Varietal or Variety?

When is the proper time to use the word variety vs varietal?

NorCal said:

When is the proper time to use the word variety vs varietal?

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I *believe* varietal is specifying one of a group while variety refers to the entire group.

For instances 10 different colored cars is a variety of colored cars, but the black car is a varietal of the variety of colored cars. At least that was always my understanding of it. I could be wrong hah.

With regards to wine(s) or irrespective of wine(s)? Google is your friend. Really, a simple Google search on the word "varietal" should definitively answer your question.

The answer is a bit more subtle. The word variety is a noun, meaning (in this context) "A plant or animal differing from those of the species to which it belongs in some minor but permanent aspect." The word varietal is (originally) an adjective, meaning "pertaining to a distinct variety of animal, plant, or mineral." This adjectival meaning came specifically to refer to wine: "Of wine: made predominantly from a single variety of grape." This word was used in the phrase "varietal wine."

However, take a look at this list of words: Dirigible, terminal, aerial, thermal, final, social, special, principal. These all may function as nouns. Clearly, we used to say:
"dirigible ballon"
"terminal station"
"aerial antenna"
"thermal updraft"
"final exam"
"social event"
"special sale"
"principal teacher"

The words in my list were all adjectives that modified the following noun. Eventually, we dropped the noun, and used the adjective as a noun. I would argue that varietal is in the middle of this process. The earliest entry in the Oxford English Dictionary for the use of varietal as a noun is from 1955, with the meaning "A wine made from a single variety of grape."

There are words that have been used this way for so long we no longer can even see it, like capital. There are others that are still early in the process: prenuptial is practically a stand-alone noun by now.

So, back to the original question: use varietal (as a noun or adj.) when referring to a wine or its characteristics. When referring to a grape, use variety, or, increaslingly commonly, varietal as a noun.

Certainly a Google search will give a varietal of answers (pun intended). For example, here is wine spectator definition as it relates to wine:

A lot of folks confuse these terms—most wine lovers don’t know that one word refers to grapes, the other to wine. Varieties are types of grapes, i.e. Cabernet Sauvignon grapes, Chardonnay grapes, Zinfandel grapes, etc.

A varietal is a wine that is labeled as being made from one grape variety. Typically you’ll see varietals from New World countries, while Old World wines are more frequently labeled by their region of origin. So wines labeled as Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay or Zinfandel are varietals.

—Dr. Vinny

Variety vs. Varietal: The easiest way to remember the distinction is to remember that one (variety) is a noun and the other (varietal) is an adjective.

4score said:

and the other (varietal) is an adjective.

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Except, of course, as I explained, when it is not, as in Dr. Vinny's comment:

NorCal said:

A varietal is a wine that is labeled as being made from one grape variety. Typically you’ll see varietals from New World countries, while Old World wines are more frequently labeled by their region of origin. So wines labeled as Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay or Zinfandel are varietals.

—Dr. Vinny [emphasis added]

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