignon is probably one of the most recognized and sought after varieties in North America and parts of Europe. Think big and extroverted in style. It is a hardy variety that requires late summer sun to ripen. It's the big tannins of the Cabernet Sauvignon that respond so nicely to oak barrel storage helping smooth out some of those gritty edges. A couple of universal characteristics would be peppery notes and strong aromas of blackcurrant. Tannins beg protein so strong cheeses and dense red meats often work nicely with Cabernet Sauvignon wines.
Another red variety gaining a bit more press is the Monastrell (in Spain)/ Mourvédre (in France). The Monastrell is a smallish berry that grows in tight clusters. Its relatively thick skin gives to the wine full, concentrated, black fruit characteristics. Monastrell is the queen of the grapes in southern parts of Spain though it could be mistaken for a pauper on its often-straggly looking vines. The tannins in the Monastrell are softer than in the Cabernet Sauvignon so a Monastrell - based wine tends to be more food versatile.
Enjoy. Doug Reichel
Visit: FineWinesSask.com
Doug's Wine Picks of the Week
Torreon de Paredes Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2009/10 - Chile ($16.95; ID# 5575). Winemaker: Alvaro Paredes. From the Paredes family owned vineyards south of Santiago, Chile, comes one of the most consistently over-delivering Cabernet Sauvignons on the market. These healthy grapes come from older vines (18 to 20 years old), 12 months in new French oak. Here you'll find all those wonderful, feisty peppery and dark berry characteristics of a quality cabernet. Ideal serving temperature is 18 C. Food pairing: Enjoy with your favourites, including red meats, ham, bacon, venison, game birds or Gruyere cheese.
Luzon Organic 2010/11 - Spain ($15.56; ID#6951). From the southern Spanish wine region of Jumilla, this 100 per cent Monastrell, is all about gentle ripe fruit, extremely soft tannins and is completely unwooded (i.e. no time spent in oak barrels). No pesticides, herbicides, fungicides or other synthetic chemicals are used anywhere in the vineyard. Food Pairing: Bread, soft and mild cheeses, pastas, burgers or just leftovers.
