Grapes Varietals – a pictorial parade

Presentación de 26 cepas vinícolas en la estancia El Cuadro, Casablanca, Chile. La estancia también posee un museo del vino, gran salón para cata, parque, comedores y otras instalaciones y programas para atender a visitantes. Fotografías tomadas en marzo de 2012 y tabla elaborada por Orlando Mason.

Haiga click para el sitio de la ESTANCIA EL CUADRO

Cabernet Franc: A thin-skinned red grape that grows particularly well in cooler climates, and is originally from the Bourdeaux and Loire Valley regions of France. The Cabernet Franc has been grown with success in France, Australia, Chile, Canada, South Africa, California and Washington, producing a fruity wine that is softer and more subdued than its regal relative, Cabernet Sauvignon.   wine.about.com

Cabernet Sauvignon is one of the world’s most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Canada’s Okanagan Valley to Lebanon’s Beqaa Valley. Cabernet Sauvignon became internationally recognized through its prominence in Bordeaux wines where it is often blended with Merlot and Cabernet Franc. From France, the grape spread across Europe and to the New World where it found new homes in places like California’s Napa Valley, Australia’s Coonawarra region and Chile’s Maipo Valley. For most of the 20th century, it was the world’s most widely planted premium red wine grape until it was surpassed by Merlot in the 1990s.   wikipedia.org

Carignan: The most widely-planted red wine grape in France is Carignan (sometimes spelled Carignane in the US, a.k.a. Carignano in Italy, and Mazeulo throughout most of Spain). The variety likely originated in the ancient region of Aragon, near Cariñena, Spain, in the province of Zaragoza, where a reputation for winegrowing began to develop with the Romans around the year 50 BC. Today, Grenache dominates most D.O. Cariñena vineyards and less than 10% of the appellation remains planted to Carignane.  http://www.winepros.org

Chardonnay: The best Chardonnays in the world continue to arrive from the region where the grape first emerged: the chalk, clay, and limestone vineyards of Burgundy and Chablis. While the origins of the grape were disputed for many years, with some speculating that the grape came all the way from the Middle East, DNA researchers at the University of California-Davis proved in 1999 that Chardonnay actually developed, most likely, in eastern France, as a cross between a member of the “Pinot” family and an ancient, and nearly extinct variety called Gouais Blanc.

Chardonnay vines are temperamental, as the grapes are relatively small, thin-skinned, fragile, and oxidize easily. Furthermore, harvest time is crucial to winemaking, for the grape loses acidity rapidly once it ripens.  http://www.wineaccess.com     

Chasselas:  Chasselas maintains a very modest acreage in North America. It is most associated with Switzerland, where it is by far that country’s most planted variety. In Switzerland, it has several other regional names, including Fendant, in the Vaud and Valais districts. Here it is usually vinified into technically clean, dry and mildly fruity white wines. In France, this variety is more often identified as a table grape. Although it is responsible for wine production of the lightly regarded ‘Pouilly Sur Loire’ appellation. It also maintains a small acreage under vine in France’s northern region of Alsace.  Read more: www.snooth.com/varietal/chasselas/

Chenin Blanc:  A versatile grape from France’s Loire Valley, also grown with much success in South Africa and California. This white wine can range from dry to very sweet depending on the time of harvest, producing flavors that vary from apple, melon, lime and pear with hints of vanilla and honey. The best Chenin Blanc offers high acidity combined with a touch of viscosity – leaving an oil-like mouth feel.     wine.about.com

Grenache (pronounced gren-aash or gren-ash) is a red grape variety grown primarily for the making of wine. It grows well in hot, dry regions and is grown in southern France, Spain, South America, Australia, and California’s Central Valley. It is usually blended with other varieties, rather than made a varietal wine.  www.encyclowine.org

The vine known as Garnacha Tintorera is a synonym for the teinturier grape Alicante which is a crossing of Grenache and Petite Bouschet.   en.wikipedia.org

Gewürztraminer:  is an aromatic wine grape variety that performs best in cooler climates. It is sometimes referred to colloquially as Gewürz, and in French it is written Gewurztraminer (without the umlaut). Gewürztraminer is a variety with a pink to red skin colour, which makes it a “white wine grape” as opposed to the blue to black-skinned varieties commonly referred to as “red wine grapes”. The variety has high natural sugar and the wines are white and usually off-dry, with a flamboyant bouquet of lychees.        en.wikipedia.org

Grenache (pronounced gren-ash) (Spanish: Garnacha,  Catalan: Garnatxa,) is one of the most widely planted red wine grape varieties in the world. It ripens late, so it needs hot, dry conditions such as those found in Spain, the south of France, and California’s San Joaquin Valley. It is generally spicy, berry-flavored and soft on the palate with a relatively high alcohol content, but it needs careful control of yields for best results. It tends to lack acid, tannin and color, and is usually blended with other varieties such as Syrah, Carignan, Tempranillo and Cinsaut.   en.wikipedia.org

Malbec:  One of the traditional “Bordeaux varietals”, malbec has characteristics that fall somewhere between cabernet sauvignon and merlot. A midseason ripener, it can bring very deep color, ample tannin, and a particular plum-like flavor component to add complexity to claret blends.

Argentines often spell it “Malbeck” and make wines that resemble those made in Europe in flavor, but with softer, lusher structure, more like New World Merlot. Another difference: where French examples are usually considered short-lived, Argentine Malbecs seem to age fairly well.  http://www.winepros.org