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Ruby Cabernet Red Wine Variety

Ruby Cabernet was bred as a crossing of the red wine varieties Carignan and Cabernet Sauvignon. The intention was to develop a variety which had the ability to produce fine wines like Cabernet while tolerating warm to hot climate.

It is one of the so called Olmo varieties, bred by the late Harold Olmo of University of California, Davis.  Ruby Cabernet was further crossed with Grenache to produce the red wine variety Carnelian.

Harold Olmo : By UC Davis archival photo - http://news.ucdavis.edu/search/news_detail.lasso?id=8037, CC BY 3.0, Link

It is fair to say that the aim of producing a variety for fine wines has not been achieved in this case, but Ruby Cabernet has been of some use. The yields are high and the wines are dark coloured with good acid.

Ruby Cabernet is middle to late ripening making it suitable for warm to hot wine regions. It was specifically bred for the Central Valley Region in California, and is also grown in other states of the USA notably Texas, Wisconsin, North Carolina and Virginia.

The most extensive plantings outside of the USA are found in Australia and South Africa.

It's main use is as a blending variety, especially in cask or box wines and is also as part of the blend for fortified wines.

Australian WIneries using Ruby Cabernet

• Aldinga Bay McLaren Vale
• All Saints Estate Rutherglen
• Angoves Winery Riverland
• Blackwood Wines Blackwood Valley
• Campbells Wines Rutherglen
• Celestial Bay Margaret River
• Crooked River Wines Shoalhaven Coast
• Djinta Djinta Gippsland
• Frogmore Creek Vineyard Southern Tasmania
• Granite Ridge Wines Granite Belt
• Grant Burge Barossa Valley
• Magpie Estate Barossa Valley
• Monument Vineyard Central Ranges Zone
• Oceanview Estates Queensland Coastal
• Olive Hills Estate Rutherglen
• Robinvale Wines Murray Darling
• Romavilla Queensland Zone
• Roselea Estate Shoalhaven Coast
• Sevenhill Wines Clare Valley
• Shedleys Blackwood Valley
• Spook Hill Wines Riverland
• The Grapes of Ross Barossa Valley
• Torambre Wines Riverland
• Trentham Estate Murray Darling
• Two Tails Wines Northern Rivers Zone
• Villa d'Esta Vineyard Northern Rivers Zone

Learn More about Grape Varieties

De Long's Wine Grape Varietal Table

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Wine Grapes by Jancis Robinson, Julia Harding and José Vouillamoz

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