There's a great deal terminology and seemingly conflicting information about wine it can easily be pretty confusing for the ordinary person. Beginning with red wine I want to to provide a simplified overview about the stuff for all those among us who simply enjoy wine but want to be a little better informed. There are numerous resources both online and offline for those seeking more detailed knowledge but hopefully this should give you a few pointers to help you buy red wine In the first place the colour of red wine is described by a multitude of terms - garnet, ruby, purplish, maroon which is not always particularly helpful. Red wine derives it’s colour from the grapes (obviously) but it is actually the skin of the grape that influences the final colour when it comes into contact with the juice during fermentation. With around 50 key varieties being used in wine production at the moment, the range of colour is therefore wide.

The winemakers too can influence the colour and body of wines by controlling the grape or grapes used and the time they are in contact with the grape juices. This also influences the body or weight of the finished product and it’s strength. It’s probably more useful to separate red wines by their body (thickness if you'd prefer) than by their colour. When choosing red wine online or in the shops bear this in mind. Light bodied red wines include Beaujolais Nouveau from France and are unsophisticated, easy drinking examples which will go along with just about anything food-wise (maybe not ice cream but hey it's your choice) . Medium bodied examples are Merlot, Chianti, some Shiraz and the fullest, heaviest wines are the Cabernet Sauvignon, Tempranillo’s and again stronger Shiraz varieties.

With a light bodied red wine you won’t have any problems serving it with many dishes should you keep to the general rule of red with meats and cheeses. Medium and full bodied vino is more of a challenge if matching to meals is significant however so you may wish to take a look at an easy wine matching guide. If you purchase wine online most merchants will give you some useful facts about this to assist you to make the right choice.

A great starting point is at http://www.wineday.co.uk a comparison site which promotes wines and gifts from lots of different merchants and has a basic wine and food pairing page and plenty of other informed information.