Maybe the better question is—what was the birth of civilization? Marat Yanki of Vinkara Winery in Turkey may have said it best. He said that even nomads can cultivate wheat for a season. But that doesn’t mean they’re a tribe or a society. They simply go where the wind blows and plant wheat somewhere new the next year.
Why do we like to drink wine? Is it simply the joy of a good buzz, or is there something deeper, something written into our very biology? The answer might be found swinging through the trees.
There are wine varietals that you find to be most common, when you plunk down at a restaurant, open the menu, and turn to the wine selections. The normal, everyday suspects that grow anywhere and whose names just roll off the tongue—Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Riesling, and Pinot Grigio. Sure, there are differences by regions, and even differences by producer. But do you get bored by the same five or six kinds, regardless of where they are from? Is the world only in eight-bit color to you? There are more than 10,000 grapes in the world that have successfully fermented into wine, most even produced commercially. This week at City Vino we are exploring the obscure varietals.
There are over 10,000 grape varietals in the world that are used to make wine. The majority of people are only familiar with a few, Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay come to mind.
