Choosing a White Wine
Choosing the right white wine to enjoy with dinner or to serve guests doesn't have to be hard. Try one of the white wines recommended here and save yourself some hassle. [more…]
Taste-Testing a Bottle of Wine when Dining Out
The process of tasting wine from a bottle that you've ordered in a restaurant can be intimidating, but this quick guide to the wine-tasting ritual makes it easy. Evaluating wine involves a bit of ceremony [more…]
Finding the Right Red Wine
Not sure how to choose a red wine to complement your meal? If you’re new to red wine or don't have time to browse at the wine shop, this reliable chart can help. [more…]
Wine All-In-One For Dummies Cheat Sheet
Both red wine and white wine come in myriad styles, from delicate to robust. They taste best when paired with the right foods. Fortunately, you can find a red or a white wine to go with any meal you might [more…]
Top Values of French Wines
Looking to get the most for your money when it comes to French wine? Here are some of France’s top wine values, including the types of wine and whether they’re red or white: [more…]
Words You Find on French Wine Labels
A French wine label contains a lot of information, but you can crack the code and understand French wine once you know how to read the label. Here are some words you may find and what they mean: [more…]
Grapes Used in French Wine
The variety of grapes (red or white) used for making French wines is usually named for the region in France where it’s grown. Here are some French wine types and the main grape used for making it: [more…]
How to Pronounce French Wine Names
Don’t let the pronunciation of a French wine get your tongue in a knot. Pronouncing the names of French wines just takes a little practicing, which you can do with the following table. [more…]
French Wine For Dummies Cheat Sheet
Choosing a French wine means understanding how to read and pronounce French wine names and words you find on the label, the variety of grape specific to certain French wines, and getting the best value [more…]
How Wine is Made
Wine is essentially liquid, fermented fruit. After grapes are gathered from a vineyard's grapevines and crushed, yeasts(tiny one-celled organisms that exist naturally in vineyards) come into contact with [more…]
Why Color Matters with Wine
It’s okay to like some wine colors more than others. You may prefer white, red, or rosé (blush) wines. The winemaking process and the color of the grape determine whether a wine will be white, red, or [more…]
Understanding How Wines are Named
Most of the wine names that you find in your wine shop or on restaurant wine lists are named in one of two basic ways: [more…]
How to Pronounce Wine Names
Nothing will set a wine snob on your case more quickly than a mispronounced name of a famous wine or wine region. The pronunciations of dozens of wines and wine regions appear in the table below, for easy [more…]
Understanding Wine Descriptors
Wine descriptors are common terms that you can use to describe a particular wine. Descriptors can help you put words to the wine you’re tasting. Unless you want to drink the same wine for the rest of your [more…]
How to Taste and Savor Wine
Tasting and savoring wine is a slower, more deliberate and more thoughtful process than simply drinking wine. Wine is a complex beverage, and when you simply drink it as you would any other beverage, you [more…]
How to Discern Wine Quality
Wine producers constantly brag about the quality ratings that their wines receive from critics, because a high wine rating — implying high quality — translates into increased sales for a wine. But quality [more…]
Understanding How Grapes Used in Wine Vary
Many attributes distinguish each grape variety from the next. The attributes of grape varieties fall into two categories: personality traits and performance factors. [more…]
The Most Popular White Grape Varieties
Chardonnay, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, and Pinot Gris/Pinot Grigio are the most important and popular white grape varieties today. The wines made from these grapes can be varietal wines, or place-name [more…]
The Most Popular Red Grape Varieties
The most popular red grape varieties today are Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Syrah/Shiraz, and Zinfandel. You’ll encounter these grapes in varietal wines and place-name wines. These red grape [more…]
How to Uncork a Wine Bottle
Removing the cork from a wine bottle is the first challenge that faces you in your quest to enjoy wine. Uncorking a wine bottle is relatively simple once you get the hang of it. First you must remove the [more…]
How to Open a Bottle of Sparkling Wine
Opening a bottle of sparkling wine or Champagne is usually an exciting occasion. But the method of opening a bottle of sparkling wine or Champagne is a completely different technique than you’d use to [more…]
Which Wines Need Aerating?
The process of aerating wine — exposing it to air — is called breathing. Sometimes the aroma and flavor of a very young wine improves with aeration. But just pulling the cork out of the bottle and letting [more…]
Knowing Which Wine Glasses to Use
You can appreciate a wine’s aroma and flavor complexities much more out of a fine wine glass. Wine glasses come in all shapes and sizes. If you’re just drinking wine as refreshment with your meal, the [more…]
The Best Serving Temperatures for Wines
Serving wine at the ideal temperature is a vital factor in your enjoyment of wine. If you try tasting the same wine at different temperatures, you may find that you love it at one temperature and dislike [more…]
Entertaining with Wine at a Dinner Party
When hosting a dinner party, you probably serve more wines than you would during a normal dinner. Instead of just one wine throughout the meal, you may want to serve a different wine with every course. [more…]
