There most definitely IS a red wine grape and it is, as you may have guessed, the dark black (or red) grape from which red wine is produced. If you take a green grape and a black grape and peel of the skins, then you will find that each grape is pretty much the same colour. If you squeeze out the juice of the two grapes, you ll discover that both juices are colourless or white . This may well have you asking just how it is that red wine has a totally different colour to white wine.
The answer to the colour question lies in the method of winemaking. The skin of the red wine grape is left to soak in the juice until the red colour leaks out of the skin, thus colouring the juice. While the red wine grape skin is soaking, it not only gives off its colour but produces a substance known as tannin. It is this tannin that gives the red wine a more complex texture and taste than the white varieties.
How Many Red Wine Grape Varieties Are There?
There are a great many red wine grape varieties around the world it is probably sufficient for the layman to be familiar with only the most well known and popular ones. One of the best known is Cabernet Sauvignon which is made from a red wine grape that has a very thick skin which results in a lot of tannin being found in this dry tasting wine full of body. Tannin tends to dry one s mouth somewhat, hence the statement that Cabernet Sauvignon is a dry red wine.
Merlot is another very popular variety of red wine and tends to have a slightly higher alcohol content than Cabernet Sauvignon. Where Cabernet Sauvignon is often said to taste of a hint of blackcurrant, Merlot will be described as having the taste of black cherries. It is interesting to note though that both wines are likened to a black fruit which then hearkens back to the red wine grape which is actually a black grape! This is also true of the Shiraz red wine which is said to have the taste of blackberries.
I personally like a Zinfandel wine which can be either spicy or fruity all depending on the quality of the red wine grape used. It is claimed that some of the best Zinfandel wines come from California and this is a matter for wine connoisseurs to debate. All I know that I like the red wine grape served in many forms.