Wine is one of the oldest drinks known to man, it’s probably second only to water in terms of the amount consumed throughout history. However, as man’s technological progress has evolved, so has their wine evolved and became even better. Today there are so many types of wine you can choose from that you’re probably lost when it comes to picking a wine. Add to that the fact that many wines have fancy names that are tough to pronounce. But don’t worry intrepid Long Islander’s wines belong to major categories that define them. Some wines are also known by the regions they came from because that wine may be the specialty of a particular area. So those fancy names you hear is often nothing more then the name of a particular region where the wines came from.

Basically, wines are just grapes that are left in a barrel to ferment on their own for a particular period of time. The wine making process has become easier in recent years, however, it is still time consuming because nothing beats the actual natural fermentation process and that takes time, sometimes even decades to complete. The wines that take a long time to ferment are also more expensive then wines that ferment quicker.

As was mentioned earlier, the type of wine is usually known by the region where it came from. The reason for this is because the processes of making wine in different regions do vary and the climates and the kind of grapes in different regions are also dissimilar. So it is only to be expected that there will be many variations of wine even though they all share the same basic principles in the wine making process. Grapes, the primary ingredient in wine plays a key role in determining what type of wine you will get and the type of grape is identified by the term, varietals.

The foremost grapes for white wine are the Chardonnay grapes and the Sauvignon Blanc grapes. The United States, particularly in the state of California is a good source of the Chardonnay grapes. This type of grape is suited for making wine that is best paired with your food. Meanwhile, Sauvignon Blanc grapes are a great choice when you intend to produce wines that can be enjoyed outdoors.

While the foremost varietals in white wine is the Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc, the foremost varietals in producing red wine, on the other hand, are many. Some of these varietals include Merlot grapes, these grapes result in a smooth wine. Another popular choice in making red wine is the Zinfandel grapes; the Zinfandel grapes are very flexible and can produce either red or white wine.

Meanwhile, still another choice for red wine is the Cabernet Sauvignon grapes; this type of grape will produce the rich and full-flavored wine that the red wine is widely associated with. This type of wine is especially good when paired with a strong and heavy meal. Pinot Noir, on the other hand, is more mediocre compared to the Cabernet but this is just because the kind of wine that Pinot Noir is really made for is Champagne and not the red wine. A lesser known varietals meanwhile, is the Syrah, this also creates a full-flavored wine like the Chardonnay and is a best seller in Australia.

In essence, there are only two categories of wine, red wine and white wine. Generally speaking, white wine is lighter than red wine and it also matures more quickly compared to red wine. So this is basically the gist of the types of wine available for your consumption.