Many of us are not even vaguely familiar with the different varieties of wine that are available for purchase. In fact, some of us probably thought red wine and white wine were the only ones in existence.  Most of us don’t have any idea of the number of varieties of wine that are in existence. We have dinner wines, dessert wines, red wines, white wines, dry red wine, dry white wine, sweet red wine, sweet white wine and much more. Before you serve your first dinner that includes wine, make sure to understand something about wines.  Know what is proper to serve with different meals.

A general rule of thumb is white wine with white meat and red wine with red meat, but there may sometimes be variations to that. For instance, although chicken is a white meat, red wine is the customary wine of choice because it complements a chicken meal better than white wine. Another variation is turkey which has both white meat and dark meat. Because of both white and dark meat on turkey, one can choose to serve either white or red wine while some may actually serve both—red to the guests who choose dark meat and white to those who choose white meat.

Another thing that is important to understand is the relationship between red wine and fish. Customarily you would serve white wine with fish but in the event you choose to serve red wine, it’s important to choose one that does not contain any tannins since the presence of tannins in twine you serve with fish may give the wine a metallic taste. Though the taste itself is not going to cause any harm, one drinks wine for the flavor thus having a metallic taste takes away from that. To avoid this possibility either serve white wine with fish or make sure the red wine you serve is free of tannins.

Before you have your first party or even serve your first wine with dinner make sure you know exactly what you should serve with the meal you have chosen. Taking the time to research and learn about how wines complement food, you will be able to make a better selection of wine to go with the dinner you are serving. The more dinners you serve the more educated, you will become about the proper wine to serve.