Varietal

[Darlene516]

Can someone explain exactly what a varietal is?

[brappy]

This is the description from Epicurious.com's wine dictionary. They do a good job explaining the term.

varietal wine; varietal
[vuh-RI-ih-tuhl]
A wine that uses the name of the dominant grape from which it's made, such as CABERNET SAUVIGNON, CHARDONNAY, and RIESLING. This practice occurs primarily in areas where many different grape varieties are grown in close proximity, principally in growing regions of North and South America, Australia, New Zealand, and recently in parts of Europe. There are rules in most areas about what can be called a varietal wine. For example, in the United States at least 75 percent of the wine must come from the grape variety named on the label, while in Australia it's 80 percent. Instead of using varietal names, Europeans have long labeled their better wines with the names of regions, districts, or villages, thereby giving the wine's origin utmost importance. In Europe most quality wines are governed by each country's APPELLATION system, which defines what grapes can be grown in specific areas and encourages the production of quality wines.

Hope this helps,

mark

[Darlene516]

Ah, Mark, thank you. This helps considerably. I will be honest...I had come to think of a varietal as a blend, or VARIETY, of MANY different grapes, and not any one dominant grape, hence the name 'varietal'. Thanks, again, for the clarification.

[This message has been edited by Darlene516 (edited 05-22-2006).]