What to Look for

A pale colour in a white indicates a wine that is very young and was bottled early, without any ageing in wood. Soave, for example, is almost colourless at the rim. A very pale white wine should taste fresh, young and well-balanced. Leaving a white wine to age in oak barrels, on the other hand, tends to darken its colour.

A light-coloured red may be a sign of a cool climate. Darker colours in reds, as in whites, may indicate warmer regions. Some red grape varieties yield lighter coloured wines than others - pinot noir, for example. Other grape varieties are capable of producing wines of a variety of colours, depending on the climate in which they are grown and the production process used. Californian zinfandel, for example, produces every range of red from light pink through to almost black.