Wine Complete

A full red wine is incredibly flavorful and will make a lesser red wine look watered down in comparision. Big reds are perfect with big meals and heavy cheeses.  Generally the full red wines come from hotter climates and often come from older vines. Added to the fact that they are aged in oak barrels, big red wines can often be more expensive than a medium red.

Cabernet Sauvignon

Cabernet Savignon is probably the most popular of the heavy reds. This grape is found in almost every region of the world and some of the largest of them are from Napa Valley. Cabs are high in alcohol, and can run the range in pricing. Since this grape is so popular, you can have alot of fun experimenting with these wines from all over the world. These wines are found all over South America, Eastern Europe, Southeast Asia, you name it. Have some fun and dont be scared to experiment a bit.

Shiraz

Shiraz, also pronounced ’syrah’, is a wonderfully flavored grape. The flavors tend to be very meaty, with hints of berries and cherry.  Shiraz tends to be one of my newer favorites, and people often grow into shiraz, just like they tend to grow into heavier reds in general. Shiraz can run the gamut in price, and Australia is a particularly popular region for Shiraz.

Barolo

Hailing from northern Italy, you cant have a discussion about big reds without at least mentioning barolo. Barolo grapes are called nebbiolo and are almost exclusive to the northern Italian region, however you can find a few Barolo style wines in California as well. Barolo wines should be aged well before drinking, and is probably the most obvious beneficiary of aging out of all wines.  If you want to drink your barolo young, just decant them for quite a bit longer than you normally decant and it will help.

Zinfandel

Zinfandel can make for a huge red. With zinfandel, it really depends on the exact grape, as well as the soil and the climate that the grape is grown in. Zinfandels can ripen quite alot compared to other grapes and often have a much higher alcohol content than the others. Zinfandel is often considered one of the most versatile of wines and you will commonly find it at parties and outdoor events.

There really are quite alot of reds out there, and alot of reds like the zinfandels tend to run the spectrum. I find that Merlots often are quite large as well, and when I uncork one I have not experienced it can be a pleasant(or unpleasant depending on what your looking for) surprise. However thats all part of the enjoyment, get out there and try something new!