What Are The Most Popular Types Of Wine?

There are many types of wine that fall into this category. However, when it comes to popularity, there is one type that has to be mentioned, the red wines that are produced in Bordeaux, France. These types of wine, known as cabernet sauvignon, are red wines and are the first choice of food connoisseurs the world over. This is by far the most popular wine known to consumers.

There are other lovely red wines that are considered to be very popular such as the Grenache red wine which comes with a distinct smoked raspberry flavor; then you have the Merlot that tastes like cherry with chocolate; and there is the Pinot Noir that has a very special taste which is something like mint, black cherries and raspberries put together. The Pinot Noir is however, exceptionally difficult to cultivate and is unfortunately phasing out even in Burgundy, France from where it originates.

Among all the red types of wine, Merlot is held as the most adaptable of wines since it can be served with almost all kinds of meals – it particularly goes well with red meat.

This brings us to white wine. The most popular among white wines would be the chardonnays which has a distinct vanilla flavor over its tangy fruity taste. If you are looking for an excellent inexpensive substitute, there is the Chenin Blancs of California which tastes almost the same maybe with a little less vanilla flavor.

Another very popular white wine is he Riesling which is produced in Riesling, Germany. As the red wine Merlot, this white wine can be served with almost any type of food. This wine’s has a very strong taste which goes excellent with pork and fish and can be exceptionally well matched with spicy foods like Thai, Chinese and Indian cuisines.

The white Zinfandel is another type of wine which needs a brief mention because it is very special. This is the only wine which is produced with skinless grapes, for which reason it is slightly pink instead of the basic read or white colors.

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.