What’s in a name? That which we call Muscat by any other name would smell as sweet

Why is Pinot named after a pine cone? What makes Tempranillo “the little early one”? Why does Saperavi mean “the dyeing grape,” and who decided to call Xinomavro “sour black”?

In this episode of The Wine Lab, Andreea Botezatu explores the fascinating origins of grape names across France, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Italy, Romania, Greece, Georgia, Croatia, and beyond.

Some names describe color, aroma, cluster shape, or ripening time. Others preserve villages, saints, old dialects, cultural traditions, and mistakes that survived for centuries. Modern DNA analysis has added another layer to the story, revealing that Cabernet Sauvignon is the offspring of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc, Syrah has French rather than Persian parentage, and Zinfandel, Primitivo, and Croatia’s Tribidrag are genetically the same grape.

Along the way, we meet the Black Maiden and the Black Old Woman of Romania, the fog-covered Nebbiolo of Piedmont, the aromatic Traminer of South Tyrol, and Georgian varieties whose names record precisely what growers saw in the vineyard.

Every grape has two histories: one written in its DNA and another written in its name. Pour a glass and discover the stories hidden on the label.

Glossary

Ampelography
The identification and classification of grape varieties through characteristics such as leaves, shoots, clusters, berries, and growing tips.

Cultivar
A cultivated plant variety selected and maintained because it possesses particular characteristics.

Clone
A vine propagated vegetatively from another vine and therefore sharing its basic genetic identity, although mutations may accumulate over time.

Vegetative propagation
The reproduction of grapevines using cuttings, buds, or grafts rather than seeds.

Mutation
A genetic change that may create a new characteristic within a variety, such as a different berry color or growth habit.

Synonym
A different name used for the same grape variety. Zinfandel, Primitivo, and Tribidrag are examples of names associated with the same genetic variety.

Homonym
The same name applied to two or more genetically different grape varieties.

Teinturier
A grape with pigment in both its skins and its flesh. Most red grapes have pigmented skins but pale flesh. Saperavi is a well-known teinturier variety.

Anthocyanins
Pigments responsible for many of the red, purple, and blue colors found in grape skins and red wine.

Monoterpenes
Aromatic compounds associated with floral, citrus, rose, and musky aromas in varieties such as Muscat and Gewürztraminer.

DNA fingerprinting
The comparison of genetic markers to identify grape varieties and determine relationships such as parentage.

Parentage analysis
The use of genetic evidence to identify the varieties that produced another grape through natural or deliberate crossing.

Natural crossing
The creation of a new grapevine from a seed produced when one variety pollinates another. Cabernet Sauvignon arose from a natural cross between Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc.

Berry bloom
The natural waxy coating on the surface of grapes. One proposed explanation for the name Nebbiolo connects this misty coating with the Italian word nebbia, meaning fog.

Pinot
A name generally connected to the French word for pine, referring to the grape’s compact, pine-cone-shaped clusters.

Tempranillo
A Spanish name derived from temprano, meaning early, referring to the variety’s relatively early ripening.

Primitivo
An Italian name connected to the idea of ripening first or early. It does not mean primitive in the modern English sense.

Fetească
A Romanian term derived from fată, meaning girl or maiden. It appears in names such as Fetească Albă, Fetească Neagră, and Fetească Regală.

Saperavi
A Georgian name associated with dyeing, coloring, or staining, describing the grape’s deeply pigmented juice and flesh.

Rkatsiteli
A Georgian name commonly translated as “red stem,” referring to reddish coloration in parts of the vine.

Mtsvane
A Georgian word meaning green.

Xinomavro
A Greek compound formed from words meaning sour or acidic and black.

Agiorgitiko
A Greek name associated with Saint George and historically connected with the Nemea region.

Gewürztraminer
A name commonly understood as aromatic or spiced Traminer. Traminer is traditionally associated with Tramin, or Termeno, in South Tyrol.

Spätburgunder
The traditional German name for Pinot Noir, combining words associated with late and Burgundian.

Nebbiolo
An Italian grape name commonly connected with nebbia, meaning fog, although the precise reason for the name remains debated.

Sangiovese
A name traditionally interpreted as “the blood of Jupiter,” from sanguis Jovis, although this explanation is not historically proven.

Tribidrag
An old Croatian name for the variety also known as Crljenak Kaštelanski, Primitivo, and Zinfandel.