CHOOSING wine should be an enjoyable experience; it should be something that is almost as enjoyable as drinking the wines that you end up selecting.
Unfortunately, however, for many people shopping for wine is a chore, something to be done as quickly as possible. To avoid this feeling buy red wine and white wine online; by doing this you are guaranteed a level of satisfaction that you simply cannot find elsewhere.
Most people buy their wine at the supermarket. Whether this is done as part of a weekly shop or just a quick visit after work to pick up some essentials, the experience can be one that is stressful and confusing. Many people share a common difficulty when it comes to buying wine in shops; the wine aisle in a supermarket is quite often a daunting place for those whose knowledge about wine is limited.
There are a number of benefits to buying wine online. Most websites will provide detailed (and quite often fun and interesting) information on the different types of wine available. This will help you to choose the right wine for whatever occasion you are planning. Websites can even put together a case of their best sellers so that you can sample a number of wines and find your own favourite.
Obviously a big plus point about buying wines online is that they are delivered straight to your door. That means no more lugging bottles around the supermarket, to your car and then into your house.
Online wine companies are also often further ahead of the curve than supermarkets when it comes to new and exciting wines. This is because the process of bringing wines from producers to you, the consumer, is more simple and straightforward for online operators than it is for supermarkets and wine merchants. This means that alongside old favourites there will always be something new for you to try.
One of the most important things to understand when choosing your wines is the grapes that have been used to make it. Hopefully what follows will provide some clarification. The first thing to note is that wines are either blended (meaning that they are made up of several grape varieties) or varietal, which means that they are made primarily from a single grape.
Cabernet Sauvignon is one of the most widely used grapes due to the fact that it grows well in a number of climates; quite literally as long as there is a decent amount of warmth and sunlight during the growing season it will grow anywhere. This means that vines are found in France, California, Australia and South Africa. Cab Sav, as it is affectionately known, adds a fruity flavour to a wine. It is usually a grape that is blended with other varieties as it adds longevity to a wine.
Another popular grape used to produce red wine is Merlot, which grows in Bordeaux, France, California, Washington State and Chile. Merlot vines are more successful when grown in a slightly cooler climate than Cab Sav; for example, in France, they are grown on the Right Bank in Bordeaux (as opposed to Cab Sav which grows on the Left Bank), as this area is cooler and has clay soils. Merlot is a grape that has flavours of berry, plum and currant and is used both in blends and varietal wines.
Shiraz (or Syrah as it is known in the Old World) is a powerful grape that, if grown correctly, produces world-beating wines. Although this grape is used to produce varietal wines, it is usually blended to produce wines with very distinctive flavours. Some aromas that are commonly found in wines containing Syrah include berries, chocolate, black pepper and truffle.
The last commonly produced grape that is worth having on your radar when searching for wines online is Pinot Noir. A notoriously difficult grape to get right, this grape produces balanced, delicate and beautiful wines. Unlike the other varieties discussed above this grape is rarely blended (an interesting exception being in Champagne where it is used alongside Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier). Although it is grown in New Zealand and Oregon, it is Burgundy where this wine is most famous. In Burgundy Pinot Noir wines are considered to reflect the essence of the landscape (terroir). Floral flavours age very well.
So, next time you are considering buying some wine, don't let yourself become confused; remember these simple facts about the main ingredient used to produce wine. The great thing about wine websites is that they provide all this sort of information and more.
