Wine Varietals
From Cabernet to cold-hardy Marquette: the grapes you'll meet on American tasting-room menus, and where they grow.
Family
Color
Classic European Grapes
The vinifera varieties behind most of the world’s wine, grown from California to the Finger Lakes.
White · Classic vinifera
aka Albariño, Alvarinho
aka Albariño, Alvarinho
A zesty, salty Spanish white made for seafood. It has caught on in cool coastal California, Oregon, Virginia and Maryland.
White · Classic vinifera
aka Auxerrois Blanc
aka Auxerrois Blanc
A gentle, round Alsace white related to Pinot Blanc and Chardonnay. Northern Michigan has some of the most notable American plantings, and it also turns up in Oregon.
Red · Classic vinifera
Piedmont's juicy, high-acid everyday red, with sour cherry and soft tannins. Italian-heritage wineries keep it alive in the Sierra Foothills, Lodi and Paso Robles.
Red · Classic vinifera
aka Cab Franc
aka Cab Franc
Cabernet Sauvignon's lighter, more aromatic parent, with red fruit and herbs. It's the top red grape of the Finger Lakes, Michigan and Virginia, and a blending staple in Napa.
Red · Classic vinifera
aka Cabernet
aka Cabernet
The king of red grapes: structured, age-worthy and full of blackcurrant. It's Napa Valley's calling card and a star in Washington, Paso Robles and Sonoma.
White · Classic vinifera
America's most planted white grape, made in every style from crisp and steely to rich and buttery. You'll find it in California, Oregon, New York, Michigan and nearly every wine state.
White · Classic vinifera
aka Steen
aka Steen
A high-acid Loire Valley white that can be bone-dry, sparkling or lusciously sweet. It's making a comeback in California's Clarksburg and Sierra Foothills and in Texas.
Red · Classic vinifera
A soft, dark Piedmont red with black cherry and almond, made for drinking young. You'll find it at Italian-focused wineries in Oregon, California and Washington.
Red · Classic vinifera
aka Gamay Noir
aka Gamay Noir
The grape of Beaujolais: light, juicy, low-tannin reds that are great slightly chilled. It's increasingly planted in Oregon, the Finger Lakes and northern Michigan.
White · Classic vinifera
aka Gewürztraminer, Gewurz
aka Gewürztraminer, Gewurz
The most perfumed white wine grape, with lychee, rose and spice. It thrives in cool regions like Michigan, the Finger Lakes, Anderson Valley and Washington.
Red · Classic vinifera
aka Garnacha, Grenache Noir
aka Garnacha, Grenache Noir
A heat-loving Mediterranean red with ripe strawberry and spice. It's the backbone of Rhône blends and pale rosés, and it's prized in Paso Robles, Santa Barbara, Washington and Texas.
White · Classic vinifera
aka Gruner Veltliner, Grüner
aka Gruner Veltliner, Grüner
Austria's signature white: crisp, peppery and green-apple fresh. American growers in the Finger Lakes, Michigan, Oregon and Virginia have taken to it.
Red · Classic vinifera
aka Blaufränkisch, Blaufrankisch
aka Blaufränkisch, Blaufrankisch
Austria's Blaufränkisch under its American name: a peppery, dark-fruited cool-climate red that does well in Washington, the Finger Lakes and northern Michigan.
Red · Classic vinifera
aka Côt, Cot
aka Côt, Cot
Argentina's star grape and a Bordeaux blending partner: plush and inky, with plum and blackberry. It grows well in Washington, southern Oregon, California and Virginia.
White · Classic vinifera
A full-bodied Rhône white with honey, almond and pear, usually blended with Roussanne. Look for it in Paso Robles, Santa Barbara County and Washington.
Red · Classic vinifera
Soft, plummy and generous: Bordeaux's most planted grape and a star in Washington, Napa and Long Island. It deserves a second look.
Red · Classic vinifera
aka Mourvèdre, Mataro
aka Mourvèdre, Mataro
A dark, savory, gamey Mediterranean red that gives Rhône blends their backbone. Also called Mataro, it has old-vine plantings in California's Contra Costa County and a home in Paso Robles.
Red · Classic vinifera
The grape of Barolo and Barbaresco: pale but powerful, with roses, tar and cherries. A few dedicated American growers in California, Washington and Virginia take it on.
Red · Classic vinifera
aka Durif
aka Durif
Not small at all: an inky, tannic, blueberry-and-pepper red (Durif in France) with deep roots in California's old vineyards, from Lodi to Napa and Paso Robles.
Red · Classic vinifera
A small-berried, inky Bordeaux grape used for color and spice in blends. It has become a surprise star in Virginia, where it ripens better than in France.
White · Classic vinifera
aka Pinot Bianco, Weissburgunder
aka Pinot Bianco, Weissburgunder
A white mutation of Pinot Noir that makes crisp, gentle whites and sparklers. It's a quiet favorite in Michigan, Oregon and Alsace-inspired California wineries.
White · Classic vinifera
aka Pinot Gris, Pinot Grigio
aka Pinot Gris, Pinot Grigio
One gray-skinned grape, two styles: crisp, light Italian-style Pinot Grigio or richer, spicier Alsace-style Pinot Gris. It's Oregon's signature white and a Michigan favorite.
Red · Classic vinifera
aka Pinot Nero, Spätburgunder
aka Pinot Nero, Spätburgunder
The silky, fickle red of Burgundy. It's the pride of Oregon's Willamette Valley, the Sonoma Coast and Santa Rita Hills, and a rising star in Michigan and the Finger Lakes.
White · Classic vinifera
aka White Riesling, Johannisberg Riesling
aka White Riesling, Johannisberg Riesling
The great cool-climate white, from bone-dry to ice wine. It's the flagship of New York's Finger Lakes and northern Michigan and a star in Washington.
White · Classic vinifera
A perfumed, textured Rhône white with pear, herbal tea and honey. It's prized in Paso Robles, Santa Barbara County and Washington, on its own or blended with Marsanne.
Red · Classic vinifera
aka Brunello, Morellino
aka Brunello, Morellino
Tuscany's great red, the grape of Chianti and Brunello, with sour cherry, tomato leaf and bright acidity. It does well in California, Washington, Texas and Virginia.
White · Classic vinifera
aka Fumé Blanc, Fume Blanc
aka Fumé Blanc, Fume Blanc
Crisp, zesty and herbal, with grapefruit and fresh-cut grass. It's grown across California, Washington and Virginia, and often labeled Fumé Blanc when oaked.
White · Classic vinifera
aka Sémillon
aka Sémillon
A golden, waxy Bordeaux white that adds body to Sauvignon Blanc and makes the great sweet wines of Sauternes. Small plantings in Washington and California reward seeking out.
Red · Classic vinifera
aka Shiraz
aka Shiraz
A dark, peppery Rhône red (Shiraz in Australia) that ranges from savory and smoky to ripe and jammy. Washington, Paso Robles and Santa Barbara make some of America's best.
Red · Classic vinifera
aka Tinta Roriz, Tinto Fino
aka Tinta Roriz, Tinto Fino
Spain's signature red, the grape of Rioja and Ribera del Duero, with cherry, leather and tobacco. It has found American homes in Texas, Oregon, Washington and Idaho.
White · Classic vinifera
A lush, perfumed Rhône white with apricot, peach and honeysuckle. It's Virginia's signature white and a favorite in California, Texas and Washington.
Red · Classic vinifera
aka Primitivo, Crljenak Kaštelanski
aka Primitivo, Crljenak Kaštelanski
California's heritage grape: jammy, spicy reds from century-old vines in Lodi, Sonoma, Amador and Paso Robles. It's genetically the same as Italy's Primitivo.
Red · Classic vinifera
aka Blauer Zweigelt, Rotburger
aka Blauer Zweigelt, Rotburger
Austria's most planted red: a juicy, cherry-fruited cross of Blaufränkisch and St. Laurent. Growers in the Finger Lakes, Michigan and Pennsylvania are taking it up.
Hybrid Grapes
Crosses bred for cold winters and humid summers. These are the backbone of wine country in the Midwest, Northeast and South.
Red · Hybrid
aka Baco, Baco 1
aka Baco, Baco 1
A dark, high-acid French-American red with smoky berry fruit, grown in the Hudson Valley, Ontario and even Oregon. It's one of the oldest hybrids still in wide use.
White · Hybrid
aka ES 7-4-76
aka ES 7-4-76
A tropical-fruit cold-hardy white from Elmer Swenson's breeding program, released in Nebraska in 2001, with pineapple aromas and a soft, juicy finish.
White · Hybrid
A Finger Lakes-born Cornell white from 1972 that makes fresh, fruity, Riesling-like wines and sparklers. It's a dependable grape across the Northeast and Midwest.
Red · Hybrid
aka Joannès Seyve 26-205
aka Joannès Seyve 26-205
A French-American red that's a mainstay of Mid-Atlantic and Midwest wine country, with cherry fruit, soft tannins and bright acidity. It's one of the best hybrid reds for dry wine.
Red · Hybrid
aka Seibel 7053
aka Seibel 7053
A Seibel hybrid red that once rivaled Foch across the East and is still treasured by some Ohio, New York and Michigan producers for dark, plummy dry reds.
White · Hybrid
aka Chardonelle
aka Chardonelle
A Cornell-bred cross of Chardonnay and Seyval Blanc that makes full, Chardonnay-style whites where Chardonnay itself struggles, especially in Missouri and Arkansas.
White · Hybrid
An Elmer Swenson white with classic grapey, Concord-family aromas. It's the go-to grape for sweet, juicy Midwest white wines and a nostalgic favorite.
Red · Hybrid
aka MN 1047
aka MN 1047
A University of Minnesota red that laughs off -35°F winters, with bright acidity and deep cherry fruit. It goes into port-style wines, rosés and everyday reds across the upper Midwest.
White · Hybrid
The white-skinned member of the Frontenac family, with citrus and stone fruit and the same tolerance for deep-freeze winters. It's newer and rarer than Frontenac Gris.
White · Hybrid
A gray-skinned mutation of Frontenac that makes peachy, tropical white wines. It's one of the most planted cold-hardy whites in the Midwest and a favorite for dessert and ice wines.
White · Hybrid
aka MN 1285
aka MN 1285
The University of Minnesota's newest white wine grape, released in 2016. It makes crisp, dry whites with pear and citrus and has lower acidity than earlier cold-hardy whites.
White · Hybrid
aka MN 1166
aka MN 1166
A Muscat-scented white from the University of Minnesota with apricot, citrus and honeysuckle aromas. It's one of the best white wines made from cold-hardy grapes.
Red · Hybrid
aka Leon Millot, Millot
aka Leon Millot, Millot
Maréchal Foch's sibling: an early, cold-tolerant French-American red with dark berry and chocolate notes. It's found in Michigan, New York and Ontario.
Red · Hybrid
aka Marechal Foch, Foch
aka Marechal Foch, Foch
An early-ripening French-American red from 1911 that makes dark, smoky, earthy wines. It's a cool-climate staple from Michigan and New York to Minnesota and Ontario.
Red · Hybrid
aka MN 1211
aka MN 1211
The flagship red of cold-climate wine country: a Pinot Noir grandchild from the University of Minnesota that survives -30°F winters and makes cherry-and-pepper dry reds.
Red · Hybrid
A Cornell red released in 2006 with a signature black-pepper and mint aroma. It makes medium-bodied reds without the foxiness of older hybrids.
Red · Hybrid
A dark, tannic cold-hardy red bred by Minnesota grape breeder Tom Plocher. It's prized for dry reds with more structure than most northern grapes manage.
White · Hybrid
aka Seyval, Seyve-Villard 5-276
aka Seyval, Seyve-Villard 5-276
A crisp, citrusy French-American white that's a backbone grape of the Finger Lakes, Hudson Valley and Ohio, and a favorite base for sparkling wine.
Red · Hybrid
aka Saint Croix
aka Saint Croix
An early Elmer Swenson red from 1981 that makes soft, low-acid, fruity reds. It's often blended with sharper cold-hardy grapes to round them out.
White · Hybrid
A Gewürztraminer grandchild bred for cold winters. It makes spicy, floral whites with lychee and rose petal, and it's Indiana's official state grape.
White · Hybrid
aka Vidal, Vidal 256
aka Vidal, Vidal 256
The ice wine grape: a thick-skinned French-American white that hangs on the vine into deep winter. It also makes fruity off-dry wines from Michigan to Virginia.
White · Hybrid
aka Ravat 51, Ravat Blanc
aka Ravat 51, Ravat Blanc
A French-American hybrid with piercing acidity and pineapple-apricot fruit. It's the go-to grape for late-harvest and ice wines from Michigan to Missouri and the Finger Lakes.
American Native Grapes
Grapes from North America’s own wild vines, with flavors you won’t find anywhere else.
Rosé · American native
A copper-pink native grape that made Ohio the center of American winemaking in the 1850s. It's still poured as sweet pink, white and sparkling wine along Lake Erie and in the Finger Lakes.
Red · American native
America's most famous native grape, bred in Concord, Massachusetts in the 1840s. It's the flavor of grape juice and jelly, and of sweet red wines along Lake Erie and in southwest Michigan.
White · American native
aka Delaware grape
aka Delaware grape
A small, pink-skinned 19th-century native grape (named for Delaware, Ohio, not the state) that makes delicate, aromatic white and sparkling wines in New York and Ohio.
Other · American native
aka Scuppernong, Muscadine grape
aka Scuppernong, Muscadine grape
The South's own grape, including bronze Scuppernong. These thick-skinned native grapes thrive in heat and humidity and make sweet, musky wines from North Carolina to Florida.
White · American native
The white counterpart to Concord: a 19th-century New York grape with an intensely grapey, floral aroma, made into sweet white wines across the East and Midwest.
Red · American native
aka Cynthiana, Norton's Virginia
aka Cynthiana, Norton's Virginia
America's oldest native grape still used for serious dry red wine. It's dark, spicy and high in acid, and it's the state grape of Missouri, with deep roots in Virginia.
No grapes match those filters.