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Health & Fitness

Figuring out Wine Styles 101

A suggested comparison between an oak-aged chard and an unoaked-chard.

I often hear people say that they are unsure of the style of wines that they like.

With this in mind, I will attempt to make this easy. I will write out side by side tastings with wines of two different styles -- unoaked chard vs. oaked chard.

These tastings will be with wines that I believe are indicative of the style and are inexpensive, so the comparitive tasting won't set you back too much. 

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Wine 1 - Unoaked Chard

St. Kilda: The wine is made by the De Bortoli wines. De Bortoli is still owned by the family and is one of the largest privately held companies in Australia. The fruit comes from Riverina in New South Wales.

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Wine 2 - Oaked 

Annabella: 100% Napa Valley fruit, made by Michael Pozzan wines and named for his grandmother. 

The first thing that you will notice is how big a difference the oak makes. The Annabella will have some vanilla and baking spices that the Kilda will not. The Kilda will have a cleaner, more refreshing feel.

Oak does not really affect fruit as much as climate will, so the tropical notes from the Annabella are more indicative of a warm area while the stone and citric fruits are normally associated with cooler regions.

Color will be changed drastically though. The extra flavors that the oak has imparted will make it seem a little heavier.

When pairing with food, there are several ways to go. You can match the oaked wine to a protein with a butter sauce or heavy preparation while the unoaked will seem to cleanse the palette after the rich sauce.

In a clean presentation like a pan seared fish with just some citrus juice, the unoaked will pretty much always win.

Hopefully, after this test, you will have an idea as to what you like or what you would like for any particular wine-consuming situation.

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