CABINET SAUVIGNON - Widely grown around the world, especially in France, Italy, Argentina, New Zealand, Chile and California, producing fine wines.
Style: Produces a soft, plump, medium bodied velvety wine with blackberry and plum flavours, often blended with cabinet sauvignon.
Good with: Beef, steak and kidney pie, casseroles (try the local bograč/goulash)

MERLOT - The aristocrat of red grapes and much travelled, grown also in the Americas, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Bulgaria - in fact anywhere where it will flourish!
Style: Produces a soft, plump, medium bodied velvety wine with blackberry and plum flavours, often blended with cabinet sauvignon.
Good with: Roast beef, grilled liver and grilled red meats

PINOT NOIR - A difficult grape to grow but can sustain a slightly cooler climate. Grown in California, Chile, France, Australia and New Zealand too.
Style: Fairly pale in colour, at its best it is smooth with strawberry and cherry flavours but more spicy and gamey when mature.
Good with:Lamb, pork, chicken, guinea fowl and game birds.

REFOSK - Known in Italy as Refosco , this is a popular wine in Slovenia, grown mostly in the coastal areas.
Style: Quite full bodied with plumy fruit.
Good with: Serbian food, grilled or fried meats.

TERAN - Considered by some as the same as Refosk, it is slightly different and grown in south west Slovenia and across the border in Istria, Croatia.
Style: Firm, acidic and having high tannin levels and gentle fruit, similar to Refosk but lighter in body.
Good with: Serbian and Croation food, red meats with a bit of spice.

ZWEIGELT - A hybrid of Blaufrankisch and St Laurent, it flourishes in cooler climates in Austria and Canada as well as Slovenja.
Style: Light bodied with bite and ample fruit, reminiscent of Gamay wines.
Good with: Pates, salami, cassoulet, pork sausages, fresh salmon.

CHARDONNAY - Grown world wide as it is so versatile and used in Champagne.
Style: Can vary from steely dry, lemony and apple flavours to lush, richer, buttery fat wines (especially when oaked).
Good with: Roast poultry, fish pies and white fish in a creamy sauce.

KERNER - A Trollinger/Riesling hybrid which is also grown in cooler climates including England, Germany and South Africa.
Style: Has light aroma but similar to a German Riesling with high sugar and acidity.
Good with: Aromatic dishes, fishcakes, grilled pork, chicken and fish.

LASKI RIESLING - Also called Welschriesling where it is grown in Burgenland region of Austria, North Italy and Hungary.
Style: Light and fruity with medium acidity.
Good with: White meats and fish with salads: compliments much Slovene food well.

MALVASIA - Famous as the grape for Malmsey Madeira ,also grown in Austria, Germany, Italy, France and Australia, often as part of a blended wine.
Style: Can be full bodied, slightly scented with good acidity.
Good with: Thai food, white fish and poultry.

MUSCAT - Has numerous related clones grown as well in France, Portugal, Italy, Spain, Greece and Australia.
Style: Grapy, floral, aromatic from dry to very sweet. Very versatile and sometimes fortified.
Good with: Oriental ,Indian and also Serbian food, light desserts.

PINOT GRIS - Grown widely here as well as Austria, Italy, Alsace, Luxembourg, Romania and Switzerland .
Style: Fairly low acidity easy drinking wine, neutral but can have hints of apricots and rose water. Usually semi-dry.
Good with: As aperitif, creamy chicken, onion tart, fish terrines, anti pasta, salads, smoked ham and salads.

RENSKI RIESLING - Considered by many the most noble white grape of all with huge versitality. Famous in Germany, and found also in Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, South America, Alsace and Italy.
Style: From steely dry, with aromatic hints of grapefruit and lemon to sweet rich fruit and honey, Ages well and assumes a petrolly aroma, especially when botrycised.
Good with: Dry - Asian style food, pork, chicken and grilled fish Sweet - Chocolate and rich sweet desserts

RIZVANEC - Known elsewhere as MullerThurgau, a cross between Riesling and Sylvaner, it is grown too in Austria, Hungary, Germany, England and New Zealand.
Style: Light medium dry fruity quaffing wine, lacking the prowess of German Riesling.
Good with: Not a great food wine but try with white meats grilled or fried, white fish, salads.

SAUVIGNON BLANC - An important grape variety grown widely in France, Italy and New Zealand.
Style: From crisp dry to luscious sweet with slightly aromatic gooseberry, black currant, newly cut grass and asparagus flavours!
Good with:Dry - Greek salad, oily fish, asparagus, fried fish with lemon, fried poultry and white meats, Thai and Chinese dishes.
Sweet - Strawberries and cream, fresh fruit salad.

SIPON - Known elsewhere as Furmint , especially used in Hungary where the delicious sweet Tokaji wine is produced.
Style: Slovene Sipon tends to be dry to semi-dry and crisp with floral fruit overtones and good acidity.
Good with: As aperitif, salads, pastas.

TRAMINAC - A clone of the unique gewürztraminer, it thrives in Austria, Hungary, Alsace, Italy, New Zealand, Germany and the Czech Republic.
Style: Delicious aromatic fruit suggesting lychees, perfume , peaches and spice from dry to medium.
Good with: Roast goose, Oriental , Indian and all spicy food.

ZELENI SILVANEC - Also called Sylvaner, it is in decline but still grown in Alsace, Germany and Italy.
Style: A rather neutral quaffing wine with a hint of hay on the nose, high in acidity and lacking in aroma and fruit.
Good with: White meats and fish but not too oily or spicy. Other White Indigenous Slovene Grapes: Pinela Ranina Ribolla (Rebula) Tocai Friulano (Furlanski Tocai) Vitovska Grganja Zelen

The Austrian Grape Varieties Austria's varietal mix reflects the country's geographical position between Germany, Hungary and Slovenia. As well as Chardonnay (also called Morillon in Styria) and a number of other international varieties there are specific, indigenous varieties which are planted:

Grüner Veltliner - (also called Veltlin Zelene, Veltlinske Zelene and Zöldveltelini), a national speciality, is particularly important to the area around Vienna and Lower Austria. The vine is productive and relatively hardy, but ripens too late for most of Northern Europe. The wine produced from it is typically dry, peppery and spicy, and with time can begin to taste almost Burgundian.

Welschriesling - (also called Walschriesling, Riesler and Welsch Rizling) can produce sweet wines of good quality from Burgenland, and dry wines, notably from Styria. A late ripening vine whose grapes keep their acidity well and produce light-bodied, aromatic wines.

Zweigelt - (also called Zweigeltrebe and Blauer Zweigelt) is an indigenous grape to Austria. It is a Blauer Frankish X St Laurent cross developed relatively recently. It is popular with growers because its yields are generous. Most examples of the wine are drunk young but it is possible to create wines from it which age well.

Neuburger - The specifically Austrian, Neuberger is grown in every wine district with the exception of Styria. The white grape variety is the product of an accidental crossing of Weissburgunder (Pinot Blanc) and Sylvaner which makes wine that tastes like an even fuller-bodied Weissburgunder. It is also grown in Transylvania

Zierfandler - (or Spatrot) is a white grape variety traditionally associated with Gumpoldskirchen, the dramatically full-bodied spicy white wine of the Thermenregion. Most Zierfandler grapes are blended (usually with Rotgipfler) but they can, in some instances, make late harvest wines. A variety of this grape known as Cirfandli, is grown in Hungary.

Wildbacher - (or Blauer Wildbacher) is a dark skinned grape which is the speciality of Styria. The variety has become increasingly popular with growers and almost all of it is made into the local pink, Schilcher wine.

There are a number of other, less common, vine varieties and these include Frühroter Veltliner, Bouvier, GoldBurger, Samling 88 and Furmint.

Kadarka - hails originally from the Balkans, but is considered Hungary's own red grape. It was traditionally an important ingredient in the various blends that make Bull¹s Blood, but some producers are now using it to make single varietal wines. It produces red wines that are low in tannin with an often spicy and sometimes fiery taste. The best Kadarka wines come from Szekszárd.

Kékfrankos - Known as Blaufrankisch in Germany and Austria, Kékfrankos can be found all over central Europe but is the country's most common red grape by some distance. A large number of leading winemakers use this grape to produce pleasant, tart wines. Comparing those grown in the north eastern Sopron region with those from Villány in the south makes for an interesting lesson in the power of terroir to affect a wine¹s flavour.

Cserszegi Fuszeres - A white grape that was marketed in the UK as The Unpronouncable Grape, the name actually means the spicy grape from the town of Cserszeg. The grape yields highly aromatic wines, with a bouquet that is often compared to wild flowers.

Furmint - Thought to have originated in southern Italy or Serbia, by the mid 1800s Furmint had become the dominant grape in the Tokaj region. Because it ripens with a high sugar content, it is ideal for dessert wines, and is an important ingredient in many Tokaji Aszús. Some producers in Tokaj and Somló also produce dry Furmints, which can have an alcohol content as high as 15%. They can be fiery or very refined. A good example is Disznóko's dry Tokaji Furmint.

Hárslevelu - literally linden leaved, is an ancient Hungarian variety similar in character to Furmint. It tends to yield softer, more aromatic wines and is grown primarily in the Northern Tokaj, Eger and Mátraalja regions.

Zéta - (Oremus) Something of a rarity, Zéta is grown on only about 62 hectares of land around Tokaj, but is one of only four grape varieties that are permitted in a Tokaji Aszú.

Sárga Muskotály - (Muscat Lunel) This is not actually a Hungarian grape, but is another of the four grapes sanctioned for use in Tokaji Aszú and is prized all over the world as one of the finest aromatic grapes. Tokaj wineries such as Degenfeld and Hétszolo also produce very clear, crisp and aromatic dry or semi-dry wines from this grape.

Juhfark - Hungarian for sheep's tail, is considered the stiffest, most rustic of Hungarian wines. This ancient grape is grown primarily in the Somló region, where it thrives on the volcanic soils, and yields robust, sometimes fiery wines with high mineral content.

Irsai Oliver - A variety with which the UK wine drinker may be familiar - several companies and supermarkets have been importing Irsai Oliver in recent years. Wines from this grape tend to have a delicate acid structure, and the aroma has been compared to Muscat. It produces fragrant, soft wines that are best drunk young.