Wine Guide — Varietal
Gamay
A fruity, floral and sometimes earthy light-bodied red that is the main variety planted in Beaujolais. Outside of France, Gamay has a tiny but devoted following. It's similar to Pinot Noir, and are acutally cousins, but you can find high quality Gamay at a much better price than Pinot Noir.
Grenache (Garnacha, Cannonau)
Grenache or Garnacha produces rich, flavorful red wines & ruby-tinted rose. While the French have shot this grape to fame with Chateauneuf-du-Pape, it's origins like in Spain. No wonder there's Spanish wines rebottled under French labels!
Syrah (Shiraz)
Syrah (Shiraz) is a rich, powerful red wine that originated in the French Rhone Valley, but has since become the popular grape of choice in Australia. Usually, winemakers in cooler climate growing regions like France tend to call it Syrah. These include California, Yarra Valley & Chile. Shiraz is used in warm climates, like Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale & Adelaide Hills.
Pinot Noir
The world's most popular light-bodied red, it's loved for tart red fruit acidity, spice, and a long smooth finish. Likely originating in Burgundy, it is made into various styles, from Champagne & other sparkling wines, to rose & red wines.
It's one of the few grapes to be made into all wine styles of white, rose, red & sparkling wines. The whites often are made using Pinot Blanc, which is a color mutation from Pinot Noir.
