Variety vs varietal: What’s the difference?

In a world of wine jargon, the word ‘variety’ seems pretty straightforward – until you realise there’s also the word varietal. Sounds like the same thing, right? Actually, though these terms are often mixed up, there’s a clear distinction. Read on to learn the difference between variety vs varietal so you don’t make a mistake in your next conversation with a wine lover!

What is a wine variety?

In wine, the word ‘variety’ relates to grapes. A variety is a particular type (species) of grape, such as cabernet sauvignon, chardonnay or chenin blanc. For word nerds, remember that variety is a noun.

Fun fact: there are over 10,000 known grape varieties in the world!

What is a wine varietal?

The word ‘varietal’ refers to wine rather than grapes. It’s used to describe a wine labelled based on the grape it’s made from (word nerds, varietal is of course an adjective).

The term varietal describes wines which are only made from one type of grape – as opposed to blends. One caveat here: wines can actually be labelled as a varietal even if they contain a small amount of other grapes (up to 15% or 25% depending on the country). So it’s more accurate to say that a varietal wine is one made solely or predominantly from one grape variety. 

In the New World (including Australia, New Zealand and the Americas), wines typically have varietal labelling, so you’ll see grape names on the bottle. In the Old World (Europe), it’s more common to label wines with a geographical name (which gives some implicit information about the grapes in it, as the types of grapes that can be used in a Bordeaux wine, for example, are highly regulated).

What’s the difference between variety and varietal in wine?

Variety and varietal, despite their similar sounds, actually have completely different meanings in wine. Variety refers to types of grapes, while varietal means a wine made from (mostly) one grape.

Variety	Varietal
Relates to grapes	Relates to wines
Is a noun – a variety is the name of a kind of grape	Is an adjective – the word varietal describes a kind of wine
A grape variety could be made into varietal wines or blended ones	A wine made from one (or mostly one) grape variety is a varietal

So if you’re wanting to find out if someone is more into pinot noir or pinot gris, ask them about their favourite varieties. And if you’re looking for a wine made from one kind of grape, ask for a varietal (as opposed to a blend).