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+--- Thread: From Light to Heavy (/thread-18826.html)
- slogans7 - 08-05-2002
Is there a list of wines, sorted by their taste - from light (a white like a Chablis?) to heavy (a Burgandy)? Thanks in advance!
- Innkeeper - 08-05-2002
Hi Slogans, and welcome to the Wine Board. The subject is body. The body of a wine is measured as light, medium, or full. Think of skim milk, whole milk, and heavy cream.
It is really quite simple to estimate the body of a wine; look at the label. There is a direct correlation between body and alcohol level. If there is less that 10.5% alcohol it is light bodied. From 10.5% to 12.5% is medium body, and above 12.5% is full body. Other factors can affect body such as the mouthfeel of a specific wine. However, since alcohol content must be printed on the bottle (sometimes in very small letters), it gives you a good rule of thumb.
One caution. Some countries apparantly don't know how to measure or won't measure the alcohol content. I have rarely seen a Portugese wine that wasn't 12.5%; and their wines are not all of the same body.
- Thomas - 08-05-2002
It's a little off, but still on the subject: in the US alcohol content by volume is not required on the label--the words Table Wine are a legal definition of alcohol by volume between 8 and 15%. Some small wineries use that term instead of the actual numbers. The reason they do it: it is quite expensive to buy the equipment (ebulliometer) necessary to measure alcohol, and the measurement is not accurate, which is why the BATF allows a 1.5% leeway even when the alcohol content is listed; 12% listed could be as low as 10.5 or as high as 13.5.
But on the subject of body, IK tells the truth. The problem is, with that kind of labeling confusion it isn't clear cut that you will know the body of the wine by its listed alcohol content--the Portuguese wine IK refers to is a case in point.
Also, there are so many wines and styles of production that it is rather futile to attempt to list them by the weight or body. Some, however, are clear: Amarone, for instance, should always be a big-bodied wine...
- slogans7 - 08-05-2002
Thanks for your input. Maybe I wasn't too clear in phrasing the question however. Here's another way to ask it:
Can you rate the following wines in order of strength of flavor, from lightest to strongest (and maybe throw in other wines that laymen like me might have heard of):
Chablis
Chardonnay
Pinot Noir
Merlot
Burgandy
Chianti
Zinfindel
I know it's a big list so maybe the top 10-20 most popular wines.
Thanks again!
- joeyz6 - 08-05-2002
Hi Slogans. The others will correct me if I'm wrong, but in my experience, I've never found that specific grapes necessarily produce stronger flavors than others. It's more based on the quality of the specific wine you're drinking. A certain Cabernet Sauvignon might be more flavorful than a mediocre Merlot but less flavorful than a great one. Plus there's aging -- a few years can add complexity and new tastes and flavors to a previously mediocre wine. And food pairing -- the right food might bring out better flavors in a wine.
- winoweenie - 08-06-2002
Hi Slogans 7 and welcome to the board. I may be dead wrong, but your question sounds strongly like an assignment from school or some contest. Fess Up. WW
- Innkeeper - 08-06-2002
Joey is right. Furthermore you list is shorter than you think. Real Chablis is made from chardonnay, and real Burgundy is made from pinot noir. The term "real" is used because until recently large California producers produced a lot of generic wine with these incorrect monikers. Fortunately these are few and far between these days.
Important white wines that you missed are made from riesling, sauvignon blanc, semillon, chenin blanc, gewurztraminer, and pinot gris (grigio). Reds include cabernet sauvignon, syrah/shiraz, and nebbiolo. So, you see you have a lot of exploring to do before you even start getting into the hundreds of lessor known grapes and their wines.
All of these can be made every way from limpid to highly concentrated flavor. If you are really interested, check out postings on this board in the various threads of wines you are interested in. Tasting notes on specific wines will tell you what to expect. Personal experiance is still the best way to go.
- Thomas - 08-06-2002
...which is why I say it is a futile endeavor to try rating weight, and the list above shows a great degree of confusion over which is a wine and which is a grape.
- slogans7 - 08-06-2002
Thanks all for your responses. The question actually came from my 19 year-old daughter who is starting to work at a local restaurant. I'm not sure the genesis of her question but it was probably related to wanting to learn all she can to do a good job. She a great kid.
Thanks again - I got quite an education from this thread myself!
- winoweenie - 08-06-2002
I smelt it.....WW