What’s a wine style?

A wine style is a flavor profile—a category that tells you how the wine tastes. Though even the wine-phobic have become comfortable with buying or ordering varietal wines (wines named by the dominant grape variety in them), the grape variety doesn’t tell you anything about how the wine actually tastes! Chardonnay, for example, can vary widely in style and flavor from crisp/clean/green appley to rich/thick/oaky/buttery/toasty. And many of the world’s wines are identified not by their dominant grape but by where they were made. So here’s my attempt to simplify. I’ve organized white wines into four categories and red wines into three. In addition, I’ve also briefly commented on sparkling wines and sweet dessert wines. Once you know the style you like, you won’t be disappointed even if you are unfamiliar with the grape variety, the region or country the wine came from, or any of those other confusing and confounding details. It will also give you a starting place for a conversation with your wine merchant.