Choose Your Favorite Wine
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Choose Your Favorite Wine
Wine is one of the most enjoyable pursuits in the world. There is culture in Wine. However, wine should not be intimidating or pretentious. It should be something you enjoy for your own personal taste preferences. The most important thing to remember is “DRINK WHAT YOU LIKE”.
Wine production is a global industry. Hence, wine types and names brands are determined by the type of grape and the geographical location of cultivation and vintage. Different types of grapes make different tasting wines. Color is usually determined by the amount of time the grape skins are left in the grape juice after crushing. Skin left on for a long time in the production process produces red wine, while skin left on for short time yields white wine. Rose or Blush wines are produced by moderating between the two.
Today, in the market, there are zillions of wine varieties available with their own flavor and style. Basically, there are two main varieties, Red Wines and White Wines. However, there are more varieties of wines available besides reds and whites.
Here’s a little about different varieties of wines, which will help you in choosing your favorite wine.
WINE VARIETIES
Red Wines
Red Wines are made from dark skinned grapes. Hence, the rich deep red color of wine. These wines can range from sweet to dry, medium to heavy, light to full-bodied. The red wines have flavor qualities that come from luscious berries, plums, currants, oak, smoke and even vanilla. These wines go best with rich foods like red meats, rich pasta dishes, etc.
White Wines
White Wines are made from green or yellowish gold colored grapes. The grape skin is removed prior to processing. Due to this, the color of white wines can range anywhere from yellow, straw-yellow to golden. White wines are can be sweet, dry and can range from light to heavy-bodied. These wines are quite crisp, light, refreshing and can be acidic. These wines have different flavor characteristics such as citrus, apple, pear, pineapple, melon, peaches, oak, floral, lychee nut even vanilla sometimes. White wines pair well with light foods, such as seafood, poultry, salads, light pasta dishes and so on.
Sparkling Wines
Sparkling wines are usually associated with celebrations and festivities. These bubbly wines can be white, rose, dry, sweet, rich. These wines are made by fermenting twice, first in an open container to allow carbon dioxide to escape into the air. Then it is fermented a second time in a sealed container so that the gas remains in the wine, hence the bubbles. The best example of sparkling wine is Champagne. Sparkling wines are more delicate in flavor along with being light, crisp and refreshing and are usually low in alcohol. The Sparkling Wine is best served chilled. This wine pairs well with almost all foods.
Rose Wines
Rose Wines are also known as Blush Wines. These wines are made from leaving the skins on dark grapes just so the wine is tinted and then removing them. This process gives the wine it’s light pink to pale orange color. Hence, the name ‘Rose Wine’. These wines are best served chilled. A rose wine has a light crisp refreshing and a more fruity flavor with hints of strawberries, cherries and it’s flavor is enhanced by its floral bouquet. It’s a medium-bodied, easy drinking wine, which is just fun to drink on a hot summer afternoon. Due to its light flavor characteristics, a Rose Wine goes well with almost all foods.
Table Wines
As the name suggests, these wines are usually served during meals. These wines can be found on almost every dinner table around the world. Tables wines can be red, white or rose (pink wines). These wines have low alcohol content, usually under 14%. Table wines are light, acidic with crisp flavor qualities.
Dessert Wines
Dessert Wines are typically sweeter wines than your regular reds or whites. Just like a dessert. These wines have a high sugar content. A dessert wine is sweet and rich. These wines taste great on their own or pair well with different kinds of desserts that are not sweeter than the wine itself.
Fortified Wines
Fruit Wines
These wines are made from fruits other than grapes. A fruit wine can be made from Strawberries, pears, apples. Of course, the flavor qualities are more fruity, light and more towards sweet side. These wines are nice, light, crisp and refreshing. Fruit wines usually go with almost all foods and can be enjoyed just on their own.
Armed with this information, you could easily make confident decisions regarding what bottle of wine to pick, next time you visit your favorite wine store. So go on out there, and pick that perfect bottle of vino that you like. Whether it’s a rich red or a nice rose wine or a maybe a crisp white or perhaps if you’re sweet-toothed, you would like a good dessert wine or even a vintage Champagne. Ultimately, it’s all about your enjoyment. So here’s a toast to your good health! Enjoy responsibly!
Cheers!
ToTo