Appellations & Varietals

It’s simple.  The old world names its wines after places.  The new world names its wines after grape types.  In most old world vineyards tradition and law say what grape types are grown in what places.  A French consumer who buys a bottle of red Bordeaux either knows that it will be made mostly from Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, or at least knows what flavors to expect.  The red Burgundy buyer knows that it is made from Pinot Noir, etc.

Here are selected lists of the world’s major varietals and the major Appellations in France and Spain (because that’s what we sell).  There is a brief description of each Appellation along with the varietals traditionally grown there, cross-referenced and linked to descriptions of those varietals.  The varietal descriptions are likewise cross-referenced and linked to the Appellations that grow them (for the wines we sell and a few others).

The Appellations and varietals selected for inclusion and the opinions about them are the personal selections and opinions of Dan Kravitz.  These opinions are not guaranteed to be worth more than they cost.  Your mileage may vary.    

These lists and descriptions are not intended to be comprehensive - this is a website, not an encyclopedia.  The most important districts of the major regions are listed and given brief descriptions, but in many cases the individual villages are not.  Hopefully this will be useful to consumers with more than a passing interest in wine, but real wine geeks and professionals will already know much of this content.  For those interested in further information, the standard text on wine varietals is Jancis Robinson’s ‘Vines, Grapes and Wines’.  The great book on wine geography is Hugh Johnson’s ‘The World Atlas of Wine’.

Happy reading, tasting, eating and drinking.

Dan Kravitz