From Light to Heavy

[Innkeeper]

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.