Five Red Wine Varieties You Need to Try Today

Five Red Wine Varieties You Need to Try Today

Have you only recently taken an interest in wine, or perhaps just keen to try something new?

At Wine Connection, we believe in sourcing and hand-selecting every bottle of wine we sell. That way, we do the work for you, taking out the risk of you ever selecting a bad bottle of wine!

Today, Wine Connection introduces you to five interesting red wines we found from across the world.

1. Fizzy Sweet Reds – a sizzling sensation

Sparkling sweet red wines are a specialty of Italy, a land most famously known for its rich cuisine.

Given its charming pale red colour with soft violet hues as well as light and musky bouquet with subtle hints of rose, it’s no wonder a sparkling red wine like the Brachetto D’Acqui from La Gironda pairs perfectly with desserts, especially fruit tarts, wild berries, syrupy fruit. In true homage to its heritage, it is a perfect marriage with the traditional Amaretti biscuit, both produced in Piedmont.

2. Sangiovese wines – ruby red wine which garnets with age

Still within Italy, we travel to the region of Tuscany, where the Sangiovese grape has earned its name as Italy’s best-known grape. Because of its vibrant acidity, fresh cherry fruit and herbal scents, this grape goes extremely well with most tomato-based Italian cuisine. We recommend the Campomaggio Chianti Classico Riserva, which has classic aromas of cedar, sandalwood and a sweet dustiness on the nose. The polished palate delivers dried cherry, crushed raspberry, anise, clove, grilled herb and a toasted oak palate. The finish has fine-grained smooth tannins make this already extremely accessible and a lovely back-end bouquet. Excellent when paired with game bird dinner, roasted ballotine, roast chicken, or soft cheese.

3. Pinot Noir wines – the finicky ones

Pinot Noir wines are known to be the most finicky grapes to grow as they bruise easily and are the most sensitive to soil type, weather, humidity and sun. This makes it difficult to produce good quality Pinot Noir, and all the more so, one that is both good tasting and affordable. Wine Connection picks the Château de Santenay Vieilles Vignes from Burgundy. The estate of Château de Santenay was converted to sustainable farming in 2004, Terra-vitis certified, with practices that respect the environment. No herbicides pesticides, or artificial chemicals are used. Their goal is to maintain life in the soil and maximum empressize each plot’s terroir in the wines produced there. Each Parcel is vinified separately to transmit the full expression of the terroir. Château de Santenay Vieilles Vignes is an attractive, soft, red cherry flavored wine, that is ready to drink. Acidity cuts easily through the ripe fruits and soft texture.The juicy aftertaste keeps it bright and fruity.

4. Shiraz – red and robust

Shiraz (also known as Syrah) is commonly described as a wine that is full-bodied and peppery. The B3 Barossa Valley Shiraz, for one, has an interesting flavours and aromas such as dark stone fruit, vanilla pod, and mixed berries together with a hint of Christmas pudding and – you’ll never guess this – old leather bound books. Imagine tasting and smelling all these different aromas, all at once! On your palate, the B3 Barossa Valley Shiraz is rich and full bodied, with stone evident in the front palate, and the cedar and leather characteristics in the mid palate with a dark chocolate finish. Don’t be intimidated at how many complex flavours there are, give it a try and treat your tastebuds today.

5. Merlot - the popular one

If all the wines were humans, Merlot would be the popular kid that everyone likes. Second in planting after the Cabernet Sauvignon, the lack of tannic bitterness creates a wine that is light, juicy and far less finicky than the Pinot Noir, which explains its popularity. A Merlot such as the Aresti "Bellavista" Reserva from the Curico Valley in Chile produces a red wine that has blue hues and a nose that displays ripe red fruit aromas combined with vanilla and mocha hints. The palate is agile, especially on the entry, with marked, ripe tannins, excellent to pair with meals. The finish is juicy, persistent and lingering.

While we’ve taken you from Piedmont, Italy all the way to Pantagonia and Chile in South America, we believe that there’s no other way to appreciate wine other than tasting it for yourself.

Don't forget to check out Wine Connection's best seller wines as well, or come down to our weekly Wine Workshops and weekend in-store wine tasting sessions to try more wines from around the world. See you there!

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