All About Wines

Building Blocks of Wine

Tannin

It is the stuff in red wines that stains the teeth and dries the month. It is also the flavour and texture of the wine. Tannin comes from the skin, stems and pips of the grape. So white wines don't have noticeable levels of tannie. Both tannie and acid act as preservatives can keep wines in bottle for years.

Acid and Sugar

Both are present in the juice of grape. Most of the sugar is turned into alcohol during fermentation, but some remain. Right proportion of acid makes the wine intense and refreshing.

Alcohol

It balances other flavours, for example softening the attack of the acid, and contributes to the intensity of the experience of the wine in the mouth.

(OZ Clarke's - Introducing Wine)

Red Wine Wheel

Black fruits
Blackcurrant, blackberry, dark plum and black cherry flavours.
Grapes: Cabernet Sauvignon (Bordeaux is its homeland), Merlot (Chile's is good).

Red fruits
Soft flavours of strawberries and raspberries and sharper hints of redcurrants and red cherries.
Grapes: Point Noir

Herbs/spices
Wild flavours of herbs; peppery and aromatic spices; tastes such as chocolate or liquorice.
Grapes: Syrah(France) or Shiraz(Australia)

Styles of wines

Silky, strawberryish reds - RED FRUITS. Beyond Burgundy in France, the best Point Noir comes from California and New Zealand.
Food: red meat in rich sauce, roast or grilled red meats.

Intense, blackcurranty reds - BLACK FRUITS, maybe with a touch of RED FRUITS or HERBS/SPICES.
Food: roast or grilled red meats - especially lamb, duck and goose.

Juicy, fruity reds - RED or BLACK fruits, with light to medium intensity. This style has its birth in the New World and Chilean Merlot is the benchmark. The best wines are in the age of two years old.
Food: roast or grilled red meats, roast or fried chicken.

Spicy, warm-hearted reds - HERBS/SPICES, many combines this with RED FRUITS or BLACK FRUITS. Australian Shiraz is the wine to try.
Food: peppered steak, warming herby stews.

Mouthwatering, sweet-sour reds - RED FRUITS and HERBS/SPICES. Almost all hail from Italy and have a character that is distinctly different from international mob.
Food: Pizza and tomato-based dishes, (tannic) rich game dishes and roast or grilled red meats.

White Wine Wheel

Oaky
Wines with the toasty, buttery flavours that come from oak barrels.
Grapes: Chardonnay, Semillon (Bordeaux and Australia).

Fruity
Peachy, tropical fruit or honeyish flavours without the buttery overlay of oak.
Grapes: Chardonnay

Crisp
Fresh, clean flaovours with a bite, like lime, goosberry or green apples.
Grapes: Sauvignon Blanc (New Zealand).

Aromatic
Wines with intense floral or exotic fragrances such as lychees and rose petals.
Grapes: Gewurztraminer

Styles of wines

Intense, nutty whites - OAKY wines; the best are intense but subtle. Top-quality oaked-aged Graves and Pessac-Leognan from Bordeaux are Semillon blended with Sauvignon Blanc.
Food: creamy and buttery sauces, plain grilled white fish.

Ripe, toasty whites - full of OAKY and FRUITY flavours. The style was virtually invented in Australia, but it is also the hallmark of most Chardonnay in the USA and South America.
Food: grilled or baked salmon and tuna, creamy and buttery sauces.

Bone-dry, natural whites - the lightest wines in the CRISP zone. Won't find this stlye in the New World. Muscadet from the Loire Valley is the most neutral of the lot. Unoaked Chablis from Burgundy is the adaptable Chardonnay grape in a dry, minerally style.
Food: plainly cooked fish and shellfish, grilled chicken breasts.

Green, tangy whites - CRISP wines, but shading into FRUITY and into AROMATIC styles. Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand has tangy, mouthwarming flavours by the bucketful. Chile makes similar. The Loire also produces sharp-edged wines from Chenin Blanc.
Food: anything in tomato sauce, including shellfish, pizza, sushi.

Aromatics - they are AROMATIC zone, some are OAKY too. The best is by Gewurztraminer from Alsace. It packed solid with roses and lychees, face cream and a whole spice cupboard. It is wonderful drink with the Chinese spicy food.
Food: Thai and Chines food, smoked fish, pork.