Wine for Beginners: Different Types of Wine Explained
Trying to find your go-to wine can be a challenge and just because you’ve tried one type of wine doesn’t necessarily mean you like all types of wine. Tasting various wines will broaden your palate and help you find your favourite. So we’ve put together a wine for beginners guide to start you on your journey of becoming a wine connoisseur.
Red wine
Tannin is the key to red wine. Tannin is the naturally occurring compound found in grape skin and it gives the drink different tastes. For red wine, it does this by creating the descriptions and textures that are associated with red wine such as “firm”, “bitter” “smooth” “soft” and sometimes “chewy” as the grapes in red wine are fermented with the red grape skin intact.
The usual rule when it comes to red wine is the darker the wine, the higher the tannin so the bolder the taste will be.
To get the most out of the flavour of red wine, it should be served close to room temperature.
At Yorkshire Heart we produce 3 red wines at our vineyard- The Eleanor Red Wine with a black cherry flavour and low tannins, The Latimer Red Wine which has black plum, blackberry and spicy flavours and The Winemaker’s Choice Red Wine that is made from 100% rondo grapes and has been aged in burgundy oak barrels.
White wine
Flavours of white wine range from light to rich and is made by fermenting green grape varieties. Despite white wine also usually including tannins, it is in a much smaller portion than red wine. This leads to the white wine characteristics being often dependent on the acidity. Although some white wines can be described as “flat”, others can be seen as “crisp” and usually have a fruity aroma.
It is important to note, white wines are best served chilled.
The white wines available from Yorkshire Heart are the Eleanor White Wine made from Ortega and Siegerrebe grapes, the Latimer White Wine which is created from 100% solaris grapes and the Winemaker’s Choice White Wine that has a rich vanilla oak flavour.
Rosé wine
Compared to red wine, rosé wine is a lot lighter. This is because it has a relatively low tannin and has a shorter duration of red grape skin within the fermentation process. With a pink colour, you could taste flavours of red fruits, flowers or citrus when enjoying a glass of rosé. Depending on the grape type, climate and the process of making the wine, rosé wines can be sweet or dry.
We have one rosé wine on offer at Yorkshire Heart, the Latimer Rosé wine. This wine is known for its light pink colour and sweet red summer fruits which creates a refreshing drink.
Dessert wine
Dessert wine does what it says on the tin- it is a wine traditionally served after a meal. It involves strengthening wine with spirits and is usually sweeter than the usual red or white wine. This gives dessert wine a higher alcohol percentage than other wines. It can also have residual sugar left in as the grape juice is only partially fermented in the wine making process.
Sparkling wine
Sparkling wine has bubbles which are added through the significant carbonation that is achieved from either the injection of carbon dioxide after fermentation or via natural fermentation processes. This means that sparkling wine can vary in taste, from dry to sweet. Sparkling wines can be red, white or rose in colour and typically smell quite fruity and earthy.
If you’re wanting to try our Yorkshire Heart sparkling wine, we have three options on offer. Our beautiful Sparkling Red Wine that is deep in colour and full of black fruit flavours, the Sparkling Rosé Wine which has some pinot noir added at fermentation to give it a fresh summer fruit flavour and our award winning Sparkling White Wine that has white blossom and biscuit overtones.