Knowing Your Grapes: Part 1

Wednesdays on the BottleBlog will feature an education session on wine, beer or spirits. Today Shannon Spare shares her experiences as a beginner in the World of Wine.

I was discussing my wine explorations with a friend the other day, and he asked if I "knew my grapes." He said that when he first started getting into wine, it helped him a lot to learn about the different kinds of grapes that go into the different kinds of wines, that way he could order a bottle at a restaurant that, even if weren't familiar with the winemaker, could be fairly certain he would enjoy.

"That's a good idea!" I thought. So I set out to "learn my grapes," and I pulled out my trusty Wine for Dummies book and got to studying. I opened to the index and looked up grapes, and there were no fewer than 30 sub-entries listed. This was going to prove to be much more difficult than I had anticipated, and will take up more than one blog entry on the subject for sure.

I delved into the subject thinking that I at least knew that white wine came from green grapes, and red wine came from purple ones. I quickly found out that's not the case at all. Today I'm just going to talk about the four most common varieties of white grapes, and you'll see what I mean.

Chardonnay: The Chardonnay grape is, by far, the most common white wine grape in the world. It's easy to grow, so it's in vineyards all over the world. The grape itself is rich and full-bodied, and the wines are generally dry. A great majority of Chardonnay wines are aged in oak (aptly called "oaked wines") so the familiar toasty, "Chardonnay taste" that many white wine lovers identify with and love, is actually the oak coming through, not the grape itself.

Riesling: Most Riesling grapes (but not all) come from Germany, and the wines that come from them are almost never oaked. There's a misconception about Riesling wines that they're a sweet wine, and while a lot of them are sweet, that is not always the case. Rieslings, unlike Chardonnays, are light-bodied, crisp and refreshing.



Sauvignon Blanc: This is a high-acid, "herbaceous" grape. Another term used to describe it that I related to a little better was "grassy." Sauvignon Blancs tend to be reminiscent of vegetables or minerals, but sometimes they can be fruity. Usually they're oaked, but sometimes they're unoaked. That's not confusing at all, is it?



Pinot Gris: See those purple grapes over there? Yeah, they're white. The "Gris" part of Pinot Gris means grey in Italian, and it's believed that this grape mutated from the Pinot Noir grape, a red variety. Pinos Gris wines are low acid, medium-to full bodied, and most of the time aren't oaky. Although sometimes they're described as having a peach peel or orange rind scent, most Pinot Gris wines have a neutral aroma. Pinot Grigio wines also come from this grape, so they'll have similar characteristics.

The first wine I ever drank, when I first decided to "get into wine" a long time ago, was a cheap bottle of Chardonnay that I absolutely detested, and it ended up being dumped. In my ignorance, I decided that "I don't like white wine!" even though it was one bottle, of one type, of wine.

Then, a couple years ago, my husband and I got a bottle of Riesling as a Christmas present in a really pretty bottle. We'd always thought that Rieslings were sweet wines, even a chiefly dessert-type wine, but learning about wine and grapes taught me that this definitely is not the case. We chilled the wine and enjoyed every sip, it wasn't too sweet at all!

I think that my friend was right - and "knowing your grapes" really does help you know what you'll like. Me, I'm not a fan of the woody, toasty oak flavors. I don't like anything too full or too acid, so when I'm picking out a bottle of white I'll steer towards Rieslings, or I'll try a Pinot Gris or a Pinot Grigio.

What's your favorite white wine? Do you have any wines you think I'll like? Leave me a comment below and let me know!