A Beginner’s Guide To Choosing Red Wine

By Author: Tatiana Zakaidze
Total Articles: 36
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So you want to taste red wine, and you have never done it before. So, what makes red wine good? Well, it might seem to be a simple question. But, it’s tricky. There’s no good or bad wine. It depends on an individuals’ taste and preferences. Of course, with so many wine choices from different regions, including amphora wine, Georgian saperavi, it could be quite overwhelming to choose the one that suits you as a beginner. In addition, red wine is also hard to understand because of its huge variations that even wine lovers struggle to understand. How will you choose? This guide should help you:-

Start With Light

It’s a good idea to start with a light-bodied red wine with moderate alcohol and doesn’t have strong flavours. Light red wine won’t overwhelm your taste buds. The body type in wine language indicates how light or heavy the wine feels in your mouth when you take the first sip. So, don’t go for highly flavoured red wines. You might not like to taste it, especially when it’s the first time. Light or medium-bodied wines are smoother and have lighter tannins, making them an ideal choice for beginners. ...
... What’s tannin? It’s the element that causes the bitter taste in most red wines that a lot of newbies find unpleasant and overpowering. That’s one of the significant reasons why less experienced wine lovers as for light, sweeter wines.

Opt for straightforward fruit wines as they have fruity flavours and don’t have complex flavours. The fruit flavours that you will find in most wines are blackberry, cranberry, ripe cherry, raspberry, strawberry, and plum.

Start With Less Expensive

While there’s nothing wrong with choosing expensive wines, it’s recommended for beginners to start with less expensive ones. This is because costlier wines tend to be more complex and has strong flavours, which is difficult for beginners to handle the structure of such wines.

Smell

Sometimes all it needs is the smell of the food or beverage to determine whether you need to taste it. Even before taking a sip, smell the wine. Does it really smell like wine? Yes, does it smell floral or fruity? Also, check whether you like the smell or not.

Colour

As you move towards full-bodied red wines, opt for deep red coloured wines as they have the highest alcohol content and tannins, making an excellent pairing with rich fatty foods.

Take it slow, explore the different types of wine and choose the one that satisfies your taste bud. Whether you’re looking for saperavi or any other variety, Tamada has got you covered. Tamada is a local wine importer in Australia that offers a wide range of exotic from various parts of the world.