How many wine making grape varietals are there? It depends on how you count. The vast majority of wines are made from one main type of grape, the vitis vinefera. Vitis vinefera grape vines make up about 99% of the wine that we drink from all over the world. There are hundreds of different varieties (or varietals) of grapes in this family, including Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay, Riesling, Chenin Blanc, Syrah, Zinfandel, Riesling and Pinot Noir.

If all wine is made from one main type of wine, how come it can taste so different depending on where you buy it, what vintage you buy and so on? Why are there red, white and rose wines? And what exactly is a varietal?

Wine making grapes come from six of the seven continents in the world; there are grapes that come from cold climates like Canada and scorching hot areas in Africa. Different varietals do better in different climates.

Which brings us to the questions: what is a varietal? A varietal is a specific type of grape, for example Merlot or Riesling. If you have a wine that says that it is made from Riesling grapes, it means that at least 75% of the wine must be made from these grapes. Otherwise it must be called a white wine or all of the varietals must be listed out.

Why bother with varietals? Once you start tasting more and more wines, you soon will be able to taste different attributes to different wine making grape varietals. Just like gourmet recipes call for different types of potatoes (Russet, baby, Idaho and so on), different wines taste differently. This doesn't mean that varietal wines will taste better. Mixed varietal wines are often less risky to make because they have a combination of traits, so you aren't putting all of your eggs in one basket. Whatever you decide to make, remember that wine can sometimes be touchy. A recipe and grape type that works perfectly for you once may not have the same magic the second time around.

Tasting wine and telling the differences between wine making grape varietals takes time, and after you make a couple of batches of wine, you can start to blend grape types to see if you can accentuate the best parts of each wine. Wine grape making varietals are an interesting aspect of the hobby, but it definitely shouldn't take over the whole art of wine making.