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

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7 thoughts on “ALL THE WINE.”