Category: grape

What grape is that….?

In a continuing effort to familiarize people with lesser known varieties of grapes grown around the world I present you with this next installment.

PLOUSSARD also called POULSARD is a thin skinned grape found in the Jura region of eastern France. It’s light color makes it ideal for Vin Gris and even for making of white wines.

FRAPPATO is a red grape found mostly on the island of Sicily and is related to Sangiovese and other Italian varieties. It’s a lighter bodied wine with fruity aromas. Coincidentally, there is also a Italian white grape called FRAPPATO too.

AIREN is a white grape found mostly Spain and has the distinction of being the most widely grown grape in the world.

NORTON is native to North America and is a red grape found mostly in Mid Atlantic and Mid Western region of the United States. It’s the state grape of Missouri and widely planted in Virginia.

2010 Kogl “Mea Culpa” Ranina


Back in 1542 is when Kogl Estates starting producing wine in the Podravje region of Slovenia, not far from the Hungarian and Croatian borders. It was dormant for quite a while until 1983 when the Svetko family bought the winery and vineyards and brought both back online. Using both old world traditions and new world technology Kogl specialty is white wines, with red wines having been recently added to their portfolio. Dessert wines are also being made.

The 2010 Ranina is rare grape and translates to “early ripening”. With a pretty nose of honey and wild flower, the wine is dry on the 1st sip and has a good mouth texture. Good acidity and fruit gives this wine a nice balance that could be paired with both hot and cold foods. It could also be drank by itself. This wine is an excellent example of a rare grape from an emerging wine region.