Grape varieties

Cabernet Sauvignon

Chardonnay

Merlot

Pinot Gris

Cabernet Sauvignon

Cabernet Sauvignon is a proud French grape and the principal variety behind France's most famous red wine, Bordeaux. The hallmark aromas of a good cabernet - blackcurrant and cedar - are most definitely regal. It was the first varietal ever planted by Taylors and remains a key varietal to this day.

Chardonnay

Chardonnay is the most popular and most planted white grape variety in the wine world and for good reason: It grows well in the vineyard, it crops well, maintains its character in a variety of climates and is relatively easy to make into good wine. Chardonnay excels most in cooler climates.

Merlot

Merlot is one of the most misunderstood grape varieties. While it has a reputation of being a soft, easy drinking quaffer, the world's most famous merlot, Chateau Petrus from the Pomerol district of Bordeaux, is the exact opposite. Merlot is a very popular blending option to round out other bolder varietals.

Pinot Gris

Pinot Gris is intriguing. It is a white grape that makes white wine, but the variety is a mutation of the black grape, pinot noir and when ripe on the vine, the grapes are a tawny brown colour. It is well travelled having gained fame in Alsace, Germany and Italy where it is known as Pinot Grigio.

Pinot Noir

In the wine world pinot noir is the difficult child. Attention seeking, and needing lots of love and care from viticulturalists and winemakers alike, it is the variety beloved of those red winemakers who love a challenge. Good pinot is ethereal and quite frankly there is no other wine like it.

Riesling

Like most of the great grape varieties Riesling is adaptable. Just consider the climatic difference between Germany, Austria and Alsace - its ancestral homes - and the Clare Valley, the Eden Valley and Mount Barker in Western Australia - it's three prime spots in Australia. Riesling is arguably Australians greatest white wine in the cellar.

Sauvignon Blanc

If one grape variety sums up modern wine drinking it's Sauvignon Blanc. In just three decades it has gone from being a peculiarity of the Loire valley in France to world domination. It's a phenomenon that can be explained by improved winemaking technology and modern drinking habits.

Shiraz

Australia may have once hitched a ride on the sheep's back, now it sits astride Shiraz. It is the merino of grape varieties, and is the variety for which Australian wine is most globally famous. Our St Andrews 2015 Shiraz has been recognised as the most awarded wine in the world.

Grenache

Grenache is of the most widely grown varieties in the world, South Australia is home to Grenache vines planted as far back as 1840. Grenache is a fantastic entertainer’s wine with soft tannins, a fruity palate, and plenty of food matches. As the world embraces lighter-style reds, it's no wonder Grenache is becoming so beloved.