wine lovers help me out =]

[RagingBull]

heya, Im doing a research project on Chardonnay .. now the project is on the actual plant (the grape vine on which it grows and the grape itslef). As you can imagine when searching the net i get alot of sites only about the actual wine..

 

My question is.. what is the name of the actual grape vine that Chardonnay grapes are grown on??

 

Thx =] thats all for now.

[Cookie]

The scientific name of the grapevine you want is Vitis vinifera.

 

Cookie

[RagingBull]

great, thx =] does it have a common name?

[RagingBull]

actually dont worry about that.. ive found enough information with the latin name.

[RagingBull]

one thing though, ive found this vine produces many different wines and grapes.. is it a change in the actual vine or is the structure the exact same? How can the same type of vine produce so many varieties of grapes?

[Cookie]

Several things:

 

1. The chemistry of the grapes can change depending on how they grown - many of the chemicals that are associated with the taste and color of wines are produced in response to the plant's age, health, environmental conditions, etc. One of the best known compounds from grapes which has been associated with all kinds of health benefits is called resveratrol and is actually produced in grapes in response to stress. So, in that way, the same species of grapevine could produce grapes with vastly different chemical compositions.

 

2. The processing during winemaking is not always the same. Fermentation conditions can be different and so on.

 

Cookie

[Cookie]

Also, there are different varieties or cultivars of grapevine (same species, but slightly different characteristics) are possible too. One of the plants that I work with in the lab, for instance, has 12 different varieties all considered to be the same "species" but their chemical compositions are sometimes very different.

 

Cookie

[JaKiri]

It's like apple trees; they're all the same species, yet each new apple tree produces different apples.

[YT2095]

also "Chardonnay grapes " may vary, the wine gets it`s name from the region rather than from the grape type

at least I`m fairly sure it does anyway

 

[Sayonara]

YT2095 said in post # :

also "Chardonnay grapes " may vary, the wine gets it`s name from the region rather than from the grape type

at least I`m fairly sure it does anyway

Apparently the Vitis vinifera species accounts for 99% of the world's wine, so I'd imagine the practice of naming your wine after the region came about as it was more reasonable to expect your customers to remember a place name, rather than the Latin names of the specific cultivars that grow there.

 

Maybe.

 

I dunno.

[YT2095]

yeah, I know it applies to a good many other wines, notably Champagne, there are almost identical wines (chemicaly) to Champagne grown all over the world, California, Italy, Australia ect.. but non of them can actualy call it Champagne because it wasn`t from the Champagne region of France, now that`s what I CALL a Monopoly

[atinymonkey]

I'm not aware of a region of France that's know as Chardonnay, I think it got it's name while it was grown in Burgundy. The name may date back to the Romans, apparently. The grape came for Pinot, which was quite popular with those Romans. Probably why Asterix was able to beat them so soundly, the big jessies.

[RagingBull]

Thanks for all your help guys =]

[RagingBull]

Oh actually one more things, probably needs mroe of an expert in biology then a wine lover tho: Whats the mechanism used for reproduction in grape vines?

[Giles]

Chardonnay is a grape. So, for example, are Merlot or Pinot Gris.

 

Some wine names are regions - Alsace or Burgundy, for example. Burgundy wines are Pinot Noir iirc (although you can get some white Burgundy).

 

Just to confuse matters further, a Bordeaux (red) is a Claret.

 

Generally only famous wine regions will just use the region name.

 

Bottles don't make this stuff clear on the front; you either have to look carefully, read the back (which sometimes tells you), or just know it.

 

EDIT: I'd guess grape vines are angiosperms (flowering plants) i.e they will reproduce sexually by fertilisation via pollen, or asexually if no pollen is forthcoming, via seeds in the grapes. I suspect most vines are subject to human interference though. Because of this, most vinyards will be monocultures - or nearly - and most plants in them clones, so they are very vulnerable to disease.

[YT2095]

Cheerz, I wasn`t too sure