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Sangiovese is an Italian grape variety. It is dry, medium bodied grape with high tannin and acidity. It typically has red fruit flavors of cherry, plum, and blackberry.
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Sagrantino is an Italian grape variety indigenous to the region of Umbria. It is vigorous yet low-yielding vine. It flowers early, but requires a long hot season to ripen.
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Montepulciano is notable grape variety in Italy. It is a productive, late ripening variety that likes a hot, dry growing season. It is susceptible to Winter temperatures below 20 degrees F so is not recommended in cold climates. Typically, it is used in high quality wines of Central and Southern Italy. The wines produced have a deep ruby color with moderate acidity.
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This is the latest ripening variety of the Bordeaux family of grapes. It produces rich colored wines with high tannins. The clusters and berries are small. It is grown throughout the world in small quantities. But, it is not considered a winter hearty variety.
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One of the six main Bordeaux varieties, Malbec, or Cot as it is called in France, is a great stand-alone variety but normally used as a blender. It is fairly productive and provides deep color. It is grown throughout the world including France, the U.S., Argentina and Chile. However, it is not very winter hardy, so it is not recommended for regions dipping below 20 degrees F.
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More popular as Petite Sirah in the U.S., this variety produces inky, black, full bodied wines. It is often used as a blender with Zinfandel. But, it is also blended in small amounts with other varieties to add color, and structure. The berries are small (petite) and the clusters are tightly packed making it highly susceptible to bunch rot. It is not considered a cold tolerant variety.
