A Brief Wine Guide
Cabernet Sauvignon
Considered the most important red wine grape throughout the world, and the
basis of the most famous wines of California, Bordeaux, and many other wine
districts.
Brut
Almost-dry Champagne.
Chardonnay
A white grape variety considered one of the world's finest. Widely planted
and used both for dry, barrel-aged table wines as well as blends for fine
sparkling wines.
Pinot Gris
This pleasant and tasty grape offers good drinkability in Italy, Germany and
the New World, but reaches its greatest heights in Alsace. It can taste of
cream and apples and exists in well made versions both off-dry/sweet and dry.
Sauvignon Blanc (Fumé Blanc)
Sauvignon Blanc has been used for generations in France, and came to California
in 1878. In the US it is sometimes called "Fumé Blanc", a
name first coined by Robert Mondavi. The sales of the wine under this new
name now exceed sales under the correct name.
Sauvignon Blanc has pronounced flavors of a herbal variety, plus olive and
a soft, smoky flavor. They can be anything from sweet to dry, but are typically
very light.
White Zinfandel
A lighter and more fruity "picnic" style wine, best served chilled.
This popular off-dry wine is made much like a white wine but with red grapes.
The trick is to separate white juice from dark grape skins before the slightest
hint of color can seep into the juice.
Merlot
Merlot wine is softer and warmer on the palate than Cabernet Sauvignon. Merlot
has the advantage of being rich and supple but only moderately tannic and,
therefore, wonderfully drinkable from early on.
The Merlot grape is larger and thinner skinned than the Cabernet grape. It
produces wine with a chewy, almost opulent texture.
Pinot Noir
Pinot Noir embodies complexity and delicacy at the same time, outpouring with
elaborate flavors that may be simply ravishing. Yet the Pinot Noir grape is
well-known for its fickleness and genetic changeability, making it a truly
challenging varietal for Winemakers to master.
Chablis
Chablis wines come only from the Chablis section of Burgundy, France, in the
north of Burgundy. Chablis is a white wine, made from the Chardonnay grape.
Chablis are grown in a very flinty soil. It is a "Kimmeridgian"
limestone that gives Chablis its distinct flavor |