What Your Color Says About You

Wine is an acquired taste for most; some find it dry, tasteless, tart or other ghastly flavors on their palate. The first thing that I had to learn was to value a wine not only on its taste but on the other elements it has to offer. Appreciating wine on its aroma and taste are only two way of experiencing the journey that wine takes us through. Wine uses all our senses and with that in mind sight should be the first instinct we take towards appreciating a good wine.

Before cracking open a bottle and having a race to the end take time out to appreciate the color of the wine. After all the color of the wine is the first hint that we have as to what the wine is, other than the label of course.

This chart helps better explain some of the distinctions between the different colors and styles of wines.

Starting on the top left reds:

1. Notice how the middle of the wine is transparent. This means that the wine is light-bodied which tends to have low tannin and high acidity. Examples of these wines are Pinot Noir or Gamay.

2. At the tip of this wine notice there is a medium rim width and a semi-transparent opaque core. This is a medium-bodied wine which tend to have moderate tannin and medium acidity. Examples of these wines are Tempranillo, Merlot, Sangiovese

3. The next wine is a full bodied red wine which tends to have higher tannin and low acidity which can be found in wines such as Syrah, Malbec and the ever popular Cabernet Sauvignon.

4. The more purplish wine is a distinction of a young wine. The colors may range from violet to red and the wine itself is at a peak level of tannin,acidity and fruit aroma.

5. The final red wine image is that of an older wine. Wine tends to lose its acidity and tannin over time but gains aromas of spice. The color becomes more dull between the red and orange family. 

1. For the white wines the first depiction is of pale straw colored wine. The color falls between a yellowish green; it is clear this is a light-bodied wine. These types of wine have high acidity and are best when served cold. Some examples are Pinot Grigio, Albarino and Muscadet.

2. The next would be a pale gold color with a platinum glow. The medium-bodied wine tends to have moderate acidity; this is where most white wines fall into. Examples of these would be Sauvignon Blanc, Trebbiano and Chenin Blanc.

3. The third wine on the chart is a richer yellow with a copper glow. This is considered the color for a full bodied wine which have lower acidity and rich creamier flavors. Chardonnays, Viognier and Semillon varietals fall into this category.

4. Similar to the younger reds. the whites have a brighter glow which stem from a yellow to green. These wines have higher acidity and fresh flavors.

5. Old wine is much different, with a dull color which is a more faded yellow to brown color. Aging is best for full-bodied and sweet wines. The acidity becomes lowered but nutty aromas become present.

(chart from winefolly.com)

So when taking a lovely counterpart out on the town use some of these visual techniques of wine to help impress. It will also help you weed out any issues in the wine for yourself as well. Enjoy and like always stay classy!