While Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay are well known grapes used for making wines, here are just a few grape varieties that you may not have heard of previously. But, several Behind the Cork™ Wines of the Week have and will feature these lesser known grapes from the Shenandoah AVA being used to produce award winning wines (see hyperlinks off to past blogs and stay-tuned for upcoming blogs).

Cayuga is a French-American hybrid grape variety. It’s a crossing of Schuyler (see below) and Seyval Blanc (see below). It has been specially bred for its cold hardiness and resistance to disease. Cayuga has enough acidity to make a wonderful sparkling wine, as well as still wines that are crisp and dry.

Schuyler is a blue-skinned hybrid wine and table grape created in 1947 by crossing Zinfandel with Ontario. It is used in the USA as table grapes, for grape juice and the production of simple red wines not meant for aging.

Ontario is a white variety that has a frost-hardy vine that is well suited to cooler regions. It can produce white wines with a pronounced foxy attribute. They are also used as table grapes.

Seyval Blanc has become a successful French hybrid grape that produces dry white wine. It is often described as having flavors somewhere between Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. It has high acidity and responds well to malolactic conversion and barrel maturation.

Refosco (rēh-fōse-kō) is a dark-skinned wine grape originally from Northern Italy and neighboring Slovenia that is related to the grapes of Valpolicella. Refosco wines typically have high acidity. Flavors include dark peppery spices and plums. Often slightly astringent and can produce harsh tannins.

Lagrein is an ancient grape variety originally from Trentino-Alto Adige in northeastern Italy. It produces full-bodied wines with flavors of plum and wild cherry. It is known for the deep, dense color it imparts on wines. It is acidic and slightly astringent on the finish. Smokey notes are found in wines made from the Lagrein varietal.

Sagrantino is a red wine grape variety from the Umbria region of Central Italy. black cherries to ripe blackberry. Wines made from Sagrantino tend to have notes of black cherries and ripe blackberry along with spicy and earthy characteristics. Smokiness and sappy pine flavors have also been attributed to wines produced with Sagrantino. Its high tannins and affinity for oak aging mean that it can age well.

Vidal is a hardy hybrid grape that is grown mainly in Canada and the northeastern United States. It is best known as one of the ice wine grapes that produces sweet dessert wines.

Traminette is a hybrid white wine grape variety originally bred at the University of Illinois in 1965. It is the result of a crossing between Gewurztraminer and Joannes Seyve 23.416, a hybrid grape named for its creator. Traminette wines tend to be floral and spicy, and are made in both dry and off-dry styles.

Vignoles is a light-skinned hybrid grape variety first bred in France, but now grown in the Finger Lakes AVA, Shenandoah AVA, as well as in a few mid-western U.S. states. The variety was first bred in Saone-et-Loire in the 1930s by grape breeder J. Ravat, and is believed to have either Pinot Noir or Chardonnay as one of its parents, along with one of the hybrid Siebel varieties. It is well suited to cold weather. It’s high acidity and sugar levels make Vignoles a good choice for vintners looking to make dessert wines, and if the region is cold enough, ice wine can be produced from these frozen grapes.