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ABOUT US
GRAPE VARIETIES
We are fortunate to live and farm in Bear Creek Valley, a region capable of producing wine grapes comparable in quality to those produced in some of the great wine grape growing regions of Europe. At StoneRiver Vineyards we grow 4 white and 9 red grape varieties. Ten of these varieties have their origins in France and three in Spain.
CHARDONNAY /shaar·duh·nei/
(FRENCH BURGUNDY)
A green-skinned grape variety used to produce white wine. The variety originated in the Burgundy wine region of eastern France. Fruit is small & round. Clusters are small to medium. Leaves are medium; more or less entire with shallow lateral sinuses; U-shaped petiolar sinus with naked veins; short, broad teeth.
PINOT GRIS /pee·now'gree/
(FRENCH BURGUNDY)/pee·now'gree/
A variant of Pinot Noir that produces a white wine; it normally produces grapes that are grayish-blue, but they can also have a coppery gray or brownish pink to black and even white appearance. The word pinot is thought to have been given to it because the grapes grow in small pine cone-shaped clusters. The wines produced from this grape also vary in color from a deep golden yellow to copper and even a light shade of pink.
PINOT NOIR /pee·now'nuh·waar/
(FRENCH BURGUNDY)
A red wine grape variety whose name is derived from the French words for pine and black. Fruit is round-shaped or slightly elliptical shaped berries. The word pine alludes to the grape variety having tightly clustered, pine cone-shaped bunches of fruit. Leaves are dark or very dark green, whole, 3 or 5-lobed with a slightly open or closed petiole sinus, Young leaves are green or yellow.
PETIT VERDOT /puh·teet vr·dow/
(FRENCH BORDEAUX)
A variant of Pinot Noir that produces a red wine. Fruit is small round-shaped black berries. Clusters are small, cylindrical winged bunches; produces more than 2 clusters per shoot. Adult leaves are dark green and dull colored, cordiform, 3-lobed, with a slightly open petiole sinus or with parallel edges; occasionally with a tooth on the edges.
MALBEC /maal·bek/
(FRENCH BORDEAUX)/maal·bek/
The official name in France is Cot. It is a purple grape variety used in making red wine. The berries are medium, round & purple -black. The clusters are medium, wide conical, loose to slightly compact with short to medium peduncles. The leaves are medium, 3-lobed with reduced lateral sinuses, short sharp teeth & lower leaf surface covered with sparse tufted hair.
CHARBONO /char'bow·no/
(FRENCH SAVOIE)
A noir-skinned grape variety used in the production of red wine. The variety originated in the Savoie wine region of eastern France, but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from England to New Zealand. Fruit is large, round, firm and juicy. Color is black, heavy blue bloom.. Cluster is medium to large, not compact, cylindrical & tapering.. Maybe less than 100 acres in world.
VIOGNIER /vee·aa·nyei/
(FRENCH RHONE)
A white wine grape variety. Fruit is small; round to short oval; yellow and amber when ripe; distinct aromatic flavor when fully ripe. Clusters are medium, long-cylindrical with broad shoulders, well-filled to compact. Leaves are medium; mostly 3-lobed with wide; medium-length, sharp teeth.
SYRAH /sr·aa/
(FRENCH RHONE)/sr·aa/
A red wine grape variety that is a cross between Dureza, an obscure black variety, and Mondeuse Blanche, a minot white variety, both of Rhone origin. The fruit is small to medium, blue-black and generally shrivel when ripe. Clusters are medium to large sized, loose to well filled and hang free from the vines. Leaves are medium, and mostly 3- to 5-lobed.
PETITE SIRAH /puh·teetˈsr·aa/
(FRENCH RHONE)/puh·teetˈsr·aa/
A red wine grape variety that is a hybrid of Peloursin and Syrah. The fruit is medium; short oval to round; blue black with a silvery bloom. Clusters are medium; long conical to cylindrical, compact, often winged to double. Leaves are small to medium; deeply 3-lobed.
ALBARINO /al·br·ee·now/
(SPANISH)/al·br·ee·now/
A variety of white wine grape said to originate in Galicia, an autonomous community in Spain's northwest. Galicia has been referred to in the past as terra de meigas (land of witches). The fruit is a green-skinned grape variety that is small, sweet and high in glycerol. Clusters are medium and compact. Leaves are pentagonal and between light and medium green with prostrate hairs underneath the leaf.
TEMPRANILLO /temprəˈnēyō/
(SPANISH)/temprəˈnēyō/
A red wine grape variety believed to have originated in northern Spain. The fruit is deep blue black, medium in size, and round to pear shaped. Clusters are medium to large and compact. Leaves are large and deeply 5-lobed with overlapping lateral lobes.
MOURVEDRE /more·VEH·drha/
(SPANISH)/more·VEH·drha/
An ancient red wine grape variety thought to have been introduced by the Phoenicians in the Barcelona area of Spain in 500 BC. The fruit is medium, round, with juicy pulp, distinct white bloom and a harsh taste. Clusters are broad conical, medium and well filled to compact. Leaves are short with sharp teeth and dense hair on the lower surface.
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