What is in a name?

When first being introduced to wine, there is a plethora of terms to overwhelm you. Whether it's the common adjectives to describe the body, nose, or palate (I'll talk about this in a future blog), or the various names for different varieties, blends, and of course, the 5000+ different types of grapes. It's easy to get confused. There are those we commonly hear about: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Zinfandel, Syrah, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, I mentioned Gewurztraminer in my first blog, etc. After a few years of trying and exploring wine, I thought I had a pretty good handle of varieties until I went to Italy and all of a sudden found names of wines I had never heard of before...hundreds! Hundreds of different wines than I had ever seen in my mostly California and west coast wine experience. Things like Dolcetto, Moscato, Tignanello, and actually was introduced to Sangiovese for the first time in Milan <3.

First of all, it doesn't really matter how many wines you know about or terms you are familiar with. The most important thing about exploring wine is trying it and seeing what you like. Your taste buds are your guide. The rest is just to help you dive into other varieties you might enjoy.

What I learned while in Italy is an essential difference between Old World and New World wines. Old World refers to wines created in Europe, mainly Italy, France, Spain, Austria, Germany, Portugal, Romania and parts of the Mediterranean. Wines made in these regions are named for the areas in which they are grown, and there is much more of an emphasis to blending different grapes together in order to create the best tasting wine depending on the season and crop. It's more like a recipe, mixing together grapes to better compliment the overall flavor of the resulting wine.

Now New World, basically everywhere else, wine is usually labeled by the grapes used. When you order a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon, you are getting a wine made from mainly Cabernet grapes. I say mainly because vineyards will blend some other varieties in depending on the crop to balance out the wine. But in order to be named a Cabernet wine, it has to have at least 75% Cabernet Sauvignon grapes. Some states (within the US) set different percentages for this, but 75% is the minimum. Now wines created with less of a dominating grape are called blends. I recently tried a GSP which is a blend of Grenache, Syrah, and Petite Syrah that was lovely. As the wine industry in the new world becomes more established, it appears blending is becoming more popular. Whether this is the result of a growing level of comfort and confidence on the winemakers side or having a more educated consumer base, new world wines are developing a new level of complexity.