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Many wine drinkers still believe that red wine is made from red grapes and white wine is made from white grapes. After reading this article, you will hopefully know that this assumption is not true! You will also learn how to best classify and distinguish between the different types of wine!
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Reading time approx. 4:30 min
Red wine is not made from red grapes, as one might initially think, but from blue grapes. If you press the juice from a grape, it is always light, regardless of the color of the grape. The red color does not come from the actual flesh of the grapes, but from the skin of the berries. Therefore, the juice and the skin of the berries must be allowed to ferment together so that the color is transferred to the juice. This mixture of juice and the crushed berries is called mash. In order to better differentiate red wine, it can be divided into 4 categories:
These wines are also known as drinking wines. They are among the cheaper varieties that can be bought in supermarkets for as little as €5. Accordingly, the taste and color are very light. However, they taste very fruity, appear juicy and have few tannins. (Tannins are responsible for the dry taste). This variety is perfect for light dishes.
Typical grape varieties include Lemberger and Trollinger.
This category is a little more full-bodied, but not very fruity. In contrast to the lighter red wines, they are much spicier in taste, often with noticeable tannins, but still not too heavy. However, many wine drinkers find the taste to be too thin.
The most popular grape varieties include Pinot Noir and Sangiovese.
The heavy red wines are very popular with wine connoisseurs. They taste very full, the strong aromas are in the foreground and they also have an intense fruity note. The quickest way to recognize this class of red wine is by its dark red wine color.
The most popular varieties include Merlot and Primitivo.
Tannins are the substances in red wine that give you the feeling that your palate is contracting. This category is very specific and not everyone can get used to the taste. However, tannins become a little more mature and milder with age, which is the taste that most people prefer.
Cabernet Sauvignon is the most popular grape variety here.
The price of wine increases with each category!
White wines are one of the best summer companions thanks to their fresh and fruity taste! This is why they are also best suited to light dishes such as various salads and light meat and fish dishes.
As already mentioned, the color of the grape skin has nothing to do with the grape juice. Therefore, in most cases it is irrelevant whether the color of the grape skin is green or red when making white wine. The only important thing is that the colored skin of the fruit is not further processed when making white wine so that the wine remains light. This means that the juice of the grape is pressed out beforehand and left to ferment without the skin. A typical white wine made from a red grape variety is Pinot Gris, for example.
Like red wine, white wine can be classified into different categories according to intensity and heaviness:
Light wines are ideal, especially for beginners. They taste very light, fruity, refreshing and do not have a very high alcohol content. These often come from grape varieties that produce a particularly high number of grapes per vine. The most popular grape varieties include Rivaner, Soave and Lugano. With white wine, however, unlike with red wine, you cannot tell which wine is of higher quality based on the grape variety. Grape varieties such as Chardonnay, Riesling, Pinot Blanc and Sauvignon Blanc can also be used in light white wines, which are normally found in medium-bodied or strong white wines. Therefore, the only way to determine whether a wine is for beginners or for connoisseurs is to look at the price.
These wines are made from very ripe grapes. The problem with very ripe grapes is that many of the grapes start to rot. The winemaker has to sort these out first, which means that the harvest is much smaller. However, they taste much stronger and have more complex aromas. Typical grape varieties include Riesling, Pinot Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay.
This white wine variety is much more intense and complex. The grapes are usually very ripe and subject to a strict selection process. This means that the harvest is very small. In addition, they are usually matured in a small wooden barrel and stored for a long time. This gives the wine an additional woody note and tannin taste. However, this type of wine should not be drunk casually, but rather studied carefully beforehand. The grape varieties are the same as those found in medium-bodied wines.
As with red wine, the price of wine increases with each category!
We now know what red wine and white wine are. Rosé wine must then be a mixture of the two types of wine? If you believe that, you are unfortunately not quite right, because this method is banned almost everywhere.
But how exactly do you make rosé wine? There are three answers to this question. There is no one correct method of making rosé wine that every winemaker does the same way! This is why rosé wines can taste so different! You can usually tell which method was used by how intense the color is.
This method is almost the same as the production of white wine. The blue red wine grapes are pressed directly and fermented without the skin. Since the juice of the grape contains hardly any color pigments, the result is a very light pink. The skin also contains the most intense aromas and tannins, which is why this process can be used to create a very light summer wine.
This method is the most common method used by winemakers. Rosé wine is produced in a similar way to red wine. The only difference is that the mash (the mixture of juice and grape skin) is only left to stand for a few hours. This means that only a few pigments can pass into the must and a light red color is obtained. For this reason, the wines taste much fresher and fruitier than red wines and are also less tannic.
In this process, rosé and red wine are produced at the same time. As with maceration, the red wine grapes are lightly crushed so that the light juice can escape and what is known as bleeding (sanguis) occurs. However, the skins are not removed afterwards; instead, after a few hours, around 20-30% of the rosé-colored must is drawn off and vinified in a separate tank. For this reason, a higher proportion of skins per juice remains in the mash fermentation tank, which results in a stronger red wine. The drawn juice is then processed into rosé wine, which is darker and more flavorful than other types of rosé wine.
Remember:
There is no specific grape variety for rosé wine; in principle, rosé wine can be made from any grape variety that is used to make red wine.
As you can see, not all wine is the same. There is a huge variety, which is definitely worth exploring in more detail! If you want to delve deeper into the world of wine, then take a look at our tasting offers !
You have already read 3 of 13 articles on the topic of wine. Now take a look at the next article to complete your basic knowledge!
Or go to Wine Course Part I to get an overview of all topics!
