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Cheat Sheet
Wine For Dummies
Selecting and drinking a wine you like is easy, once you can correctly pronounce wine names, use appropriate terms to describe wine, recognize wine varieties, and buy wine with confidence.
Quick Guide to Wine Pronunciation
Correctly pronouncing wine names is one way to keep from irritating a wine snob. In these wine pronunciations the capitalized letters are stressed, and if not, all syllables carry equal weight.
| Auslese | (OUSE lay she) |
| Beaujolais | (boh jhoe lay) |
| Bourgogne | (bor guh nyeh) |
| Brut | (brute) |
| Cabernet Sauvignon | (cab er nay saw vee nyon) |
| Chablis | (shah blee) |
| Chardonnay | (shar dohn nay) |
| Châteauneuf-du-Pape | (shah toe nuf-doo-pahp) |
| Côte Rotie | (coat roe tee) |
| Gewürztraminer | (geh VAIRTZ trah mee ner) |
| Haut-Brion | (oh bree ohn) |
| Hermitage | (er mee tahj) |
| Loire | (Lwahr) |
| Mâcon | (mah cawn) |
| Merlot | (mer loh) |
| Meursault | (muhr so) |
| Moët | (moh ett) |
| Montepulciano | (mon tay pul CHA noh) |
| d’Abruzzo | (dah BREWTZ zoh) |
| Montrachet | (mon rah shay) |
| Mosel-Saar-Ruwer | (MOH zel-zar-ROO ver) |
| Muscadet | (moos cah day) |
| Pauillac | (poy yac) |
| Perrier-Jouët | (per ree yay-joo ett) |
| Pinot Grigio | (pee noh GREE joe) |
| Pinot Noir | (pee noh nwahr) |
| Pouilly-Fuissé | (pwee fwee say) |
| Riesling | (REESE ling) |
| Rioja | (ree OH hah) |
| Sancerre | (sahn sehr) |
| Spätlese | (SHPATE lay she) |
| Viognier | (vee oh nyay) |
| Vosne Romanée | (vone roh mah nay) |
| Willamette Valley | (wil LAM ette) |
Useful Terms for Describing Wine
Bridging the gap between knowing how to taste wine and drinking what you like is putting taste into words. Using these words for describing wine will help you find wine you like without always taking the time to taste:
Aroma or bouquet: The smell of a wine. Bouquet applies particularly to the aroma of older wines.
Body: The apparent weight of a wine in your mouth (light, medium, or full)
Crisp: A wine with refreshing acidity
Dry: Not sweet
Finish: The impression a wine leaves as you swallow it
Flavor intensity: How strong or weak a wine’s flavors are
Fruity: A wine whose aromas and flavors suggest fruit; does not imply sweetness
Oaky: A wine that has oak flavors (smoky, toasty)
Soft: A wine has a smooth rather than crisp mouthfeel
Tannic: A red wine that is firm and leaves the mouth feeling dry
Easy Wine Identifier
Most wines you find in shops and restaurants are named in two basic ways: the place the grapes are grown or the variety of the grape. This instant guide gives you common wine names, where the name comes from, and the wine color.
| Wine Name | Grape or Place | Wine Color |
|---|---|---|
| Barbera | Grape | Red |
| Bardolino | Place/Italy | Red |
| Barolo | Place/Italy | Red |
| Beaujolais | Place/France | Red |
| Bordeaux | Place/France | Red or white |
| Burgundy (Bourgogne) | Place/France | Red or white |
| Cabernet Sauvignon | Grape | Red |
| Chablis | Place/France | White |
| Champagne | Place/France | White or rosé |
| Chardonnay | Grape | White |
| Chianti | Place/Italy | Red |
| Côtes du Rhône | Place/France | Red or white |
| Dolcetto | Grape | Red |
| Merlot | Grape | Red |
| Mosel | Place/Germany | White |
| Pinot Grigio/Pinot Gris | Grape | White |
| Pinot Noir | Grape | Red |
| Port (Porto) | Place/Portugal | Red (fortified) |
| Pouilly-Fuissé | Place/France | White |
| Rhine (Rheingau, Rheinhessen) | Place/Germany | White |
| Riesling | Grape | White |
| Rioja | Place/Spain | Red or white |
| Sancerre | Place/France | White |
| Sauternes | Place/France | White (dessert) |
| Sauvignon Blanc | Grape | White |
| Sherry | Place/Spain | White (fortified) |
| Soave | Place/Italy | White |
| Syrah/Shiraz | Grape | Red |
| Valpolicella | Place/Italy | Red |
| Viognier | Grape | White |
| Zinfandel | Grape | Red or pink |
Wine Shopping with Confidence
Don’t get frazzled when you’re shopping for wine. Browsing and buying wine should be a fun, positive experience. Use these helpful hints when you hit the wine shop:
No one in the world knows everything about wine.
Smart people aren’t afraid to ask “dumb” questions.
The purpose of wine is to be enjoyed.
Expensive doesn’t necessarily mean I’ll enjoy it more.
I am my own best judge of wine quality.
Most wines are good wines.
Experimentation is fun.
Advice is free for the asking.
Every bottle of wine is a live performance.
I’ll never know . . . until I try it!
