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Have you
ever been to the Cabernet region of France?
Probably
not.
Cabernet is a grape.
The naming conventions used in wine can be quite confusing, as a result
of one simple fact. French wines, historically, were always named after
the region in which they were grown. As the American winemaking industry
developed, wines were more often named after the grape used in the production
of the wine. As the winemakers in various countries like Australia, America,
and South Africa refine their methods, eventually regions that have unique
characters may evolve, and at that time, we'll refer to a Napa red, or
a Columbia Valley white, and be referring to a clearly defined wine. For
now though, if you're not already familiar with the various regions of
winemaking around the world, we've assembled a quick overview below. Last
month, we talked about Grape
types. If you're not familiar with grapes mentioned below,
please refer to our tutorial. It covers most of the more familiar types.
So, kick back with that nice bottle of Burgundy you picked up in Chardonnay
last spring, and enjoy.....
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| Australia
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Barossa
Valley
Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon
Clare Valley
Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon.
Coonawarra
Cabernet Sauvignon.
Hunter Valley
Chardonnay.
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| France
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Wine
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Region
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Grape
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Banyuls
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Pyrenees
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grenache
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Beaujolais
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Burgundy
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gamay
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Bordeaux
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Bordeaux
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cabernet
sauvignon, merlot, etc
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Chablis
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Burgundy
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chardonnay
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Champagne
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Champagne
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chardonnay,
pinot meunier, pinot noir
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Côte
d'Or
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Burgundy
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pinot noir & chardonnay
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Macon
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Burgundy
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pinot
blanc, chardonnay gamay noir, pinot noir, pinot gris
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Sancerre
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Loire
Valley
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sauvignon
blanc, pinot noir
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Sauternes
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Bordeaux
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semillon, cabernet, muscadelle
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Vouvray
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Loire
Valley
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chenin
blanc
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There's
so much to cover regarding French Wine that we'll be devoting
several future issues to the topic.
This
chart is a good starting place though. Be sure to check out last
month's piece on grapes.
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| Germany
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In
Germany, wines are
defined more by classifications:
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Wine
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Region
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Grape
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Liebfrauenmilch
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various
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Riesling,
Müller-Thurgau, Silvaner, Kerner
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Qualitätswein
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various
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various
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Sekt
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various
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various
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| Italy
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Wine
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Area
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Grape
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Amarone
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Venice
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corvina
veronese, rondinella, molinara
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Asti
Spumanti
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Turin
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muscat
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Barolo
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Piedmont
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nebbiolo
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Chianti
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Tuscany
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sangiovese,
canaiolo, trebbiano, malvasia
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Gavi
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Piedmont
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cortese
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Marsala
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Sicily
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grillo,
catarratto, inzolia, damaschino, pignatello, calabrese, nerello
mascalese, nero d’avola
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Montepulciano
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d'Abruzzo
Abruzzi
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montepulciano
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Soave
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Venice
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garganega,
trebbiano di soave
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*
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In
Italy, they make it even trickier. The wine typically has a name
that's derived from neither the grape nor the area in which it's
grown.
In
spite of the reputation the French have regarding wine, they probably
wouldn't do it as well as they do if it weren't the winemakers of
ancient Rome. More on this in an upcoming installment.
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| Spain
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As
you can see, a wide variety of grapes go into Spanish wines.
We'll be doing a piece soon specifically about Spain and it's
wines.
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Wine
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Region
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Grape
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Cava
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Spain
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Macabeo,
Xarello, Parellada
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Malaga
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Spain
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pedro
ximénez, moscatel de málaga
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Rioja
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Spain
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tempranillo,
garnacha tinta, graciano, mazuelo, viura, malvasia, garnacha
blanca
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Sherry
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Sherry
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palomino,
pedro ximenez, muscatel
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