Wine

The most basic thing about drinking wine, is to know what you drinking.. so here's a summary of wines by grape varieties and general characteristics of the grape:

White:

Chardonnay (Shar-don-ay)
Taste: Dry (not sweet)
Intensity (body): Medium to strong
Aroma/flavor: Ripe fruits, apple, melon
Texture: smooth buttery
Tannin: very low/usually none
Wood: Medium to high

Semillon (Seh-Mee-Yon)
Taste: Dry
Intensity (body): medium to full
Aroma/flavor: Ripe fruits, orange peel, nutty
Texture: Smooth
Tannin: Low to none
Wood: Low to medium

Sauvignon Blanc (So-vee-nyon Blonck)
Taste: Dry
Intensity (body): Medium
Aroma/flavor: Green fruit/grass
Texture: Crisp
Tannin: n/a
Wood: Light to none

Viognier (Vee-on-yay)
Taste: Dry
Intensity (body): Medium to full
Aroma/flavor: Ripe fruits. almost tropical
Texture: Smooth
Tannin: n/a
Wood: None

Pinot Blanc (Pee-no Blonck)
Taste: Dry
Intensity (body): Medium
Aroma/flavor: Mild apple, pear
Texture: Smooth
Tannin: n/a
Wood: None to very little

Pinot Gris (Pee-no Gree)
Taste: Dry
Intensity (body): Medium
Aroma/flavor: Ripe fruit, apples, melon
Texture: Soft, smooth
Tannin: n/a
Wood: None to very light

Pinot Grigio (Pee-no Gree-jyo)
Taste: Dry
Intensity (body): Light
Aroma/flavor: Green apple, nutty
Texture: Crisp
Tannin: n/a
Wood: None

Gewurztraminer (Guh-wertz-tram-in-er)
Taste: Dry to off-dry
Intensity (body): Strong
Aroma/flavor: Tropical fruits, spice
Texture: Very smooth
Tannin: n/a
Wood: None to very low

Chenin Blanc (Shen-in Blonck)
Taste: Dry to off-dry
Intensity (body): Light to medium
Aroma/flavor: Melon/nuts
Texture: Crisp
Tannin: n/a
Wood: None to very light

Riesling (Rees-ling)
Taste: Dry to off dry
Intensity: Light to medium
Aroma/flavor:Green apple, citrus
Texture: Light, crisp
Tannin: n/a
Wood: None

Moscato/Muscat (Moss-cah-tow, Muss-cat)
Taste: Sweet, lightly sparkling
Intensity: Light to medium
Aroma/flavor: Green apple/citrus
Texture: Smooth, delicates, crisp finish
Tannin: n/a
Wood: n/a

Red:

Cabernet Sauvignon (Ka-ber-nay So-vee-nyon)
Taste: Dry
Intensity (body): Full, strong
Aroma/flavor: Ripe dark fruit, dark berries, currants
Texture: Smooth at first, rough finish
Tannin: High
Wood: High

Shiraz, Syrah (Shi-roz, Sih-rah)
Taste: Dry
Intensity (body): Full, strong
Aroma/flavor: Ripe fruit, dark plum
Texture: Smooth, rich
Tannin: Medium to high
Wood: Medium

Merlot (Mer-low)
Taste: Dry
Intensity (body): Medium to strong
Aroma/flavor: Ripe fleshy fruit, plummy
Texture: Soft
Tannin: Low to medium
Wood: Low

Tempranillo (Tem-prah-nee-yo)
Taste: Dry
Intensity (body): Medium to full
Aroma/flavor: Ripe Berry and cherry
Texture: Smooth, crisp finish
Tannin: Medium to high
Wood: Medium

Zinfandel (Zin-fan-del)
Taste: Dry
Intensity (body): Medium to full
Aroma/flavor: Ripe dark berries
Texture: Smooth
Tannin: Medium
Wood: Medium

Cabernet Franc (Ka-ber-nay Fronck)
Taste: Dry
Intensity (body): Medium
Aroma/flavor: Red berry, red plum
Texture: Medium smooth, crisp finish
Tannin: Low to medium
Wood: Low to medium

Sangiovese (San-jyo-vasey)
Taste: Dry
Intensity (body): Medium to Full
Aroma/flavor: Sour cherry
Texture: Smooth, crisp finish
Tannin: Low to medium
Wood: Low to medium

Grenache (Gruh-nahsh)
Taste: Dry
Intensity (body): Medium to full
Aroma/flavor: Ripe, red plum
Texture: Smooth
Tannin: Low to medium
Wood: Low to medium

Pinot Noir (Pee-no Nwar)
Taste: Dry
Intensity (body): Light to medium
Aroma/flavor: Red berries, woodsy, earthy
Texture: Smooth, crisp finish
Tannin: Low to medium
Wood: Low to medium

Gamay (Gah-may)
Taste: Dry
Intensity (body): Light
Aroma/flavor: Red berry
Texture: Smooth
Tannin: Low
Wood: None to low

Pink Wine (Generally known as Rose):

There are two ways to make pink wine.
1) use red grapes and allow their clear juice to sit in contact with the skins overnight, givin the juice a pink colour. The pink juice can be separated from the skins and made into wine.
2) Blend some red wine with white wine
Rose wine can be made with a variety of grapes.