What are the latest grape varieties?

Grapes originated in the western region of Asia. Most of the world's vineyards are distributed between 20 and 52 degrees north latitude and between 30 and 45 degrees south latitude, with the vast majority in the Northern Hemisphere. Chinese grapes are mostly between 30 and 43 degrees north latitude. There are many kinds of grapes, with more than 8,000 worldwide and more than 500 in China. Famous ones include: the purple-red, round, pearl-like “Longyan”, known as the “Pearl of the North Country”. There is the early-ripening Thompson Seedless, the sweet-and-sour Red Globe, and others.

1. Cabernet Sauvignon

Cabernet Sauvignon is the king of noble red wine grape varieties and is widely planted throughout the world. Its berries are small, its skins thick, and it ripens late; the wine made from it is deep in color. When the wine is young and fresh, its tannic acidity is intense, and it has the quality to be aged. Its characteristic is that it best expresses blackcurrant flavor, melon flavor, and licorice flavor, with a rich and solid body and strong alcoholic power.

2. Pinot Noir

Pinot Noir is the queen of noble red wine grapes. Its wine is gentle and elegant; its characteristic is that when young it is fresh and aromatic, and when mature it is gentle and refined, with full and complex fruit flavors and a relatively obvious aroma of strawberry and cherry. Pinot Noir can produce the most exciting red wine in the world, but even fine jade has flaws: Pinot Noir is recognized as a difficult grape variety to cultivate. Although its berries ripen relatively early, they are fragile, thin-skinned, and prone to rot.

3. Syrah

Syrah is the prince among classic red wine grapes. It is a medium-bodied wine, between Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir, and has aging value. When fully ripe, it is as smooth and rich in texture as fine Pinot Noir. Syrah is a late-ripening variety with a relatively deep color, and it grows best in warm soils such as granite soil. But if planted too densely, its distinctive mulberry and black pepper flavors will become diluted.

4. Merlot

Merlot is also the most popular red grape variety. Merlot is popular because it is early-ripening, fresh and tender, and high-yielding, and can be used to produce large quantities of delicious, smooth wine. It can also be widely used to blend with other grape varieties into mature, balanced red wines. Merlot grows well in cooler places.

5. Gamay

Gamay originated in Burgundy, France, and is now mainly produced in the Beaujolais villages. The wine produced is light purple-red in color, very low in tannin, light on the palate, and rich in fresh fruit aromas. Wine made from Gamay is simple and easy to drink, usually not suitable for long storage, and belongs to wines to be drunk while young. However, if grown on igneous shale and soil low in lime, Gamay can also produce rich, concentrated, long-aging red wines, such as from several Beaujolais cru appellations, Moulin-a-Vent, St. Amour, and so on. Apart from the Beaujolais villages, it is planted most in the Rhone Valley. As for California's Gamay Beaujolais, it is a type of Pinot Noir, not the true Gamay variety.

6. Tempranillo

Tempranillo originated in northern Spain, and etymologically means “early-ripening”. Limestone clay on poor slopes is its best growing condition; unlike other Spanish varieties, it suits a cooler and milder climate. Tempranillo is the most important variety in Rioja, mainly planted in Rioja Alta and Rioja Alavesa, and is also commonly planted in northern Spain, but it is not famous in other countries. Tempranillo's quality is not poor, but insufficient acidity is a common shortcoming, and it is sometimes blended with other grape varieties when making wine.

7. Zinfandel

Zinfandel was introduced to California from Italy in the 19th century and is currently the variety with the largest planted area there, mainly used to produce ordinary table wine and semi-sweet white wine and even sparkling wine. But if planted on cooler gravelly slopes, with small yields and a longer maceration process, it can also produce high-quality, long-aging red wine. It has rich floral and fruit aromas, and after aging it often has various spice notes. Dry Creek Valley, Alexandra Valley, Geyserville, Amador, Sierra Foothill, and Paso Robles are the best production areas.

8. Nebbiolo

Nebbiolo may be the best variety in Italy. In the Piedmont region, Valrellina, Lombarby, Barolo, Barberesco, and some other D.O.C.-level appellations have relatively large planted areas. The red wine made from Nebbiolo has layered, complex aromas (tea aroma, rose, spicy notes, and tar aroma), a firm tannin structure, and deep aging potential. Nebbiolo requires the best growing environment; otherwise it will not fully ripen. The name Nebbiolo comes from “nebbia”, which in Italian means “fog”. This reflects the characteristic that Nebbiolo is usually harvested at the end of the year (a late-ripening type). Experiments have proven that, apart from in Italy, Nebbiolo so far cannot be grown well and made into good red wine in other countries.

9. Barbera

Barbera was once made into an everyday drink in Piedmont in northern Italy, and has now become the most widely planted grape variety after Sangiovese. Over the past twenty years, Barbera has always been one of the highest-quality grape varieties, as deacidification processes and Dolcetto fermentation techniques have become increasingly refined. Today, red wine made from Barbera has more complex flavors, a solid body, and a ruby-red sheen, and its aging value and potential are both good, but all of the above refers to the Piedmont region or the southern regions of southern Italy. Barbera made elsewhere appears ordinary, with relatively high acidity, especially in Argentina and California.

10. Dolcetto

In Piedmont in northern Italy, Dolcetto is the third-largest grape variety after Nebbiolo and Barbera. Dolcetto is the earliest-ripening grape variety; it contains a lot of tannin and produces a lot of sediment during fermentation. Therefore, winemakers usually ferment it for a shorter time and bottle it as soon as possible, thereby avoiding this problem in the red wine produced. The Dolcetto red wine produced is very attractive, with a deep ruby-red color, exuding sweet berry and cypress aromas, and carrying an almond flavor.

11. Sangiovese

Sangiovese is one of Italy's best grape varieties and is widely planted locally. Tuscany and most of the south mainly use Sangiovese to make red wine. Sangiovese is a late-ripening grape variety; if harvested in a relatively cold year, it usually has difficulty ripening fully, whereas red wine made from Sangiovese picked in a warm season appears more lively. It has a good balance of sweetness and acidity and a complete tannin structure, and possesses a very elegant appeal. So far Sangiovese has not been ideal when planted in Argentina, but in California it has shown good potential.

12. Malbec

Malbec was once widely planted in Bordeaux, but was later replaced by Merlot. Now the main place where Malbec is planted in France is Cahors (like Auxerrois), mainly used to make the region's most famous “black wine”. Malbec is a medium-yielding grape variety, distinctive and with fairly good aging value. Malbec is also a very common grape variety in Argentina and has developed quite well, especially producing many high-quality wines in recent years; in Chile, Malbec is often used to blend with other grape varieties to make wine; likewise, in the appellations of southwestern France, Malbec is also widely used.

13. Chardonnay

Chardonnay is the world's most famous white grape variety. No matter where it is grown or what its value is, as long as the wine label bears the word “Chardonnay”, the wine is sure to sell well. The Chardonnay grape is highly adaptable; whether in the vineyard or in the winery, it is a grape that is easy to grow and process, and its sales are also quite good, truly a perfect combination.

The Chardonnay grape has low climate requirements. When unripe, its fruit flavor is tart and bland, but after aging and maturing, its aroma increases astonishingly. In Australia's hottest regions and in well-irrigated vineyards it also grows well, and the wine produced is full of melon aroma, with a buttery, oily fragrance, a full body, and relatively high alcohol content.

14. Riesling

The Riesling grape is a superb white grape. No white grape can match Riesling in such diversity. Depending on origin and aging, it ranges from non-sweet to sweet, from light floral aromas and tropical fruit flavors to oily and waxy aromas, and so on. Riesling is very particular about where it is planted. A place with ample sunshine is best, but paradoxically, Riesling grows better in cold places than in warm places. It is best to receive ample sunlight over a long period; in a long and dry autumn, if there is enough sunshine time, it will make the highest-quality white wine. If the climate is suitable and noble rot botrytis occurs, late-harvest top-quality sweet wine can be obtained. Riesling can also grow in warm places, but ripening too quickly reduces its aroma.

15. Semillon

Like Chardonnay, Semillon can also make wines of a range of qualities from “very ordinary” to “excellent”. It can make wine with high alcohol content and is extremely suitable for barrel fermentation and aging. One characteristic of its non-sweet wine is a peculiar waxy aroma accompanied by lemon notes. Like Riesling, if the climate is suitable and noble rot botrytis occurs, late-harvest top-quality sweet berry wine can be obtained.

16. Sauvignon Blanc

Sauvignon Blanc wine is lively on the palate, light in color, and contains pungent, grassy, distinctive aromas. Sauvignon Blanc is widely planted around the world, mostly because of its aromatic aroma. Words used to describe it include gooseberry, elderflower, grass, asparagus, and green bell pepper, rather than added oak aromas.

17. Chenin Blanc

Chenin Blanc originated in Anjou in the Loire Valley of France. It suits a mild maritime climate and limestone and flint soils. The wine produced often has honey and floral aromas, with a rich taste and strong acidity. Its dry white wine and sparkling wine are of good quality, mostly suitable for drinking while young, and the better ones can also be aged. In addition, Chenin Blanc is also suitable for making late-harvest and noble sweet white wines, with Quarts de Chaume and Bonnezeaux of Coteaux du Layon being the best and long-aging. Anjou and Touraine in France are the main production areas. Now it is also quite common in Australia, South Africa, and California, but is often used to make ordinary table wine.

18. Viura

Viura is a typical Spanish white grape variety, widely planted in the Rioja and Navarra regions of Spain. In other countries this grape is rarely seen. The wine produced from Viura has complex tropical fruit and vanilla aromas, a good structure, and a crisp, elegant taste. It can be widely paired with seafood and white meats.

19. Pinot Blanc

In the Pinot grape family, Pinot Blanc is a rather distinctive member. It originates from Pinot Noir and was further propagated from Pinot Gris. Pinot Blanc is a grape variety that is relatively demanding about its growing environment but is also quite vigorous. Only mature Pinot Blanc with relatively round, smooth berries can fully express its characteristics; otherwise its proper aroma will not be fully released. Pinot Blanc has developed very well in the New World, and also in northern Italy, the Styria province of Austria, Slavonia, Slovenia, Hungary, and Romania.

20. Pinot Gris

Pinot Gris is a member of the Pinot grape family. Pinot Gris, whose color is pinkish with gray, needs deep soil to grow. In the 14th century, Pinot Gris came from France to the Lake Balaton region of Hungary. In Alsace in France, Austria, and Germany, Pinot Gris is used to produce Spatlese and Auslese wines; both are of the highest quality, rich in Pinot Gris essence, with a pleasant spicy note and a little acidity. At present Pinot Gris is better known by more people as Pinot Grigio; it mainly grows in the grape-producing regions of northern Italy, where light- to medium-bodied wines are generally produced.

21. Trebbiano

In Tuscany, Italy, this white grape, Trebbiano, is the most familiar to people. It was once the main component of Chianti wine, and its taste is relatively mild. Its greatest value lies in its high yield while at the same time maintaining suitable acidity. In the Abruzzi region of Italy, the Abruzzo appellation is the most representative grape variety.

Apart from Italy, Trebbiano is also planted in other parts of the world. In France (known as Ugni Blanc) it is mainly and relatively widely used to make brandy and Armagnac. In southern France, Trebbiano is also blended with other grape varieties to make wine.