A Wine Guide For New Wine Lovers

When there's an occasion, a promotion, a wedding, a family dinner, a moment to celebrate, wine lovers accentuate the festivities with, what else, a lively spirit: wine. We toast to the moment, share the good will, achievement, and happiness with others, and of course the wine. Somehow, someone is always ready to corkscrew the spirit out and share it.

But the image that wine has in the minds of many alienates it enough, and until now, that many non wine lovers have not sipped and sampled its intoxicating wonders. But worry not. You can always taste it no matter how late in life you are, even though most of your friends love it and you are yet to catch on. In trying to get into this wine pleasure, it would be best to be familiar with the many kinds of wine. Contrast deepens appreciation, and also the pleasure wine brings.

Red

Maybe the wine we often find is the color of roses, the color of blood. And not surprisingly, red wine is mentioned, even defended by wine lovers, in medical studies for their ability to protect the human heart and their antioxidant properties. Red wines, made from grape skins, give the deepest, boldest flavors. The more time the wine is in contact with grape skin, the deeper the red color sets in, the bolder its taste becomes. Pinot Noir, Gamay, Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Zinfandel are the common ones.

White

White wines give off this delicate aroma, delicate flavor, and maybe because of this non overpowering flavor that most people new to wine tasting try this first. Many wine lovers suggest just that. Made without grape skins, white whine give off a sweet, mild taste. White wines can be made from red and white grapes so long as contact with the skin (the obvious reverse of the red wine making process) is avoided. Chardonnay, Risling, and Sauvignon Blank are the popular ones.

Pink

Having a flavor wedged between red and white, rose and pink wines have this fruity, tart flavor. No they are not made from roses, but from red wine grapes with barely some contact with the skin, resulting in mild red coloration and mild flavor.

Sparkling

They sparkle, they bubble. These wines are the popular choices for important occasions, earning them the association with kingly wines. The outcome of a quite tedious wine-making process (and that's why it's prized), the most popular sparkling wine, obviously, is Champagne, which was produced under the meticulous processes in Champagne, in France. Of course any sparkling wine produced outside Champagne, as wine lovers will tell you, is not Champagne. But just, sparkling wine.

Dessert

When you take wines meant to be taken with dessert, these wines should of course be sweeter than the dessert itself. Dessert wines are produced by combining them with alcohol spirits to amp up their sugar content. Port, Madeira, Vermouth, and Sherry, are the common ones. Since wine can raise the festive feel of an occasion, why no sample the many kinds of wine so you'd know why some people love it. You and your friends (wine lovers, one bets) will savor its wonders.