Intro:
Before you begin
Step 1:
Know your wine regions
Step 2:
Know your grape types
Step 3:
Understand vintages and aging
Step 4:
Understand pricing pressures
Step 5:
Know your need!

2torial #0584: Learn2 Choose Wine Ah, sweet nectar of Zeus! There are, at last count, more than 20 zillion books that have been written about wine. That's because there's a whole bunch of wine in this world, and a lot of ground to cover. If you would like to become extremely knowledgeable on the subject you should spend a good deal of time reading some of those books and tasting a variety of wines (life's tough folks). If, however, you would simply like to have a reasonable shot at finding a good or perhaps an appropriate wine, take a few minutes here to learn the basics. For our purposes, wine comes in three basic forms: red, white and sparkling. Sparkling white wine that comes from a particular region of France is called Champagne. There are also "blush" or "rosé" wines that are rarely taken seriously by educated winos, but which can be very pleasant on a summer afternoon. Certain types of wine are associated with particular types of meals. Red wine is considered appropriate with red meat and hearty pasta dishes, white wine with fish and many chicken dishes. These are not hard and fast rules, and the real intent here is to serve lighter wine with lighter food and hearty wine with hearty food. Step 1