Wine Babies, Start Here - Que Syrah Sarah

First and foremost, WELCOME! I’m delighted that you’ve decided to dip your pinkie toe into the wonderful world of wine. Whether you’ve been drinking casually for a while, or you’ve just had your first glass, I’m so glad you’re here.

Consider this your bare bones jumping off point. No snobbery allowed, just quick and simple answers to the most common basic questions about wine, and the words you need to know to start talking about it.

I did my best to write these sections the same way I would explain them to a friend.

As this library of blog posts develops, you will see links added to each section that you can click on to learn more about each topic, when you’re ready. If you want more information on something, but there’s no link for that yet, let me know! I’ll make it a priority.

Let’s dive in, shall we?

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What is wine?

Wine is an alcoholic beverage made from fermented grape juice.

And it’s delicious.

What are the different types of wine?

Wine can be still, sparkling, or fortified.

When the average person talks about wine, they are typically referring to still wines. There is no carbonation, and they generally stay within 8 to 15% alcohol. They can be named after grape varietals, grape growing regions, or have an entirely made up name.

Sparkling wines are “bubbly”. Think Champagne, Cava, and Prosecco.

Fortified wines are higher in alcohol than typical still wines. Think Port and Sherry.

What’s the difference between white and red?

The colour of a wine is usually the first thing we notice. Most of us are familiar with white and red, but there’s also rose, orange wine, and few other less common ones!

A white wine is generally made from white grape varietals, and a red wine is generally made from red/black grape varietals. The colour of the wine comes from the skins.

The depth of the colour is dependent on how long the juice of the grapes stays with the skins. The longer they stay, the richer the colour.

Typically, white wines do not stay with the skins for very long. But when they do, they make orange wines.

On the other hand, red wines tend to stay with the skins for much longer. But when they don’t, they make rose.

There are also other wine making choices that are more common to white or red grapes, but we can get into that later.

Read more about the colour of wine and what it means, here.

What are grape varietals?

Those are the different strains of grapes. Some of the most common varietals you will find are Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio/Gris, Sauvignon Blanc, and Riesling for whites, and Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah/Shiraz and Pinot Noir for reds.

How are wines named?

Many are named by their varietal, especially if they were grown in the “New World” wine regions. However many “Old World” wine regions name their wines after the region.

Traditionally, wines were named after the region they were grown in and still have to be made according to certain standards associated with those locations.

A common example would be Champagne. It’s typically made with Chardonnay , Pinot Noir and/or Pinot Meunier grapes. Now, those grapes can be grown in plenty of other places around the world and made into sparkling wine, but you can’t call it “Champagne” if it didn’t come from the Champagne region in France.

A third option is to give the wine an entirely unique and made-up name. This is perhaps most common with blends, but wineries may also choose to do this with single varietal wines to align with their branding.

Need some more help reading wine labels? Check out these articles:

Why are some wines so expensive? Does that mean they taste better?

No. A high price tag is not at all indicative of whether or not you will like how a wine tastes. That is completely subjective. And if you think that $100 bottle of wine tastes like toilet water, don’t buy it.

Generally, a higher price tag has more to do with production costs than anything else. More labour-intensive wine-making practices, the use of and duration in oak barrels, and the quality of materials used by the winery are all examples of factors that can drive up the price.

What makes wine “good”?

I hope we’ve already established that it’s not the price tag. Although, it can be a decent rough marker.

Generally speaking, a wine is considered to be objectively “good quality” if it manages to strike a delicious balance in it’s structure and body.

That means the tannins, acidity, sweetness, and alcohol all need to coexist in harmony, none of them drowning out the others.

Okay, finally, what the hell are tannins?

Tannins are found in the skins of the grapes, and are what give a wine it’s structure. They are primarily found in red wines, because red grapes stay with their skins longer during the wine-making process. They are more of a feeling than a taste, although if overdone they can be a bit bitter. If you’re still confused, it might be helpful to know that tannins are also found in black tea.

Learn more about tannins here.

What about acidity?

I like to think of acidity as the counterbalance to tannins, because it’s also needed to really give that wine some body. White wines tend to be more acidic. You can judge the acidity level by how much it makes your mouth water, or pucker.

Learn more about acidity here.

And sweetness?

I have found that sweetness is deceptively confusing when it comes to wine. It doesn’t really mean the same thing as we are used to when we talk about food.

Sweetness in wine is determined by the amount of residual sugar that is left in the wine at the end of the fermentation process. A very sweet wine will have a syrup-like quality to it, whereas a “dry” wine will slide down the sides of your glass much easier.

Many times, when speaking to new wine drinkers, they tell me they don’t like dry wines. So I ask them what kind of wines they usually drink, and they proceed to list a bunch of dry white wines.

Unless you are drinking ice wines or fortified wines, you probably like dry wines more than you think. You may be confusing the sensation with tannins.

Learn more about sweetness here.

Alcohol?

Ok, if you’re on this blog page, you probably know what alcohol is.

Body?

All of the previously listed components combined together are what determine the “body” of a wine, and how it feels in your mouth. A light bodied wine will feel zippy and refreshing. A full bodied wine will punch you in the mouth and linger there for a while. There’s a full spectrum.

Learn more about body here.