So let’s start at the beginning with wine.

So let’s start at the beginning. You have five types of wine white, red, rose, sparkling and fortified. All are made from grapes but only forte fide wines have been strengthened with another spirit, namely brandy.

White wine rose and sparkling should always be served chilled. You can get very dry and very sweet versions of all of them. Red wine is all supposed to be dry. But you can get some that seem sweeter than others. The other factors that will affect the wine are the grapes that is it made with and the environment that it is grown in.

For white wine you have your main grapes and there different quality’s. Chardonnay is the queen of the white grapes and most used, can be golden, buttery and hits of vanilla and also high in sharp acidity. Chenin Blanc is a light and fruity grape.
Riesling has medium to high acidity and a flowery aroma. Sauvignon Blanc widely used in French wine and has a light crisp acidity. Semillon stands alone on its own as it is often used as a dessert wine but is often blended. Viognier has low to moderate acidity and a apricot aroma. Gewürztraminer this is a spicy grape that is full of compacted flavours. Pinot Gris or Pinot Grigio this really depends on where it is grown to how it tastes but has a light lemon flavour to it. There are of course numerous other white grapes but these are the main ones.

For red wine you have you also have a number of varieties. Most of them are blended with other grapes to give a fuller and more completed finish to the wine. Cabernet Sauvignon is know by the French as the noblest of the grapes and it has a deep raspberry finish. Gamay on the other hand is a light and low alcohol grape that can be drunk soon after it has been made. Merlot ever more popular and low in acid full of blackberry, plumb and cherry flavours. Pinot Noir has alight and moderate taste and a varied amount of aromas. Grenache is a full to medium boded wine that has a good raspberry flavour. Shiraz is a grate and popular grape that is full of spice and fruit flavours and aromas.

But what affects all of these grapes is the area where they are grown. The soil and climate affect wines. This is called the terroir, a French word meaning the special characteristics that apply to that vine that grew the grape. It is surprising what a difference the soil and position of the vine, how much rain and how cold it gets actually affects the wine. In some wine growing areas such as Bordeaux in France you have some thirty seven appellations or areas. Each have any number of vineyards in each area and some produce some of the best wine in the world. Some such as Lafite, Margaux and Latour can command thousands of pounds for the very finest wines and a wine produced just done the road only a few hundred pounds due to the change in the soil.
Then you have what are called old world wines, like France Italy Spain and Germany. New world wines are not so tied by convention and can experiment with there wines, like American, Australian and Chilli. And the more that you drink and experience wine the more you will get to know.

Now you might be wondering how you can get to know what is what. But all wine come with this information on the label. As they say a quick read of the label is worth ten years experience. So get a bottle that you know you like and read what grape variety, country and region it came from. Make a note of it and then next time see if you can find another like it and compare the two from your notes.

Soon you will be selecting more and more wines and enjoying a world that always is changing and full of differences and taste. Just remember that it should be fun and enjoy the wine for the wine sake .