UKC

When I first started drinking red (mainly) wine it was rare for wine labels to tell you anything about the grapes. That was particularly the case with French wines. The growth of the Aussie wine industry  seemed to usher in those strange names like merlot and shiraz and the Aussie influnce in France saw many French wines giving grape details. Many still do not, though. 
My experience in Australian supermarkets is that there are acres of shelves bearing single grape wines and about a metre length of shelves in a corner somewhere labelled Blends, as if it is some sort of inferior product.

I very rarely buy a single grape wine, preferring the uncertainty associated a blend you’ve never before tried. Often, I’m on the lookout for the magic letters GSM. For the uninitiated I’ll explain that these letters stand for grenache syrah (aka shiraz) mourvedre. A blend made in heaven. Recently I’ve been exploring Portuguese wines which seem to me to be entirely blends, sometimes including as many as 5 grape varieties. Many are very good imho.

Am I alone in the UKC community?

I thought the "holy trinity" was chardonnay, pinot noir and pinot meunier. Although I don't have the funding for that kind of lifestyle 

Grapes on French wine? Suspicious. 

No grapes on new world wine? Suspicious.

Variatel named wines don't usually have to contain 100% of that grape, from memory it can range from 50% to 80% depending on country. 

The southern Rhone is my favourite area, could be 13 different varieties in for example Chateauneuf de Pape. 

All red Bordeaux wines are blended up to five grape types, even Chateau Petrus is 95% Merlot but includes 5% Cabernet Franc.

Not these days, on anything less than premier cru. They have been forced to embrace New World ideas, and New World skills. So you will now find French wines in supermarkets labelled Shiraz, rather than Syrah.

Not that I buy much French wine, because the stuff that makes it over here, in my price bracket, tastes of mould to me. Something I never find with New World wines.

Living up to your user name a bit too much?

Well, I'm comparing reasonably priced wine I've drunk in France, to that in the UK. I don't recall tasting mouldy wine in France.

Maybe I'm just unlucky...

If you've never tried Chateau d'Yquem with ripe Roquefort you certainly have missed out. Both about as good as mould gets.

It's not botrytis I can taste. d'Yquem doesn't have the mouldy taste I'm talking about.

And I don't eat cheese.

So I'm not missing anything, thanks.

I like French wines

I like Italian wine

i like argentinian wine

i like single grape wine

I didn’t like Syrah wines when they were marketed that way, and I don’t like Shiraz wines now they are marketed that way

malbec or merlot, I’m happy 

each to their own - you stick to yours,I’ll stick to mine, more for each of us what we like so we are all winners

I bet you like lots of French syrah wines that aren't marketed that way.

Grapes only give a bit of indication what wine tastes like. I thought I hated Chardonnay because I didn't like new would Chardonnays (especially oaked - margarine style). Didn't realise chablis was Chardonnay. I don't tend to go for new would merlot (strawberry jam - for kids) but was advised that the fruitier less serious claret I like contains more merlot than the very savoury stuff I avoid (more cabernet franc in that possibly?).

I like the new world way of categorising wine as it doesn't take much knowledge. European wines require you to know the style of the region. My way of choosing French and Italian is to choose stuff from the south that'll likely ripe and fruity rather than thin, sour and serious. And I trust that most Portuguese will be my preferred style (fruit driven but not childish like californian) and price is a good guide there (unlike the lottery of French). Modern Spanish also a winner for me, guess that's usually tempranillo, but whatever they make it from if its got an arty label and they're charging about a tenner in a decent shop, I'll enjoy it. The Spaniards seem to have got the full bodied heavy fruity red down to a tee in that bracket - a bit more grown up than new world haribo style, but not too serious.

I've found similar in Italy, Spain and France. I remember reading about UK supermarket wine buyers. Their first question is 'Can I get 100,000 bottles?' Then price. Finally, what does it taste like?

Generally, with bends they can get it right. If a single grape variety doest hit the mark, they can blend until it does. There are brilliant single variety wines out there, but they vary from year to year. This is part of the charm.

I joined a wine club (Naked), and have learnt a lot. I drink less wine, but have a greater choice, and it is higher quality. TBH, some of it may be just psychological. Knowing what altitude the grapes were grown at, or the he history of a certain grape in a region, or even the age of the vines, doesn't add to the taste, but tempers the expectation. Its all subjective anyway, so anything that adds to the experience in a positive way is to be welcomed.

Get a copy of The World Atlas of Wine, google is your friend. Go for a cheap copy unless you want the latest grape location update, etc.

It's brilliant. You get to find out what varieties are grown and where. And, the original author's name is Hugh Johnson. What more could you want?

The Aussies have revolutionised the wine business. They do crazy stuff like avoid chemicals, pick at night when the grapes are at their best, and ship wine internationally in container-sized wine bags.

If you're looking for an interesting blend, try Shiraz Mourvèdre Viognier.