Don’t know a Syrah from a Sauvignon? We've got you - hello and welcome to Naked Winery's Wine Fact page. We're not about facing down intimidating sommeliers, studying wine scores or detecting hazelnut on the nose. We’re all about drinking wine out of jelly jars in our neighbor’s kitchen on a Tuesday night. We want you to come as you are, drink delicious wine and enjoy yourself.
DECADENT REDS
Pinot Noir, Syrah, and Cabernet, perfect for lazy weekends and long talks
Red wine is wine made from dark-colored grapes. But did you know that the juice from most purple grapes is greenish-white? So the red color is actually coming from the skin of the grape and not the juice inside. Crazy right?! Actually, most of the red-wine production process involves getting color and flavor from the skin of the grapes into the wine. This is accomplished by crushing the grapes (with a machine, not feet) and letting the juice and skins hang out in big bins for a few weeks while they ferment. After that, the now red colored alcoholic juice is separated from the skins and transferred to barrels or tanks to age into a grown-up wine that gets put into bottles. If you’re a whiskey drinker than big reds will be your jam! We love to curl up with a blanket and a glass of big bold red wine to keep us warm in the winter months. These wines also pair perfectly with heavier foods like stews and bolognese, not to mention steak and prime rib. We recommend serving red wine at approximately 53-57°F.
White wine is wine that is fermented without the skins of the grapes. After the grapes are crushed they are immediately removed from the skins and put into tanks to ferment. Because turns out, some white wine grapes (like Pinot Gris) are actually red! Totally bonkers right?! So, after the juice gets nice and boozy during fermentation, it is either transferred to barrels to make creamy, oaky wines like chardonnay or left in the tank to age into something crisp and interesting before being bottled. Crisp cold white wine is perfect all on its own during those hot summer months or paired with lighter foods like fish and poultry. We recommend serving white wine at approximately 46-50°F.
Sweet wine is wine that has leftover grape sugars in it after it is finished fermenting. This sweetness in wine is called residual sugar. The way we describe the sugar levels in wine is Dry, Off-Dry, and Sweet. Dry means that a wine has no sugar in it and is not sweet at all. Off-Dry means that the wine has a little bit of sugar and just a touch of sweetness. Sweet means that the wine has a lot of sugar and is, well, pretty sweet. We like to sip our sweet and dreamy wines all on their own or with super spicy foods. Sweet wine will cut through the heat on that 5-star pad thai and muy caliente Mexican dishes. Another fun pairing idea is to match like with like, sweet wines actually taste fantastic when poured alongside luscious treats and desserts.
Rosé is a type of wine that incorporates some of its color from the grape skins, but not enough to qualify it as a red wine. It’s created by crushing the grapes and allowing the skins to remain in the juice for two to twenty hours. The longer that the skins are left in contact with the juice, the darker the color of the final wine. There are a few other methods for making this kind of wine, but this is the most common. Rosé is definitely having a moment, but on top of being super trendy, it is incredibly food-friendly. A Summertime favorite of ours is to have rosé with BBQ, but we like to pair our pink drinks with just about everything!