Wine Types and Terms
Wine Types - Riesling to Zinfandel
RIESLING: White
wine made from the Riesling grape, which is considered to be the finest wine grape
grown in Germany. Serve with meals. Some California Riesling wines rival those of
Germany.
RHINE WINES: Wines vary from grapes grown in the Rhine River Valley of
Germany. (The wines range from dry and light to rich and sweet.) Serve depending
upon the characteristics of the wine. The best Rhine wines are those made from Riesling
grapes.
ROSÉ WINES: Rose-colored wines produced by fermenting dark-colored grapes
without the skins present, or from lighter grapes in the presence of their skins.
Serve with cold foods and light meals, or when either a red or white wine might
be used.
SAUTERNES: Wines made in the Sauternes district of Bordeaux, France
from grapes withered somewhat by a Botrytis mold that is also call “noble rot”.
Should be served cold at the end of a meal. Serve in small, narrow glasses. California
Sauterne is quite different from French Sauternes.
SHERRY: A
fortified wine made by a process similar to the one developed in Jerez de la Frontera,
Spain. Sherries range from pale-colored dry wines to rich, sweet ones. Use depends
upon the characteristics of the particular wine.
SPARKLING WINES: Wines that are bubbly with carbon dioxide gas by virtue of
having undergone a second fermentation initiated by the addition of a small amount
of sugar. Accompaniments to any parts of the meal. The consumption of these wines
has risen considerably in the United States during the past few decades.
SWEET WINES: Fortified wines that contain considerable amount of unfermented
sugars. (The addition of extra alcohol prevents the fermentation of the sugars which
are present.) Serve with desserts. Should be served in small, narrow glass and consumed
cautiously. (Some people become intoxicated more readily on sweet wines than on
dry wines.)
TABLE WINES: Unfortified wines of low to moderate alcohol content. They
usually contain 14% or less of alcohol. Serve with meals. A 4 oz. glass of table
wine contains about ½ oz. of pure alcohol, which is about the amount that the body
of a medium size man can metabolize in an hour.
VERMOUTH: A
fortified wine that is flavored with a variety of aromatic herbs and come in dry
and sweet varieties. Used in the preparation of Martinis or other cocktails. Sweet
Italian vermouth is often served on ice as an aperitif. Vermouth mixes well with
soda water and/or small amounts of sweet liqueurs.
WHITE WINES: Made by fermenting grapes separated from their skins in order
to keep the content of colored pigments low. Served at meals featuring fish, pork,
poultry, seafood, shellfish, or other flavored items. If two or more different types
of wine are to be served, the white wine should be served before the red wine.
ZINFANDEL: A red wine made from Zinfandel grapes grown in California.
Serve at meals featuring beef or lamb dishes.
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