Types of Wines -Keep the Good Times Pouring!

Pronounced 'rees-ling' this is a type of wine that's clean and crisp with flavours ranging from apple to pear and lime. As the Riesling ages, it obtains a more honey flavour along with a pleasing oily aroma. Riesling is grown in Germany, France's Alsace region, certain parts of Australia, the Finger Lakes region of New York and the Washington State. In Germany, the Riesling is made slightly sweet with a nice strong acidic flavour to balance it. In the USA, the wine is made in a different style and is drier and not sweet.

Riesling goes great with spicy food, so it's just the perfect wine to pair with those Sri Lankan devilled dishes. It also pairs nicely with pork, poultry, and Thai food.

"You can't beat a nice glass of Chardonnay after a really long hard day". Ever since the 1990's, Chardonnay, pronounced 'shar-doe-nay', is one of the most popular of wine types. It's such a versatile wine grape and its aroma and flavour depend on where it's grown in. For example, if grown in cooler climates, the flavours would range from apple to lime, and if grown in a warmer climate, it would taste of tropical fruits. The containment of the wine also influences its taste. When it's barrelled in oak, Chardonnay obtains the rich flavours of honey and butter. If its barrelled in stainless steel, it retails a more mineral flavour and comes off as more fresh on your palate. It is quite hard to find a diverse range of Chardonnay wines in Sri Lanka, but thanks to places like Keells Super, you can find good brands like Tall Horse.

Chardonnay is simply amazing with seafood, and this is just perfect given that Sri Lanka has a range of delicious seafood dishes to choose from like hot butter cuttlefish.

Syrah said as 'sear-ah' is also known as Shiraz (mostly in Australia). This full-bodied red wine gives a variety of flavours from blueberry to tobacco, plum, black pepper, meat, and violet. The Australian version of Syrah is typically big, bold and spicy and increases in complexity as it ages. Syrah made in the Washington State has a pleasing acidic balance to it along with the sweet flavour. The wine is usually blended together with Mourvèdre and Grenache to create the delicious red Rhône blend. Syrah goes well with beef, lamb, firm cheeses like white cheddar, hard cheeses like Manchego and smoked meats made according to French and Mediterranean cuisine.

Pronounced as saw-vin-yawn blonk, this type of wine has an aggressive citrus tang that is blended together with a variety of fruity flavours like kiwi, honeydew melon and passion fruit. It also has an herbaceous quality to it like mint, grass or green pepper. It's a very dry wine that goes well with seafood, cheeses such as Gruyère and herb-crusted goat cheese; and cuisine types like Vietnamese, Mexican and French.