Wine for Beginners: The Ultimate (Basic) Wine Guide

Have you ever ordered the second cheapest bottle on the menu to save face, only to have an utterly neutral opinion on it? Do you ever confidently go for a more expensive glass, only for it to completely clash with your meal? Do conversations about grapes make you feel mildly inadequate and significantly confused? This Wine Guide is the perfect tool for you.

Now, not everyone has to be a master sommelier, and of course, wine might not be your thing at all, but it comes with the territory of dinner parties, date nights, and countless other activities that could be referred to as “adulting”. With wine the country’s favourite alcoholic beverage, it’s not the kind of thing that you can expect to go out of fashion any time soon.

Having a baseline knowledge of wine profiles and pairings is a great way to order with authority, sniff with self-satisfaction, converse with confidence, and imbibe with enjoyment!

Disclaimer: Wine flavours are complex and influenced by various factors, including grape variety, climate, soil, age, and making technique – this guide offers a simple overview of popular wine options but shouldn’t be taken as gospel in every situation.

The Beginners Red Wine Guide

Red wine is synonymous with… well red meat! The search for the best red wine with steak combination is something that many have invested hours of their lives in, however, the flavour profiles of red wine have a lot more to offer for casual sipping and food pairings alike.

Cabernet Sauvignon

Cabernet Sauvignon is known for dark fruit flavours and smoothness, such as blackcurrant and blackberry, with rich cedar, tobacco, and sometimes vanilla notes. It can also include some savoury elements like black pepper and bell pepper. While being fairly full-bodied, it tends to have fairly low levels of tannins and acidity.

Wine and Food Pairing: Cab Sav is known for pairing well with fatty, umami foods such as:

Red Meat Stews
Strong Cheeses
Steaks & Grilled Meats
Mushroom Dishes

Merlot

Merlot has a smoother, softer flavour profile than the typical Cab Sav, being known for versatility and refreshment. It can have some red fruit and berry notes, with older Merlots getting developing notes of chocolate, spice, and tobacco.

Wine and Food Pairing: As a super versatile wine, Merlot is known to pair well with plenty of foods including:

Pizza & Pasta
Roasted Meat (Red or White)
Steak
Ratatouille

Pinot Noir

Pinot Noir is considered a gentleman’s choice for red wine, especially with the advent of Paul Giamatti's lyrical waxing on the wine in an impressive monologue from the film Sideways. It’s worth noting that Pinot Noir tastes different based on origin, however, most variations are defined by notes of berries, cherries, vanilla, hibiscus, and even earthiness from flavours like mushroom.

Food and Wine Pairing: Pinot is considered a perfect pairing wine with almost anything, having the lightness and complexity to match with foods like:

Salmon
Duck
Venison
Mushroom Dishes

Syrah/Shiraz

Shiraz is known for its sweetness and spice, offering dark berry notes, an essence of pepper, and sometimes a smokiness, not unlike the smell of leather. It can be quite rich and jammy, with elements of raisin flavour and sometimes a fairly high alcohol content.

Food and Wine Pairing: Shiraz is best paired with other strong flavours, with foods like:

Chargrilled & Barbecued Meats
Blue & Hard Cheeses like Roquefort & Parmesan
Kebabs
Hearty Root Vegetables

Malbec

Malbec is a very full-bodied, fruity wine with a medium-low acidity and a medium-high tannin level. Not particularly dry, Malbec is known for plum, blackberry, vanilla, tobacco, and smooth chocolatey notes. The latter three notes can be significantly enhanced by an oak ageing process.

Food and Wine Pairing: The smoothness of Malbec matches with earthy, strong flavours like:

Turkey Kebabs
Strong Cheese
BBQ Pork
Moroccan Dishes (Tagine)

Tempranillo

This mostly Spanish wine is known for a flavour that falls somewhere between sweet and savoury, offering a contrast between the smoothness of tobacco with the tartness of cherries, along with elements of tomato and chunky tannins.

Food and Wine Pairing: As a Spanish wine, Tempranillo pairs seamlessly with Mediterranean & Latin flavours, like:

Tomato-Based Pasta Dishes
Grits, Polenta & Corn-Based Dishes
Mexican Food (Tacos, Burritos, Chile Rellenos)
Grilled & Smoked Meats

These are just a few popular red wines but it's clear that red grapes can produce a diverse range of flavours and sensations, with common trends being darker fruits, vanilla, and tobacco. While there’s more to red wine than steak pairings, most of them will complement a slab of beef, so when in doubt, go for the ribeye!

The Beginners White Wine Guide

White wines tend to be lighter and fresher, with an arguably broader range of flavour profiles than their purple cousins. People associate white wines with white fish and white meat, but again there are plenty of different ways to enjoy a nice crisp glass with dinner.

Chardonnay

The world’s favourite white wine, Chardonnay is a versatile wine that can embody various forms, with some being super crisp and lean while others taking on richer, more buttery tastes. Across the board, Chardonnay includes notes of lemon, yellow apple, vanilla, pineapple, and butter.

Food and Wine Pairing: With so many varieties of Chardonnay available, it can pair with many meals. However, safe choices for a good pairing include:

Seafood & Shellfish
Creamy Pasta Dishes
Mild Cheeses
Pork & Chicken

Sauvignon Blanc

Sauvignon Blanc is another popular choice for white wine, known for its crisp and refreshing taste in most varieties. It generally has a reasonable acidity, herbaceousness, and fruit flavours like grapefruit, peach, light melon, and gooseberry.

Food and Wine Pairing: The flavours of Sauvignon Blanc mesh well with light, herby, and fresh foods, such as:

Summer Salads
Soft Cheeses
Asian Stir-Fries
Smoked Fish

Pinot Grigio/Gris

Pinot Grigio, much like Chardonnay, is a versatile wine with the potential to take on both zesty refreshing profiles and more full-bodied forms. In general, Pinot Grigio will present drinkers with notes of apple, pear, citrus zest, green almond, and slightly earthier elements.

Food and Wine Pairing: Pinot Gris, whether dryer or sweeter, can be applied to a variety of bold meals, including:

Roast Chicken or Pork
Charcuterie Boards
Oily Fish (Salmon or Mackerel)
Fruity Desserts

Riesling

Riesling is generally quite a sweet wine that can also be found in some dryer, crisper forms. Typically, Riesling is quite fruit-forward, offering vibrant flavours of apple and lime, with touches of beeswax and jasmine, along with intriguing floral or petrol-like aromas.

Food and Wine Pairing: Riesling, with its varying levels of sweetness, pairs beautifully with a wide range of international dishes, including:

Spicy East Asian Cuisine
Indian Curry
Pork Dishes
Sweet Rieslings with Desserts

Gewürztraminer

Gewürztraminer is known for its aromatic and spicy profile, with a flavour that can be either sweet or dry. Drinkers can expect to experience notes of lychee, rose, and ginger. This wine's bold flavours might be a bit much for beginners but could be a great entry point into more expressive choices.

Food and Wine Pairing: Gewürztraminer pairs exceptionally well with a variety of strong-flavoured dishes, including:

Strong-Flavoured Cheeses
Spicy Moroccan Dishes
Foie Gras
Nuts & Dried Fruit

At just a glance, white wines have a more varied range of flavours when compared to red, while primarily existing in a world of lighter fruit flavours, citric acidity, and herbal notes. Of course, fish and seafood are common accompaniments but white wine’s more expressive flavours can be a great partner with a spicy international meal.

The Beginners Rosé Wine Guide

It’s not red, it’s not white, it’s somewhere in between! While generally made from red wine grapes, it takes on a translucent pink colour, generally resulting in refreshing flavours that fall in the middle, ready to be enjoyed in the warmer months of the year.

Provence Rosé

Provence Rosé is typically light and dry, offering delicate flavours of strawberry, watermelon, and celery, while also giving some enjoyable floral elements. This wine is a refreshing choice, known for having a mineral-driven taste that feels notably grown-up.

Food and Wine Pairing: Provence Rosé pairs beautifully with a variety of light and fresh dishes, including:

Seafood
Grilled Fish
Salads
Light Appetisers

Tavel Rosé

Tavel Rosé is a fuller-bodied rosé with a lot of texture, known for featuring red fruit flavors like raspberry and cherry, along with stone fruit hints like peach and nectarine, and often with a hint of spice. This robust wine is known for its depth and complexity.

Food and Wine Pairing: Tavel Rosé complements heartier dishes and Mediterranean-inspired cuisine, such as:

Grilled Chicken
Pork Kebabs
Seafood Pasta
Gamey Meats like Quail

Pinot Noir Rosé

Pinot Noir Rosé is made from the same grapes as the red wine, however, in this process, it results in a light and fruity expression complete with enticing red berry flavours and floral, even grassy notes. This wine is elegant and versatile, making it a popular choice for many occasions.

Food and Wine Pairing: Pinot Noir Rosé pairs wonderfully with a variety of dishes, including:

Deli Meats
Gouda Cheese
Spicy Chicken Tacos
Berry-Based Desserts

Grenache Rosé

Grenache Rosé offers a harmonious balance of red fruit and citrus flavours, resulting in a full-bodied yet acidic wine, often with a slightly rounder palate. This wine is both refreshing and satisfying, with notes of strawberry, orange, hibiscus, and even a little allspice.

Food and Wine Pairing: Grenache Rosé is the kind of wine that matches well with salty, Mediterranean foods, such as:

Grilled Shellfish
Seafood Stews
Omelettes & Egg Dishes
Cold Meats and Cheeses

Rosé wines are versatile and can be enjoyed with a wide range of foods. However, you can be confident with most Rosé to experience some red and stone fruit flavours, along with citrusy notes and some floral elements. Experimentation is key for finding your perfect bottle.

General Flavour Notes & Wine Pairing Tips

As you can tell by now, wine flavour is generally all about the fruit, however, all wines will take on secondary and tertiary aromas and flavours impacted by the winemaking and ageing processes.

Secondary Characteristics: The floral, herbal or spicy notes, along with buttery and creamy elements, described throughout this blog generally come from the origins of wines and the variety of the grapes.

Tertiary Characteristics: Elements like leatheriness, a touch of tobacco, nuttiness, or vanilla notes are developed in the ageing process, whether the wine develops in bottles or casks. More caramel, vanilla-leaning tastes tend to come from casks, while leathery tastes come from bottle ageing.

General Pairing Tips

Understanding the profile of a wine will make pairing it a lot more straightforward. Remember, you’re looking for combinations that complement each other and aren’t in competition.

Here are some basic principles to live by:

As a rule, lighter wines pair better with lighter foods, and vice versa.
Sweet wines can be used to balance spicy foods.
Acidic wines can cut through richer dishes.

Remember, experimentation is everything when it comes to wine pairing with foods. Don’t take anything as gospel and find the combinations that suit you!

Understanding the Wine Industry and More

With this baseline wine guide, you should be better equipped to enter dinner parties with confidence or even start investing in wines for your hospitality business. With white wine still the favourite drink of the public, it’s good to understand Vino so you can serve up the best product for your punters.

If you’re interested in the industry of alcohol, there’s no better place to visit than Trade Drinks Expo. This trade show and industry conference will feature 100s of Exhibiting Businesses and an incredible lineup of Guest Speakers, meaning you can properly engage with every aspect of the sector, whether you’re dealing with wine, beer, or spirits!