Grape varieties every new joiner should know

Why the grape name matters

Almost all wine comes from one vine species, Vitis vinifera. Within it, each variety has its own skin thickness, sugar, acidity and aroma, much as different apple varieties taste different. A Sauvignon Blanc and a Chardonnay grown side by side will never taste alike.

In much of the world, India included, the variety is printed on the front label, so it is often the first thing a customer reads. Learn the main ones and half the wine list explains itself. Wines named after a place rather than a grape are covered in our guide to reading a wine label.

The red grapes

• Cabernet Sauvignon. Thick skinned, firm tannin, blackcurrant and sometimes a cedar or mint note. The backbone of red Bordeaux and grown almost everywhere. Ages well, often in oak.
• Merlot. Softer and rounder than Cabernet, with plum and cherry. Often blended with Cabernet to fill out the middle.
• Shiraz, or Syrah. The same grape under two names. Dark fruit with black pepper and spice. Called Syrah in France's Rhône valley and Shiraz in Australia. It is one of the most planted reds in India and suits warm sites.
• Pinot Noir. Thin skinned, pale, light in tannin, with red cherry and earthy notes. Fussy to grow and best in cool climates such as Burgundy.
• Tempranillo. Spain's main red, the grape behind Rioja. Cherry, leather and often vanilla from oak.

The white grapes

• Sauvignon Blanc. Sharp, zesty, with lime, green pepper and cut grass. Classic from the Loire in France and Marlborough in New Zealand. Widely planted in India and usually drunk young.
• Chardonnay. The chameleon. Unoaked it is crisp, apple and lemon. Oaked it is fuller, with butter and toast. Makes white Burgundy and is a main grape in Champagne.
• Chenin Blanc. High acidity with apple, quince and honey notes. Made in every style from bone dry to sweet to sparkling. The Loire and South Africa are its homes. It is common in India too.
• Riesling. Very aromatic, with lime, green apple and floral notes and high acidity. Germany's great grape, made dry or off dry. With age it can pick up a petrol-like note that fans love.
• Viognier. Low acidity, rich and perfumed, with apricot and blossom. From the northern Rhône.

Blends and what they tell you

Many wines are blends. Bordeaux reds mix Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and a few others. Champagne usually blends Chardonnay with Pinot Noir and Meunier. A blend lets the winemaker balance one grape's weakness with another's strength. It also gives a brand room to stay consistent when one variety has a poor year.

For anyone in planning, this matters. A single-variety wine depends on one crop. A blend has some flexibility built in, within whatever rules the label and the region allow.

Climate changes the same grape

The same variety tastes different depending on where it grows. In a cool place, Sauvignon Blanc is lean and green. In a warmer one it turns riper, with tropical fruit. Shiraz from a hot site is jammy and soft. From a cooler one it is peppery and tight.

India grows wine grapes in a tropical climate on high ground, using a two-pruning cycle that most of the world does not need. That pushes the familiar varieties into a style of their own, which is one reason it is worth tasting Indian wine on its own terms. Our guide to India's wine regions explains how it works.

How to use this at work

You do not need to identify grapes blind. It helps to know what customers expect when they read one on a label. A Sauvignon Blanc buyer wants freshness and acidity. A Shiraz buyer wants dark fruit and some warmth. If the wine in the bottle does not deliver what the variety promises, complaints follow, however good the wine is.

It also helps in meetings. When a buyer says a Cabernet is too tannic, they mean a drying grip from the skins and seeds. That is a style point, not a fault.

The descriptions above stay abstract until you taste them. Most people find two or three side-by-side comparisons, say an oaked and an unoaked Chardonnay, do more than a week of reading.