How To Buy Guide - Wine Champagne Guide

Those who don't drink wine are often surprised: there's a staggering variety of different types of wine. In addition to the standard reds and whites, there are dessert wines, port wines, sherry, and several others. For the purposes of this guide, we'll keep it simple and stick to the basics...but if you're interested in sampling other types of wine, feel free to browse through our Other Wines category.

Red Wine

Each red wine varietal is traditionally named for the grape it is made from. Red wine is served at 'cellar temperature' to lift its natural aroma and increase its flavor. As a simple rule, one would serve red wine with beef, lamb and other red meats. The fact that it is served at room temperature also makes it more appealing for cold nights.

The most popular red wine by far is Cabernet Sauvignon. Many refer to Cabernet Sauvignon as the "king of red grapes" – perhaps because of its ability to grow in a wide variety of climates wordwide, or perhaps because it produces rich, flavorful wine of great character.

Click here to see our most popular Cabernet Sauvignons

Merlot and Pinot Noir are two more popular red wine varietals – either would make a fine gift.

Click here to see our most popular Merlots
Click here to see our most popular Pinot Noirs

White Wine

Like red wine, white wine is also traditionally named for the grape it is made from. Unlike red wine, white wine is traditionally served chilled. Though you can match it to any meal based on a number of factors, a simple rule of thumb is to serve white wine with white-fleshed meats like chicken and fish.

Of all the white wines, Chardonnay is the most prevalent (perhaps because, like Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay grapes can grow just about anywhere). Because of its various locations, flavors of Chardonnay can vary greatly – if you're shopping for a bottle as a gift, your best bet is to choose from our most popular bottles.

Click here to see our most popular Chardonnays

Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Grigio (also called "Pinot Gris") are two other popular white wines which would make fine gifts.

Click here to see our most popular Sauvignon Blancs
Click here to see our most popular Pinot Grigios

Another popular white varietal is Riesling, which often has a sweet, intense fruity flavor (but can also be made in a very dry style).

Click here to see our most popular Rieslings

Champagne

Champagne is a sparkling wine often consumed during celebrations. Technically, champagne is exclusively produced within the Champagne region of France, and many countries prohibit the marketing of sparkling wine as "champagne" unless it originated in that region (the U.S. allows certain long-term domestic manufacturers to use the word "champagne" under certain circumstances). To most people, however, the word "champagne" refers to sparkling wine, so we'll consider the two as the same thing for the purposes of this guide.

In the U.S., you're most likely to find two styles of champagne: Brut and Extra Dry. Of the two, Brut is actually more dry: the Extra Dry name was invented for the American market, which "talks dry but drinks sweet."

Click here to see our most popular Sparkling Wines