Your Red Wine Guide!
We’re here today to talk about red wine, listing it from light and sweet, to dark and bold.
While there are plenty of yummy white, blush, and sparkling wines out there, it’s red that’s the carries the most complex flavors, pairs great with food, and is typically a customer favorite!
Check out the low-down on red wine and see which ones you might want to try with dinner, a girls’ night, date night, or painting night next!
— LIGHT-BODIED RED WINE —
*** Schiava ***
There is a wine that tastes like cotton candy and, surprisingly, it’s not made with cotton candy grapes. It’s made with a special wine grape called Schiava.
Schiava is a light-bodied red wine (like Pinot Noir) with aromas of cotton candy, strawberry, bubblegum, and lemonhead candy. The wine is delicate and light in color. On the palate, the flavors are quite subtle and producers in Alto Adige will often make a dry style as to not overwhelm the palate with sweetness, which is already provided by the aromas. The alcohol levels are slightly lighter because the grape grows predominantly in a cooler climate.
-- Food Pairings: A wonderfully pairing with shrimp, chicken and tofu, particularly with southeast Asian cuisine that feature basil, ginger, galangal and other aromatic herbs.
*** Pinot Noir ***
Pinot Noir is, without a doubt, the most romanticized red wine in the world. No other grape brings out such emotion and devout worship among its enthusiasts. Festivals are thrown every year in the grape’s honor and an entire movie, Sideways, was devoted to the passion the wine stirs in people. Sideways has had such a cultural impact in the US that it has single-handedly both elevated the profile of the grape and also done it harm, as it’s caused many casual wine drinkers to associate Pinot Noir with wine snobs.
((A good Pinot Noir is one of the safest red wines, along with Merlot, to serve to a big group of people.))
—Pair With: Charcuterie, ham and other cold meats; Goat cheese; Grilled asparagus and Spring vegetables such as peas; Mushroom risotto; Roast or grillled lobster; seared salmon and tuna.
— MEDIUM-BODIED RED WINE —
*** Merlot ***
Love Cabernet Sauvignon, but crave something more smooth, lush, and less aggressive? Go with Merlot. With upfront fruit flavors, moderate tannin, and balanced acidity, Merlot is an ideal food pairing wine and a safe bet for any occasion. Yes, it doesn’t command the respect that a bold Cabernet Sauvignon often does, but it doesn’t command the same price tag either, often leading to a better quality-value ratio.
The best Merlot taste has a range of flavors, ranging from graphite, herbs and blackberries, to black cherries, plums, and cocoa, often layered with notes of clove, vanilla, and cedar when aged in oak
((Fun Fact: The word Merlot is French for “the little blackbird.” Merlot also refers to a red grape variety used to make wine around the world))
— Pair this wine with turkey, pork, root vegetables, winter salads, stews, and all manner of harvest foods.
(Avoid pairing Merlot with fish, leafy greens, or spicy foods, where it can either overwhelm or be overwhelmed.)
*** Zinfandel ***
Zinfandel is lighter in color than both Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. However, although a light-bodied red wine like Pinot Noir, Zin’s moderate tannin and high acidity make it taste bold. Generally speaking, most Zinfandel wines have higher alcohol levels.
The primary flavors of Zinfandel are jam, blueberry, black pepper, cherry, plum, boysenberry, cranberry, and licorice. When you taste Zinfandel it often explodes with candied fruitiness followed by spice and often a tobacco-like smoky finish.
— Food Pairings: Since Zinfandel leans on the sweeter side of red wine, it’s a great pairing partner with spiced barbecue dishes and curry.
Pro tip: Pick out the spices you taste in the wine and add them to your sauce.
Also try: light meats like turkey, pork, and veal; Look for hard and richly flavored cheeses, and highly flavored vegetables, which help to bring out the fruitiness in Zinfandel such as roasted tomato, red peppers, carmelized onion, roasted squash, apricot, peach, cranberry, spiced apple, and beets.
— Try a delicious glass of Zinfandel with Pork tonkatsu, a Japanese dish served with a richly spiced curry sauce. The spicing and savory-sweet quality of this dish make it a perfect wine pairing partner with Zinfandel.
https://damn...sundaysupper/
— FULL-BODIED RED WINE —
*** Malbec ***
Known for its plump, dark fruit flavors and smoky finish, Malbec wine offers a great alternative to higher priced Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah. However, there’s more to Malbec than just value. The fruit flavor profile consists of black cherry, pomegranate, plum, raspberry, blackberry, blueberry, and raisin… and also includes cocoa, milk chocolate, coffee, mocha, molasses, and black pepper.
Originating from the Bordeaux region of France, the Malbec is among the "big six" for red wine grapes, Malbec is typically a medium to full-bodied, dry red wine with plenty of acidities and relatively high tannin and alcohol levels.
— Perfect Food Pairing: Black pepper buffalo burgers with blue cheese mushrooms and rosemary infused garlic kale chips. YUM!!!
*** Cabernet Sauvignon ***
Cabernet Sauvignon is a red grape varietal known for its thick, durable skin, and the vine’s resistance to the elements. After the birth of the grape, the Cabernet Sauvignon varietal began to be adopted in parts of France by winemakers searching for more durable plants that were relatively easy to grow, and the grape found its champion in the region of Bordeaux.
As a wine, Cabernet Sauvignon is known for its dark color, full body and an alcohol content that is over 13.5%, with most Cabernet Sauvignons, especially those from places such as California, Australia and Chile, being more like 14.5% and sometimes even going over 15%. The wine is dry (not sweet) and has a healthy level of tannin, which is why your mouth dries out when you sip it. Many people who drink Cabernet Sauvignon say they always pick up a taste of green pepper in the wine, along with tobacco, cassis, and dark fruits such as cherries, along with a hint of vanilla that comes from the wine aging in the oak.
— Try It With These Foods: Steak, a good burger, roast or grilled lamb, portobello mushrooms, gorgonzola, broccoli rabe, and posted brussel sprouts.
*** Petite Sirah ***
Despite its popularity, Petite Sirah is an exceptionally rare grape with less than 10,000 planted acres worldwide, growing mainly in California.
The dominant flavors include sugar plum, blueberry, dark chocolate, black pepper, and back tea.
Petite Sirah with such high tannin is the perfect red wine to pour in a decanter and let it evolve for 2–4 hours (if you can wait!)
It is one of the deepest, most opaque red wines with very high levels of anthocyanin (an antioxidant). Similarly colored wines to Petite Sirah include Tannat and Sagrantino.
Full-bodied red wineslike Petite Sirah have high tannin (bitterness and astringency) which means you’ll want to match them up with richer, more fatty foods to create balance.
With its smoky fruit flavors, Petite Sirah will pair nicely with bold exotic spices and herbs–just avoid making the dish too sweet.
— Food To Try:
Roasted Pork, Barbecue Beef, Beef Burgers, Chicken in Mole Sauce
Aged Gouda, melted Swiss cheese, Fresh Mozzarella
Sautéed Mushroom, Eggplant, Black Bean, caramelized Onion, Stuffed Peppers
Black Pepper, Allspice, Clove, Sage, Rosemary, Cinnamon, Chili Pepper, Lavender, Cocoa
We hope to see you soon for a class where you can enjoy a nice glass of wine with your painting! Whether you prefer red or white, we've got something for you.... and beer drinkers, we have a great selection for you, including some of our newest beverages:
https://www....satourstudio-
Share View our painting calendar | Check out our wine and beer menu