Which wines (grapes) lean to the color, "purple"?

Which wines (grapes) lean to the color, "red"?

I like wine that tends to lean toward the reddish-rust color, but I cannot
say which ones they would be. Can anyone help me out?

Thanks,
Dee Dee

"Dee Dovey" > wrote in message
...
> Which wines (grapes) lean to the color, "purple"?
>
> Which wines (grapes) lean to the color, "red"?
>
> I like wine that tends to lean toward the reddish-rust color, but I cannot
> say which ones they would be. Can anyone help me out?
>
> Thanks,
> Dee Dee
A very broad question and with no simple answer. There are no definite rules
here as the colour of the wine will depend many variables - such as the
region, the ripeness of the grapes, the winemaker, length of skin contact
during the winemaking phase, other winemaking techniques, the age of the
wine, etc.

But as a basic example, cabernet sauvignon grapes tend towards making
purplish wines. Shiraz (syrah) dark red to black. Pinot noir mid to light
red. Sangiovese mid-red. Due to oxidation and other chemical changes in the
bottle all reds as they age will develop tawny (rusty?) hues and with great
age will eventually become brown.

Cheers!

Martin

"Martin Field" > wrote in message
. au...
> "Dee Dovey" > wrote in message
> ...
>> Which wines (grapes) lean to the color, "purple"?
>>
>> Which wines (grapes) lean to the color, "red"?
>>
>> I like wine that tends to lean toward the reddish-rust color, but I
>> cannot say which ones they would be. Can anyone help me out?
>>
>> Thanks,
>> Dee Dee
> A very broad question and with no simple answer. There are no definite
> rules here as the colour of the wine will depend many variables - such as
> the region, the ripeness of the grapes, the winemaker, length of skin
> contact during the winemaking phase, other winemaking techniques, the age
> of the wine, etc.
>
> But as a basic example, cabernet sauvignon grapes tend towards making
> purplish wines. Shiraz (syrah) dark red to black. Pinot noir mid to light
> red. Sangiovese mid-red. Due to oxidation and other chemical changes in
> the bottle all reds as they age will develop tawny (rusty?) hues and with
> great age will eventually become brown.
>
> Cheers!
>
> Martin




Thanks for the above information, Martin.

Also, I had been wondering about this:
>Due to oxidation and other chemical changes in the bottle all reds as they
>age will develop tawny (rusty?) hues and with great age will eventually
>become brown.

Dee Dee

Dee Dovey wrote:
> Which wines (grapes) lean to the color, "purple"?
>
> Which wines (grapes) lean to the color, "red"?
>
> I like wine that tends to lean toward the reddish-rust color, but I cannot
> say which ones they would be. Can anyone help me out?

Dee,
The chemicals in red wine responsible for its color are pH-sensitive
(in fact, they're the same pigment that's in hydragneas). As a result,
they'll look more red in high acid wines, more bluish-purple in low acid
wines. High acid red varieties would be Pinot Noir, Sangiovese and
Barbera and in general wines from the Old World will be higher in acid
than their counterparts from the New World. As Martin mentions, there
are other factors as well, but pH is an obvious one.

Mark Lipton

--
alt.food.wine FAQ: http://winefaq.cwdjr.net

Martin Field wrote:

> But as a basic example, cabernet sauvignon grapes tend towards making
> purplish wines. Shiraz (syrah) dark red to black. Pinot noir mid to
> light red. Sangiovese mid-red. Due to oxidation and other chemical
> changes in the bottle all reds as they age will develop tawny (rusty?)
> hues and with great age will eventually become brown.

I would add that wines from some grapes turn to tawny shades a lot
quicker than others. For example Cab Sauv keeps its colour well, while
Pinot Noir, Syrah and Nebbiolo will turn morer quickly.

--
Steve Slatcher
http://pobox.com/~steve.slatcher