Gather up some samples of the following wines and look for these characteristics in the individual varieties.
White wines
Chardonnay
Rich, smooth and full bodied: flavours can remind you of lemons, apples or pears, a tropical fruit cocktail, smoke, oak, roasted coffee, or vanilla cookies, French pastry or Scottish caramel candies.
Gewürztraminer
Spicy, aromatic and unctuous, with notes of honey, lychee fruit and lanolin.
Pinot Gris/Pinot Grigio
Honeyed lemon fruit nuances with some bitter grapefruit notes in the finish. French Gris has more depth and honey; Italian Grigio is lighter, crisper and more lemony.
Riesling
Lively white peachy fruit flavours with racy acidity and gripping lemon, lime or grapefruit aftertaste. Alsace produces dry wines, Germany makes a sweeter version, while Ontario generates both styles.
Sauvignon Blanc
Fresh, often grassy, with light fruit flavours.
Viognier
Smooth and aromatic, with notes of honey and English wine gums.
Red wines
Cabernet Franc
Lean, delicately scented like black raspberry and cassis.
Cabernet Sauvignon
Leaner, more structured wine than Cabernet Franc or Merlot, with aromas of rose and flavours like plum, black cherry and cassis.
Gamay
Fresh, juicy, candied flavours of strawberry and cherry; the best are from Beaujolais.
Merlot
Soft, silky flavours of blueberry and plum; lush texture and soft plummy finish.
Pinot Noir
Soft, velvety, strawberry-cherry flavours, often with undertones
of mushrooms, earth and smoked meat. The best Pinots hail from France, Ontario, Oregon and New Zealand.
Shiraz/Syrah
Australians turn Shiraz into monster wines that explode with the fragrance of blackberry, vanilla, spice, pepper and smoke. French Syrah (same grape) tends to exhibit rich, earthy stewed fruit, soy sauce and smoked meat flavours.
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