Can someone please explain wine to me?

Question

I like wine but I don't know much about it. Can someone give me a basic wine lesson?
Some's white, some's red that's about all I know...
And I vaguely know the difference between savignon blanc and chardonney. (can't spell them, though.)
Thanks :)

Answer 1

You came pretty close on the spellings actually. Both of those are white wines and both make amazing wines. Each wine region in the world tends to specialize in certain wines, although several regions can specialize in the same grape. For example, Australia makes great Chardonnay's while New Zealand makes great Sauvignon Blanc. California makes amazing Zinfandel - which is not to be confused with White Zinfandel (also from California) that is a rose wine.

Each wine is influenced by their terroir, which just means the various influences brought in by the winemaker. They include the soil, the amount of rain, the temperatures and even which particular grape is planted. Even though Sauvignon Blanc has certain flavours and aromas that are characteristic, the terroir affects the end product. This can be said for every grape that is planted around the world.

If you're wanting to learn how to identify those tastes and smells when you have a glass of wine, the best way to do that is to taste and smell as many other things in your life as humanly possible. You know how some people say there are citrus aromas or this tastes like cherries? Well, this just comes from experience. If you eat a variety of different foods or smell a variety of different things, when you smell them in a glass of wine, you'll recognize it.

For example, Gewurztraminer wines smell like vanilla, figs, lychee nuts normally. The first time I smelled a Gewurztraminer, I said, this smells like my body wash. Well, my body wash was vanilla and figs. A variety of different white wines have a citrus smell to them. Well, think of what you smell when you peel an orange or have lemon tea, or squeeze a lime into your glass of Coke. That's citrus and the more you do that, the more you'll recognize that smell when you encounter it in a glass of wine.

As for red wines, well, Pinot Noir's tend to be a lot of cherries and "earthy" smells. I know, what's an earthy smell? Walk into a barn, especially at hay collecting time - that's earthy! Some of them have slight smells of leather - so, walk into a leather store in your local mall.

The thing about learning about wine is that it takes lots of practice - but isn't that great practice anyway? If you have any local wine clubs, go to some tastings and learn off the other people there. Most people are happy to teach what they know about wines and not all wine clubs are stuffy, uptight, pretentious wine snobs. A lot of them are very laid back with people just like yourself who enjoy a nice glass of wine and want to learn about it. If you have any wineries near where you live, take a tour and sample some of their wines. For the most part, staff at a winery love to talk up wine, especially when they're promoting their own products.

Happy drinking - I know you'll love it.

Answer 2

Wine is made from crushed grapes.

A vintner tends the plants, and makes sugar tests daily. It is important that the grapes be picked at the peak of their sugar content. Once the decision has been made to pick, the grapes are brought to a crusher, which removes the stems from the grapes. The pulp is put in a large vat, and yeast is added. Yeast does occur naturally, but yeast is pitched to insure that the wine has the right yeast. After 2 to three days, the pulp is put into a press (if the wine is going to be white), and juice is pressed out. The juice is put into another vat where it sits. If the wine is going to be a red, it is allowed to sit in its skin for 2 to 3 weeks. Once the fermentation process slows, the wine is put into barrels, sealed, and allowed to rest. Fermentation is the reaction between yeast and sugar. The end result is alcohol and carbon dioxide. Kegs are stored in cellars, which maintain a fairly constant temperature of around 58 degrees F. The kegged wine is racked every 2 to 3 months. Racking involves siphoning the wine into another keg. This process gets the wine away from spent sugar, and clarifies the wine. If wine is left to sit in the spent sugar, it will become bitter. After about a year of racking, the wine has fully clarified, and it is bottled and allowed to age further.

Wine is priced differently due to the variety of grape used. A cabernet is more expensive because it is a small grape and occurs in small clusters. A cabernet variety yields only 3 to 4 thousand pounds of grapes per acre (it takes 17 pounds of grapes to yield one gallon of wine). The most prolific variety is the carrigan (not sure about the spelling). It yields 10 to 11 thousand pounds of grapes per acre. You probably have never tasted carrigan because is is used as a filler. Vintners can call a wine by its variety as long as it has at least 61% of that variety. I have tasted carrigan (made by a friend who knew a grower in Napa). It is good. It has a fruity taste and is very light. But it doesn't have much body, unlike a cab or burgundy.

Answer 3

take a wine class

or get a book on wines it will tell you everything you want to know

Answer 4

go to winelover.com