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Red Wine Variety


In the world of red wine grapes there are definitely four red grapes that are the absolute icons of classic style: Pinot Noir, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah that is often known under its new identity Shiraz.

Pinot Noir is the grape variety that has been grown in Burgundy since the 12th century. This style is on the lighter end of the red wine spectrum even looking at it in the glass, it has a translucency to it. That is because the grape has relatively thin skins and so it's delivery of color and flavor intensity to the wine is on the lighter end of the spectrum. However, the flavors that it does give are so seductive and desirable that Pinot Noir is that one of the most desired styles of wine on earth. It is a cool climate style that is a little brighter, a little bit more in the red fruit aromatic spectrum, like cranberries and strawberries come to mind. This is a lighter style of red that works well with some foods that you might normally think of pairing with a white wine.

Next Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon two grapes that are planted in the same region and that are distantly related when they're grown in cold places like France and Italy. They often have a little bit of aromatic resemblance to them as well but once it is planted them in sunnier warmer places like Chile or California, we get a little more divergence in their aromatics and it gets easier to tell them apart.

Merlot tends to give a little bit more of an herbal quality to it, a little bit less of the earthiness that we find in Pinot Noir and seems to be a little bit darker in its fruit range, a little bit more like blackberries and plums and a little bit less like strawberries and cranberries.

Cabernet Sauvignon is definitely among the most famous and well-known grape varieties in the world. It makes some of the finest wines of Bordeaux and is known for the long-term aging potential that it can have. This is due to the fact that Cabernet Sauvignon was a grape has smaller berries and thicker skins than Merlot and when fermented in the tank, gives a double dose of all of the sources of color and flavor. Cabernet Sauvignon has some resemblance to Merlot in its fruit definitely in the dark fruit blackberry and cherry range but it adds to that herbal quality flavors that reminds darker foods like liquorice and chocolate and coffee.

Next variety would be a grape called Syrah that also comes from another region of France called the Rhone. However, it is known these days under another name where it's called Shiraz. Shiraz is the name given to the Syrah grape when it's grown in places like Australia and South Africa in the southern hemisphere; however, it is genetically identical to the grape called Syrah in places like California and France. Syrah has similar thick skins and density of color to Cabernet Sauvignon but usually does not quite have as much tannic structure. This style has a kind of blackberry pie and black pepper quality to it that makes it very appealing and friendly and delivers a heck of a lot of flavor per square inch when you serve this as a sauce on the side.

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