GRAPES TRAINING

CELLIERS D’ASIE

July 2006

A small matt dark-blue grape variety with a thick skin. The juice is very aromatic. In a typical cabernet sauvignon you will smell and taste black currants, pure chocolate and mint. In the aroma you will specifically find violets, cedar and pencil. The relation of pips and flesh of the grape is extremely high: 1 to 12. Next to the skin, the pips are the most important source of tannin of the wine. The tannin makes this grape very suitable for ripening on oak barrels. This makes the bitter tannin supple and soft. When grown in a too cool climate, this variety tends to give wines that are not ripe and somewhat thin. A too hot climate, on the other hand, makes the wine a little flat and gives the smell and taste of cooked fruit.

CABERNET SAUVIGNON

Ceddar wood

Chocolate

Blackcurrant

Tannic, intensely fruity, good acidity which gives him a good potential for ageing

PINOT NOIR

The thin-skinned red burgundy grape capable of producing fantastic wines with, for the very good wines, great ageing potential. The many tiny differences in terroir, so special for the Burgundy region, are expressed by the medium of this grape variety. This grape ripens relatively early so it is not suitable for very warm regions. Pinot noir is also very sensitive to the size of crop. Crops must be reduced. In the younger wines one can taste and smell raspberries, strawberries, cherries, violets and cabbage. In the older wines one will find more earthy tones and a bouquet reminiscent of game and sometimes liquorice.

Strawberry

Violet

Green Cabbage

Not very coloured but complex wines with soft and velvety tannins and good potential for ageing

A very productive, early ripening, dark blue grape variety. The juice is voluptuous, fruity and can be almost sensual. In the merlot you will taste and smell cherries, berries and prunes. It is also possible to detect the smell of roses or pencil. The grape has a rather thin skin, and contains relatively much sugar and has the potention of a high yield. The merlot has an early blossoming and can therefore be threatened by frost. If the production is too high the grapes become thin and light. Until today, merlot grows best in the Bordeaux area. The grape is often used in a blend to soften the severe cabernet sauvignon. However, the merlot driven great wines of St.-Emilion and Pomerol prove that merlot can also be the primary variety on the basis of a great wine.

Cherry

Plum

Rose

MERLOT

Supple, round with ripe fruit aromas, charming grape, really productive

An accessible, spicy, herbal, dark blue grape variety that is always compared to the cabernet sauvignon. Just like the latter, the cabernet franc is full of tannin, but is less outspoken in aroma and taste, but somewhat more herbal and spicy. The cabernet franc is ripening in an earlier stage, which gives him reason for existence in the Bordeaux area. In the Loire, where we find him a lot, he gives a clear red fresh and fruity wine. The grape has the aroma of strawberries or raspberries, violets and pencil. In colder climates like the Loire the wines become fresher and fruity. The cabernet franc is also a good basis for rosé, that will be spicy, somewhat unsophisticated, in the nice way, with a dark pink color.

CABERNET FRANC

Green Herbs

Violet

Blackcurrant

Full-bodied and powerful but fine with a good tannic structure

A very strong grape variety for red wine. Important in the Rhône Valley and in Australia where they call this variety shiraz. The wines from syrah are tannic without being harsh. The wines will have a taste and smell off dark blue fruit like black-berries and blackcurrant, with a strong spicy side where one can find freshly ground pepper and other spices. The grape variety is famous for its great wines of the northern Rhône, e.g. Hermitage and Côte Rotie. The Shiraz produces some of the best wines from Australia.

SYRAH or SHIRAZ

Blackcurrant

Pepper

Blackberry

Low acidity, soft and supple tannins but intense which give some powerful, strongly colored wines.

An extremely productive grape variety for red wine that buds late and therefore rarely suffers frost damage. It also ripens quite late, so can only be grown in warm to hot climates. It produces relatively tannic, quite acid wines with good colour that are mostly used in a blend with other grape varieties. This cépage was planted extensively in the Midi in southern France, becoming its most important variety. It is also the third planted variety in Spain.

CARIGNAN

Blackcurrant

Pepper

Plum

Deeply coloured wine, powerful with strong tannins. Usually used as a blend it brings some power and character to the wine

A strong grape variety for red wine, that well supports extreme heat. The grape has a thin skin with little pigment in it, which makes it very suitable for rosé. The red wines that are made of Grenache can have a lack of colour. The grape is ripening slowly and thus may develop a high level of sugar. The wines of the Grenache are characterised by a very fruity, almost sweet taste. You will detect blackberry and some pepper. In the vast wine surface of Spain, the garnacha is the most planted red wine variety. It is one of the ingredients of the famous Spanish wine Vega Sicilia, and also plays an important role in the Châteauneuf du Pape.

GRENACHE

Spices

Blackberry

Green Herbs

Generous wines, not very tannic. The color evolves quickly but it has a very good potential for ageing

The famous South-African variety for red wine. Pinotage was bred by crossing Pinotage and Cinsaut. The vine is easy to grow, grapes ripen easily and early. Wines have good colour and can age well. The taste and smell are of spices and ripe blue fruit.

PINOTAGE

Blackberry Spices Pepper

ZINFANDELThe typical Californian variety for red, but also rosé and white wines. Its origin is unsure, probably Italy’s Primitivo. This grape variety can produce many different wines but is best when a dry, still red wine is produced. This wine will have a relatively high alcohol content, the taste and smell of the wine will be full and fruity with spicey tones.

SpicesBlackcurrant Violet

The famous, well yielding, early ripening grape variety for white wine that almost became a synonym for white wine. This adaptable variety is planted in almost every wine region of the world but the great white Burgundy’s like Meursault and Montrachet are still the benchmarks for winemakers all over the world. Most chardonnay’s are matured or fermented and matured in oak. So the taste of chardonnay is sometimes mixed up by the taste of oak. In Chardonnay one will taste and smell peaches, pineapple, melon, butter, toasted bread and nuts. Chardonnay is also famous as a delicate base for sparkling wines and is one of the three varieties used in the most famous sparkling wine Champagne.

CHARDONNAY

Caramel

Peach

Toasted Bread

An aromatic, nervous grape variety for white wine. This grape produces wines that are dry, refreshing, full of character and quickly consumable. You can detect green apples, gooseberry, grapefruit, asparagus and damp straw in it. The Sauvignon is also famous for its contribution to the noble sweet wines from the Bordeaux area Sauternes. The compact bunches make this variety sensitive to rotting, botrytis, that, under the right circumstances, can concentrate the natural sweetness resulting in a noble sweet wine. You will find the Sauvignon Blanc in its purest form in the French Pouilly Fumé and Sancerre, on both sides of the Loire. But this grape has also made name in New Zealand

SAUVIGNON

Green Apple

Asparagus

Mowed Grass

A somewhat difficult to define grape variety for white wines. It is grown worldwide, but isn’t always put in value. The Sémillon can, under the right conditions, deliver fine wines that can age well. The grape gives wines with a lot of extract and little acids. One can smell and taste apricot, mango and peach. Sémillon is well suitable for fermentation and maturation on oak barrels. The wine can develop a rich taste. This variety is most famous in the noble sweet wines from the Bordeaux area Sauternes or in the dry white wines of high classification from Bordeaux.

SEMILLON

Toasted Bread

Peach

Mango

This grape variety first used for the production of Cognac and Armagnac is mostly used in Californie (Napa Valley), South Africa and Australia. In France its is often used into blend especially in Bordeaux or as single grape in South of France. It brings lightness and fruitiness to the wine.

COLOMBARD

Peach

Grapefruit

Lemon

Grape variety for white wine, muted of the Pinot Noir. The skin of this grape has a colour that can vary from almost black to white and from pale blue to pink. The colour of the wine can also have a hint of pink. The taste and smell of the wine have a certain spiciness with flavours of white soft fruit and a low acidity.

PINOT GRIGIO

Spices

Peach

Apricot

Pinot Gris