Wine Guide

Want to expand your knowledge and learn more about the wonderful world of wine? Well, you’ve come to the right place!

 

Important facts about wine.

Whether you are a wine expert, or you are just getting started in this world, this guide will help you understand better how the type of grape, vintage and winemaking process defines the taste experience. Because drinking wine is not just consuming an alcoholic beverage, it is enjoying every sip and aroma released from the glass.

Wine

Wine is an alcoholic beverage made from fermented grape juice. Wine is mostly made with grapes, and those grapes ( Vitis Vinifera ) are smaller with thicker skins and seeds. There are more than 1300 varieties in the Vinifera’s family, but only 100 of them make the 75% of the world’s vineyards.

Inside the grape

Did you know?

• Grapes have well-known antioxidants like vitaminC and manganese as well as lesser-known antioxidants like beta-carotene and resveratrol.

White wine is known to improve heart health and may prevent heart diseases. However, red wine comprise even more powerful antioxidants, which are known as resveratrol that protect your blood vessels and may prevent blood clots. Resveratrol decreases bad cholesterol while increasing the good cholesterol.

Styles of wine

There are so many bottles and wines in the market nowadays, that is very confusing when it comes to choose one, but most bottles will fall into 9 different styles. It is important to note that there are many subtle differences and exemptions between styles, but if you are just getting started this classification will help.

 

Light-bodied white wines

Light-bodied white are those with less than 12.5% of alcohol. These wines are highly drinkable which means you can enjoy them with most food or on their own. Some of these wines are packed with green herbal flavours of gooseberry and pepper, such as Sauvignon Blanc and Cortese.

Full-bodied white wines

Full-bodied white are usually those that had undergone ageing in oak barrels and a second fermentation (malolactic fermentation). These have distinctly flavours of vanilla and coconut and pair great with shellfish such as lobster, creamy dishes and many cheeses. They are usually aged for sometimes (3 to 10 years); a classic example of full-body white is Chardonnay.

Rosé wines

The style between red and white wine is called Rosé – your perfect summer wine. Rosé pairs amazingly well with spicier foods, such as Thai or Mexican. It’s best if you serve it chilled to bring out its delightful fruity flavour. The taste ranges from strawberry and raspberry to melon and citrus notes – depending on the region and production technique.  Less commonly a rosé is also produced by blending white and red wine. This is mainly the case with sparkling rosés of the Champagne region.

Sparkling wines

 The sparkling quality of these wines comes from its carbon dioxide content and may be the result of natural fermentation, either in a bottle, as with the traditional method, in a large tank designed to withstand the pressures involved (as in the charmat process), or as a result of simple carbon dioxide injection as in some cheaper sparkling wines.Therefore sparkling wine produced in other places may not be called Champagne and has different names according to the region where it was produced. See our range of Prosecco and Franciacorta.

Light bodied red wines

This kind of wines are coming from thinner skinned grapes, and usually have very low amount of tannins. A great example is Pinot Noir, one of the most sensitive and smooth red wine of the world. Another charateristic of light bodied red may be the low amount of alcohol, that will feel lighter in the mouth. 

Medium bodied red wines

Typically a medium-bodied red wine has moderate acidity, a medium amount of tannin and a predominantly fruity aroma resembling red fruits.Medium-bodied reds are best known for being a great accompaniment to almost any food. If you’re not too fond of full-bodied wines, you can pair medium-bodied reds with heavier foods just as well.