Types of red

Cabernet Franc is lighter than Cabernet Sauvignon, making a bright pale red wine that contributes finesse and lends a peppery perfume to blends with more robust grapes. Depending on the growing region and style of wine, additional aromas can include tobacco, raspberry, bell pepper, cassis, and violets.

In the seventeenth century in southwestern France, an accidental breeding occurred between a red Cabernet Franc grape plant and a white Sauvignon Blanc grape plant and thus was born the most popular grape among American wine drinkers: Cabernet Sauvignon. Cabernet Sauvignon is a red grape varietal known for its thick, durable skin, and the vine’s resistance to the elements.

Gamay is a purple-colored grape variety used to make red wines, most notably grown in Beaujolais and in the Loire Valley around Tours. Its full name is Gamay Noir à Jus Blanc. It is a very old cultivar, mentioned as long ago as the 15th century.

Grenache (/ ɡ r ə ˈ n ɑː ʃ /) or Garnacha (IPA: [ɡarˈnatʃa]) is one of the most widely planted red wine grape varieties in the world. It ripens late, so it needs hot, dry conditions such as those found in Spain, where the grape most likely originated.

Malbec is a wine that seemingly came out of nowhere over the past ten years and quickly has become one of the most popular red wines on the American market. It is a red wine that is a crowd-pleaser and easy to drink, with a ton of juicy fruit flavors.

Merlot – What Is Merlot? Merlot, which in French means The Little Blackbird, is the second most popular red grape in America (after Cabernet Sauvignon). Known for being soft, ripe and elegant, most Merlots are easy drinking reds that go well both with food as well as on their own.

In Spain, Mourvèdre (where the grape is known as Monastrell) was the fourth most widely planted red wine grape variety at the turn of the 21st century with around 63,000 hectares (155,000 acres) in 2004.

Nebbiolo is a red wine that was born in the mountains of northern Italy in the region of Piedmont. This is the region that’s famous for its Barolo and Barbaresco wine, which can fetch hundreds of dollars per bottle, but what many don’t realize is that Nebbiolo is the sole grape used to make these high-end wines.