Learn about the basics of wine: wine styles, wine production, wine-tasting, and wine resources.
White Wine
White wine is made from white grapes or black grapes fermented without grape skin contact. It has the clear juice from grape pulps, without the added color and flavors that colored grape skins provide. White wine flavors range from fresh citrus fruits to riper, tropical flavors.
Red Wine
Red wine is made from black grapes and is usually fermented with its skins, extracting tannin. When grape juice is soaked with dark skins over a period of days or weeks, the process extracts color and additional flavors present in the skins. Red wine flavors range from red fruit to black fruit, to even cooked or baked fruit flavors.
Rosé Wine
Most Rosé wines are made from black grapes in a process that falls in between white and red wine. Rosé flavors can range from light and delicate (lighter pink), to riper with more red fruit (darker pink).
Orange Wine
Orange wine is the term given to white grapes that mixed with their skins like red wine. The result is an orange-colored wine with more flavors.
Sparkling Wine
Sparkling wine has two fermentations. After the grapes have been fermented by yeast, the wine is bottled or held in a tank. The winemaker ferments the wine a second time with a fresh batch of yeast. The gas stays trapped in the bottle or tank to create the bubbles.
Fortified Wine
Fortified wine has the addition of grape spirit or liquor that can push the Alcohol By Volume (ABV) up to 22%. Sherry, Port, and Madeira are famous examples of fortified wine.
Click below to see the flavors of each wine ↓
White wine styles range from light and crisp (like citrusy, high-acid wines) to rich and creamy when oak or lees aging is used
- Lighter styles: citrus, green apple, pear, fresh herbs or flowers
- Fuller styles: peach, apricot, pineapple or mango
- Oak or aged styles: honey, butter, vanilla, or toasted nuts
Red wine styles range from light and juicy or full-bodied and powerful depending on grape variety and wine-making choices.
- Lighter styles: strawberry, cherry, raspberry, cranberry, and flowers
- Fuller styles: blueberry, blackberry, plum, and black cherry
- High tannin and oaked styles: vanilla, smoke, or clove, giving reds their depth and warmth
- Aged styles: cocoa, tobacco, leather, earth, dried herbs, and spice
Rosé wine centers on delicate, refreshing fruit flavors with a subtle savory edge
- Lighter pink styles: strawberry, raspberry, watermelon, pink grapefruit, and rose petal, citrus peel, minerality, or light herbs
- Darker pink styles: more concentrated strawberry, raspberry, cherry
Orange wine combines fruit with pronounced texture and savory complexity
- General styles: dried citrus, apricot, and orchard fruit alongside tea-like bitterness, nuts, honey, and sometimes bruised apple or spice
- Extended skin contact styles: earthy and herbal
Sparkling wine emphasizes freshness with an added layer of texture from bubbles
- Lighter styles: lemon, green apple, pear, and white flowers
- Richer styles: brioche, toast, almond, and cream from aging on the lees
- Sweeter styles: ripe fruit, honey, or candied citrus
Fortified wine is known for intensity and concentration
- General styles: flavors can range from dried fig, raisin, and date to caramel, toffee, roasted nuts, baking spices, chocolate, and coffee
- Oxidative styles: added savory complexity
- Sugar options: range from bone dry and nutty to lusciously rich and dessert-like
Grape Growing (Viticulture)
Wine production begins in the vineyard, where climate, soil, grape variety, and farming decisions shape the raw material that will become wine. Vineyards are often grown on slopes to maximize exposure to sunlight. Growers manage the vine’s growth through pruning, canopy management, irrigation (where allowed), and pest control to balance yield and ripeness. The timing of harvest is critical, as sugar, acidity, and flavor development must align with the intended wine style. Everything that happens in the vineyard influences quality, structure, and the overall character of the finished wine.
Wine Making (Vinification)
Once grapes arrive at the winery, they are sorted, crushed, and fermented to transform grape juice into alcohol. Winemakers make key decisions about fermentation temperature, yeast selection, skin contact, and extraction to guide flavor, color, and texture. Techniques such as pressing, blending, and clarification help refine the wine’s structure and style. The winery is where the potential of the grapes is shaped into a deliberate expression of balance, aroma, and taste.
Wine Aging (Maturation)
After fermentation, many wines undergo a period of aging to develop complexity and integration. Aging can occur in stainless steel, oak barrels, or bottle, each influencing texture and flavor differently. Over time, tannins soften, acidity integrates, and new aromas—such as spice, toast, or earthy notes—can emerge. The length and method of aging depend on the wine’s style, with some wines designed for early freshness and others built to evolve over years or decades.
—Growing factors impact wine style
Determines ripeness, acidity, and sugar levels
Shapes core flavors and overall balance
Influences concentration through yield and climate
Learn more about grape-growing
— Wine-making choices impact style
Controls color, texture, and alcohol level
Shapes flavor through fermentation choices and extraction
Refines clarity, stability, and final style
— Wine-aging impacts style
Softens tannins and integrates structure
Adds complexity (spice, toast, nuts, earth)
Influences longevity and readiness to drink
Wine-tasting is the practice of evaluating a wine’s appearance, aroma, structure, and flavor to better understand its style and quality. By slowing down and paying attention to what you see, smell, and taste, you can identify characteristics like fruit profile, acidity, tannin, and body. Tasting isn’t about being “right,” but about building awareness and confidence in how you experience wine, making it easier to recognize preferences and communicate what you enjoy.
SEE- Start by tilting the glass over a white background and noting the wine’s color, since hue can offer clues about grape variety, age, and style. This step isn’t about guessing the wine but about slowing down and training your eye to gather visual information before tasting.
SWIRL- Gently swirling the wine exposes it to oxygen, which helps release aromas and makes the wine more expressive. It also lets you observe how the wine moves in the glass, giving subtle hints about body or alcohol without indicating quality.
SMELL- Bring the glass to your nose and take a slow inhale, focusing on simple scent categories like fruit, floral, herbal, spice, or oak. Because smell shapes much of what we perceive as flavor, this step builds awareness and prepares your palate.
SIP- Take a small sip and let the wine move across your tongue, noticing sweetness, acidity, tannin, body, and overall balance. Pay attention to how long the flavors linger, since the finish helps you connect what you saw and smelled with the wine’s structure and taste.
Unpolished Grape brings wine education to life through practical tools designed to help you learn and explore at your own pace.
Wine Guides
–These guides break down key topics in a clear, approachable way:
- Wine Aromas & Flavor Guide
- Wine Acidity Guide
- Wine Color Guide
- Tannin Guide
- Sugar & Alcohol Guide
- Wine & Food Guide
Wine Quizzes
Test your knowledge with interactive quizzes and build confidence as you go
Wine Glossary
A wine glossary makes wine language easier to understand, turning unfamiliar terms into useful insights.
Wine Events
Check out the wine events near you
