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Grape Varieties

Folle Blanche

White variety used in the production of the best Cognacs, and to make dry white Gros Plant around the Loire estuary. It gives a rather neutral dry white wine, with a bracing acidity.

Gamay

This is the sole red grape variety of Beaujolais, also much grown in Anjou, Touraine and the Ardèche. It makes extremely fruity, easy-drinking reds, often light, low in tannin, with a pastelly, cherry-like flavour. In the top ten Beaujolais villages, the crus, it makes a rather fuller, richer wine.

Gewürztraminer

The beautiful, rosy-hued grapes of the Gewürztraminer vine make intensely aromatic white wine reminiscent of lychees, rose petals and/or cachou sweets. . The best come from Alsace, where "vendange tardive" on the label indicates extra ripeness and richness, often sweetness.

Grenache

Most widely planted red grape in the world, Grenache rules in Spain (as Garnacha) and in the Languedoc. It produces warm, high-alcohol reds, always soft and low in tannin, strawberry-scented, peppery and spicy. It forms the basis of most Châteauneuf-du-Pape, and achieves its greatest glory in the huge, intense reds of Priorato in Catalonia. Its colour evolves quickly, but the best and most concentrated, on old vines, can mature for years.

Lambrusco

The well-known and popular Lambrusco is in fact a family of Italian grape varieties used to produce light in colour and aromatic wines. Flourishing mainly in the Emilia-Romagna region near Parma, Bologna and Modena, Lambrusco in its popular form is rich in carbon dioxide and therefore sparking or "fizzy" - a delicious and unusual experience for those used to French-style wines.

Malbec

This red grape of South West France is the main variety of Cahors, where it is known as the Auxerrois. Traditionally here it is dark, powerful and tannic, needing long ageing; modern versions can be lighter and easier, with ripe strawberry and mulberry flavours and a smoky overtone. It forms a minor part of the blend of some red Bordeaux, and also grows in the Loire (known as "Cot").

Manseng

Gros and Petit Manseng are practically the sole grape varieties of the Jurançon region. The thick-skinned grapes can be left to dry on the vines in the Indian summer of the Pyrénées Atlantiques, and produce dry or sweet wines with an exceptionally exuberant aroma, dominated by peach and mango. Their sublime acidity gives freshness, and marvellous ageing potential.

Marsanne

This white Rhone variety is often blended with the livelier Roussanne. It’s the main grape in the blend for white Hermitage, Crozes-Hermitage and St-Joseph. Marsanne has low acidity and in the South of France produces, at its best, big, supple wine with aromas of honey and nougatine, peaches and toast, and a golden colour that evolves rapidly towards a delightful amber. Earlier picked in Australia, is it crisper.

Merlot

One of the star red grape varieties of modern times. It probably originated in Bordeaux and is the grape of most of the greatest Pomerols and Saint-Emilions. It is very widely grown in all the regions of Bordeaux, and is found on all five continents. And no wonder! This is a most seductive grape, with its rich, honeyed, plummy, raisiny fruit and deliciously soft, easy-drinking texture. In cooler climates and vintages, Merlot can have a grassy edge. It is often blended with Cabernet.