Cabernet Sauvignon

Species: 

• Vitis vinifera

Type:

• Black

Origin:

• France

Parents:

•  Cabernet Sauvignon is a natural crossing between Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc.

Principal Regions:

• Grown world-wide.  Principal regions include France (Medoc, Margaux, Pauillac, Graves, Pessac-Leognan, South France), US (Napa, Sonoma, Oakville, Rutherford, Calistoga), Chili (Maipo Valley, Colchagua Valley, Central Valley), South Africa (Stellenbosch), Australia (Margaret River, Coonawarra), New Zealand (Hawke’s Bay).

Viticulture:

• Cabernet Sauvignon is a late blooming and late ripening cultivar with small, thick-skinned berry and loose clusters.  Although it can grow in a variety of climates, it generally prefers warm and dry regions.  It is a vigorous variety with a dense canopy and relatively high yields.

Sensory Characteristics:

• Cabernet Sauvignon’s nuances can vary depending on the region it is grown but common characteristics include deep color, high tannin, moderate to high acidity, and notes of black currant, tomato leaf, baking spices, cedar, and graphite.
• One of the characteristics Cab shares with it’s Bordeaux cousins is the presence of an aromatic compound group called pyrazines which can give it a green pepper aroma.

Food Pairings:

• Pairs well with fatty, full-flavored meats (steak, lamb, venison), mushrooms, and hard cheeses.

History:

• First appeared in France in the 17th century.
• The grape’s true parentage was unknown for many years and only discovered in 1996 through DNA testing led by Carole P. Meredith of the UC Davis Department of Viticulture and Enology.

Notes:

• Cabernet Sauvignon is the most widely planted grape in the world, grown in nearly every wine producing region.
• Cabernet Sauvignon is one of the few wines that is known to age well thanks to its high tannins and high acidity.
• Cabernet Sauvignon is often noted for an herbaceous or green bell pepper flavour caused by pyrazines.

Other names:

Bidure, Bordeaux, Bordo, Bouche, Bouchet, Bouchet Sauvignon, Bourdeos Tinto, Bouschet- Sauvignon, Burdeos Tinto, Cabarnet Sauvignon, Caberne, Caberne Sovinion, Cabernet Petit, Cabernet Piccolo, Cabernet Sauvignon Black, Cabernet Sauvignon Blauer, Cabernet Sauvignon Cl. R5, Cabernet Sauvignon Crni, Cabernet Sauvignon Nero, Cabernet Sauvignon Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon Petit, Carbonet, Carbouet, Carmenet, Castet, Dzanati, Enfin, Epicier Noir, Franzosenrebe, Kaberne Sovinion, Kaberne Sovinjon, Kaberne Sovinon, Kaberne Sovinyon, Lafet, Lafit, Lafite, Marchoupet, Melkii Chernyi, Menut, Navarre, Petit Bouchet, Petit Bouschet, Petit Cabernet, Petit Cavernet Sauvignon, Petit Vidure, Petit-Bouchet, Petite Parde, Petite Vidure, Sauvignon, Sauvignon Rouge, Sauvignonne, Vaucluse, Veron, Vidure, Vidure Petite, Vidure Sauvignon, Vidure Sauvignone, Vidure Sauvignonne, Vigne Dure, Vindure Sauvignone