There are lots of reasons something might have different names in different places. Some are obvious. Eggplant is called aubergine in France because English and French are different languages. Some are less clear-cut, like how a sweater in NYC is a ‘jumper’ in London. But when it comes to having a mind-bending array of aliases, wine grapes take the cake.
As a result, decoding wine lists and bottle labels can feel overwhelming. Sure, it doesn’t take a lot to figure out that pinot noir and pinot nero are the same, but how about blaufränkisch and lemberger, or chenin blanc and pineau de la Loire and Savennières? Let’s simplify things a bit.
Old World vs New World
The most helpful point to understand is that ‘Old World’ (European) wines have their region stated on the label, while ‘New World’ (not Europe) wines state their grape variety. Chardonnay from Napa says so, but chardonnay from France is labeled with places like Chablis or Bourgogne or Meursault. Barolo is nebbiolo, Beaujolais is gamay, Brunello is sangiovese, and so on.
Chardonnay
Mayacamas, 'Mt. Veeder' Chardonnay 2017 $40
Moreau-Naudet, Chablis 2020 $42
Grenache
