What’s in It
The grapes behind famous wines
Most famous wines are named for a place or a style, not the grape inside. Rioja is mostly Tempranillo. Chianti is mostly Sangiovese. Bordeaux is a blend of five. Here’s what’s actually in the bottle — and, for each one, the lesser-known grapes that drink like it for less.
Reds
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Cabernet Sauvignon
Cabernet Sauvignon — a single variety.
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Barolo
100% Nebbiolo.
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Nebbiolo
Nebbiolo — a single variety, also behind Barolo and Barbaresco.
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Pinot Noir
Pinot Noir — a single variety (red Burgundy).
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Merlot
Merlot — a single variety.
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Malbec
Malbec — a single variety (Côt in France).
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Syrah
Syrah — a single variety (Shiraz in Australia).
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Zinfandel
Zinfandel — a single variety, genetically identical to Italy's Primitivo.
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Rioja
Mostly Tempranillo, blended with Garnacha, Graciano and Mazuelo.
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Chianti
Mostly Sangiovese, often with a little Canaiolo or Colorino.
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Bordeaux
A blend — Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc, plus Petit Verdot and Malbec.
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Grenache
Grenache, usually blended with Syrah and Mourvèdre — the Rhône's 'GSM'.
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Beaujolais
100% Gamay.
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Cabernet Franc
Cabernet Franc — a single variety (Chinon and Bourgueil in the Loire).
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Petite Sirah
Petite Sirah — a single variety, also called Durif.
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Barbera
Barbera — a single variety (Piedmont).
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Montepulciano d'Abruzzo
Montepulciano — a single variety (not the Tuscan town of the same name).
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Carménère
Carménère — a single variety, a lost Bordeaux grape now at home in Chile.
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Mourvèdre
Mourvèdre — a single variety (Monastrell in Spain, Mataró elsewhere).
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Petit Verdot
Petit Verdot — usually a Bordeaux blending grape, bottled solo here.
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Amarone
Corvina, Rondinella and Molinara — dried before pressing (appassimento).
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Valpolicella
Corvina, Rondinella and Molinara — the fresh, un-dried side of the Amarone blend.
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Nero d'Avola
Nero d'Avola — a single variety (Sicily).
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Dolcetto
Dolcetto — a single variety (Piedmont).
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Carignan
Carignan — a single variety (Cariñena/Mazuelo in Spain, Carignano in Italy).
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Cinsault
Cinsault — a single variety, and a common blending grape across southern France.
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Tannat
Tannat — a single variety (Madiran in France, the flagship red of Uruguay).
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Blaufränkisch
Blaufränkisch — a single variety (Lemberger in Germany, Kékfrankos in Hungary).
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Port
A fortified blend of Douro grapes — Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinta Roriz, Tinta Barroca and more.
Whites
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Chardonnay
Chardonnay — a single variety (white Burgundy, Chablis).
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Sauvignon Blanc
Sauvignon Blanc — a single variety (Sancerre, Pouilly-Fumé).
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Pinot Grigio
Pinot Grigio — a single variety (Pinot Gris in France).
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Riesling
Riesling — a single variety.
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Gewürztraminer
Gewürztraminer — a single variety (Alsace, Alto Adige).
Rosés
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Provence Rosé
Usually a blend, pressed pale — Grenache, Cinsault, Syrah and Mourvèdre.
Want the alternatives too? Every wine here runs through the Wine Swap Finder — pick a wine you like and get the underdog grapes worth switching to.