Variety
Definition - What does Variety mean?
The term variety refers to the type of grape used to make a wine. Often confused with the term varietal, which refers to the wine made from a single grape variety, variety by itself refers only to the type of grape used, such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay or Pinot Noir.
In recent years, however, the terms variety and varietal have been progressively usedinterchangeably, albeit incorrectly.
WineFrog explains Variety
The term variety is often confused with the term varietal, however, they each refer to two very different things. Variety specifically refers to the type of grape being used, harvested, planted or grown and is used not only in the vineyard to identify grapes, but also during the beginning of the winemaking process when the grape variety is crushed.
After crushing, when the must undergoes fermentation and becomes wine, varietal refers to the wine made from the processed grape. For example:
"The Cabernet Sauvignon variety was harvested and used to make a Cabernet Sauvignon varietal."
In this sentence, each mean two different things, one to identify the type of grape and the other, a type of wine.
