It would be an oversimplification to believe that there are only two types of wine, red and white, and the reality is that in today’s wine market there arte hundreds of different types of wine in regards to many more factors than simply the color. All grape juice is basically white, and the color of the wine is determined by the skin of the grape that remains in the grape juice during the fermentation process. If all the skins are removed, the wine will be white.
When the skins remain in the juice during the fermentation process the wine will be red, but if the skins are removed about half way through the process, wine known as rose, or pink will be produced. Red wines are also more often stored in wood barrels, which adds to their woody and heavier flavor while white wines are not stored in barrels and offers a cleaner, less heady flavor of the two types of wine.
Looking at the names of the different types of wine may give clues as to the types of grapes used in its production or to the location at which the grapes were grown. It is not uncommon for wines to be named from the location of the vineyards, such as Chianti or Bordeaux or by the name of the grapes, such as Merlot or Pinot.
Blended Wines Offer Additional Choices
While the naming of wine by the source or variety of grapes is the most common, when a vineyard blends the juice from different grapes to create new types of wine, they often blend the name as well. Naming of wine is an important part of the vineyards marketing and in 2005, major wine makers in four regions of the United States signed an agreement to maintain the integrity of the types of wine they produce through naming of the wines to include the location at which the grapes were grown.
Most European wineries use both the location and wine variety in the name of the wine to advise the consumer of the quality of the wine. For many small wineries, using different types of grapes from different vineyards is a common practice, but mass production wineries seek consistency in their products and will only use the fruit from the same vineyards, regardless of the types of wine being made.
Some of more inexpensive types of wine are called table wines due to their alcohol content of about 14 percent by volume. In Europe, table wine alcohol content can be between 8 and a half and 14 percent. Not all table wines are considered to be bad wines, but they will have the lower alcohol content to maintain their designation. To add sophistication to your wine collection, you might be interested in buying the best wine coolers in the market. This will certainly give coziness and elegance to the wines that you are collecting. It is also perfect whenever you have parties at home.
