Choosing the right wine for you: Red wines

Bold Reds (serious reds, for full flavoured dinners and cheezes, red meat; best served just below room temperature and benefit from ‘breathing’ from being poured into a decanter)
Enjoy their earthiness, cedar, subtle tobacco


Barolo (Piedmonte, Italy) — Made from the Nebbiolo variety.


Amarone (Veneto, Italy) — A powerful form of Valpolicella which is made from partially dried grapes to concentrate the flavours; they have a level of residual sweetness.


Cabernet Sauvignon (Chile) — Chile’s most planted grape. It’s a great all-rounder with a balance of earthy and fruit. Some fantastic deals to be had in store.

Can range from the earthy to the deep fruity
Bordeaux (France) — Varied from the Cabernet-dominated to the Merlot dominated. I find

the Merlot offerings to be more plush with dark fruits like plum, black cherry, and currant.

Compare these two for fun! Pretty much the same sort of grape, but the difference in climate and winemaking practices make a huge difference.


Shiraz (Southern Australia) — The Aussies love to make blockbuster Shiraz that is very fruit forward to the point of being ‘jammy’. You’ll appreciate the residual sweetness.


Syrah (Languedoc-Roussillon, France) — These Southern French offerings (and usually blends with other grapes such including Grenache and Carignan) are a bargain! They will be more ‘peppery’ rather than fruity, and drier rather than sweet.




Medium and Lighter Reds (Very versatile, range from the easy-sipping type, to the complex; serve these slightly cooler than heavier reds to appreciate their subtleties, around 15°C/59°F)


Beaujolais (Burgundy, France) — Made from the Gamay grape. The lightest are ‘Beaujolais Nouveau’, and released every year on the third Thursday of November. Taking a mere two months from grapevine-to-bottle, they are so new you may even taste some slight effervesence left over from the recently finished fermentation! Beaujolais is actually a complex medium bodied red that can sometimes command very high prices – but can be worth your while.

Pinot Noir (Burgundy, France; British Columbia and Ontario, Canada) — Seen the movie Sideways? I totally resonate with the character played by Paul Giamatti that poured his heart out for this grape. I love its light earthiness. I especially love to break famous wine myths in my wine appreciation seminars, like that you can’t eat red wine with fish, and serve this with salmon or grilled tilapia. Pinot Noir is fantastic with mushroom dishes. Another country that is a still a lesser known rising star for this grape is Canada so check them out, too.


Zinfandel (California) — Bursting with dark ripe fruit. This is Californian flagship wine grape by far. It even comes as a great summer sipper as a blush Rosé which is of medium sweetness.

Interested in white wine, too? Have a look at my page on whites.
http://kevindonato.blogspot.com/2009/12/choosing-right-wine-for-you-white-wines.html