which are red, which are white

[Danielle]

Ok, it has come to my attention that there are many general types of wine, i.e. merlot, pinot, zinfandel, etc... so my new question is, which of those are white/red/both??? b/c i could have sworn that chardonnay was red; but i guess not. since i am young, i can get away with asking this somewhat airheaded question.

[Innkeeper]

There are many ways to categorize wine. Most common are table wines, dessert wines, sparkling wines, and fortified wines.

Table wines are still wines that are normally drunk during the early and main courses of a meal or before hand or after hand in a cocktail setting. They are usually referred to by the colors red, white, and rose'. The color is determined by the grape itself and the way it is made into wine. Red wine has a period of contact with its skins in order to pick up color from them. If the skins are removed, a rose' results. White wines come from white, yellow, or green grapes with the skins removed.

Dessert wine is sweet wine that is taken with dessert or later in the evening usually. It can be made from the same grapes that go into table wine, but picked much later in the harvest, and not fermented dry like most table wine. Fortified wines can be and frequently are dessert wines.

Sparkling wine is the kind with bubbles. It is made from the same grapes as table wine, but made in a different manner, so as to be effervescent. They can be and are consumed at any time before, during, and after a meal.

Fortified wines are those such as Sherry and Port that have hard spirits, usually some sort of brandy, added to them. Some like Sherry are usually taken before meals, while others such as Port are used as dessert wines.