Grape Types for Wine Making

When most people think of making wine they think of using grapes. Though wine can be made form may types of fruit, this is the most common type of wine that is made.  You do not have to have a winery to make wine nor do you be a wine maker with acres of vineyards. All you need to do is grow some nice grapes, or buy some if you prefer, and find the right combination of wine making ingredients to make a good tasting satisfactory expression of your wine tastes for much less then it would cost to buy the same bottle at your favorite wine store.

There are many kinds of grapes to choose from if you are buying them or growing them. If you want to make wine you must learn the differences so you know which type is the one you want to use. Each kind offers you a slightly different taste and so your wine will come out tasting differently depending on which one you choose to try.

Grapes are separated into three categories based on how sweet or acidy they are. The first group is the Native Wild Grapes.   These are not very sweet at all and actually tend to have a sharper taste because they have a higher concentration of acid.  This group also has a lovely strong fragrance. One of the most unusual things about this group of grapes is that they do not grow in the normal bunches like other grapes, but as single detached fruit. Included in this group are the Fox, Frost and Scuppernong grapes.

The next group is the Native Wine Grapes. These grapes are native to North America and grow throughout the country.  These grapes do not have nearly as strong a fragrance as the Native Wild Grapes.  Nor is their flavor as full. The Native Wine Grapes have a high acid level as well as considerably higher sugar content.  This makes the taste sharper but sweeter.  The types of grapes that fall in this category are the Concord and Niagara, typically used for sweet kosher wines, and the Delaware and Catawba.

The last group is the European Wine Grapes. Like their name tells you they were first found in Europe and brought over to the United States to improve their grape harvests. They are a very large group since they include all the types brought from Europe like the Pinot Chardonnay, the Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Also in this group are all the hybrid grapes like the Foch, Vignoles and Reliance. The grapes in the European Wine Grapes category are almost never high in acidity, nor do they have a sharp flavor. Their sugar concentration is the highest among the three groups. 

Having learned something about the basic groups of grapes available for wine making you need now research the type of wine that you want to make and see which type of grape will be the best to use for the taste, tang and sweetness you prefer.