beginner · Wine School
Wine Basics
The essential starting point — what wine is, the main styles, and how to read a label with confidence.
Wine begins as grapes. Fermentation transforms their natural sugar into alcohol, yielding the wine we drink. Everything else — colour, aroma, structure, taste — is shaped by grape variety, climate, soil, and winemaking choices.
There are just a handful of fundamental styles: still red, still white, rosé, sparkling and dessert. Understanding this spectrum is the foundation of all wine literacy.
On a label, the information that matters most is the producer, the region (or grape variety, depending on the style of labelling), the vintage, and the alcohol level. In the Old World, wine is usually named by place (Bordeaux, Chablis); in the New World, often by grape (Cabernet, Pinot Noir).
Know the core styles
Red, white, rosé and sparkling each have distinct flavour profiles and food affinities. Start by taste-testing one of each.
Home your senses
Tasting is 90% smell. Swirl your glass, sniff deeply, then sip — you'll pick up vastly more aromas.