Red Wine Kits

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Cabernet Sauvignon

Cabernet Sauvignon is a red grape varietal known for its thick, durable skin, and the vine’s resistance to the elements. After the birth of the grape, the Cabernet Sauvignon varietal began to be adopted in parts of France by winemakers searching for more durable plants that were relatively easy to grow, and the grape found its champion in the region of Bordeaux.

 

Corvina (Amarone, Valpolicella)

These popular wines must be made using 60-95% Corvina, this wine grape varietal is bright, lively, and balanced with savory sour cherry flavors. Valpolicella may be best known to Americans as the birthplace of Amarone. 

Gamay (Beaujolais)

These wine produced from the Gamay grape tends to exhibit characteristics that are very similar to that of Pinot Noir. Gamay is a light-bodied, fruity red with tart flavors of cherries and raspberries and even banana. The banana flavor is the result of something called carbonic maceration, but that’s for a geekier post.

Grenache (Alicante, Chat-du-Pape)

Grenache is known for its berry flavors of bright strawberries and raspberries and notes of white pepper, with many people even saying that the wine has the unmistakable flavor of a fruit roll-up!
The Garnacha grape was born in the northern region of Spain known as Aragon. There, the grape began to be cultivated and was originally used for both single varietal wines as well as for blending.

 

Malbec

These wines are easy to drink and they go well with or without food. Some people love to call Malbec a working man’s Merlot, as the wine has many of the same characteristics that make Merlot easy to drink, with an added spice and acidity that makes it seem less polished. 

Merlot

These wines are often said to have a plummy taste and notes of chocolate. It’s also considered to be smooth and very easy to drink.

Merlot, which in French means The Little Blackbird, is the second most popular red grape in America. 

 

Nebbiolo (Barolo)

These wine actually smells of roses. This makes the wine wonderful for celebrating special occasions, and perfect for the decanter.

Barolo and Barbaresco can only be made in a few villages in the region of Piedmont; if your vineyard is not located in one of those villages, you can’t make Barolo or Barbaresco. But Nebbiolo is grown all over the region, not just in the villages that use it to create the high-end wines.

 

Pinot Noir

A good Pinot Noir is one of the safest red wines, along with Merlot, to serve to a big group of people.

These wines have flavors of ripe red berries, sweet black cherries, mushrooms and what sommeliers call forest floor, that smell you get from freshly fallen damp leaves.

Pinot Noir was born in the Burgundy region of France, and it’s in Burgundy where the best Pinot Noir is still produced. Like many other regions of France, Pinot Noir producers do not refer to their Pinot Noir wine as Pinot Noir, but instead call it red Burgundy, after the region where it’s made. 

Sangiovese (Chianti)

These wine are very earthy and rustic, high in tannins (it dries your mouth out), has a smell and taste that is reminiscent of cherries and strawberries and is high in acidity, which makes it go very well with food.

The most popular wine made from the Sangiovese grape varietal comes from the Chianti region which is located in Tuscany, that romantic area of central Italy known for its sweeping landscapes, burning hot sun and its wealth of art and food history. It is from this region that we also get delicious olive oil and Michelangelo’s David.

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Tempranillo (Spanish Rioja)

These wines above are known for their structure and tannins, similar to Cabernet Sauvignon, but it also has a fruity characteristic. 

Spain is very proud of its indigenous Tempranillo grape because they have been making it into wine for over 2,000 years. Unlike other countries who have adopted grapes that were originally indigenous to France of Italy, Tempranillo was born and cultivated in Spain, and there is no region for which they are more proud, and taken more seriously, than Rioja.

White Wine Kits

 

 

Chardonnay

Chardonnay was born in the Burgundy region of France, where it is known as White Burgundy, and it was there that the wine gained great acclaim for its elegance.

 

Gewurztraminer

These wines are usually considered semi-dry, so they are a bit sweet, but that also makes them much lower in alcohol than your usual wine.

Alsace and Germany are still the most prominent regions that produce Gewürztraminer, but you can also commonly find it from countries such as Austria and regions in the US such as Washington, Oregon, and California.

 

Pinot Grigio

These wines, are a zesty white wine. The second most popular white wine in America, Pinot Grigio (aka Pinot Gris) is a dry white wine that has a punchy acidity with flavors of lemons, limes, green apples, and honeysuckle.

While most believe Pinot Grigio originated in Italy, it was actually born, like many of the most popular grapes of the world, in France, where it is known as Pinot Gris. Thought to be a mutation of the red grape Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris’ skins are not green like other white grapes, but instead have a greyish blue hue, which is what gives them their name.

Riesling

These wines have at least a touch of sweetness, many Rieslings can be very dry as well. Whether the wine is dry or very sweet just depends on where the wine was grown. 

The aromatic, deliciously refreshing wine that tastes like the nectar of apples, apricots, peaches, and pears. Usually crisp, due to its high levels of acidity, Riesling is known for its strong floral aromas.

 

Sauvignon Blanc

Rich, light-bodied flavour and slightly herbal aroma. Subtle undertones of apple and peach round out this easy-drinking wine.

 

Pinot Grigio Style

A dry wine with overtones of green melon leading to a crisp, clean finish. A bouquet of honey and herbs completes the experience of this perennially favourite white.

 

Riesling Style

Clean, crisp, and slightly fruity, this wine is full of fruit flavour with an intense and pleasing aroma. You will want to savour through to the last sip.

 

Sauvignon Blanc Style

These wines are known as a refreshing dry wine that has a great minerality, aromas, and tastes of herbs and grasses and a nice crisp pucker. Across the world, including in France, the wine is hardly ever aged in oak, with the winemakers preferring to exhibit the bright and fruity characteristics of the grape.

 

Zinfandel (White Zinfandel)

Many people claim White Zinfandel is not rosé, but instead a blush wine; however, White Zinfandel is indeed a rosé wine, made in the rosé style, it just happens to be an incredibly sweet rosé.

Unlike white grapes that become white wine, and red grapes that become red wine, pink grapes don’t exist in nature; so, how do winemakers create a style of wine that always has such a beautiful pink color?

Winemakers create a rosé wine by juicing red grapes and then allowing the juice to soak with the skins for a very short period, usually only two to three days. As soon as the juice begins to take on the beautiful pink color the winemaker desires, the skins are removed and the juice is allowed to ferment, creating delicious rosé.