Apr 15 2009
The Top 9 Most Popular Varieties of Wine
Popular Wine Varieties
There are many types and varieties of wine available. For anyone wanting to try and match a great wine with a specific type of meal, then you can’t go wrong making your choice form one of the more popular varieties around.
Let’s take a look at some of the more popular wine varieties:
Cabernet Sauvignon
Often abbreviated to the less-than-lovely name ‘cab-sav’, the flavorful cabernet sauvignon is a classic French wine that is one of the most widely recognized red wine varieties. This full-bodied red wine blend can be the ideal accompaniment to a fine steak, a roast lamb or on its own as a drinking red wine.
Merlot
Merlot should ideally be a very soft red wine that is also quite rich without the high tannin levels of other reds. Whether on its own or blended with a great cab-sav, merlot is lovely served with chicken or can an excellent drinking red wine.
Shiraz
This very dark red wine is rich and full with amazing peppery flavors. An excellent complimentary wine for any meat dish, with a barbecue or on its own, Shiraz wines can be matured for several decades and just get better.
Shiraz was originally produced from grapes from the Middle Eastern countries although South Australia’s brilliant wine region is now said to produce some of the finest award-winning Shiraz wines in the world.
Served with peppery or mustard-based sauces on spicy, garnished meats, Shiraz is the perfect complimentary red wine.
Grenache
Grenache is a very soft, subtle red wine that is often blended with other types of wine to produce distinct flavors and blends. A glass of chilled Grenache goes beautifully with most spicy foods.
Pinot Noir
Pinot noir is a stunning light- to medium-bodied red wine with a fine fruity aroma. When this fine wine is well aged, it can develop lovely floral flavors
Chardonnay
Chardonnay is easily one of the most popular white wines anywhere. Traditionally these wonderfully melon flavored wines are allowed to mature in oak barrels for up to 3 years. Chardonnay is ideal served along with salmon.
Sauvignon Blanc
Sauvignon blanc is a very ripe tasting white wine that can have a quite aggressive aroma as compared to other white wines. Sauvignon Blanc is a lovely white wine that is excellent with seafood and a great accompaniment to Japanese sushi, but is even better on its own as a drinking white wine.
Semillon
This classic full-bodied dry French white wine is often misunderstood by people living outside of France or Australia. Often criticized for lacking in intensity, Semillon has a distinctly fruity flavor that is more subtle than some of the ‘heavier’ white wines and so it’s often blended with a Sauvignon Blanc to create a wonderful light drinking wine.
Riesling
Riesling was original a German wine that is now made successfully in many countries around the world. Rieslings are classically fruity and can be either sweet or dry, which makes them an ideal compliment to many spicier cuisines.
Want an opportunity to try new wine every month? Check out our recommended wine of the month club and get a 50% discount on your first shipment of wine. It’s the only wine club we recommend and it’s a lot of fun.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kerri_Stalton
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