From Bordeaux with Love

The now-popular name for the grape variety côt (CO), malbec (MAL-beck) is native to southwestern France. The offspring of two obscure French grapes—madeleine noire des Charentes and prunelard—malbec is the leading grape variety in Argentina, where it has been planted since the mid-nineteenth century after crossing the Atlantic from Bordeaux. Most Argentine wines labeled as malbecs are 100% that variety. Malbec tends to be lower in acidity and slightly less tannic than cabernet sauvignon. The best are inky rich wines with soft textures.

What is scuppernong?

A. The plastic material that barrel bungs are made from

B. A local South African name for chenin blanc

C. A vine disease that can affect grapevines that have been exposed to extreme heat

D. A grape native to the American south

Scuppernong grapes are extremely large, round, greenish-bronze grapes that belong to the North American species Vitis rotundifolia, also known as the muscadine species. The name comes from the Scuppernong River in North Carolina, along which the grapes once grew profusely. Scuppernong grapes are, in fact, the state’s official fruit. They were first cultivated in the 17th century. Today, home winemakers in the South often use scuppernongs, although many consider the grapes better-suited to jelly than wine.

Wine … changing even as we taste it, delivers a message with meaning only in our response. If we are in the right key when we receive it, our eyes will shine and we shall radiate pleasure.

—Gerald Asher
American writer, The Pleasures of Wine

From Bordeaux with Love

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