SAME GRAPES, DIFFERENT WINES Flavor is not determined only by
the grape variety, but also by the region where the grape is
grown and how wine is made in that region. A case in point is
the Australian Shiraz versus Northern Rhone Syrah. Both use the
same Syrah (Shiraz) grape, but the two have very different
climates and use different techniques to make their wines. As a
result, Australian Shiraz is typically full of jammy fruit
flavors with pepper and chocolate; while Northern Rhone produces
lean, brooding Syrah with muted fruit wrapped in dark, nonfruit
flavors and aromas like smoke, leather, tar and meat. There are
nearly 10,000 varieties of wine grapes, but only about 50 are
widely known. A VARIETY is a sub species of ‘vitus vinifera’
(the wine grape) with characteristic aromas and flavors. In
fact, Italy has several hundred varieties of grapes, many of
which are found nowhere else on earth. VARIETALS are the types
of wines made from a specific variety of grape. For example,
Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon ar