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    Common Types of Wine

    Jun 20,2022 | Magnum Opus Wines

    Common Types of Wine

    Types of Wine Grapes

    Wine is made with grapes, but not typical table grapes you’ll find at the grocery. Wine grapes have thick skins, are small, sweet, and contain seeds. Some of the main varietals include:

    Cabernet Sauvignon

    Taste: Black Cherry, Black Currant, Baking Spices, and Cedar (from oak)

    Style: Full-Bodied Red Wine

    Description: Cabernet Sauvignon is a full-bodied red grape first heavily planted in the Bordeaux region. Today, it’s the most popular wine variety in the world!

    Wines are full-bodied with bold tannins and a long persistent finish driven mostly by the higher levels of alcohol and tannin that often accompany these wines.

    Food Pairing: lamb, beef, smoked meats, French, American, firm cheeses like aged cheddar and hard cheeses like Pecorino.

    Syrah

    Taste: Blueberry, plum, tobacco, cured meat, black pepper, violet

    Style: Full-Bodied Red Wine

    Description: Syrah (aka Shiraz) is a full-bodied red wine that’s heavily planted in the Rhône Valley in France and Australia. The wines have intense fruit flavours and medium-weight tannins. Syrah is commonly blended with Grenache and Mourvèdre to create the red Rhône blend. The wine often has a meaty (beef broth, jerky) quality.

    Food Pairing: lamb, beef, smoked meats; Mediterranean, French, and American firm cheeses like white cheddar, and hard cheeses.

    Zinfandel

    Taste: A broad, exotic array of fruits from stone (overripe nectarine), to red (raspberry, sour cherry), to blue (plum, blueberry), to black (blackberry, boysenberry), Asian 5 Spice Powder, Sweet Tobacco

    Style: Medium-bodied to full-bodied Red Wine

    Description: Zinfandel (aka Primitivo) is a medium-bodied red wine that originated in Croatia. Wines are fruit-forward and spicy with a medium length finish. Zinfandel is a red grape that may be better known in its pink variation, White Zinfandel.

    Food Pairing: chicken, pork, cured meat, lamb, beef, barbecue, Italian, American, Chinese, Thai, Indian, full-flavored like cheddar and firm cheeses such as Manchego

    Pinot Noir

    Taste: Very red fruited (cherry, cranberry) and red-floral (rose), often with appealing vegetal notes of beet, rhubarb, or mushroom

    Style: Lighter-bodied Red Wine

    Description: Pinot Noir is a dry, light-bodied red that was first widely planted in France. The wines typically have higher acidity and soft a soft, smooth, low-tannin finish.

    Food Pairing: Chicken, pork, veal, duck, cured meat, French, German, cream sauces, soft cheeses, nutty medium-firm cheeses.

    Chardonnay

    Taste: Yellow citrus (Meyer lemon), yellow fruits (like yellow pear and apple), tropical fruits (banana, pineapple), and often a touch of butterscotch, vanilla or toasted caramel notes from oak

    Style: Medium- to Full-Bodied White Wine.

    Description: Chardonnay is a dry full-bodied white wine that was planted in large quantities for the first time in France. When oak-aged, Chardonnay will have spicy, bourbon-y notes. Unoaked wines are lighter and zesty with apple and citrus flavours. Chardonnay is the white grape of Burgundy.

    Food Pairing: Lobster, crab, shrimp, chicken, pork, mushroom, French, cream sauces, soft cheeses such as triple cream brie, medium-firm cheeses like Gruyère

    Sauvignon Blanc

    Taste: Aggressively-citrus-driven (grapefruit pith), with some exotic fruits (honeydew melon, passion fruit, kiwi) and always an herbaceous quality (grass, mint, green pepper)

    Style: Light- to Medium-Bodied White Wine

    Description: Sauvignon Blanc is a dry white grape first widely planted in France. Wines are tart, typically with herbal, “green” fruit flavours.

    Food Pairing: fish, chicken, pork, veal, Mexican, Vietnamese, French, herb-crusted goat cheese, nutty cheeses

    Pinot Gris

    Taste: Delicate citrus (lime water, orange zest) and fruits (apple skin, pear sauce), white floral notes, and cheese rind (from lees usage)

    Style: Light-Bodied White Wine

    Description: Pinot Gris is a dry light-bodied white grape that is planted heavily in Italy, but also in France and Germany. Wines are light to middle-weight and easy drinking, often with some bitter flavour on the palate (bitter almond, quinine)

    Food Pairing: Salad, delicate poached fish, light and mild cheeses

    Riesling

    Taste: Citrus (kefir lime, lemon juice) and stone-fruit (white peach, nectarine) always feature prominently, although there are also usually floral and sweet herbal elements as well.

    Style: Floral and fruit-driven aromatic white that comes in variable sweetness. Some producers choose not to ferment all the grape sugar and therefore make the wine in an “off-dry” style.

    Description: Always very high in acid, when made as a table wine Rieslings can be harmoniously sweet (sweet and sour) or dry (very acidic). The wine is polarizing because some people find dry styles too acidic and sweet styles too cloying, but sweetness is always a wine making decision and not inherent to the grape.

    Food Pairing: Chicken, Pork, Duck, Turkey, Cured meat, Indian, Thai, Vietnamese, Moroccan, German, washed-rind cheeses and fondue

    Information Credit: https://winefolly.com/

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