THIS week, we introduce three grapes - Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon and Chardonnay.

One point to note when discussing grapes is that a grape ripened in a sunnier climate will produce a sweeter wine than that ripened in a cooler climate. More sun generally means more sugar.

The Sauvignon Blanc grape likes a cooler climate such as that in the Loire valley, France, where it can ripen slowly and, therefore, has a more acidic flavour. Flavours suggested for this grape include grapefruit, citrus, green apples and gooseberries.

With the effect of stronger sun on the grape, you get a more "open", fuller flavour and a hint of sweetness, although it doesn't like too much sun - so Australia struggles with this grape.

Wine from the Semillon grape is often blended with Sauvignon to produce wines with a lower acidity, providing a richness, fatness and complexity that Sauvignon itself cannot achieve. This grape can ripen more than the Sauvignon, making a less dry wine. Key flavours are honey, orange and lime.

As well as a dry wine, it can also produce a sweet dessert wine. Being prone to disease - botrytis - which is a fungal rot (this is also known as noble rot), the fungus makes microscopic holes in the skin of the grape, allowing water to evaporate from inside the grape, leaving behind the sugars.

In the right hands, such as those in Bordeaux, this can produce a very tasty dessert wine, but perhaps beware those from such places as Australia. As with most wines, the Australian versions are more direct in flavour - which is something that doesn't work well with the sweet wine.

Chardonnay is a very popular grape in the wine industry as it is easy to cultivate and use. Tastes suggested include butter, melon, apple, pineapple and vanilla, with the taste lingering in the mouth longer than the Sauvignon. It is not as sharp a taste as the other two grapes mentioned above, but, again, this can depend on region.

Something to remember - all white Burgundy and Chablis are, in fact, 100 per cent Chardonnay. Chablis, being in northern France, produces a wine with a little more acidity.