Topic: Varietals-and-Wine-Styles

Despite its innocuous character, Colombard is a good choice for home winemakers, as it is easy to work with and allows for a wide scope of techniques and styles.

Sauvignon Blanc originated in the Loire Valley of France, and people started cultivating it as a wine grape starting sometime in the 19th century.

In the vineyard, Grenache is extremely vigorous and needs a long growing season to mature all of its fruit.

To this day, I consider that Riesling vintage one of the best wines I ever made, and I wish I could find a bottle or two in my cellar to taste what I had predicted to be a very graceful aging wine.

. . . Merlot is the most common grape variety grown in France with about 280,000 acres.

. . . Sicily’s legacy of red wine is all about Nero d’Avola, second only to Catarratto Bianco. There are almost 18,000 hectares (about 46,000 acres) of Nero in Sicily.

If you are looking for a cold-tolerant red grape, Marquette might be the varietal for you. Bred in Minnesota, this hybrid can withstand temperatures as low as -30 °F (-34 °C).

To understand Montepulciano the grape, you also have to understand the difference with Montepulciano the place. Chik Brenneman takes you on a tour of eastern Tuscany, Italy in this issue.

It was not long ago that Viognier was almost an extinct grape varietal. Luckily for wine fans, both grape growers and winemakers have learned some tricks to unlock this grape’s true potential.

Grab a seat, take out your pencil, and get ready for an introduction into the master class on the world’s most popular grape. Guest lecturers include three experts on making Cabernet wines.

Wine and chocolate are a match made in heaven. But it doesn’t have to be two separate delicacies. Home winemakers can actually combine the two by infusing wine with chocolate.

Funny you ask this question as I’ve just now got three tanks full of 2016 Monterey Pinot Noir rosé fermenting in the winery. White Zinfandel, contrary to what some folks think, is

Find out how to replicate the method of making Amarone — the famed red “straw wine” from the Valpolicella zone of Italy’s Veneto province made from grapes partially dried on straw mats to concentrate their juice.

Barbera is a favorite among winemakers because its high acidity makes it a useful grape for blending and also a unique varietal wine. Get tips to make your own Barbera wines at home.

Hard cider doesn’t have to be made from apples. Try making a pear cider (perry) this summer!

Indeed, for 4–6 months of the year, the frigid and snowy landscape hardly seems like a great place to plant a vineyard. Temperatures in January and February drop sufficiently low to kill

Pinotage is the most recognized — though not the most widely grown — South African red wine grape.

Sherry is the fortified wine from Jerez, Spain, made in soleras and conditioned with flor yeast.

And you thought there was only one time each year to make wine from fresh grapes; in the autumn season. But, surprise, there is another whole world south of the Equator. As

Looking for a cold-hardy white to grow in a colder northern clime? Meet the University of Minnesota’s La Crescent.

Thanks to the University of Minnesota, wine grapes can thrive in some of the coldest climates in North America (and beyond). In this issue, two winemakers discuss making wine with the Minnesota-bred,

The mantra for the quest for making a big blockbuster type of wine is “more is better” — more sugar in the grapes, more alcohol in the wine, more extraction, more color

We have all heard the expression that great wine is made in the vineyard. And while we home winemakers generally accept this as truth, nowhere has this been more obvious to me

Australia recognizes Syrah as Shiraz. It is presumed that the name stuck as the cuttings that were brought to the country in the 1830s by James Busby were identified with the names Ciras and Scryas, making it difficult to research the origins of the name, given the Iranian connection . . .

NEBBIOLO Nebbiolo derives its name from nebbia, in reference to the foggy conditions under which it is typically harvested, and possibly from nobile, as it is considered the most noble of Italian