Grape varieties and flavours of some popular wines
Reds
Cabernet Franc - raspberry
Cabernet Sauvignon - blackcurrant
Carmenere - red plum
Camay - soft red fruits
Grenache, also called Garnacha - mixed berries
Malbec - black plum
Merlot - cherries
Pinot Noir - cranberry
Shiraz - chocolate and dark berries
Syrah - red meat
Whites
Chardonnay - apple
Gewurztraminer - lychee
Moscato, also called Muscat and Moscatel - fruit cocktail
Pinot Blanc - white peach
Pinot Grigio - lemon
Pinot Gris - yellow peach
Riesling - lime
Sauvignon Blanc - lemon and grass
Viognier - pear
Viura, also called Macabeo - mixed citrus
Producer/Brand
Buy a trusted name and the wine probably won't let you down. The best producers don't tend to risk their reputations on bad bottles and every region has its stars. So learn a few solid names and you're golden. Norman Hardie in Ontario, Louis Latour in France, La Crema in California, Trapiche in Argentina, and Penfolds in Australia are all reliable go-tos.
Grape Variety
Love dark chocolate covered cherries? Drink Shiraz. Like lime? Uncork Riesling. Adore cranberries? Pour Pinot Noir. Doing so aligns your tastes with the dominant flavour of the grape variety. Sure, provenance and wine-making techniques influence flavour too, but about 80 per cent of wine' taste comes the grape variety itself.
Vintage Date
The vast majority of wine is bottled at its peak balance and harmony. How quickly it declines depends on its structure, style and storage. But generally, if a wine is under $20, it will taste best as close as possible to the year stamped on the bottle. The year or vintage, tells when the wine was made. I do recommend sub-$20 wines in this column that are showing marvelously well several years after vintage - but these are exceptional bottles, rather than the norm.
Image
The image on a label actually tells you a lot about what's in the bottle. Funkier, more whimsical designs tend adorn fruit-forward, approachable wines at lower price points, while more classic sketches such as pastoral scenes, winery emblems or chateaus are usually more classic wine styles - at low and high price points. Interestingly, the smoke design on this Enigma Cabernet Sauvignon was created specifically for Canadians. People liked it because it could mean whatever they wanted it to - which is notable because the wine style is both fruit forward and classic
Region
Where the wine was made clues you in to the style. Cooler climates tend to make leaner, crisper wines while hot places make richer, fuller-bodied bottles. It's simple science, really: More heat and sunshine create riper fruit, which means more grape sugar to convert to alcohol, and higher alcohol adds body to the final wine. Cool pockets do exist in warm regions and vice versa so a glance at the alcohol level will confirm the wine's style.
Alcohol Level (Usually on the back label)
A wine's alcohol level reveals its weight. A wine under 12 per cent alcohol will taste light, one around 12 to 13 per cent will feel medium, and anything higher will full-bodied. Using a common analogy, light wine feels like skim milk in the mouth, medium more like 2 per cent, and full-bodied like whole. Weight influcences how and when the bottle is best served. Cocktail hour calls for light quenchers quick to refresh; medium-bodied work well on their own or with a range of foods; and full-bodied wines pair best with heartier fare.
by Carolyn Evans Hammond
from Toronto Star on January 23, 2016