Wine: A Quick Overview

Wine- A Basic Overview

If you aren't a regular wine drinker, you know how confusing the wine aisle in your local supermarket can be. With a plethora of names that are barely pronounceable, it's no wonder that wine enthusiasts spend years of their lives getting to know the qualities, tastes and characteristics of so many types of wine. This article is meant to be a basic guide to the most popular types of wines and a basic overview of how they are made.

Wines are divided in to two different types of categories: the whites and the reds. There is a third category, rose, or blush, wines that are across between the two and often come out pink in color. Contrary to popular belief, the color of the wine is not an indicator of what color grape the wine was derived from, but rather how long its juices were left in contact with the grape's skin during the wine-making process.

It is important to remember that in a wine and food pairing, items should compliment each other. The wine should bring out the rich taste of the foods, and the foods should bring out the bold flavors of the wine. In essence, one appreciates each bite of a certain food, such as cheese, more if each bite is followed by a sip of wine which is opposite the flavor of the food.

There are a few basic words to describe how wine tastes, looks and feels in your mouth. Dry is a word that describes the wine as being bitter in taste, or rather having lack of sweetness. Dry wines are often served with rich, sweet items, such as chocolate, to produce a sweet/non-sweet effect in the mouth between bites; this giving the consumer an appreciation for the sweetness of the chocolate. Dry wines are also served with hearty steaks and other beef dishes. Sweet wines are sweeter in taste and are often served as a dessert wine. Full bodied wines are those with a rich, thick texture and light bodied wines are those that are less viscous. A very full bodied wine will "stick" on the side of a goblet, much like cream or whole milk in a glass. Lighter bodied wines will stick less than their full bodied counterparts, much like water or skim milk would. Full bodied wines are often very bold in flavor, and are generally red in color.