Step one is knowing the most common dry red wine types you'll encounter when you're out shopping. Read below to learn a bit more about the different types of dry red wine, and what to look for. Or check my Choosing Wine for a Party page for resources on red wines, whites, and pairing wine with food. Here is a list of some very common red wines, including how they're flavored and where they tend to come from. Or you can check this page for an overview of all the common wine types, including white, champagne, and sweet wines.
Barbera Wines
Most of this dry red wine comes from the Piedmont region of Italy, though it is also becoming a popular grape variety in California wines. More aged versions of Barbera tends to be very full bodied (great with heavy food) but with a nice balance of acid. Lighter, younger varieties are medium bodied and fruity.
Cabernet Franc Wines
France and California are both famous for growing this dry red wine type. But this wine is often mixed with other grapes or flavorings, and is not commonly used on its own.
You'll generally find Cab Franc mixed with Cabernet Sauvignon and/or Merlot (as with French Bordeoux wines) and occasionally with other varieties for use in Chianti. You'll also find this variety mixed with other grapes in Spanish, California, Washington State, Australia, South Africa, Chile, and Argentina.
Cabernet Sauvignon Wine
This is one of the most popular dry red wine types there is, and is grown all over the world. The most famous probably comes from France near Bordeaux, but you can find it grown all over the world. This grape is either produced on its own, or blended with merlot, shiraz, cabernet franc, you name it.
The beauty of this wine is how it ages to perfection. It's powerful, full-bodied, and takes on a lot of flavor from the aging process. Some versions of this wine are a bit more subtle, but many are very intense, with a lot of sharp or bitter-tasting tannins. Not a wine for people who don't like the flavor of wine! It also tends to be a bit higher in alcohol, making it difficult to pair with very spicy foods.
Grenache/Garnacha Wine
This is another one of those dry red wine types grown all over the world. The most famous Grenache (or Garnacha in Spain) wines come from California, Spain, and France. The most famous varieties probably cone from Spain.
This dry red wine type has berry overtones and a high-medium body, and is often blended with other varieties of wine to add body and fruitiness to wines. It has a higher amount of alcohol and low amounts of tannins.
Merlot Wine
This is probably one of the most user friendly dry red wine types in the world. Merlot has become an incredibly popular wine in the last decade because it has a low acid content and very smooth flavor. It also has strong berry tones. This wine is grown all over the world, to be made alone or mixed with other varieties.
Merlot tends to be a fruity wine, with hints of plum and currant, and is lower in tannins than more intense reds like Cabernet Sauvignon. Merlots grown in cooler areas tend to be fruiter and more acidic.
Pinot Noir Wine
This variety of wine has always been known as a very finicky grape, but, when well executed, produces lovely, complex wines-- the most famous of which come from France (such as Burgundy wine) and California. This is a delicate wine that, depending on the vintner, will have a variety of flavors. It's generally light-to-medium bodied, and filled with aroma and flavor, ranging from fruity to floral to herbal. This is also one of the wine grape varieties used in French champagne.
Tempranillo Wine
Tempranillo is the quintessential Spanish wine grape, and is the most commonly used grape the famous Spanish wine region of Rioja. Once exclusively Spanish, this grape is now grown in Australia, California, South America, and South Africa, as well.
This is a wine that is either drunk young or aged, and it takes very well to a long aging process. It is often used on its own, especially in Rioja wines, but is also mixed with other varieties all over the world. It can be either light and mild, as in a young Tempranillo, or oakey and intense when aged.
Red Zinfandel Wine
Most wine newbies think Zinfandel is a bad thing-- and only comes in a sweet white. Not true! This grape is also one of the more popular dry red wine types to come out of California. This type of red wine has both spice and fruit tones, depending on how it's produced. Cooler areas produce a more berry flavored wine, while warmer areas produce a spicier wine.
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