varietal

[ vuh-rahy-i-tl ]

/ vəˈraɪ ɪ tl /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR varietal ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

of, pertaining to, designating, or characteristic of a variety.

constituting a variety.

(in U.S. winemaking) designating a wine made entirely or chiefly from one variety of grape.

noun

a varietal wine named for such a grape (distinguished from generic).

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of varietal

First recorded in 1865–70; variet(y) + -al¹

Related formsva·ri·e·tal·ly, adverbin·ter·va·ri·e·tal, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for varietal

Climate change is making this varietal harder to grow, at least with the same result, Veseth tells The Daily Beast.
An Idiot’s Guide to New Year’s Wine|Winston Ross|December 28, 2012|DAILY BEAST
This producer makes more Vermentino than any other producer, so clearly they know their varietal.
The Secrets of Matchmaking|Katie Workman|August 11, 2009|DAILY BEAST
All varietal forms at present are as yet unstabilized (most varieties of 10 years ago have been discarded).
Northern Nut Growers Association Report of the Proceedings at the Thirty-Eighth Annual Meeting|Northern Nut Growers Association
The remainder are to be considered as varietal forms of a very trifling departure from the type, or as hybrids.
The History of the European Fauna|R. F. Scharff

Cases of this kind are obviously of the nature of varietal, not specific, change.
Facts and fancies in modern science|John William Dawson
Naturalists have therefore distinguished the Asiatic from the European form by giving the former what is known as a varietal name.
The Butterfly Book|William Jacob Holland
It is very rare in varietal vineyards and not known to nurserymen.
The Grapes of New York|U. P. Hedrick

British Dictionary definitions for varietal

varietal

/ (vəˈraɪɪtəl) /

adjective

of, relating to, characteristic of, designating, or forming a variety, esp a biological variety

noun

a wine labelled with the name of the grape from which it is pressed

Derived Formsvarietally, adverb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for varietal

varietal

adj.

1866, a biologists' word (first attested in Darwin), from variety. In reference to wines, meaning "made from a single variety of grape" is first attested 1941, American English. As a noun, in this sense, attested from 1955.