Oz Clarke - Let Me Tell You About Wine: A beginners guide to understanding and enjoying wine

N ext time you walk into a wine shop, stop for a moment and have a good look around. Dont head straight for this months special offer, dont blinker your vision to everything but your trusty favourites, just have a good gawp at the whole range thats on display. If the shop is big and youre anything like me, your head will start to spin and the overwhelming abundance of different wines will leave you dizzy with delight. Imagine it theres a unique flavour stoppered up in every one of those bottles. So open your mind, pick a bottle, any bottle, and head off on a lifetimes joyous voyage of discovery.

But is it really worth making the effort to know the difference between all those bottles on the shelf? Oh yes! Yes, yes and yes again. Just a little knowledge will double the pleasure you get from a glass of wine and will give you the key to choosing wines that you like. And if a little knowledge can give you that, does a little more knowledge sound attractive? Thats why this book is here, to help you look beyond those special offers and trusty favourites to help you discover for yourself a world of new, exciting and delicious flavours. Are you ready? Then get reading, get shopping and start enjoying yourself!

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When you buy wine, buy it for its flavour. Reputation, packaging and price all vie to influence your choice, but they cant titillate your tastebuds. The grape variety used is the most significant factor in determining the taste of a wine, but everything that happens to the grapes and their juice on the long journey from the vine to the glass in your hand contributes to that wines unique identity. Read on and start getting the flavour you want.

get the flavour you want

Your chances of walking into a wine shop and coming out with a wine thats enjoyable to drink, whatever the price level, are better now than ever before. The last quarter of the 20th century saw a revolution in wine, in terms of both style and quality.

All wines are cleaner and fresher-tasting than they were; reds are juicier, rounder and softer; whites are snappier, zestier, more appetizing. There are more new oak barrels being used in expensive wines, which in terms of taste means vanilla and buttered toast. But this isnt to say that all wines taste alike. Indeed, theres never been a wider choice. Its just that modern winemaking is rapidly eliminating faults its not eliminating individuality.

So how do you choose? How do you tell a wine thats just right for summer lunch in the garden from one that would be better suited to a winter evening in front of a log fire? Well, imagine if you could walk into a wine shop and just pick up a bottle from the green, tangy white shelf or go for a spicy, warm-hearted red. That would make things pretty easy, wouldnt it?

You see, all those thousands of different flavours fall into the 18 broad styles shown here and which I describe in detail over the next few pages. So, even if you dont yet know a thing about grape varieties and wine-producing regions, just choose a style that appeals and Ill point you in the right direction. And come back to these pages whenever you fancy something new Ill do my best to set you off on a whole new flavour adventure.

Juicy, fruity reds
Refreshing, approachable and delicious Chilean Merlot shows what modern red wine is all about

Silky, strawberryish reds
Mellow, perfumed wine with red fruit flavours Pinot Noir is the classic grape for this

Intense, blackcurranty reds
Reds from Cabernet Sauvignon are most likely to give you this traditionalists thrill

Spicy, warm-hearted reds
Gloriously rich flavours of berries, black pepper and chocolate Aussie Shiraz cant be beaten

Mouthwatering, herby reds
Intriguing wines with a rasping herby bite and sweet-sour red fruit flavours Italian reds do this better than any others

Earthy, savoury reds
The classic food wines of Europe, led by Frances Bordeaux and Italys Chianti

Delicate ross
Fragrant, refreshing and dry an elegant summer apritif. Bordeaux and southern France hit the spot

Gutsy ross
More colour, more fruit flavour, more texture to roll around your mouth. Spain, Chile, Australia and New Zealand do best

Sweet ross
Blush is the usual name, and most of it comes from California as Zinfandel. Anjou Ros is Frances version

Bone-dry, neutral whites
Crisp, refreshing wines like Muscadet and Pinot Grigio

Green, tangy whites
Sharp, gooseberryish Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand, South Africa and Chile lead the way

Intense, nutty whites
Dry yet succulent, subtle and powerful white Burgundy sets the style

Ripe, toasty whites
Upfront flavours of peaches, apricots and tropical fruits with toasty richness the traditional flavour of Aussie and Chilean Chardonnay

Aromatic whites
Perfumy wines with exotic and floral fragrances Gewrztraminer gets my vote for scent, Viognier and Muscat for exotic fruit

Sparkling
Bubbles to make you happy and delicious flavours, too. Smile, youre drinking fun, not just wine

Rich, sweet whites
Luscious mouthfuls with intense flavours of peach, pineapple and honey, such as Sauternes

Warming, fortified
Sweet fortified wines with rich flavours ports, madeiras and sweet brown sherries

Tangy, fortified
Bone dry with startling sour and nutty flavours this is real sherry, and I love it

1 Juicy, fruity reds

Lots of fruit flavour makes for tasty, refreshing reds ideal for gulping down with or without food. This is the definitive modern style for the best cheap and not-quite-so-cheap red wines, emphasizing bright fruit flavours and minimizing the gum-drying toughness of tannin.

This style had its birth in the New World youll find it in wines from Australia, California, Washington State, New Zealand, South America and South Africa but it has spread right through Europe, overturning any lingering ideas that red wine must be aged. You dont age these wines. You buy them and you drink them. And then you buy some more. For juicy, fruity flavours, dont even look at a wine thats more than about two years old.