ALL THE WINE.

I may have taken a bit of a hiatus from posting my Gmoney Experiences, but that’s only because I’ve been super busy building up some great content to share! I recently began doing more research on wine (reading my way through this dry January!) and have learned more than I ever could have imagined from the book Wine. All the Time. By Marissa A. Ross. (Look out for an overview/ recommendation list of the 27 books I’m choosing to read this year TBD!)

Marissa presents an overwhelming amount of information in the least wine- snobbish, pretentious way possible. I binge read her book and pulled interesting facts and suggestions about the wines I found intriguing. Below you’ll find a list organized by category, region and in alphabetical order (OCD much)? From what Marissa shared in her book of allllll the wines, these are the kinds I’m pledging to get to know in 2019!

RED WINES:

Barbera (med body, high acidity, low tannins)

• ITALY- PIEMONTE

Cab Franc (med body, med/high acidity, med/high tannins)

• FRANCE- BORDEAUX, LOIRE

• ITALY- FRIULI- VENEZIA GIULIA

• NEW YORK- FINGER LAKES, LONG ISLAND

Cab Sav (full body, med acidity, high tannins)

• FRANCE- BORDEAUX, LANGUEDOC-ROUSSILLON, PROVENCE

• ITALY- FRIULI- VENEZIA GIULIA, SARDENGA, TUSCANY, VENETO

• SPAIN- PENEDES, PRIORAT, RIBERA DEL DUERO

• ARGENTINA- MENDOZA, SALTA

• AUSTRALIA- SOUTHEAST, SOUTHWEST

• SOUTH AFRICA- PAARL, STELLENBOSH

• CHILE- ACONAGUA VALLEY, CENTRAL VALLEY

• CALIFORNIA- NAPA, SONOMA, SIERRA FOOTHILLS, SANTA BARBARA, PASO  ROBLES

• WASHINGTON- WALLA WALLA, COLUMBIA VALLEY

Carignan (light/med body, med/high acidity, med tannins) *Tasting Note: easy to drink

• CALIFORNIA- SAN DIEGO

Cinsault (light body, low acidity, low tannins) *Tasting Note: easy to drink

• FRANCE- COTES du RHÔNE

Counoise (light body, high acidity, low tannins) *Tasting Note: easy to drink

• CALIFORNIA- SAN DIEGO

Gamay (light body, med/high acidity, low tannins)

• OREGON- SOUTHERN, WILLIAMETTE VALLEY

Grenache (med body, med acidity, med tannins) *Tasting Note: bitter

• FRANCE- PROVENCE
• SPAIN- PENEDES, PRIORAT, RIBERA DEL DUERO

• AUSTRALIA- SOUTHEAST

• CALIFORNIA- SAN DIEGO

Lambrusco (light/med body, med/high acidity, med tannins) *Tasting Note: bubbly/dry

Malbec (med/full body, med acidity, med tannins)

• FRANCE- BORDEAUX

• ARGENTINA- MENDOZA (Malbec is from here), PATAGONIA, SALTA
• Merlot

• FRANCE- BORDEAUX, LANGUEDOC-ROUSSILLON

• ITALY- FRIULI- VENEZIA GIULIA, TUSCANY, VENETO

• SPAIN- PENEDES, PRIORAT, RIBERA DEL DUERO

• ARGENTINA- PATAGONIA, SALTA

• CHILE- ACONAGUA VALLEY, CENTRAL VALLEY

• CALIFORNIA- SIERRA FOOTHILLS, SANTA BARBARA, PASO ROBLES

• NEW YORK- FINGER LAKES, LONG ISLAND

• OREGON- SOUTHERN, WILLIAMETTE VALLEY

• WASHINGTON- WALLA WALLA, COLUMBIA VALLEY

Montepulciano (med body, med acidity, med tannins) *Tasting Note: I’m told by a true expert, you cannot find a good Montepulciano in America…

• ITALY- ABRUZZO, TUSCANY

Mourvèdre (full body, med acidity, high tannins) *Tasting Note: pairs well with grilling aka perfect bottle to gift at a BBQ

Nebbiolo (med/full body, high acidity, high tannins)

• ITALY- PIEMONTE

Nero d’Avola (full body, med/high acidity, med/high tannins)

• ITALY- SICILIA

Pineal d’Aunis (light body, high acidity, low tannins)

Pinot Noir (light body, med/high acidity, med/low tannins)

• FRANCE- BURGANDY, LOIRE

• GERMANY- SPATBURGUNDER RHEINGAU

• AUSTRIA

• ARGENTINA- PATAGONIA

• AUSTRALIA- VICTORIA

• CHILE- CASABLANCA VALLEY

• NEW ZEALAND
• CALIFORNIA- NAPA, CENTRAL, SONOMA, SANTA BARBARA, PASO ROBLES (most famous)
• OREGON- SOUTHERN, WILLIAMETTE VALLEY

Pinotage *Tasting Note: indigenous grape (mixture of Pinot and Cinsault)

• SOUTH AFRICA- PAARL, STELLENBOSH

Sangiovese (light/med body, high acidity, high tannins) *Tasting Note: same grape as Chianti

• ITALY- ABRUZZO, TUSCANY, UMBRIA, VENETO
• CALIFORNIA- SANTA BARBARA, PASO ROBLES, SAN DIEGO

St. Laurent (light body, med/high acidity, med/low tannins)

Syrah (ful body, med acidity, med tannins)

• FRANCE- COTES du RHÔNE , LANGUEDOC-ROUSSILLON, PROVENCE

• ARGENTINA- LA RIOJA

• CHILE- ACONAGUA VALLEY

• CALIFORNIA- SANTA BARBARA, PASO ROBLES, SAN DIEGO

• OREGON- SOUTHERN, WILLIAMETTE VALLEY

• WASHINGTON- WALLA WALLA, COLUMBIA VALLEY

Tempranillo

• PORTUGAL

• SPAIN- PENEDES, PRIORAT, RIBERA DEL DUERO, RIOJA (renowned)

• AUSTRALIA- SOUTH WHALES

Trebbiano

• ITALY- TUSCANY, UMBRIA, VENETO
  *Tasting Note: same grape as Chianti (Tuscany is the home of Chianti)

Trollinger/ Schiava (light body, med acidity, low tannins)

Trosseau (light/med body, med acidity, med/high tannins) *Tasting Note: bitter

Valdguie (light body, med acidity, low tannins) *easy to drink

Zinfandel (light body, high acidity, med tannins) *Tasting Note: easy to drink

• CALIFORNIA- SIERRA FOOTHILLS

Zweigelt (light body, med acidity, low tannins)

 

WHITE WINES:

Albarino (light body, high acidity, bone dry) *Tasting Note: lemon/ lime flavors

Chablis (light/med body, high acidity, bone dry)

Chenin Blanc (light body, med/high acidity, dry/off dry) *Tasting Note: SEC= dry

• FRANCE- LOIRE

• AUSTRALIA- SOUTHWEST

• SOUTH AFRICA- PAARL, STELLENBOSH

Muscadet/ Melon de Bourgogne (light body, high acidity, bone dry) *Tasting Note: easy to drink

Pinot Grigio/ Pinot Gris (light/med body, med/high acidity, dry)

• FRANCE- ALSACE

• ITALY- FRIULI- VENEZIA GIULIA, TRENTINO- ALTO ADIGE, VENETO

Riesling (light body, med acidity, dry/ off dry) *Tasting Note: pairs well with anything

• FRANCE- ALSACE

• GERMANY- HALBTROCKEN, TROCKEN

• AUSTRIA

• OREGON- SOUTHERN, WILLIAMETTE VALLEY

Sauvignon Blanc (This ones for you, Kaitlin)

• FRANCE- BORDEAUX, LANGUEDOC-ROUSSILLON, LOIRE, PROVENCE

• ITALY- FRIULI- VENEZIA GIULIA, TUSCANY

• CHILE- CASABLANCA

• NEW ZEALAND

• CALIFORNIA- NAPA, SONOMA

Txakoli (light body, high acidity, bone dry) *Tasting Note: easy to drink

Vermentino (light body, med/high acidity, dry)

Vinho Verde (light body, high acidity, dry) *easy to drink

 

ROSE WINES:

*Also see notes in Reds

Gamay (light body, high acidity, dry) *Tasting Notes: lemon flavors

• OREGON- SOUTHERN, WILLIAMETTE VALLEY

Grenache (med body, med acidity, dry) *pairs well with food

Provençal Rose (light body, med acidity, dry) *Tasting Note: easy to drink

 

ORANGE WINES:

Macabeo/ Viura (med body, high acidity, dry) *Tasting Notes: makes a great starter wine

 

SPARKLING WINES:

*Tasting Notes: brut nature (driest), extra brut (more dry), brut (dry), extra sec (pretty dry hint sweet)

Cava (light body, high acidity, dry)

Champagne (light/full body, med/high acidity, dry/off dry)

Petillant Naturel (light/med body, high acidity, dry)

Prosecco (light/med body, med acidity, dry)

• ITALY- VENETO

 

Don’t worry, you don’t have to be an expert to enjoy wine- but you have to start somewhere! I’ve included a few tasting notes- (I will cover tasting in a separate post) to show both the differences and similarities each wine can have based on the region it comes from. Once you identify the wines you like and what you like about them, you can begin to develop your palate further and eventually explore more options! This was really eye opening- Jon and I almost exclusively drink Italian wines and recently have explored French and Spanish wines. We were able to determine what we liked about each of those wines and what to try next based on those preferences. We certainly have our work cut out for us this year!

See Also:

Everything You Need To Know About Red Varietals

Drinking Around the World in 30 Days

Wine Rack Staples

P.s. Don’t forget to check back for my ‘ALL THE WINE 2.0’ blog post that will elaborate on the tasting notes!