Grapes
37 grapes, each explained: how it tastes, where it grows, and the bottles made from it.
Built for HORECA and trade buyers who work by variety — save a grape's bottles to a list per guest segment.
Cabernet Sauvignon
The preeminent classic red; one of the most tannic major grapes, making structured, powerful, ageworthy wines.
812 bottles
Chardonnay
One of the world's most successful whites; creamy, lush, full-bodied — though lean, crisp Chablis is the exception.
605 bottles
Merlot
Bordeaux's most-produced grape; similar to cabernet sauvignon, rounder and plumper but can be every bit as structured and tannic.
561 bottles
Pinot Noir
The sensual red — supple, silky, earthy; lighter in body and far less tannic than cabernet, and famously the most difficult grape to grow.
518 bottles
Syrah
Manly yet elegant — potent, exuberant reds of leather, smoke, roasted meat, and black pepper; the star grape of the northern Rhône.
389 bottles
Sauvignon Blanc
Wild, riotous, herbaceous white — grass, smoke, green herbs, lime, gunflint — with a clean, keen stiletto of acidity through its center.
213 bottles
Cabernet Franc
Bordeaux blending grape sitting between merlot and cabernet sauvignon; violet aromas, dark chocolaty flavors when ripe.
212 bottles
Sangiovese
Italy's most famous grape; takes its structure from acidity rather than tannin — fresh cherry when young, earthy and mineral with age.
206 bottles
Grenache
Spanish-origin red (garnacha), lead grape of Châteauneuf-du-Pape; not high in tannin, sappy and luxurious with cherry-preserve flavor.
167 bottles
Malbec
Southwestern-French grape (cot) that became Argentina's star; low acidity, deep inky color, soft mouthfilling texture.
117 bottles
Nebbiolo
Massively structured and adamantly tannic; pale in color yet ferociously tannic and high-acid; the noble grape of Barolo and Barbaresco.
101 bottles
Tempranillo
Spain's most famous red and the main grape of Rioja; well structured and balanced, cherry when young, deep and earthy with age.
94 bottles
Glera
The grape behind Italian sparkling Prosecco, from the Veneto.
86 bottles
Corvina
The most important red grape in Valpolicella and Amarone, from the Veneto around Verona.
66 bottles
Muscat
Not one grape but a large group of ancient aromatic varieties; intensely fruity, made in every style from bone-dry to fortified sweet.
64 bottles
Mourvèdre
The 'Heathcliff' of red grapes: dark, hard-edged, brooding wines with gravitas; Spanish-origin (monastrell), star of Bandol.
63 bottles
Riesling
Considered by many the most noble white grape; soaring acidity, purity and minerality; made in every degree from bone-dry to lusciously sweet.
62 bottles
Carmenère
Ancient Bordeaux red variety, virtually extinct in France, that became Chile's signature grape — soft, plush wines redolent of green tobacco, coffee and leather.
56 bottles
Pinot Gris
'Gray' pinot whose style swings from neutral Italian pinot grigio to opulent, smoky-spicy Alsace pinot gris; a color-mutation clone of pinot noir.
56 bottles
Barbera
Piedmont's most-planted red; superbly mouthfilling and rich with a natural vivacity from relatively high acidity.
44 bottles
Montepulciano
A central/southern Italian red grape (most widely known in Abruzzo) — NOT the sangiovese-based Tuscan wine vino nobile di Montepulciano.
44 bottles
Primitivo
Southern Italian (Apulian) red grape, genetically the same as California's zinfandel and Croatia's tribidrag.
40 bottles
Nero d'Avola
Sicily's aristocratic flagship red — mouthfilling, structured and chocolaty.
34 bottles
Viognier
One of the finest, rarest French whites; usually full-bodied, honeysuckle-apricot-musky and lanolin-textured, so fruity/floral it seems sweet even when bone-dry.
33 bottles
Sémillon
Broad, mouthfilling white with a pure, clean, 'starched' character young; the ideal Sauternes botrytis grape; honeyed and nutty with age.
31 bottles
Zinfandel
California's jammy chameleon; true red zin is soft-textured, dry, medium-to-full-bodied and crammed with blackberry, boysenberry, and plummy fruit.
28 bottles
Chenin Blanc
Loire white of apples and honey, shimmering with acidity; made bone-dry to fully sweet.
24 bottles
Gamay
The Beaujolais grape; perhaps the lowest in tannin of well-known reds, exuberantly fruity, almost white-wine-like.
18 bottles
Aglianico
Southern Italy's noble ageworthy red, the basis of the DOCG Taurasi in Campania.
16 bottles
Touriga Nacional
Portugal's powerhouse red — the leading grape in many Port blends, with richness, depth, a commanding tannic structure, deep colour and fine aromas.
16 bottles
Garganega
The major white grape of Soave, an ancient Veneto variety.
15 bottles
Gewürztraminer
Explosively aromatic white — roses, lychees, gingerbread; full-bodied, naturally low in acidity, usually dry.
15 bottles
Vermentino
A dry, floral coastal white grape of the Italian Riviera, Sardinia and Corsica.
14 bottles
Petite Sirah
California red, shown by DNA typing to be the French grape durif (syrah x peloursin) — mouthfilling and often hugely tannic despite the name.
9 bottles
Grüner Veltliner
Austria's leading white; precise, lively, dry, minerally, with a signature white-pepper note and high natural acidity.
8 bottles
Dolcetto
Piedmont's soft, fruity, low-tannin everyday red — easy-drinking, almost gulpable.
7 bottles
Albariño
One of the liveliest white wines in Europe and a top seafood wine; floral, citrusy, freshest when young and snappy.
5 bottles
More grapes
Torrontés · Verdicchio · Blaufränkisch · País · Zweigelt · Palomino · Silvaner