WineGuessrPlay →Wine grape varieties
Almost all the world's wine comes from varieties of one species, Vitis vinifera. Red wines are made from black-skinned grapes fermented with their skins; white wines usually from green-skinned grapes pressed before fermentation. Below are 45 major varieties, each with its origin, taste, the regions where it grows best and the WineGuessr wines made from it.
Red grapes
- Cabernet Sauvignon130 winesCabernet Sauvignon is a red grape from Bordeaux, France, known for full-bodied, tannic wines with blackcurrant and cedar. It leads the blends of the Médoc and Graves and Napa Valley's top reds. DNA work at UC Davis in 1996 showed it is a cross of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc.
- Merlot110 winesMerlot is a red grape from Bordeaux, France, known for soft, plummy wines with medium tannin. It dominates Pomerol and Saint-Émilion and is Ticino's main grape. In 2015 it covered about 266,000 hectares worldwide, and France alone had 112,000 hectares in 2017.
- Pinot Noir78 winesPinot Noir is a red grape from Burgundy, France, known for pale, silky wines with cherry, raspberry and earthy notes. It makes the grand crus of the Côte d'Or and is the most planted grape in Champagne. DNA from 15th-century seeds shows it has barely changed in 600 years.
- Syrah37 winesSyrah is a red grape from the northern Rhône, France, known for deep, peppery wines with blackberry and dark-chocolate notes. It makes Hermitage and Côte-Rôtie, and as Shiraz it is Australia's signature red. DNA work in 1999 showed it descends from Dureza and Mondeuse Blanche.
- Grenache28 winesGrenache is a red grape, probably from Aragon in Spain, known for ripe, high-alcohol wines with raspberry, strawberry and white-pepper notes. It anchors Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Priorat and Sardinia's Cannonau, and makes Tavel rosé and Banyuls. Its wines are often 15% alcohol or more.
- Cabernet Franc79 winesCabernet Franc is a red grape from south-west France known for fragrant, medium-bodied wines with raspberry, violet and bell-pepper notes. It makes Chinon and Bourgueil in the Loire and blends with Merlot in Saint-Émilion. DNA shows it is a parent of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Carmenère.
- Tempranillo19 winesTempranillo is a red grape from Spain known for medium to full-bodied wines with plum, cherry, tobacco and leather notes. It is the main grape of Rioja and Ribera del Duero. In 2015 it was the world's fourth most planted wine grape, with 232,561 hectares, 87% of them in Spain.
- Nebbiolo7 winesNebbiolo is a red grape from Piedmont, Italy, known for pale but highly tannic, long-lived wines with tar and rose aromas. It makes Barolo and Barbaresco. Plantings are small: about 5,993 hectares worldwide in 2010, of which 5,536 were in Piedmont.
- Sangiovese7 winesSangiovese is a red grape from central Italy known for high-acid, medium-bodied wines with sour cherry, tea-leaf and earthy notes. It is the main grape of Chianti Classico, Brunello di Montalcino and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano. Italy had 69,790 hectares in 2000.
- Malbec12 winesMalbec is a red grape from Cahors in South West France known for inky, plummy wines with violet notes and robust tannins. It is now Argentina's flagship red, especially in Mendoza. By 2003 Argentina had over 20,000 hectares, making it the country's most planted red grape.
- Gamay10 winesGamay is a red grape from Burgundy, France, known for light, fruity wines with strawberry, raspberry and violet notes. It makes all red Beaujolais, from the ten crus to Beaujolais Nouveau. In 1395 Duke Philip the Bold banned it from Burgundy's best vineyards.
- Mourvèdre14 winesMourvèdre is a red grape from Spain known for dark, tannic wines with blackberry, game and earthy notes. It leads Bandol in Provence and, as Monastrell, Jumilla and Yecla. In 2015 Spain had 43,049 hectares, its fourth most planted red variety.
- Zinfandel5 winesZinfandel is a red grape from the Adriatic coast known for ripe, high-alcohol wines with blackberry, raspberry and pepper notes. It is a California classic and, as Primitivo, the grape of Apulia. DNA showed in 2001 that it is identical to Croatia's Crljenak Kaštelanski, historically called Tribidrag.
- Petit Verdot45 winesPetit Verdot is a late-ripening red grape from Bordeaux, France, known for deep colour, firm tannin and violet aromas. It is used in small amounts in Médoc blends and as a varietal in warmer places such as Australia, Spain and California. Australia had 1,600 hectares in 2000.
- Carmenère4 winesCarmenère is a red grape from the Médoc, Bordeaux, known for medium-bodied wines with red fruit, spice and soft tannins. Thought lost after phylloxera, it was identified in Chile in 1994, where it had been mistaken for Merlot. Chile had over 8,800 hectares in 2009.
- Touriga Nacional8 winesTouriga Nacional is a red grape from northern Portugal known for intense, aromatic and tannic wines with blueberry, plum and violet notes. It is considered the finest Port grape and is central to Douro and Dão table wines. Portugal had about 2,760 hectares in the late 1990s.
- Cinsault6 winesCinsault is a red grape from southern France known for light, fragrant wines with raspberry, red currant and violet notes. It is widely used for Provence rosé, in Lebanon's Château Musar and in Chile's Itata Valley. Crossed with Pinot Noir, it is a parent of South Africa's Pinotage.
- Carignan10 winesCarignan is a red grape from Aragon, Spain, known for deeply coloured, high-acid, tannic wines with red fruit and spice. It was France's most planted variety in 1988, with 167,000 hectares. Today old vines in Priorat, Languedoc, Sardinia and Chile's Maule make its best wines.
- Tannat4 winesTannat is a red grape from South West France known for very tannic, dark wines with raspberry and blackberry notes. It is the main grape of Madiran and Uruguay's national variety, brought there by Basque settlers in the 19th century. Micro-oxygenation was invented in Madiran in 1990 to tame it.
- Pinotage2 winesPinotage is a red grape created in South Africa in 1924 by crossing Pinot Noir with Cinsault. It gives deep red wines with smoky, bramble and earthy notes. In 2017 South Africa had 6,979 hectares, 7.4% of its vineyard area, making Pinotage the country's signature grape.
- Pinot Meunier2 winesPinot Meunier is a red grape from France, a mutation of Pinot, known mainly as one of the three main Champagne grapes. It gives supple, fruity base wines and makes up about a third of Champagne's vineyards, especially in the Marne Valley. Germany calls it Schwarzriesling.
- Aglianico4 winesAglianico is a red grape from southern Italy known for full-bodied wines with firm tannins, high acidity and plum and chocolate notes. It makes Taurasi in Campania, a DOCG since 1993, and Aglianico del Vulture in Basilicata. It is often called the Barolo of the South.
- Barbera2 winesBarbera is a red grape from Monferrato in Piedmont, Italy, known for deeply coloured wines with high acidity, low tannin and red cherry fruit. It makes Barbera d'Asti and Nizza. In 2010 Italy had 20,524 hectares, making it the country's sixth most planted red grape.
- Blaufränkisch2 winesBlaufränkisch is a red grape from Central Europe known for peppery wines with dark cherry and berry fruit and fresh acidity. It is Austria's leading quality red, especially in Burgenland, and as Kékfrankos a key grape of Hungary's Egri Bikavér. Austria had 3,340 hectares in 2008.
White grapes
- Chardonnay78 winesChardonnay is a white grape from Burgundy, France, known for its range from lean, unoaked Chablis to rich, barrel-fermented whites and Blanc de Blancs Champagne. It grows best in cool to moderate climates. DNA work at UC Davis showed it is a cross of Pinot Noir and Gouais Blanc.
- Sauvignon Blanc45 winesSauvignon Blanc is a white grape from the Loire Valley and Bordeaux in France, known for crisp, aromatic wines with grassy, citrus and tropical notes. It shines in Sancerre, Pouilly-Fumé and Marlborough, New Zealand. It is one of the two parents of Cabernet Sauvignon.
- Riesling80 winesRiesling is a white grape from the Rhine Valley in Germany, known for high acidity, strong aromas and wines ranging from bone dry to very sweet. It excels in the Mosel, Rheingau, Alsace and Austria. In 2015 Germany had 23,596 hectares, 23% of its vineyards.
- Pinot Gris58 winesPinot Gris is a grey-pink skinned white grape from Burgundy, France, a colour mutation of Pinot Noir. It makes rich, spicy wines in Alsace and light, crisp Pinot Grigio in northeast Italy. New Zealand had 2,488 hectares in 2019, nearly eight times the 2003 area.
- Chenin Blanc10 winesChenin Blanc is a white grape from Anjou in France's Loire Valley, known for high acidity and wines that run from dry and sparkling to botrytised and sweet. Its strongholds are the Loire and South Africa, which had 18,852 hectares in 2008, nearly twice France's area.
- Sémillon33 winesSémillon is a white grape from Bordeaux, France, known for sweet Sauternes and Barsac and for long-lived dry Hunter Valley Semillon in Australia. Its thin skin makes it highly susceptible to noble rot. In the 1820s it covered over 90% of South Africa's vineyards.
- Gewurztraminer53 winesGewurztraminer is a pink-skinned white grape from Tramin in South Tyrol, a highly aromatic form of Traminer (Savagnin). It is known for intense lychee and rose aromas, low acidity and rich texture. Alsace is its leading region, from dry wines to Sélection de Grains Nobles.
- Muscat65 winesMuscat is a family of more than 200 grape varieties known for an unmistakable grapey, floral aroma. Its wines range from light, fizzy Moscato d'Asti to fortified vins doux naturels and Rutherglen Muscat. Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains and Muscat of Alexandria are the most important members.
- Viognier3 winesViognier is a white grape from the northern Rhône, France, known for full-bodied, low-acid wines with apricot, peach and floral aromas. It is the only grape of Condrieu and Château-Grillet. In 1965 only about eight acres remained in the northern Rhône before a worldwide revival.
- Grüner Veltliner6 winesGrüner Veltliner is Austria's signature white grape, known for crisp, peppery wines with citrus and green notes. It is Austria's most planted variety, with 17,034 hectares in 2012, over half in the Weinviertel. DNA shows it is a cross of Traminer (Savagnin) and St. Georgener-Rebe.
- Albariño4 winesAlbariño is a white grape from Galicia in northwest Spain and the Minho in northern Portugal, where it is called Alvarinho. It is known for fresh, aromatic wines with peach, apricot and citrus notes and high acidity. It is the main grape of the Rías Baixas DO, created in 1988.
- Marsanne5 winesMarsanne is a white grape from the northern Rhône, France, named after the village of Marsanne in the Drôme. It makes full-bodied, nutty white wines, often blended with Roussanne, and is the main white grape of Hermitage. Tahbilk in Victoria, Australia, has Marsanne vines planted in 1927.
- Roussanne5 winesRoussanne is a white grape from the northern Rhône, France, named for the russet colour of its ripe berries. It makes aromatic, textured wines with notes of herbal tea and pear, often blended with Marsanne. In Savoie it is called Bergeron and makes Chignin-Bergeron.
- Furmint3 winesFurmint is a white grape from Tokaj in northeast Hungary, known as the main grape of sweet Tokaji Aszú and for dry, smoky, high-acid whites. In 2006 Hungary had 4,006 hectares, over 97% of them in the Tokaj region. DNA shows Gouais Blanc as one parent.
- Palomino3 winesPalomino is a white grape from Andalusia, Spain, known as the main grape of sherry: about 90% of the grapes grown for sherry are Palomino. Its low acidity and neutral flavour suit flor aging and oxidative styles. Spain had 20,261 hectares in 2015.
- Pedro Ximénez4 winesPedro Ximénez is a white grape from Andalusia, Spain, known for intensely sweet, dark PX sherry made from sun-dried grapes. Montilla-Moriles is its main region, ahead of Jerez and Málaga. Spain had 6,950 hectares in 2019, and DNA shows descent from the Arabic table grape Gibi.
- Muscadelle22 winesMuscadelle is a white grape from France, used as a minor partner to Sémillon and Sauvignon Blanc in Bordeaux and Sauternes and as the sole grape of Rutherglen Topaque in Australia. Despite its grapey, Muscat-like aroma, DNA shows it is unrelated to Muscat.
- Glera1 winesGlera is a white grape from northeast Italy, the main grape of Prosecco, which must contain at least 85% Glera. It gives light, fresh sparkling wines with apple, pear and white peach notes. It was officially renamed from Prosecco to Glera in 2009 to protect the Prosecco name.
- Pinot Blanc4 winesPinot Blanc is a white grape that arose as a mutation of Pinot Noir, known for fresh, medium-bodied wines with apple, citrus and floral notes. It is widely grown in Alsace, where it is the main grape of Crémant d'Alsace, and in Germany, which had 5,540 hectares in 2018.
- Chasselas3 winesChasselas is a white grape from western Switzerland, known for light, dry, low-acid wines that reflect their soil, such as Dézaley and Fendant. In 2009 it was Switzerland's second most planted grape, with 4,013 hectares. In Germany it is called Gutedel and in the Valais Fendant.
- Vermentino4 winesVermentino is a white grape of the western Mediterranean, known for fresh, aromatic wines with citrus, herb and saline notes. It is the grape of Vermentino di Gallura DOCG in Sardinia and of Corsican whites such as Patrimonio. In Provence and Languedoc it is called Rolle.