©2007, The Birmingham Post
Learning about wine should be fun, and a little knowledge goes a long way to appreciating and understanding the subject. The traditional route was to learn a long list of place names without any idea as to what these generic wines comprised. Driven by the New World, the modern approach is to look at the grape variety. It may seem simplistic, but it will cut through the mystique and snobbery, and hugely add to your enjoyment.
There are many factors which determine the appearance and taste of a wine, but undoubtedly, the most important is grape variety. Each has a specific flavour profile: some whites are aromatic, whilst others are neutral; some reds have firm structure and tannins, yet others are soft and silky.
Of course, there are other influences, namely location or, as the French term it, "terroir". More than the soil type, this incorporates the prevailing climatic conditions. Grapes grown in cooler regions have less sugar and more acid, producing lighter and crisper styles, whereas those from hotter areas are fuller and rounder.
With more than a thousand different varieties to choose from, just over a handful sit at the top of the tree. French in origin, these classics have been adopted throughout the wine-making world to become truly international. The fascination is that, wherever these varieties are transplanted, they begin to develop their own unique identity, such as Napa Cabernet or Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc.
Famous, fashionable and the ultimate crowd-pleaser, Chardonnay is the king of whites. Highly adaptable, it flourished wherever it is grown, and yet is highly compliant, due to its affinity with oak, allowing winemakers to fashion a wine in their own image.
The grape of White Burgundy, Chablis and Champagne, it has gone on to find further glory in such diverse regions as Australian, California and New Zealand, amongst others. The profile of flavours is enormous, from green apple, citrus, pineapple and peach, with hazelnut, toast and cream characters. In cool climates, it can be steely and austere (Champagne and Chablis) yet ripe and luscious in hotter regions (California and Chile).
Sauvignon Blanc is a love-it or loathe-it variety. To some, it's gooseberries, elderflower and cut-grass, but to others, it's cat's pee and musty cupboards. The spiritual home may be the Loire Valley, typified by Sancerre, but its full potential has been truly realised in Marlborough, New Zealand, where the fruit has put on muscle.
Gaining an improving reputation in South Africa, Western Australia and Chile, and in hotter climes such as South Australia and California, the grape develops tropical fruit characters.
Sauvignon Blanc is seldom partial to oak-ageing, but Riesling cannot tolerate it at all. Regrettably unfashionable, we tend to think of Riesling as a German variety, but it's French, too, representing the pinnacle of Alsatian wines. The hallmark flavours, when young, are green apple, but as it ages, develops diesel or petrol characters, loved by some, hated by others. Remarkably versatile, from bone-dry to sweet, Riesling is always marked by its backbone of acidity. The grape has travelled successfully to Australia, in particular the Clare Valley, where it takes on lime-zest characters, and to New Zealand.
The latest "kid-on-the-block" is Viognier, which has its origins in the little-known, but highly regarded appellation of Condrieu in the Northern Rhone. It works best in Mediterranean climates, and has achieved notable success in the Languedoc, South Australia and South America. It's typified by lime-blossom, apricot and peach, infused with spice and set in an oily texture.
Cabernet Sauvignon is to red wine as Chardonnay is to white. Its spiritual home is the Medoc, where its name has been established by the leading Chateaux of Lafite and Latour. Nevertheless, it has moved on to found an equally impressive reputation from the Napa Valley to Coonawarra.
The grape is characterised by its blackcurrant fruit, but the small, thick-skinned berries produce a wine with firm structure and tannins. If the climate is too cool, it will be green and herbaceous, and if too warm, jammy and soft. Cabernet thrives on oak, producing classic notes of cedar in Bordeaux, to eucalyptus and menthol in Coonawarra.
Due to its toughness, Cabernet is typically blended, in Bordeaux, with the softer, rounder and more plummy Merlot. This variety dominates the Right Bank wines of Bordeaux such as St. Emilion and is the staple of the legendary Pomerols, Petrus and Le Pin, the world's most expensive wines.
Fickle and frustrating, Pinot Noir is the great red grape of Burgundy. Never blended, in bad years, it can be thin and sour, but in hot years, jammy and confected. The primary fruit is raspberry, strawberry and cherry and, when everything goes right, it has the most seductive perfume and the silkiest texture. Finding the right location is the holy grail, but exceptional sites have been unearthed in California, Oregon, Victoria and New Zealand.
Syrah, aka Shiraz, originates from the Northern Rhone, where it is characterised by spicy bramble-fruit and raspberries, with a somewhat austere structure requiring long ageing. The classic wines are Hermitage and Cote-Rotie, but it is in Australian where the variety has really shot to fame.
Originally transported by German settlers, it has found a new home in the Barossa, McLaren Vale and Hunter Valley amongst others. Here, the fruit is softer and riper, with rich mouthfilling chocolate from the Barossa and leather in the Hunter Valley. The characters are often intensified by the use of American oak.
Once overlooked, Shiraz has now found increasing popularity in the Languedoc, Chile and South Africa.