Moscato Rosa

            A member of the Muscat family that is a specialty of Trentino-Alto Adige. Some call it a color variant of Muscat Blanc a Petits Grains, but it is listed as a separate variety in VIVC.

            It is usually vinified as a sweet wine, which Jancis Robinson notes has “assumed almost cult status.” Franz Haas, who produces this example, says that the low-yielding vines must be planted in a windy area to avoid botrytis. Very high sugar levels allow production of a dessert wine from grapes that are neither harvested late nor dried. Haas leaves the wine on the skins for only a few days to avoid astringency, then interrupts the fermentation by refrigeration and transfers the wine to stainless steel for six months before bottling.

            Production is limited, and the wine is quite expensive (I paid $49 for my half-bottle). But it certainly provides a wonderful experience for your money. The aroma of candied fruit is quite enticing, with very many sniffers reporting the scent of roses – to me a somewhat fanciful perception suggested by the name. The color, too -- a clear, deep cherry-red -- is quite attractive. And these sensory promises are more than fulfilled by the flavor itself. The winemaker’s promotional material describes “a fascinating interplay between acidity, sweetness and tannin,” and for once this is not just hype. There is a great deal of depth and complexity to the flavor. Cherry stood out to me, as well as some unidentifiable savory note, and others report tasting orange peel, cinnamon, cloves and, of course, roses. It’s a wine that can truly be called interesting.

            Food pairing: Haas recommends chocolate, others suggest blue cheese. I agree with those who consider it a “meditation wine” that is best appreciated without food.

Melon

            This grape is also known as Melon de Bourgogne, due to its origins in Burgundy. According to the Loire Valley Wine Bureau, it was eradicated there as early as the 16^th century as growers found success with other varieties (good move). The Dutch planted it as a distilling grape around the Atlantic trading port of Nantes, and it was one of the few varieties to survive the winter of 1708-9, the coldest in Europe in the past 500 years. It now produces the region’s signature wine, Muscadet, to the extent that the grape itself often goes by that name.

            This bottle from Sauvion, one of the area’s major producers, is typical. The wine’s predominant characteristic is brininess, befitting its seaside origins, and it is dry, somewhat high in acid and a bit prickly as well, adding to the overall impression of freshness. Keeping the wine on its lees (sur lie) over the winter, brings out more fruit, usually described as apple, pear and citrus.

            Food pairing: Hugh Johnson’s Pocket Wine Book recommends mussels, and that’s what we drank it with: mussels steamed over onions, shallots, garlic, tomatoes and parsley. Quite satisfactory. Another classic recommendation is oysters.

Raboso Veronese

            A grape that hails from the area around Treviso north of Venice. Researchers at the University of Padova report that DNA analysis shows the grape to be the offspring of Raboso Piave, a powerfully tannic red grape, and Marzemina Bianca.

            Raboso Veronese is often used to produce red wine, but the well-known Prosecco producer Zardetto uses it to make this sparkling rosé. Probably its most remarkable characteristic is its color, often described as raspberry but to my eye more like salmon. On the palate, you might remark the carbonation before the faintly cherryish or strawberryish flavor. It’s medium dry at 16 g/l residual sugar, with plenty of acidity for balance.

            Food pairing: Whatever you’re passing around before the barbecue. It’s mainly a pretty, bubbly wine to create a festive atmosphere.

Frontenac Gris

            Frontenac Gris originated as a sport, or spontaneous mutation, when a cane with bronze-gray fruit sprouted from a vine of the Frontenac black grape at the University of Minnesota Horticultural Research Center. Subsequent propagation consistently yielded fruit with the same qualities.

“Due to … high levels of both sugar and acidity, Frontenac Gris wines often require leaving residual sugar in order to produce a well balanced wine in northern climates,” according to UM. That’s the case with this product of Grovedale Winery, a small family-run operation in northeastern Pennsylvania. It’s a very pleasant wine that has won several regional awards and always seems to be appreciated by our guests. It’s deep yellow thanks to the grape skins and has a peachy-citrusy flavor -- not overly sweet and with a refreshing tang -- and a creamy texture.

            Food pairing: It went well with the bowl of fresh mango and strawberries that was our Easter dinner dessert.

De Chaunac

            De Chaunac is a hybrid created by the French breeder Albert Seibel with an American-style diversity of origin. It is an interspecific crossing, and how! Tracing its lineage in the Vitis database turns up no fewer than five grape species -- labrusca, lincecumii, riparia, rupestris and vinifera -- within four generations. And that’s just on one parent’s side. How’s that for a melting pot?

            It’s most widely grown now in the northeastern U.S. and eastern Canada, to which it was introduced as Seibel 9549 in the mid-20^th century by the Canadian enologist Adhemar de Chaunac. It was once quite popular, due to its ability to survive very cold winters and produce wine with complex fruit flavors that are enhanced by oak, according to Hudson Valley Wine Magazine.

            This offering from Altamont Vineyard and Winery near Albany, N.Y., is probably not the best ambassador for the grape. While certainly drinkable (we finished the bottle), it was somewhat thin and bitter. Hopefully this is not what Upstate New Yorkers consider to be passion.

            Food pairing: A rice casserole with spinach and cheese might work.

Ives

            Ives is one of the oldest names in American grape lore, if not one of the most honored. Its origins are cloudy. It is commonly thought of as labrusca, but the Vitis variety catalog calls it an interspecific crossing, naming only one parent: Hartford, a labrusca cross with Isabella, which is itself a labrusca-vinifera hybrid. The trouble with this genealogy is that Vitis dates Ives from 1844, and Hartford from 1849. But it’s not totally off the mark, according to a 1928 paper by chemists at the New York Agricultural Experiment Station at Geneva, whose analysis led them to conclude that “the Ives grape is not a pure Vitis labrusca but probably contains some Vitis vinifera mixed with still another strain.”

            Well, anyway: If it quacks like a duck it is a duck, and you’d be advised to duck this grape unless you really enjoy that musky labrusca flavor. This wine comes from Bully Hill Vineyards, founded by a scion of the powerhouse Taylor family of Finger Lakes wine pioneers and one of the earliest champions of hybrid grapes in that region. They say it’s “bursting with native American fruit and floral essence;” I say it tastes like cough syrup. But it’s as sturdy as Madeira. My bottle hardly changed flavor in the several months it sat on the kitchen counter waiting for me to brave another taste.

Food pairing: Aspirin, the next time flu season comes around.

Veltliner Gruen

            This Central European variety lost favor among the wine elite after becoming almost too trendy in recent years, but this bottling from Austria’s Weinrieder could make new converts. The grape, known as Gruner Veltliner seemingly everywhere except the Vitis variety catalog, is a cook’s favorite because of its affinity for food.

            The importer Blue Danube Wine Co. in Los Altos, Calif., which provided my bottle, speaks of its “pleasant fruity zing.” That’s a good description as far as it goes, but it didn’t go far enough for my bottle of the 2008 vintage. The wine’s fresh acidity gave it a very alert character – zesty without being sharp. The quite pronounced flavor was citrusy and a bit peachy, with mineral overtones. Very, very enjoyable, and a good value in the high teens. Gru-vee, man.

            Food pairing: We had it with simply grilled salmon, but pork would seem to be its natural partner. Nearly every wine writer cites its versatility, recommending it with seafood, white meats and even vegetables such as asparagus and artichokes. Like the Riesling that overshadows it, it also makes well-balanced dessert wines.

Jacquez

            A grape with an interesting story. The National Grape Registry says it’s a hybrid of V. aestivalis and a V. cinerea x V. vinifera cross. It supposedly originated in the southeastern U.S. in the early 19^th century as a naturally occurring hybrid, and then was exported to Europe after the phylloxera crisis. Jancis Robinson says it is common in Madeira under the name Black Spanish.

            It remains popular in the U.S., particularly in Texas under the name of Lenoir, for its resistance to Pierce’s disease and the quality of its dark, sugary red juice. (A Google search turns up other attributes: NIH studies showing that compounds in the juice may have anti-diarrheal effects and protect the skin against UV damage.)

            This example comes from Haak Vineyards south of Houston and has a flavor profile similar to traditional port. Lovers of that wine may find this one a bit watery, however, and although wine from this grape is said to maintain or even improve its quality after it has been opened, my bottle did eventually acquire a distinct sourness.

            Good for sipping after the barbecue or with the usual port accompaniments such as nuts or cheese.

Rougeon

            As long as we’re in Missouri …. Along with the Cynthiana from St. James Winery came this Rougeon dessert wine. This black grape is a French-American hybrid, one of many developed by Alfred Seibel in France.

            Winemakers Direct lists a handful of producers – a couple in New York, one in Missouri and one in Wisconsin. Apparently part of Rougeon’s attraction is its versatility, as the wine styles run the gamut from dry to sparkling to port.

            This example is dark, thick and sweet, with a hint of roasted character. Perhaps a bit pricey at $20 for the half-bottle, but some might find it a memorable treat. Food pairing: It stands alone as a sipper quite well, but could accompany a range of rich desserts, including dark chocolate.

Cynthiana

           A wine dear to the few who celebrate America’s native grapes, this was an early and highly successful attempt to create a good-tasting variety that could resist the New World’s climate and pests. As recounted in Todd Kliman’s “The Wild Vine” and elsewhere, Dr. Daniel Norton created the variety in the early1820s at his farm near Richmond. As he tried to cross the V. labrusca grape Bland with Pinot Meunier, the Bland was accidentally fertilized by wild V. aestivalis pollen. The offspring, which became known as Norton’s Virginia Seedling, produced a full-flavored wine with native character but without labrusca’s disagreeable foxiness.

            The grape quickly won commercial favor in the East and later in the Midwest, where Missouri’s growing conditions proved especially welcoming. Famously, a bottle of Missouri Norton was honored as among the world’s best wines at Vienna’s Universal Exposition in 1873.

            Along the way, Cynthiana became recognized as a separate variety. Many believed it to be a mutation of Norton with distinctly different flavor and ripening characteristics. Whatever the case, DNA analysis has shown that today’s Norton and Cynthiana are one and the same, and the latter name now predominates in reference books (if not in Virginia).

            This particular bottle comes from St. James Winery, one of many smaller U.S. wineries listed on the Winemakers Direct site, which is searchable by variety. Another notable example is the Chrysalis Vineyards Estate Bottled Norton, grown near Middleburg, Va.

            Cynthiana/Norton is a wine you needn’t be ashamed of serving to your European friends – preferably at a cookout where the main course is grilled beef. It has good fruit and grip, and somehow does taste American.

Lambrusco Salamino

   The Vitis catalog lists almost a dozen varieties of Lambrusco – lots of chances to explore this food-friendly wine. This organic product from Azienda Agricola Luciano Saetti near Modena is grape soda with a bitter cherry finish.

   Cost is mid-teens from Chambers Street Wines in NYC; also available right now from De-Vino Boutique there.

   Dry, light-bodied and effervescent, this was a good match for one of the Family Reunion Pizza Night choices – cheese and sun-dried tomatoes, with a layer of fresh arugula added as soon as the pie came out of the oven.

Introduction

   For several years now, I’ve been seeking out wines that express the personality of an individual grape variety. The ones I’ve tasted are listed on this Picasa page.

   A fundamental question: Which grapes are discrete varieties? I’m no ampelographer, so I rely on outside authorities to make that call. My basic reference is the Vitis International Variety Catalog maintained by the Geilweilerhof Institute for Grape Breeding in Germany. For some U.S. varieties, I also consult the National Grape Registry maintained by the University of California and USDA.

   How “pure” must a varietal wine be to make my cut? I differ with some other tasters on this point. For example, if I understand the ground rules of the Wine Century Club, members can count all the grape varieties in a blended wine. So if they drink Chateau Batailley, a fifth-growth Pauillac that includes 3 percent cabernet franc and 2 percent petit verdot, they can claim to have tasted those grapes. But have they really? Once the proportion of a wine’s main grape falls below 85 or 90 percent, I begin to doubt that its varietal character is coming through, and I usually don’t include it in my list.

   I’ll be writing about the wines I’ve tasted in hopes of promoting a discussion among people who share my interest. I especially invite input on two topics: Where are especially fine examples of these wines produced and sold, and with what foods do they pair well?

   Along the way, I plan to cite wineries and retailers I admire, fellow bloggers exploring this same topic, and other sources of information on grape varieties, both online and in print.