White

Chardonnay is a green-skinned grape variety, used to make white wine. It probably originated in the Burgundy wine region of eastern France but is now found anywhere that grapevines can be grown, from England to New Zealand. It is vinified in many different styles, from the elegant, "flinty" wines of Chablis (wine) to rich, buttery Meursaults and New World wines bursting with tropical fruit flavours. It is an important component of many sparkling wines around the world, including Champagne.

Pinot gris is a white wine grape variety of the species Vitis vinifera. Thought to be a mutant clone of the Pinot noir grape, it normally has a grayish-blue fruit, accounting for its name ("gris" means "gray" in French) but the grape can have a brownish pink to black and even white appearance. The word "Pinot", which means "pinecone" in French, could have been given to it because the grapes grow in small pinecone-shaped clusters. The wines produced from this grape also vary in color from a deep golden yellow to copper and even a light shade of pink.

Red

Cabernet Sauvignon is a variety of red grape mainly used for wine production, and is, along with Chardonnay, one of the most widely-planted of the world's grape varieties. The principal grape in many Bordeaux wines, Cabernet Sauvignon is grown in most of the world's wine regions, although it requires a long growing season to ripen properly and gives low yields. Many of the red wines regarded as among the world's greatest, such as Red Bordeaux, are predominantly made from Cabernet Sauvignon grapes. World-class examples can improve for decades and remain drinkable for a century.

Pinot noir is a red wine grape variety of the species Vitis vinifera. The name may also refer to wines produced predominantly from pinot noir grapes. The name is derived from the french words for "pine" and "black" alluding to the varietals' tightly clustered dark purple pine cone shaped bunches of fruit. The grapes are grown around the world, mostly in the cooler regions, but the grape is chiefly associated with the Burgundy region of France.

Sangiovese is a red wine grape variety originating in Italy whose name derives from sanguis Jovis, "the blood of Jove". It is most famous as the main component of the Chianti blend in Tuscany, but winemakers outside Italy are starting to experiment with it. Young sangiovese has fresh fruity flavours of strawberry and a little spiciness, but it readily takes on oaky, even tarry, flavours when aged in barrels.

Cabernet Franc is one of the major varieties of red wine grape in Bordeaux. It is mostly grown for blending with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot in the Bordeaux style, but is also vinified alone, particularly in Chinon in the Loire.

Shiraz or Syrah is a variety of grape used in wine. It is called Syrah in France, Argentina, Chile and most of the United States. In South Africa, Australia, and Canada it is known as Shiraz. In Australia it used to be called Hermitage up to the late 1980s. Shiraz has one of the highest wine serving temperatures at 65 degrees Fahrenheit.