Wine Guide

So turning 21 and my trip to Argentina having wine with every meal sparked an interest for me in wines. By no way am I an expert, but I’m attempting to learn about the basics of wine, through actually writing a wine 101 guide.

So what is wine? It’s essentially fermented grape juice. There are three major classification of wine: white, red, and champagne (four, if you count rose). White wine doesn’t necessarily come from green grapes and red wine doesn’t necessarily come from red grapes, since the flesh of all grapes are white. The color of red wine comes from the skin of the grape, which infuses the red wine with tannin, the ingredient that gives red wine its distinct flavor. Most champagne are made from red grapes, but the color of it is white.

Non-European wines are usually classified by the wine or the grape type for example Pinor Noir or Merlot. European wines are usually classified by the region for example Bordeaux, which is from the Bordeaux region of France which can include Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Petite Verdot, Malbec, or Merlot.

There’s also the vintage, which is essentially the year the grapes were harvested. The older does not necessarily mean better. It depends on the specific vintage year as some season it will be warmer producing riper grapes, and a poorer growing season will produce grapes lower in sugar. If you really want to get technical, here is a chart of vintage years by region. Some wines are better when aged, such as some red wines especially Bordeaux. Carbernet can benefit from aging of 10 to 15 years, Pinot Noir of more than 5 years, Merlot 5 years.

The general food paring with wine says that white wine usually go with a light meal (seafood), and red wine of a heavier body usually go with heartier foods (red meats). This is only the basics, but there are also other ways to pair wine with food such as dry/sweetness it is.

Champagne is sparking wine produced from the carbonation in the secondary fermentation process. Under international law, Champagne is usually made exclusively from the Champagne region in France. Other sparking wine made not from the Champagne region usually do not have the name “Champagne” on the labels.

Although France and Italy had been the traditional winemakers, new world wines that are produced out of Europe has received much acclaim. These regions include Argentina, Australia, Canada, Chile, New Zealand, South Africa, and the U.S. I had some of the best Malbec (from the Mendoza province) in Argentina, and it goes great with their really great steak. California’s wineries are famous for Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, and Chardonnay.

Now we have the basics on how to understand a wine label. This is something I took from an article from askmen.com



1- Alcohol Content
2- Appellation or Growing Region
3- Bottle Volume
4- Name of Wine
5- Producer
6- Quality of Wine
7- Type of Wine
8- Variety
9- Vintage