Our wine expert takes you through the most popular black grape varieties

As you did for the white wine tasting, line up one wine from each of the grape varieties listed below so you can compare and contrast them and decide which are to your liking or otherwise. If, for example, you decide Cabernet Sauvignon is a favourite, for your next tasting you could then select examples from around the world and note the differences.

Taste them in order as the list goes from light to full-bodied.

Pinot Noir
This grape produces the famous wines of Burgundy, such as Gevrey Chambertin and Nuits Saint George.

Flavour. Pinot Noir has the distinctive aroma and flavour of strawberries and raspberries. Many classic tasting notes for this grape say it is ‘farmyardy’, which sounds strange but is an accurate description. Generally these wines are light or medium-bodied and are a nice introduction to red because they don’t taste as overpowering as many other popular varieties. It’s a classic choice for drinking with roasts – lamb, pork or chicken.

Where in the world? This is a difficult grape variety to grow and is therefore found in fewer places in the world than other grapes. Apart from Burgundy, look out for the dark French rosé wines produced in Alsace, and some very good light to medium wines from Bulgaria and Romania. Recently, some of the best examples of Pinot Noir have come from Chile, Oregon and California – these tend to be richer and slightly sweeter.

Merlot
If you’ve ever enjoyed Saint-Emilion, the Claret from France’s Bordeaux region, you are likely to love Merlot because this classic wine is made predominantly from the Merlot grape.

Flavour. This grape produces lighter, more velvety, medium-bodied wines than Cabernet. Merlot is the grape variety for chocoholics as it really does have an aroma and flavour reminiscent of plain chocolate. Merlot always reminds me of Parma Violets, the tiny purple sweets I used to enjoy as a child. It’s good with red meat such as beef and lamb and also with classic soft French cheeses like Brie and Camembert.

Where in the world? Look for great Merlots from Portugal, Bulgaria, Hungary, Yugoslavia and Romania. You’ll find slightly sweeter, richer examples from Chile, Argentina and Australia.

Cabernet Sauvignon
This is one of the traditional three grape varieties that goes into France’s best-known wine – claret, from the Bordeaux region. Today, however, it is grown pretty much all over the world.

Flavour. Stick your nose into a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon and you’ll discover that it really does smell like blackcurrants. And on the palate it has a mouth-watering taste, reminiscent of both blackcurrants and blackberries. Indeed, some of the Californian and Australian examples could almost be described as alcoholic blackcurrant cordial.

Cabernet wines tend to be medium to full-bodied. When producers mature the wine in oak barrels (rather than stainless steel vats), it takes on an even richer, more concentrated flavour rather like blackcurrants and cream with a hint of spice and a slight touch of bitterness or tannin on the finish. This means the wines will age well. As Cabernet is a full-bodied wine, it goes well with robust flavours – rich sauces, beef dishes in reduced wine gravy, mature Cheddar and other strong hard cheeses.

Where in the world? The Cabernet grape grown in hotter countries such as Australia, California and South America tends to be slightly sweeter on the finish than examples produced in cooler climates such as France, Italy and Bulgaria. The last of these represents fabulous value for money.

Syrah
Known as Shiraz in Australia, this grape produces strong, full-bodied, intensely coloured wines.

Flavour. Syrah’s aroma and flavour is distinctly ‘gamey’ (coincidentally, these wines are excellent with game, such as venison, pheasant, or anything that has been hung). The flavour is like a combination of blackberries, loganberries and bilberries mixed together with a dash of spice – this also makes Shiraz an excellent choice for Indian and Thai dishes. Australian, Californian and South American examples tend to have an added attractive touch of sweetness.

Where in the world? The famous wines of the northern Rhône region, such as Hermitage and Côte Rotie, are made from this grape. Syrah is also popular in the Languedoc Roussillon area of southern France, and is one of the prominent varieties behind the New World wine renaissance.

Part 1: getting started
Part 2: white wines
Part 4: champagne and sparkling wine
Part 5: port

For more information about Alice King and her wine-tasting courses, check out www.alicekingwineschool.co.uk