With hundreds of varieties of red wine grapes, there is so much interesting to learn about this kind of wine. But first things first, red wine is well...Red! But why? Grapes can be deep purple, beautiful blue, but never red!As with all wines, the particular winemaker will have adequate explanation in the stile of wine he produce, and red wines are classified by "Body type".
* Light bodied red wines are light and fruity. This type of wine will display fewer tannins and feel lighter on the palate, it's more watery, lower in alcohol.
*Medium bodied red wine will display more tannins, has more substance but not very thick
.*Full bodied red wines boast the highest tannin and alcohol content, has a thick, rich consistency.
I'm not a big fan of red wines, but if I choose red wine it always will be full bodied, but it's just mine choise. Lets see the most popular red wine grape list:
*Cabernet Sauvignon is grown all over the world, but rarely achieves greatness. Cabernet Sauvignon became internationally recognized trough it's prominence in Bordeaux wines where it's often blended with Merlot and Cabernet Franc. The classic profile of Cabernet Sauvignon tends to be full bodied wines with high tannins and noticable acidity that contributes to wine's aging potential. In cooler climates, Cabernet Sauvignon tends to produce wines with blackcurrant notes that can be accompanied by green bell pepper notes. In more moderate climates the blakcurrant notes are often seen with black cherry and black olives notes.
* Gamay is the grape of Beaujolais, gamy is often made to be drunk quite young, with strawberry, raspberry and cherry flavors. Gramay is a purple colored grape variety used to make red wines. It is a very ld cultivar, mentioned as long ago as the 15th century. Gramay based wines are typically light bodied and fruity.Because so many of the wrld's wine lovers have been taught to revere alcohol and deep colours in their red wines, Gramay has not had many fans outside Europe.
*Grenache makes some of the greatest red wines of both Spain and Australia. An early ripening grape it tends toward high alcohol and low acidity, it creates fruity, spicy, bold flavored wines. Characteristic flavor profiles an Grenache include red fruit flavors with a suitable, white pepper spice note.Grenache as well as Cabernet Sauvignon is one of the most widely planted red wine grape varieties in the world. It ripens late, so it needs hot and dry conditions.Wines made from Grenache tend to lack acid, tannin and color, and is usually blended with other varieties such as Tempranillo or Syrah. While Grenache is most often encountered in blended wines, varietal examples of Grenache do exist. As a blending component, Grenache is valued for the added body and fruitiness that it brings without added tannins.
*Merlot is the chardonnay of reds, easy to pronounce, easy to like, agreeable, versatile, but mostly lacking any substantive character of it's own. Smooth, rounded and easy drinking are common descriptions af Merlot wines. The main reason for this is that Merlot grapes are relatively large in relation to their pips and thickness of the skins, in ehich tannins are found.A range of flavours such as plums, cherries, blueberries and blackberries mixed with coca and black pepper notes, often dominate this type of wine. The tannin levels are typically lower than Cabernet Sauvignon and the fruit flavours making this a prime wine candidate for consumers just getting into red wines.
* Pinot Noir is the grape that winemakers love to hate, it is the prettiest, sexiest, most demanding of all.Pint Nir grapes are grown around the world, mostly in the cooler regions.Due to the stringent requirements for Pinot Noir, it's produced in much smaller quantities than other popular red wines. Traditionally, you will also pay a little more for Pinot Noir as the well known brand.The temendously broad range of bouquets, flavors, textures and impressions that Pinot Noir can produce sometimes confuses tasters. In the broadest terms the wine tends to be of light to medium body with an aroma reminiscent of black and red cherry, raspberry and to a lesser extent currant and many other fine small red and black berry fruits.The wine's color when young is often compared to that of garnet, frequently being much lighter than other red wines, this is entirely natural as Pinot Noir has a lower skin content that most other classic red grape varieties.
*Sangiovese is a red Italian grape varietiy that derives it's name from the Latin - sanguis Jovis /The blood of Jove/.Young Sangiovese has fresh fruity flavors of strawberry and a little spiciness, but it readily takes on oaky, even tarry, flavors when aged in barrels. Wines made from Sangioviese usually have medium plus tannins ang high acidity. Traditional Sangiovese emphasize herbal and bitter cherry notes, while more modern, Bordeaux influenced wines have more plum and mulberry fruit with vanilla and oak.High acidity and moderate alcohol makes it a very food friendly wine when it comes to a food and wine pairings.While Sangiovese plantings are found worldwide, the grape's homeland is central Italy.Sangiovese based wines have the potential to age, but the vast majority of Sangiovese wines are intended to be consumed relatively early in their lives.
*Shiraz/ Syrah is a dark skinned grape variety grown throughout the world and used primarily to produce red wine.The style and flavor profile of wines made from Syrah tending to produce medium to full bodied wines with medium plus to high levels of tannins and flavors of blackberry, mint and black pepper notes. In hot climates, such as Australia, Syrah is more consistently full bodied with softer tannin and spice notes.
* Nebbiolo is a red Italian wine grape variety, associated with Barolo, Barbadesco and Ghemme. Grapes produces lightly colored red wines which can be highly tannic in youth with scents of tar and roses. As they age, the wines take on a characteristic brick orange hue at the rim of the glass and wild herb aromas, such as prunes, tobacco, truffles and cherries.
*Zinfandel also known as Primitivo is a varietiey of black skinned wine grape, planted in over 10 % of California wineyards.The grapes typically produce a robust red wine, grape's high sugar level can be fermented into levels af alcohol exceeding 15%.Red berry fruit flavors like raspberry dominate in wines from cooler areas, blackberry, anise and pepper notes are more common in wines made in warmer areas.
*Barbera is a red Italian wine grape variety that, was the third most planted red grape in Italy since 2000. It is known for deep color, low tannins and high levels of acid. Barbera grapes are used both in blend wines and varietals.Young wines offer a very intense aroma of fresh blackberries, in the lightest versions notes of cherries and raspberries with notes of blackberries in wines made of more ripe grapes.
Now that you know what to expect from different kinds of grapes and the types of red wine made from them, go ahead on your journey of exploration and treat yourself to new flavors in red wines.
