Whats the difference between red & white wines, and what is a "dry" wine? And why are some wines better with

Question

different foods? How does wine differ from champange?

Answer 1

Red wines are made from grape varieties that have red skins. The red color is extracted from the skins by soaking the juice with the skins.

White wines are made from grapes that have white, pale green or yellow skins. Some color is extracted from the skins, and the wines also get some golden color from contact with wooden barrells during the aging process.

A dry wine means that the fermentation process is allowed to convert most of the sugars from the juice into alcohol. A sweet wine either had the fermentation stopped, had very high sugar content in the juice to start with, or had sugar added.

Some wines are better with different foods because of the body, or consistency of the wine, and the acidity of the wine. White wines tend to be lighter in body and crisper in acidity, so they pair with lighter foods that have cream or butter sauces. Red wines are fuller and more powerful, so they pair better with red meats, red sauces, and other heavier foods.

Champagne is a special process where red and white grapes are gently squeezed and taken away from the skins so that no color gets extracted. The very best champagnes are produced in the Champagne region of Eastern France from both red Pinot Noir grapes, white chardonnay grapes, and a few other varieties in small quantities. First, still wines are made from the grapes as in normal wine making. Then, the still wines are blended to achieve a style particular to a particular House, like Vueve Cliquot, the widow that invented the next, very important step in champagne production: The blended wines are bottled with a bit more sugar and yeast and fermented again in the bottle. This is where champagne gets the bubbles. After aging in the bottle, the yeast residue is gently guided into the neck of the bottle by a process called riddeling. Once the bottle is completely inverted in the riddeling rack with the yeast in the neck, the neck is frozen and then the cap of the bottle removed to expell the plug of ice that carries the yeast residue away with it. Then a "dosage" of sugar is added to give the champagne the desired sweetness. Usually, a concentration refered to as "Brut".

Answer 2

Whats the difference between red & white wines?

Primarily the difference is color. But red wines get their colour from the skin of red grapes and thus many people feel that red wines have more complex flavours. White wines are mostly made from white grapes but they can be made from red grapes alos because after crushing the grapes the skins are discarded and just the juice is fermented to make white wine. The juice of red grapes is clear.

Why are some wines better with different foods?

This a a matter of personal taste. Wine lovers delight in making 'perfect' matches', and there is endless matching advice. So much so that it frightens off many people from choosing wine at all. But there really are no rules, it is all personal taste. And as you drink wine you'll come to make up your own mind. Say you're cooking a thick juice steak and you have two wines available, a red Cabernet Sauvignon and a white Sauvignon Blanc and you'll think -- um, now which shall I have..... Most will say the first, but you'll make up your own mind.

What is a "dry" wine?

Dry is used as the opposite of sweet, so a dry wine is not sweet.

How does wine differ from champagne?

All Champagne is wine, but not all wine is Champagne. Basically the difference is that Champagne is fizzy. The make a still white wine and then induce a second fermentation in the closed bottle which produces the bubbles. Champagne comes from the Champagne region of France.

Answer 3

The other answers are correct. All wine grapes have a red skin. If you crush the grapes, then strain out the skins before fermenting, you have white wine. If you leave the skins in the solution while fermenting, you have red wine. Since the skins carry a lot of the flavor, red wine tends to have a stronger taste than white wine.

It has been said that you should have white wine with delicately flavored foods (fish), and red wine with strongly flavored foods, like red meat.

Wines are "sweet" or "dry" according to how much sugar is left in the wine. Wine is fermented in large containers (barrels, in some cases). If the wine is allowed to ferment completely, it will have about 12-13% alcohol content. Once the wine is bottled, fermentation stops. So, if the wine is bottled quicker, some of the suger remains in the wine.

Look on the bottle. If it says 8 or 9% alcohol, you can bet it is a sweet wine. If it is 13.5% alcohol, you know it is a very dry wine.

Answer 4

grapes come in red and white variety's the grapes will help determine the type of wine. To make a white wine you crush the grapes and press the juice off, you ferment this juice to make the wine. To make a red wine you crush the grapes and leave the skins and the juice together for the first fermentation. the longer the wine is on the skins, the darker and more complex the wine.

Answer 5

Red wine is red (it gets its color from the skin of the grapes)

White wine is a clear yellowish color

Dry wine has less sugar content then sweet

A certain wine for a certain food is a myth- it depends on your personal pallet. If you like the taste of a Concord with your fish- then have a Concord with your fish.

Champagne is naturally carbonated as opposed to wine with no carbonation or Spumonte- which is wine that has corbonation pumped in

Answer 6

It depends on your taste. You can drink whatever you want with whatever food you like as long as it taste good to you.

If I may, I'd like to suggest a starter wine for you if your intrested. The Pinoit Noir is a tasty wine that will get you started. It has a mild taste and most people who start wine tasting prefer it to say a Merlot, Zinfindel or a Cabernet Sauvignon. Whites for the most part have a mild taste. Chardonay is good and so is the Pinot Grigio. I've never had a chance to taste the Savignon Blanc, but I'm eager to try.

Answer 7

Aside from colour alot is different. Compounds from pigments called poly-phenols have anti-oxidizing properties allowing red wine to age. These also have benefits for humans helping to protect us against toxins and carcinogens.
-The method of production is also different, red left with skins to provide structure and coulour etc... White is not macerated and is susceptible to oxidization. It does not usually age for long periods.

-Wine is meant to go with food, most wines do have appropriate partners it all depends on their textures, weight, fat, cooking temperature(med rare, med well). A big tannic red will go better with a Med rare beef than med well because tannins are softened by the fat and moisture of the proteins therein. For a med well, try a jammier or juicier red like a soft lucious Zinfandel (not white zin).

-Champage or sparkling wine is different because of the way the bubbles are achieved and the grapes used. Most is a blend of red grapes and lightly pressed to obtain the best juices. A fermentation in bottle occurs dissolving co2 into the wine etc...Champagne/sparkling wine is wine and the grapes used are something you have probably already drank, Pinot noir, in France, Pinot Meunier(red grapes not usually used other than in champagne), and Chardonnay (white grapes).

-It is not permitted to call any sparkling wine champagne unless it comes from Champage in France despite the quality.

Adrien, Sommelier

Answer 8

dry wines are also more of an acquired taste. Most people first start drinking sweeter wines because they're easier to drink (they're more juice-like) and then over time start to branch out to dryer wines.

Answer 9

Red wine is crushed with the skins---white wine is crushed w/o the skins

Answer 10

wines are more complicated then you would think
people goto school to study wine... its rediculous

if you have a good grocery store they usually will have somebody in their wine aisle to help you