Guide to Red Wine

From the grape, comes the bottle of wine you buy. The skin of the grape affects the color of the wine in the bottle, from ruby red, light red, deep violet, opaque purple and maroon. Another factor influencing your wine is the variety of grape that was used to make it.

“Light-bodied” wines don’t have very many tannins, making them taste lighter and giving them a mouth-feel closer to water. “Medium-bodied” wines do have more tannin and have a stronger taste. The “full-bodied” wines, of course, have the highest tannin content, a higher alcohol content and a heavier mouth-feel, almost like milk.

Your wine choice is affected by your menu -- choose a lighter wine –– white or a zinfandel –– for meals with poultry or fish. Reserve the more robust choices for heartier entrees; red wine tastes great with steak! Take your bottle of wine out of the refrigerator well before your meal has finished cooking and open it. Give the wine in the bottle time to breathe and warm to the optimum temperature (between 60 to 65 degrees Fahrenheit).