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The Vino Swipe Atlas

Every wine is from somewhere.

Twelve of the world's defining wine regions — the grapes they grow, the wines they make, and why the ground under the vines decides both. Pick a region, or start from a grape you already like.

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All regions

12 regions across 8 countries.

France

France

Bordeaux

The blend, perfected — and split in two by a river.

Bordeaux is not one place but two, divided by the Gironde. On the Left Bank, deep gravel beds drain and radiate heat, ripening late Cabernet Sauvignon — so the blends lead with Cabernet: structured, cedary, long-lived. Cross the water to the Right Bank and the soil turns to cool clay and limestone, where Cabernet struggles and Merlot thrives. Same region, same grapes available, opposite answers. Reading a Bordeaux label is mostly a matter of knowing which side of the river you are on.

ClimateMaritime, moderated by the Atlantic and the Gironde estuary
SoilsGravel on the Left Bank, clay and limestone on the Right

Grapes grown here

  • Cabernet Sauvignon Signature, Left Bank — Thick-skinned and late-ripening. Blackcurrant, cedar, firm tannin, built to age.
  • Merlot Signature, Right Bank — Plush and earlier-ripening. Plum and chocolate, softer tannin than Cabernet.
  • Cabernet Franc Blending, prominent in Saint-Émilion — Parent of Cabernet Sauvignon. Red fruit, graphite, a leafy herbal edge.
  • Petit Verdot Blending, small proportions — A blending seasoning — deep colour, violet perfume, serious tannin.
  • Malbec Minor, historic — Inky and dark-fruited. Left Bordeaux for Argentina and found its home.
  • Sémillon Signature white and sweet — Waxy and low-acid. Prone to noble rot, which is the point in Sauternes.
  • Sauvignon Blanc White blending — Piercing acidity. Gooseberry and cut grass, or passionfruit in the sun.

What the region makes

Left Bank red

Cabernet-led blend from the Médoc or Graves. Blackcurrant, cedar, graphite; firm tannin that wants a decade.

Right Bank red

Merlot-led from Saint-Émilion or Pomerol. Plum and truffle, rounder and approachable younger.

Dry white

Sauvignon Blanc with Sémillon, often barrel-fermented. Citrus, wax, a nutty depth.

Sauternes

Sémillon shrivelled by noble rot. Apricot, honey, marmalade — sweet but cut by acidity.

Worth knowing

The 1855 Classification ranked Left Bank châteaux for the Paris Exposition. It has been amended exactly once in 170 years.

Noble rot — Botrytis cinerea — is a fungus. In Sauternes it is cultivated on purpose; anywhere else on the estate it is a disaster.

Try this region if you like Napa Cabernet but want more restraint and savoury edge.

France

Burgundy

Two grapes, a thousand answers.

Burgundy grows essentially two grapes, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, and has spent a thousand years proving that the grape is the least interesting variable. The Côte d'Or is a narrow limestone escarpment where a single road separates village wine from Grand Cru, and the difference is measured in slope, drainage and aspect rather than anything the winemaker did. The monks mapped these parcels — climats — by taste, over centuries. Modern geology has largely agreed with them.

ClimateContinental — cold winters, warm summers, frost a constant threat
SoilsLimestone and marl, changing every few hundred metres

Grapes grown here

  • Pinot Noir Signature red — Thin-skinned and site-obsessed. Red cherry, forest floor, silk not grip.
  • Chardonnay Signature white — A blank canvas. Steel and citrus unoaked; butter and hazelnut with barrel.

What the region makes

Côte de Nuits red

The most structured Pinot Noir in the world. Red cherry, undergrowth, iron; ages for decades.

Côte de Beaune white

Barrel-fermented Chardonnay. Hazelnut, oatmeal, citrus, with a mineral spine.

Chablis

Unoaked Chardonnay on Kimmeridgian limestone, full of fossilised oyster shell. Steely, saline, taut.

Worth knowing

The climats of the Côte d'Or — 1,247 named parcels — were inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2015.

Napoleonic inheritance law split vineyards between heirs each generation. One Grand Cru, Clos de Vougeot, now has around 80 different owners across 50 hectares.

Try this region if you like Pinot Noir and want to understand why people get obsessive about dirt.

France

Champagne

Cold, chalk, and a second fermentation in the bottle.

Champagne works because it is almost too cold. Grapes here struggle to ripen, which leaves searing acidity and low alcohol — disastrous for still wine, ideal as a base for something else. The method is the point: a second fermentation sealed inside the bottle traps carbon dioxide, and extended ageing on the spent yeast adds the bread-and-brioche character that no injected bubble reproduces. Chalk below does the rest, draining winter rain and holding reserves for August.

ClimateCool continental, at the northern limit of ripening
SoilsDeep belemnite chalk — drainage plus a water reserve for dry years

Grapes grown here

  • Chardonnay Finesse and acidity — A blank canvas. Steel and citrus unoaked; butter and hazelnut with barrel.
  • Pinot Noir Structure and body — Thin-skinned and site-obsessed. Red cherry, forest floor, silk not grip.
  • Pinot Meunier Fruit and early approachability — Champagne's third grape. Earlier-drinking, adds fruit and approachability.

What the region makes

Non-vintage Brut

A blend across years to a consistent house style. Most of what Champagne makes.

Blanc de Blancs

Chardonnay alone, usually from the Côte des Blancs. Citrus, chalk, precision.

Blanc de Noirs

Black grapes only, pressed pale. Broader, redder-fruited, more weight.

Vintage

A single declared year, aged far longer. Made only when the harvest justifies it.

Worth knowing

Seven grapes are legally permitted, not three. Arbane, Petit Meslier, Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris survive in tiny plantings.

Pressure inside the bottle reaches roughly six atmospheres — about three times a car tyre.

Try this region if you like Crisp white wine and are curious what age does to bubbles.

Italy

Italy

Tuscany

Sangiovese, sunshine, and a rebellion on the coast.

Sangiovese is the thread running through inland Tuscany — high-acid, savoury, tannic, built for a table rather than a glass on its own. Chianti Classico, Brunello di Montalcino and Vino Nobile are all the same grape under different rules and altitudes. Then in the 1970s producers on the coast planted Cabernet and Merlot, which broke the appellation rules and had to be sold as basic table wine. The wines were superb, the press called them Super Tuscans, and the law eventually rewrote itself around them.

ClimateMediterranean inland with hot days and cool nights; maritime on the coast
SoilsGalestro schist and alberese limestone in Chianti; gravel at Bolgheri

Grapes grown here

  • Sangiovese Signature — the backbone of inland Tuscany — High acid, sour cherry, dried herb, tannin that wants food.
  • Cabernet Sauvignon Coastal Bolgheri and Super Tuscan blends — Thick-skinned and late-ripening. Blackcurrant, cedar, firm tannin, built to age.
  • Merlot Coastal blending — Plush and earlier-ripening. Plum and chocolate, softer tannin than Cabernet.
  • Cabernet Franc Coastal blending — Parent of Cabernet Sauvignon. Red fruit, graphite, a leafy herbal edge.
  • Vernaccia Historic white of San Gimignano — Tuscany's historic white — saline, bitter-almond finish.

What the region makes

Chianti Classico

Minimum 80% Sangiovese from the historic zone between Florence and Siena. Sour cherry, dried herb, grippy acidity.

Brunello di Montalcino

100% Sangiovese, minimum five years ageing before release. Denser and longer-lived than Chianti.

Bolgheri / Super Tuscan

Bordeaux varieties on the coast. Riper, rounder, more international in shape.

Worth knowing

The Chianti Classico zone was legally delimited in 1716 by the Grand Duke of Tuscany — one of the earliest protected wine boundaries anywhere.

The straw fiasco flask was practical, not decorative: it protected hand-blown glass that could not stand on its own.

Try this region if you like Savoury, food-shaped reds more than fruit-forward ones.

Italy

Piedmont

Fog, hazelnuts, and the most demanding red in Italy.

Nebbiolo is named for the fog — nebbia — that settles over the Langhe at harvest. It is a difficult grape: pale enough to look like a rosé, tannic enough to strip your teeth, and slow to reveal anything for a decade. Barolo and Barbaresco are both 100% Nebbiolo from neighbouring hills, separated by ageing requirements and a general sense that Barolo is the more powerful and Barbaresco the more perfumed. Everyday drinking is Barbera and Dolcetto, which is what growers actually open on a Tuesday.

ClimateContinental, with autumn fog rolling through the Langhe hills
SoilsCalcareous marl — sandier in Barbaresco, heavier in parts of Barolo

Grapes grown here

  • Nebbiolo Signature — Barolo and Barbaresco — Pale in the glass, ferocious in structure. Tar, rose, dried cherry.
  • Barbera Everyday red, high acid — High acid, low tannin, juicy. Piedmont's weekday red.
  • Dolcetto Everyday red, soft and dark — Soft, dark, low-acid. Drink it young and cheerfully.
  • Moscato Bianco Sweet sparkling Moscato d'Asti — One of the few grapes that smells like grapes. Orange blossom and peach.
  • Cortese White — Gavi — Crisp, almond-tinged, citric. The grape behind Gavi.
  • Arneis White — Roero — Pear and almond, low acid. Nearly extinct in the 1970s.

What the region makes

Barolo

Minimum 38 months ageing, at least 18 in wood. Tar, dried rose, cherry; tannin that needs years or a rich dish.

Barbaresco

Minimum 26 months. Same grape, generally more aromatic and approachable earlier.

Moscato d'Asti

Lightly sparkling, low alcohol, sweet but fresh. Grape, peach and orange blossom.

Worth knowing

Nebbiolo is so site-sensitive it is barely grown successfully outside north-west Italy, despite endless attempts elsewhere.

The same hills produce white truffles and the hazelnuts behind Nutella — Piedmont's fog is good for more than grapes.

Try this region if you like Structure and perfume over fruit, and you have patience.

Spain

Spain

Rioja

Where the label tells you how long they waited.

Rioja's defining idea is not a grape but time. The classification on the back label — Crianza, Reserva, Gran Reserva — is a legal statement about how many years the wine spent in barrel and bottle before release, which means you can judge the style before opening it. Traditionally that barrel was American oak, giving the coconut-and-vanilla signature that makes older-style Rioja instantly recognisable. Many modern producers have moved to French oak and shorter ageing, and the region has been arguing about it ever since.

ClimateContinental with Atlantic influence in the west, Mediterranean in the east
SoilsCalcareous clay, ferrous clay and alluvial terraces

Grapes grown here

  • Tempranillo Signature — the majority of plantings — Leather, dried cherry, tobacco. Takes oak better than almost anything.
  • Garnacha / Grenache Blending, body and warmth — Ripe strawberry, high alcohol, low colour. Loves heat and old vines.
  • Graciano Blending, acidity and perfume — Rioja's aromatic minority — acidity and perfume in a blend.
  • Viura / Macabeo Signature white — Rioja's white — neutral and fresh young, nutty and complex with age.

What the region makes

Crianza

Two years total, at least one in oak. Bright cherry with a light vanilla frame.

Reserva

Three years total, at least one in oak. Dried fruit, leather, tobacco starting to show.

Gran Reserva

Five years total, at least two in oak. Made only in strong vintages — savoury, tertiary, delicate.

White Rioja

Viura, from crisp and unoaked to a barrel-aged style that ages remarkably well.

Worth knowing

Rioja Baja was renamed Rioja Oriental in 2018 — "baja" means lower, and growers were tired of what that implied.

When phylloxera devastated Bordeaux in the 1800s, French producers crossed the Pyrenees and brought barrel-ageing technique with them.

Try this region if you like Mature, savoury reds and want the ageing done for you.

Portugal

Portugal

Douro

Schist terraces, brutal heat, and dozens of grapes at once.

The Douro is the most physically demanding vineyard landscape in Europe: schist terraces cut into gorges so steep that machinery is useless and much of the work is still done by hand. That schist is the trick — it splinters vertically, letting vine roots drive metres down to water while the surface bakes. Port made the region famous, but since the 1990s the same grapes have increasingly been made into dry red wine, and those are now among Portugal's finest.

ClimateHot and dry, sheltered from Atlantic rain by the Marão mountains
SoilsSchist — splintered vertical rock that roots penetrate for water

Grapes grown here

  • Touriga Nacional Signature — structure and perfume — Portugal's finest. Violet, blueberry, dense structure.
  • Touriga Franca Most-planted, elegance — The Douro's most-planted. Perfume and elegance in the Port blend.
  • Tempranillo Local name Tinta Roriz — Leather, dried cherry, tobacco. Takes oak better than almost anything.
  • Tinta Barroca Body and sugar — Sugar and body for the blend. Struggles in the hottest sites.
  • Gouveio White blending — Crisp and mineral. Known as Verdelho in Madeira.

What the region makes

Ruby / Vintage Port

Fortified and aged in bottle. Dark fruit, grip, decades of life in a declared vintage.

Tawny Port

Aged oxidatively in cask. Nut, caramel, dried fig; sold by average age — 10, 20, 30, 40 years.

Douro DOC red

Unfortified dry red from the same grapes. Dense, mineral, increasingly serious.

Worth knowing

The Douro was demarcated in 1756, making it one of the oldest protected wine regions in the world — older than Bordeaux's classification by a century.

Fortification stops fermentation early by adding grape spirit, which is why Port keeps its sweetness: the yeast dies before finishing the sugar.

Try this region if you like Big, dark reds, or you want to understand Port beyond Christmas.

Germany

Germany

Mosel

Slate, extreme slopes, and the best argument for low alcohol.

The Mosel makes Riesling on slopes so steep they are worked with winches and ropes. Everything about the site is a workaround for insufficient warmth: south-facing aspect, a river that reflects sunlight onto the vines, and dark slate that stores the day's heat and gives it back overnight. The result is Riesling with intense acidity and often modest alcohol — some Kabinett sits near 8% — where sweetness is not a sign of cheapness but a counterweight holding the acid in balance.

ClimateCool continental, at the ripening limit; the river reflects light and stores heat
SoilsBlue and red Devonian slate, which absorbs heat by day and radiates it at night

Grapes grown here

  • Riesling Signature — the overwhelming majority of plantings — The great terroir white. Lime, slate, racing acidity, bone-dry to lusciously sweet.

What the region makes

Kabinett

The lightest ripeness level. Often off-dry, low alcohol, lime and green apple over wet slate.

Spätlese

Late-harvested, riper. More stone fruit weight, still cut by acidity.

Auslese and beyond

Selected ripe or botrytised bunches. Sweet, concentrated, capable of ageing 50 years.

Trocken

Fully dry Riesling, increasingly common as the climate warms.

Worth knowing

The Calmont vineyard reaches roughly 65 degrees of gradient — among the steepest worked vineyards on earth.

Prädikat levels describe sugar in the grape at harvest, not sweetness in the glass. A Spätlese can be bone dry.

Try this region if you like High-acid whites, or you have written off Riesling as sweet.

United States

United States

Napa Valley

Fog at one end, heat at the other, Cabernet throughout.

Napa is thirty miles long and gets meaningfully warmer as you move north, because cool marine fog enters from the bay at the southern end and burns off progressively. That single gradient explains the sub-AVAs: Carneros at the cool south grows Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, while Calistoga at the hot north makes the most powerful Cabernet. Mountain fruit from Howell Mountain or Mount Veeder sits above the fog line entirely, producing smaller berries and firmer tannin than the valley floor.

ClimateMediterranean, with cool fog pulled up from San Pablo Bay each morning
SoilsVolcanic on the mountains, alluvial gravel and loam on the valley floor

Grapes grown here

  • Cabernet Sauvignon Signature — the majority of vineyard value — Thick-skinned and late-ripening. Blackcurrant, cedar, firm tannin, built to age.
  • Merlot Blending and varietal — Plush and earlier-ripening. Plum and chocolate, softer tannin than Cabernet.
  • Cabernet Franc Blending — Parent of Cabernet Sauvignon. Red fruit, graphite, a leafy herbal edge.
  • Petit Verdot Blending — A blending seasoning — deep colour, violet perfume, serious tannin.
  • Chardonnay Signature white, cooler sites — A blank canvas. Steel and citrus unoaked; butter and hazelnut with barrel.
  • Sauvignon Blanc White, often barrel-influenced — Piercing acidity. Gooseberry and cut grass, or passionfruit in the sun.
  • Zinfandel Historic plantings, old vines — Jammy, brambly, high alcohol. Genetically identical to Primitivo.

What the region makes

Valley floor Cabernet

Ripe cassis, sweet oak, plush tannin. The style that made Napa's reputation.

Mountain Cabernet

From above the fog line. Denser, more tannic, more structured and slower to open.

Carneros Chardonnay

Cool southern end. Citrus and apple with more acidity than Napa's reputation suggests.

Worth knowing

At the 1976 Judgment of Paris, French judges in a blind tasting ranked Napa wines above Bordeaux and Burgundy. The result reshaped the global wine trade.

Napa became America's first designated AVA in 1981 and now contains sixteen nested sub-AVAs.

Try this region if you like Bold, ripe, generous reds with polish.

United States

Willamette Valley

Oregon's answer to Burgundy, on volcanic soil.

The Willamette Valley sits near the 45th parallel, roughly the same latitude as Burgundy, and has been chasing the same grape since the 1960s when growers planted Pinot Noir in a place the textbooks said was too cold. The Coast Range blocks the worst Pacific rain while leaving the valley genuinely cool, which suits a thin-skinned early-ripening grape. The local argument is soil: red Jory volcanic basalt is said to give darker, rounder wine, marine sedimentary something finer-boned and more savoury.

ClimateCool maritime, sheltered from Pacific rain by the Coast Range
SoilsJory volcanic basalt and marine sedimentary — the local dividing line

Grapes grown here

  • Pinot Noir Signature — the large majority of plantings — Thin-skinned and site-obsessed. Red cherry, forest floor, silk not grip.
  • Pinot Gris Principal white — Richer and spicier than its Italian Grigio alter ego.
  • Chardonnay Increasingly serious — A blank canvas. Steel and citrus unoaked; butter and hazelnut with barrel.
  • Riesling Historic, small plantings — The great terroir white. Lime, slate, racing acidity, bone-dry to lusciously sweet.

What the region makes

Willamette Pinot Noir

Red cherry and cranberry, forest floor, bright acidity. Lighter-framed than California, earthier than most.

Pinot Gris

Richer than Italian Grigio — pear, melon, some texture.

Chardonnay

Cool-climate and taut, a more recent focus and rising fast.

Worth knowing

Eleven nested AVAs sit within the Willamette Valley AVA, most defined by soil type and elevation rather than political lines.

Several Burgundy houses have bought land here since 2013 — the most direct endorsement the region could ask for.

Try this region if you like Burgundy but not Burgundy prices.

Australia

Australia

Barossa Valley

The oldest producing vines on earth.

The Barossa has something no European region can claim: continuously producing vines planted in the 1840s, on their own roots. Phylloxera never reached South Australia, so while the louse destroyed and forced the replanting of virtually every vineyard in Europe and California, Barossa Shiraz simply kept growing. Those old vines yield tiny crops of intensely concentrated fruit. Just above the valley, the cooler Eden Valley grows some of Australia's finest Riesling — same region, entirely different wine.

ClimateWarm continental with low rainfall; cooler in the Eden Valley above
SoilsAncient weathered sand and clay over limestone and ironstone

Grapes grown here

  • Syrah / Shiraz Signature — Shiraz, including pre-1850 plantings — Pepper and violet where it's cool; blackberry and liquorice where it's hot.
  • Garnacha / Grenache Old-vine Grenache — Ripe strawberry, high alcohol, low colour. Loves heat and old vines.
  • Mourvèdre / Mataro Known locally as Mataro — Meaty, savoury, tannic. Needs real warmth to ripen properly.
  • Cabernet Sauvignon Secondary red — Thick-skinned and late-ripening. Blackcurrant, cedar, firm tannin, built to age.
  • Riesling Eden Valley, cool and high — The great terroir white. Lime, slate, racing acidity, bone-dry to lusciously sweet.

What the region makes

Barossa Shiraz

Blackberry, liquorice, chocolate, mocha oak. Full-bodied and unapologetic.

GSM blend

Grenache, Shiraz and Mataro together. Redder-fruited, spicier, more lifted.

Eden Valley Riesling

Bone dry, lime and talc, steely acidity that rewards a decade in bottle.

Worth knowing

The Barossa Old Vine Charter grades by age: Old Vine at 35 years, Survivor at 70, Centenarian at 100, Ancestor at 125.

Because phylloxera never arrived, many vines are ungrafted — growing on their own roots, as almost nothing in Europe does.

Try this region if you like Full-bodied reds, and want to taste 180-year-old vines.

New Zealand

New Zealand

Marlborough

The region that rewrote one grape in forty years.

Sauvignon Blanc was planted in Marlborough in 1973, essentially as an experiment. What came out was so distinct — explosively aromatic, passionfruit and cut grass, acidity like a wire — that it created a global style and a category name. The mechanism is climate: abundant sunshine ripens the fruit while cold nights preserve the acid and the aromatic compounds that warmer regions cook off. The Awatere Valley, cooler and drier, pushes further toward herbal and saline; the Wairau is riper and more tropical.

ClimateCool maritime with very high sunshine hours and a wide day-night swing
SoilsFree-draining alluvial gravel in the Wairau; heavier clay in the Awatere

Grapes grown here

  • Sauvignon Blanc Signature — the overwhelming majority of plantings — Piercing acidity. Gooseberry and cut grass, or passionfruit in the sun.
  • Pinot Noir Principal red — Thin-skinned and site-obsessed. Red cherry, forest floor, silk not grip.
  • Chardonnay Secondary white — A blank canvas. Steel and citrus unoaked; butter and hazelnut with barrel.
  • Pinot Gris Secondary white — Richer and spicier than its Italian Grigio alter ego.

What the region makes

Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc

Passionfruit, gooseberry, fresh-cut grass, piercing acidity. Unmistakable in a blind tasting.

Marlborough Pinot Noir

Lighter and red-fruited, with the region's signature brightness.

Traditional-method sparkling

Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Cool-climate acidity makes an excellent base.

Worth knowing

Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc went from a 1973 experiment to defining the world's idea of the grape within a single generation.

The wide gap between hot days and cold nights is what preserves the aromatic thiols responsible for that passionfruit character.

Try this region if you like Crisp, aromatic whites with real punch.

Grape varieties

31 varieties.

Arneis

Body Medium Acidity Low-medium

Pear and almond, low acid. Nearly extinct in the 1970s.

Origin: Roero, Piedmont

Pairs with: White fish, Poultry, Vegetable antipasti

Grown in Piedmont

Barbera

Body Medium Tannin Low Acidity Very high

High acid, low tannin, juicy. Piedmont's weekday red.

Origin: Piedmont, Italy

Pairs with: Pizza, Salumi, Tomato dishes

Grown in Piedmont

Cabernet Franc

Body Medium Tannin Medium Acidity Medium-high

Parent of Cabernet Sauvignon. Red fruit, graphite, a leafy herbal edge.

Origin: Basque country / Bordeaux

Pairs with: Charcuterie, Grilled vegetables, Goat cheese, Duck

Grown in Bordeaux, Tuscany, Napa Valley

Cabernet Sauvignon

Body Full Tannin High Acidity Medium-high

Thick-skinned and late-ripening. Blackcurrant, cedar, firm tannin, built to age.

Origin: Bordeaux, France

Pairs with: Ribeye and grilled red meat, Roast lamb, Aged cheddar, Mushroom and truffle

Grown in Bordeaux, Tuscany, Napa Valley, Barossa Valley

Chardonnay

Body Light to full, by style Acidity Medium-high

A blank canvas. Steel and citrus unoaked; butter and hazelnut with barrel.

Origin: Burgundy, France

Pairs with: Lobster and crab, Roast chicken, Cream sauces, Comté

Grown in Burgundy, Champagne, Napa Valley, Willamette Valley, Marlborough

Cortese

Body Light Acidity High

Crisp, almond-tinged, citric. The grape behind Gavi.

Origin: Piedmont, Italy

Pairs with: Seafood, Seafood risotto, Fried fish

Grown in Piedmont

Dolcetto

Body Medium Tannin Medium Acidity Low-medium

Soft, dark, low-acid. Drink it young and cheerfully.

Origin: Piedmont, Italy

Pairs with: Antipasti, Pasta, Soft cheese

Grown in Piedmont

Garnacha / Grenache

Body Medium-full Tannin Low-medium Acidity Low-medium

Ripe strawberry, high alcohol, low colour. Loves heat and old vines.

Origin: Aragón, Spain

Pairs with: Grilled meats, Hearty stews, Paella

Grown in Rioja, Barossa Valley

Gouveio

Body Medium Acidity Medium-high

Crisp and mineral. Known as Verdelho in Madeira.

Origin: Portugal

Pairs with: Grilled fish, Salads, Shellfish

Grown in Douro

Graciano

Body Medium Tannin Medium-high Acidity High

Rioja's aromatic minority — acidity and perfume in a blend.

Origin: Rioja, Spain

Pairs with: Game birds, Roasted meats, Cured cheese

Grown in Rioja

Malbec

Body Full Tannin Medium-high Acidity Medium

Inky and dark-fruited. Left Bordeaux for Argentina and found its home.

Origin: Cahors, France

Pairs with: Steak, Empanadas, Blue cheese, Chorizo

Grown in Bordeaux

Merlot

Body Medium-full Tannin Medium Acidity Medium

Plush and earlier-ripening. Plum and chocolate, softer tannin than Cabernet.

Origin: Bordeaux, France

Pairs with: Roast chicken, Pork loin, Tomato-based pasta, Soft washed-rind cheese

Grown in Bordeaux, Tuscany, Napa Valley

Moscato Bianco

Body Light Acidity Medium

One of the few grapes that smells like grapes. Orange blossom and peach.

Origin: Ancient Mediterranean

Pairs with: Fruit desserts, Pastries, Blue cheese

Grown in Piedmont

Mourvèdre / Mataro

Body Full Tannin High Acidity Medium

Meaty, savoury, tannic. Needs real warmth to ripen properly.

Origin: Valencia, Spain

Pairs with: Lamb with herbs, Game, Cassoulet

Grown in Barossa Valley

Nebbiolo

Body Medium Tannin Very high Acidity High

Pale in the glass, ferocious in structure. Tar, rose, dried cherry.

Origin: Piedmont, Italy

Pairs with: White truffle, Brasato al Barolo, Risotto, Aged cheese

Grown in Piedmont

Petit Verdot

Body Full Tannin High Acidity Medium

A blending seasoning — deep colour, violet perfume, serious tannin.

Origin: Bordeaux, France

Pairs with: Braised beef, Venison, Hard aged cheese

Grown in Bordeaux, Napa Valley

Pinot Gris

Body Medium-full Acidity Medium

Richer and spicier than its Italian Grigio alter ego.

Origin: Burgundy, France

Pairs with: Pork, Shellfish, Squash and root veg

Grown in Willamette Valley, Marlborough

Pinot Meunier

Body Light-medium Tannin Low Acidity High

Champagne's third grape. Earlier-drinking, adds fruit and approachability.

Origin: Northern France

Pairs with: Charcuterie, Soft cheese, Fried snacks

Grown in Champagne

Pinot Noir

Body Light-medium Tannin Low-medium Acidity High

Thin-skinned and site-obsessed. Red cherry, forest floor, silk not grip.

Origin: Burgundy, France

Pairs with: Salmon, Duck, Mushroom dishes, Roast chicken

Grown in Burgundy, Champagne, Willamette Valley, Marlborough

Riesling

Body Light Acidity Very high

The great terroir white. Lime, slate, racing acidity, bone-dry to lusciously sweet.

Origin: Rhine, Germany

Pairs with: Thai and Sichuan, Pork and apple, Smoked fish, Charcuterie

Grown in Mosel, Willamette Valley, Barossa Valley

Sangiovese

Body Medium Tannin Medium-high Acidity High

High acid, sour cherry, dried herb, tannin that wants food.

Origin: Tuscany, Italy

Pairs with: Tomato pasta, Pizza, Grilled meats, Pecorino

Grown in Tuscany

Sauvignon Blanc

Body Light-medium Acidity High

Piercing acidity. Gooseberry and cut grass, or passionfruit in the sun.

Origin: Loire Valley, France

Pairs with: Goat cheese, Asparagus, Oysters, Herb-heavy dishes

Grown in Bordeaux, Napa Valley, Marlborough

Syrah / Shiraz

Body Full Tannin Medium-high Acidity Medium

Pepper and violet where it's cool; blackberry and liquorice where it's hot.

Origin: Northern Rhône, France

Pairs with: Barbecue, Peppered steak, Lamb, Hard cheese

Grown in Barossa Valley

Sémillon

Body Medium-full Acidity Low-medium

Waxy and low-acid. Prone to noble rot, which is the point in Sauternes.

Origin: Bordeaux, France

Pairs with: Foie gras, Blue cheese, Roast pork, Fruit tart

Grown in Bordeaux

Tempranillo

Body Medium-full Tannin Medium Acidity Medium

Leather, dried cherry, tobacco. Takes oak better than almost anything.

Origin: Northern Spain

Pairs with: Roast lamb, Jamón ibérico, Manchego, Roasted peppers

Grown in Rioja, Douro

Tinta Barroca

Body Medium-full Tannin Medium Acidity Low-medium

Sugar and body for the blend. Struggles in the hottest sites.

Origin: Douro, Portugal

Pairs with: Roast pork, Sausage, Nuts (as Port)

Grown in Douro

Touriga Franca

Body Medium-full Tannin Medium Acidity Medium

The Douro's most-planted. Perfume and elegance in the Port blend.

Origin: Douro, Portugal

Pairs with: Grilled meats, Aged cheese, Dried fruit (as Port)

Grown in Douro

Touriga Nacional

Body Full Tannin High Acidity Medium-high

Portugal's finest. Violet, blueberry, dense structure.

Origin: Dão and Douro, Portugal

Pairs with: Roast meats, Rich stews, Dark chocolate (as Port)

Grown in Douro

Vernaccia

Body Light-medium Acidity Medium-high

Tuscany's historic white — saline, bitter-almond finish.

Origin: San Gimignano, Tuscany

Pairs with: Seafood, Pesto pasta, Olives and cured fish

Grown in Tuscany

Viura / Macabeo

Body Light-medium Acidity Medium-high

Rioja's white — neutral and fresh young, nutty and complex with age.

Origin: Northern Spain

Pairs with: Tapas, Grilled seafood, Marcona almonds

Grown in Rioja

Zinfandel

Body Full Tannin Medium Acidity Medium

Jammy, brambly, high alcohol. Genetically identical to Primitivo.

Origin: Croatia (as Crljenak Kaštelanski)

Pairs with: Barbecue ribs, Burgers, Pizza, Spiced dishes

Grown in Napa Valley

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