Time For Another Grape Check: What's Your Favorite?

Assuming you could only drink one grape...

Mine remains Chardonnay (because of Champagne), but I would deeply miss her red-headed sisters.

But one can always live on Salon, right?

Jeff

Pinot Noir.

Pinot Noir.

Now we can make a perfect blend...

Jeff

Pinot Noir for me, too. Not because of champagne, but that doesn't hurt!

[David M. Bueker]

Riesling...for now.

Might be Pinot Noir though, as then I could have red and bubbles! Riesling Sekt is nice, but cannot hold a candle to Champagne (ducking shots from Bill Hooper...)

No shots to duck!

While I think that Riesling Sekt can be excellent and I love it for the same reasons that I love Riesling kabinett (primarliy because it is delicate, floral, and delicious) and I feel that well-made versions can be more interesting and more 'serious' than Prosecco, there are other grape varieties probably better suited to complexity in sparkling wine (if that is what the occasion calls for). Lately, I've been really impressed with Pinot Blanc as a medium for bubbles and I've never refused a glass of Pinot Noir Rose Champagne/Sekt.

Somewhat related: On Friday afternoon, a very large Boar ran into the Schloß Wachenheim Sektkellerei (located in Wachenheim between Bürklin-Wolf and J.L. Wolf). The 180 kg and 1,7 m long Boar broke into the tasting-room there and started knocking over display racks, breaking bottles and turning over tables. The woman working the counter ran out, locked the door and called the local boar-hunter who came in and shot the beast in the store. Clearly a Sekt-fanatic, he might have taken issue with your statement about sparkling Riesling not being as good as Champagne...perhaps he will be eaten alongside a glass or two.

But, yeah. My favorite grape? Riesling. no doubt about that.

Cheers,
Bill

I never like having to nominate one favourite of anything; still less for grape varieties where the interaction with terroir is fundamental to quality. Top tiers of favourites are more meaningful for me in several cultural sectors. For wine here goes -

Red:

Pinot Noir in Burgundy and Champagne
Syrah in Northern Rhöne
Cabernet franc alone in the Loire valley and blended in Bordeaux
Cabernet Sauvignon when blended in Bordeaux and Napa
Nebbiolo in Piedmont and Valtellina
Sangiovese in Tuscany
Mourvèdre in Bandol
Tempranillo in Rioja and Ribera del Duero

White:

Riesling in Mosel, Nahe, Alsace and Austria
Chenin in Anjou and Touraine
Chardonnay in Chablis, Jura and Champagne
Gros & Petit Manseng in Jurançon
Clairette and ancillaries at Château Simone (Palette)

Mencia (red) and Godello (white) in NW Spain also seem to have real potential.

Cabernet Sauvignon.....then in the summer i can dilute with water and also have rose

Pinot Noir is my favorite, but Zinfandel is what I drink the most and keep the largest amount of. It's a small matter of the see-through wallet....

If I had to pick just one grape, unblended, it would be Sangiovese for reds and Sauv Blanc for whites. These are just my "favorites" mind you, which isn't necessarily the same thing as which grape I think makes the best wines.