Vines for Wines

A Wine Lover's Guide to the Top Wine Grape Varieties

George G. Kerridge, Angela A. Gackle, George Kerridge, Angela Gackle

• Publisher: CSIRO PUBLISHING
• Year: 2004
• Print ISBN: 9780643090668
• eBook ISBN: 9780643099777
• Topic: Technology & Engineering
• Subtopic: Horticulture
• Index: Technology & Engineering

Riesling, Chardonnay, Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes can make magnificent wines but there are also many other excellent wine varieties that for many of us are rarely experienced. Vines for Wines will expand the wine lover's knowledge and appreciation of a great range of wines and help to explore their individual preferences for specific varieties, blends, flavours and styles.

This book is based on the highly successful Wine Grape Varieties, which is an aid to identifying grape vines. Vines for Wines, however, focuses on wines from the average consumer's point-of-view, introducing the different wine grape varieties and the wines made from them, including blends. Each variety is represented by a colour photograph of the grape variety, its current world plantings, wine produced and notes describing the varietal characters for each wine grape variety.

The tasting terms and wine notes for each variety provide a benchmark for the consumer to assess the quality of wines they drink, and to allow them to share and compare their experiences confidently with other wine lovers.

Wine Grape Varieties and Their Wines

Aleatico

Aleatico (ahl-ih-at-ik-oh) is an Italian variety found in most areas, with the largest plantings in Tuscany and the island of Elba. It is also grown in Corsica and it is a minor variety in California. It has a muscat flavour and is somewhat like a black form of Muscat à petits grains.

In Italy, Aleatico is used to make a highly regarded sweet, ruby coloured, muscat wine. Aleatico can be used to make white wines and fortified wines and could be tried as a substitute for Muscat à petits grains where there are problems with that variety.

Alvarelhao

Alvarelhao (ahl-vah-rel-oh) was recommended, along with Bastardo and Touriga, by Mr F.de Castella, former Government Viticulturist in Victoria, for the production of port. However, in the variety classification used in the Douro Valley in Portugal, Bastardo and Touriga are rated as very good but Alvarelhao is rated as only reasonable. So it is perhaps not surprising that less Alvarelhao than Touriga and Bastardo has been planted in Australia, with a few small plantings in north-east Victoria and southern New South Wales only. There appears to be very little of this variety grown outside Portugal. It is not clear whether it is present in California, as the variety imported from there as Alvarelhao proved to be actually Touriga.

Alvarelhao is lower in colour and tannin than the other port varieties and although widely planted in Portugal, does seem to be more suitable for red wine rather than port. It has been reported as producing red wines with good acidity and balance.

Barbera

Barbera (bar-beer-ah) is the leading wine grape of Italy, grown mainly in Piedmont. It is used in wines of controlled appellation, sometimes alone and sometimes mixed with other varieties. Argentina grows some Barbera. It was popular in California in the 1970s, reaching 8600 ha in 1977, with around 4000 ha currently. There are 141 ha of Barbera planted in Australia.

Wines from Barbera have good colour, tannin and acidity, and a distinctive varietal character which may not be immediately acceptable to Australian wine-drinkers. When aged in oak the wines can be complex and full-bodied with a delicate bouquet. In Italy it is mostly used for making full-flavoured dry red wines with earthy character, soft tannin and ripe currant flavour, but sweet red and sparkling red wines are also made from it.

Bastardo

Bastardo (bas-tah-doh) is considered one of the better port varieties in Portugal, although it is not as widely grown as Touriga or Tinta Amarella. It is also grown under the name of Trousseau in the Jura region in eastern France. It is probably one of the ‘port sorts’ in South Africa and there may be a little in California and South America, but not enough to be recorded separately. The exact area of planting in Australia is uncertain. There is a small quantity in South Australia as Cabernet Gros, a little in north-east Victoria and nearby in New South Wales called Bastardo. Some plantings called Touriga in New South Wales are also Bastardo.

Under most Australian conditions this potentially sweet, full wine is best suited for fortified wines. The fruit ripens early and attains a high sugar concentration, which increases even further as the berries wilt. It does not provide much colour in the wine but will combine with other varieties that provide colour and flavour.

Bianco d’Alessano

Bianco d’Alessano (be-ank-oh dal-essah-noh) is a late-ripening white wine grape variety from the Puglia region of south-east Italy with substantial plantings in the province of Taranto near Bari. Bianco d’Alessano produces yields of about 30 tonnes/ha in the warm irrigated regions of Australia. The juice is sweet and neutral in flavour.

The wines tend to be neutral in character and have been given only average scores by tasting panels.

Biancone

Biancone (bee-yan-kowhn) has the distinction of giving the highest commercial yield of any variety in Australia. Almost all is grown in the Riverland of South Australia. The variety comes from Corsica, where its excellent production has led to one of its names being Pagadebiti, literally ‘payer of debts’. Small areas of Biancone have been grown under the name of Grenache Blanc Productif and it was probably imported into Australia under this name. The Biancone of the island of Elba is thought to be the same variety but it does not appear to have become established in any other countries.

Biancone with its high yields has little character, and this soft and fruity wine is mainly used for distillation or bulk production in the Riverland. There is some evidence that it can produce a distinctive dry white wine in cooler areas.

Bonvedro

Bonvedro (bon-ved-roh) is the Portuguese name of this variety, which is also grown in north-eastern Spain as Cuatendra. It possibly also occurred in France as an obscure variety and may have arrived in Australia as part of a large collection, such as Busby’s. In this way it could have become confused with Carignan, the name generally used for Bonvedro in Australia. There may also have been confusion with another variety from north-eastern Spain, Miguel de Arco, as the vines grown under this name in Australia also seem to be Bonvedro. Small quantities of Bonvedro are grown in Australia, mostly in South Australia and a little in New South Wales and Victoria.

Wines made from Bonvedro in Australia have a pleasant varietal character but are soft and lacking in tannin, and in the past were unfavourably compared with other varieties of wine with more colour and tannin. Increasing interest in lighter red wines may encourage a reappraisal of this position.

Bourboulenc

Bourboulenc (bor-buh-lahnk) is a recommended variety throughout Mediterranean France and is found mainly in the lower valley of the Rhone. It is an approved variety for wines of controlled appellation such as Chateauneuf-du-Pape and Cotes du Rhone. It appears four times, under different names, among Busby’s imports into Australia in 1832, but has not survived in any of the official viticultural collections. It is found only as odd vines in old vineyards in Great Western and Rutherglen and possibly elsewhere.

In France, standard dry white wines from Bourboulenc are delicate and lightly aromatic with some varietal character developing with bottle age. Wine from very ripe grapes has a more special character. In practice Bourboulenc is usually harvested and fermented mixed with other varieties.

Cabernet Franc

Cabernet Franc (ka-ber-nay frahnk) is an important variety of the Bordeaux area of France. There have been small plantings in recent years, but Cabernet Franc generally occurs in Australia as odd vines in plantings of Cabernet Sauvignon, particularly in north-east Victoria where it sometimes occurs to the extent of more than one vine in ten. In France, it is also grown in the Loire Valley and is now recommended throughout the entire south, including Corsica. In Italy it...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Preface
• Introduction
• Wine Terminology
• Wine and Health
• A Brief History
• Wine Grape Varieties and their Wines
• Synonyms
• Further Reading