Wine styles and how they are made: summary table
Wine style | Main techniques | Typical flavour profile | Typical sugar category |
|---|---|---|---|
Fresh white wine | Reductive method, cooled fermentation in stainless steel tanks | Citrusy, fruity, floral | Dry, off-dry |
Barrel-aged white wine | Fermentation and ageing in barrel, lees ageing, malolactic conversion | Creamy, vanilla, nutty | Dry |
Orange wine | White grapes fermented on the skins, often in qvevri | Tannic, dried fruit, tea-like | Dry |
Red wine | Traditional maceration, malolactic conversion, ageing in barrel | Fruity, spicy, tannic | Dry |
Light red | Carbonic maceration | Lively, fruity, low in tannin | Dry |
Rosé | Direct pressing, short skin contact, saignée | Strawberry, citrus, mineral | Dry, off-dry |
Sparkling wine (bottle-fermented) | Secondary fermentation in bottle, lees ageing, disgorgement | Brioche, bread crust, fine bubbles | Brut (typically) |
Sparkling wine (tank method) | Charmat method | Fresh, fruity, floral | Brut–demi-sec |
Pét-nat | Ancestral method | Cloudy, yeasty, raw | Dry, off-dry |
Aszú | Noble rot, aszú paste, barrel ageing | Honey, apricot, ginger | Sweet |
Szamorodni | Harvest without selection | Nutty, sherry-like (dry) or honeyed (sweet) | Dry or sweet |
Ice wine | Pressing of frozen grapes | Pure, acidic, concentrated | Sweet |
Straw wine | Dried grapes | Honeyed, nutty, dried fruit | Sweet |
