You want to order a good red wine, but how do you decide? How do you even know what you would like? There are so many different types of wine, and it can be confusing to decide which red wine is right for your meal or your palate. Here are five top wine types and some food pairings to help you decide.
The Leading Red
Cabernet Sauvignon is the leading red. That’s not just because it’s good. It’s because more cabernet grapes are planted around the world. You can find a better California Cabernet Sauvignon for $40 to $50. You may notice spicy notes and hints of fruits.
If you are eating that American favorite, the hamburger, Cabernet Sauvignon has a strong enough taste to stand up to the fatty meat. It is equally good with something fancier such as steak, prime rib, or lamb.
The Excellent Alternative
Merlot grapes are the second-most popular grape planted in wine country. It tends to be fruiter than Cabernet and perhaps sweeter. The tannins are lighter, countering the natural tartness that many associate with a red wine.
When you are tucking into a roast chicken, a Merlot should be an excellent companion. For that matter, it is good with any type of poultry, including game birds such as ducks.
The Sweetest Choice
You will see Zinfandels in red, pink and white. Sticking to the red variety, you can expect a zinfandel to be sweeter than Merlot or Cabernet Sauvignon. You might also check the label because the alcohol content of sweeter wines is sometimes higher as well.
As for food, you’ll find that Zinfandel is a nice choice for your pasta dishes. It also goes well with that other Italian specialty, pizza. Zinfandel also makes a nice pair with short ribs or pork tenderloin.
The Sipping Wine
While theoretically all wine is for sipping, a Syrah tends to be especially good for a quiet moment. It has a bold flavor that is sometimes spicy or even peppery. You may taste fruity notes such as blackberries but you are unlikely to declare this wine too sweet, even if you favor dry wines.
The balance of flavors may be why it is such a good choice for a traditional tray of cheeses and sliced meats. While you sip, you nibble. It just feels so civilized.
By the way, Syrah and Shiraz are made from the same grape. The only difference besides the name is usually the country of origin with wineries in the Southern Hemisphere preferring Shiraz.
The Lightest Choice
In this case the lightest choice isn’t about calories or alcohol content. Instead the lightness of the Pinot Noir grape sets it apart from the others. You can expect brighter notes and flavors.
This is the red wine for seafood and fish. You can enjoy it with grilled salmon or chilled sushi. As for its color, Zinfandel is a rich, almost purple red. You can also find Zinfandel wines that are pink or white, but they don’t have the red’s silky delivery.
When you order your next bottles of wine, try a few different red wines and discover which type of red is really your favorite. You don’t need to be a scientist to perform this experiment, and it’s a hands-on way to learn more about wine.
I love wine and I can go both ways, red or white. My favorite red is Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. These are all great picks!
This has got me interested, I got to check which one are vegan so I can try them out.
We love red wine! So delish!
Wow! I learned a lot about red wine with this article. I can’t wait to show these to my friends and let them know the types of it.
I always get the lightest choice. It suits my lifestyle. I’m an avid fan of red wine so this article makes me so happy. Hope you can go back to Italy. I’ll show you around the best vineyards.
I love red wine and Merlot is my go to wine, but I also love the mulled wine and port wine that we get locally at our place.
I love red wine, and wine in general. What sort of wine will I have, depends on what I am eating. With red meats – red wine. White meats – white wine. Pork and lamb – strong wine. Beef – medium-strong or Rose. favorite sorts: Merlot, Syrah, Cabernet, Rose, Tamjanika, Prokupac (our domestic sorts).
This has been really informational and I loved going through the wines and their perfect pairings. I hope ill be able to remember all of this so that ill appear cultures in front of my friends. Lol
Always sweet red for me. Thanks for the great information, I learned a lot about wine today.
This is something I’ve heard of, that people drink wine according to their menus. As I don’t drink alcohol, I don’t know much about it. Having read your article, I learnt a few new things!
So funny that I only see red wines as just red wines until i was able to try other red wine varieties. They are really good especially if paired with the correct menu.
I don’t drink, but my sister told me that red wine is a good drink for a delicious steak.
I am a wine lover and I also love my Zinfandel. Thanks for sharing these 5 leading red wines.
I am not much of a wine person, and this is very informative. I learned a lot!
This is really great to know!! Thanks so much! Adding these to my must-try!
We drink a lot of red wine in France so it’s not foreign to me. I have tried almost all types and kinds of red wine.
In the Philippines, we don’t drink red wine that much as we have “lambanog” as one of our national wines. At least for my family that is! For my friends, they usually order Merlot or Cabernet Sauvignon. Those are the common two that I always hear.
I am such a big fan of red wines. Parties are not complete without it. Red wine is something that most people enjoy, even if they don’t always understand it. But thanks for your post. I learned a lot
This is like a red wine bible. I did not know these before. I’d love a fruity but silky kind of wine
I love wine but don’t know much about it so this is such a big help for me to learn more things.
Reds are my favorite. Although I may be a little bias
Great summary, Syrah & Pinot have been my long time favourites you described them brilliantly.
Zinfindel would be perfect for me! I love sweeter wines and tend to choose a rose. However, I’ll drink just about any wine when it’s handed to me. Ha!
I have a dozen or more bottles of red wine in my cabinet. However I do not think I’ve ever had a red Zinfandel. I will have to try it.
I am not very familiar with wines, and this is useful to learn about. I will definitely be using this info next time we have guests!
I absolutely love wine and of them all reds, especially sweet reds are my all time favorite.