Beaujolais

Gamay grape. Notes: Light, soft, cranberry notes. Can be chilled. Versatile, no heavy dishes. This is a young wine.

Cabernet Sauvignon

English Aristocracy. “King” of wines. Notes: Dry, oak, tannic – very high. When young: black cherry, black currant, cassis, cedar, toasty, wood flavors, butter. Aged – loses some fruity notes: takes up savage herby notes, eucalyptus, minty, green olive, burnt chocolate, earthy, black pepper, spice, tea leaves, deep violet.

Chardonnay

Big – 12% alcohol. Dry – no detectable sugars. Oak – usually aged in oak, but stainless steel aging brings fruity flavors. Notes (depends on aging): green apple, wood, toast, butter, butterscotch, hazelnut.

Chenin Blanc

Jug wine, most neutral, inexpensive, “outings” wine. Medium body, off dry. Stainless steel aging. Dry notes: light, grassy, appley. Sweeter notes: light honey-melon. Melon overtones with vanilla. Nice with cheeses, balanced acid level.

Fume Blanc

Sauvignon Blanc, mostly in oak barrels. Notes: smokey overtones. Good with “big” grilled fish or smokey foods.

Gamay

Red. Meant to be drunk young and fresh, not for aging. Light and fruity. Notes: strawberry, cranberry. Optimum serving temperature is 52° to 55°. Slightly chilled.

Gewürztraminer

German wine variety. “Gewürz” means spice. Medium, off-dry to dry, stainless steel, no malolactic fermentation. Spicy bouquet. Notes: clove, ginger, allspice, grapefruit, floral overtones for the dryer wines, rose, honeysuckle.

Grenache

Has a “bite” from high tannins. Dry, oak, tannic. Notes: black pepper, very spicy.

Merlot

“Prince” of wines. Dry, oak, tannic – lighter by similar to Cabernet Sauvignon. Raisin overtones. Notes: tea, cassis, cherry, rose, peppermint, violet, bell pepper.

Müller-Thurgau

German grape variety. White. Inexpensive and versatile. Easy to drink.

Muscat

Sweet, generally only dessert wine. Big – 16% alcohol. Lots of residual sugars, high viscosity. Notes: fruity, apricot, peachy, canned pineapple.

Pinot Gris / Pinot Grigio

Big, dry, oak / no oak. Notes: depending on how it’s aged – oak: honeysuckle, floral; no oak: fruity.

Pinot Noir

Wine of French Aristocracy. “Queen” of wines. Dry, oak, tannic. Notes when young: highly perfumed, plum profiles, cherry, strawberry. Notes when aged: farmyard, mushroom “loamy”, truffle, violets, barnyard, coffee.

Riesling

German grape variety. No malolactic fermentation to maintain crispness. Light – consumed young, paired with light foods. Off-dry – sugar to balance acid. Stainless steel – no oak influence, long slow cool fermentation. Notes (cheaper wines): pear, apple; (expensive wines): peachy, honey, apricot.

Sauvignon Blanc

Big, dry, tannic. Herbaceous, high alcohol. Can be “smokey”. Notes: herbaceous, lemony quality, bell pepper, grassy, hay notes, fig, green olive.

Semillon

Big (12-13%), dry, oak / no oak. The full bodied ones are always aged in oak, rare not to. High glycerin, low in acid. Notes: hay-like, grassy.

Sylvaner

Alcase and Germany. Table wine. Notes: fruity. Medium body.

Syrah

Petit Syrah – California varietal, same as Syrah. Shiraz – Australian and South African varietal, same as Syrah. Densest of all wines. High alcohol – 13%. High tannin – 25 years of aging is common. Big, dry, oak, tannic. Notes: tobacco, burnt chocolate, cassis, vegetative.

Vouvray

White wine made with Chenin Blanc grapes. Harmonizes with most anything. Dry to sweet. Vouvray region.

Zinfandel

California red. Lighter White Zinfandel (blush wine) – raspberry. Heavier styles – peppery, spicy, cherry. Heavier Zinfandel notes: blackberry, briary, eucalyptus, cherries.

When I was 19, I was a student of Western Culinary Institute in Portland, OR, before Career Education Corporation and Le Cordon Bleu took it over. I graduated in 1993, and at that time WCI was a great place to learn. Many of the pans I cooked on interestingly still had HMCI (Horst Mager Culinary Institute) inscribed on the handles. Above were notes that I found in a file folder from a wine class that I took when I was a student. The notes are from my personal tasting notes. Enjoy!