subject: Types Of Wine Grapes For The California Zinfandel And Others [print this page] Wine is all about the grapeWine is all about the grape. In fact, not just most types of wine but most regional varietal vintages have their own specific subtypes of grape. Of course, blends may or may not use their own specific strain of the blended grape, and most wines also differentiate themselves based on the process for growing and preparing the grape while using the same actual strain as other wines. But if you're trying to understand the foundational difference between most major types of wine, say a California Zinfandel and a Bordeaux Cabernet Sauvignon, you could do worse than to start by thinking about the grape. So understanding grapes is important, especially if you're considering buying in with a wine charity and you want to make the best choice for yourself and the charity.
There are thousands of types of wine grapes, experts say more than 5,000 different strains. However, the most commonly consumed wines derive from just a few dozen of the best varieties of the group vitis vinifera. This is the more common of the two major wine grape genus, or families, with the other being vitis labrusca. The major difference between the two is that the former is native to the Mediterranean region while the latter hales from the eastern United States. The longer presence is Western culture explains why v. vinifera has spawned most of the world's finest and most desired grapes and vintages.
Another way to think of wine grapes is in terms of white or red wine. However, this visually obvious categorization doesn't offer very much depth, while region and terrior, meaning all the other environmental factors in an area including chemical nature of the soil, moisture in the air, and geology, are far more informative as far as the way the grapes will turn out. And it goes both directions. Just as one way to understand grapes is by their region of origin and how different climates are expressed in its flavor, different grapes also prefer different climates and regions. For example, newly popular Malbecs flourished in Argentina, and only recently reached a high quality due to the climatic differences between their new home and what French growers have. But the California Zinfandel, which is actually descended from a Croatian grape transported by Austrians, grows anywhere that is warm but is not too hot, and can be harvested at many different ages depending on the prevailing weather.
Beyond the vitus, the color, and popular growing region of grapes, the next level of breaking down their type is the name of the grape. Many wines are bottled under the name of their grape, especially in the United States and outside Western Europe. The traditional naming procedure for wine is based on its region of origin - like Champagne only referring to sparkling white wine from the Champagne region of France - although this practice is changing as it becomes more to use the grape name.
So a California Zinfandel bottle of wine comes from a grape of the Zinfandel variety, vitus vinifera. But being grown and probably slightly altered over time to best perform in California, it will be different than a European bottle of the same type. This the most specific way to understand this variety of wine grape.
