Where exactly does a red wine’s color come from? If you answered the juice, guess again. It’s the skin that contains all the pigment. In order to make a red wine from red or black grapes, the skins must be left in contact with the clear juice during fermentation, a process called maceration. If the same grapes are pressed and the skins are left behind, the wine remains white or pale pink. The resulting sparkling wines are called blanc de noirs, which literally means, “white from blacks” (black grapes). Still wines that are white or

“To the beauty of red wine, whatever its shade.”

pink and are pressed from red grapes are sometimes called vin gris, meaning “gray wine.” White Zinfandels are also made using this process.

Unlike white wines, which darken with age, reds get paler and more tawny colored. Youthful reds range in color from a vibrant cherry for Pinot Noir to a deep ruby, sometimes with purplish tints, for a Zinfandel or Syrah, to an opaque purple for the biggest reds. Beaujolais Nouveau, which is always drunk young— literally within six weeks after the harvest—is a light, fresh purple-red, and young Cabernets can be almost purple-black.

As reds age, they gradually take on more brown as a natural result of oxidation and aging. Garnet is a classic color for wines in their prime. Hence, in a Cabernet Sauvignon, garnet is an indication of quality, but you wouldn’t want an over-the-hill, garnet Barbera, for example; almost all Barberas are best when deep purple and drunk young. At the end of the spectrum, too much brown in a wine generally means it’s past its peak, though some old, very fine reds that display tawny or amber tones are still quite drinkable.

Left: Marian Jansen op de Haar, Fleming’s Director of Wine, examining the color of a Pinot Noir

One common misconception is that deeper color always indicates greater intensity, but that’s simply untrue. Deep purple young Syrahs are lighter-intensity wines, and Barolos are from the paler end of the red spectrum but have great concentration.

Now that you know what to look for, it’s time to try it out. Pour a small amount in a clear glass and hold it away from you at a 45-degree angle. This will help spread the wine over the surface of the glass, so light can pass through it more easily. Look through the core (the middle) of the wine, and note the color. Then look at the edge, or meniscus, where the wine meets the glass, to see if there’s a youthful pinkishness or an age-indicating hint of copper. Also look to see if the meniscus retains its color to the rim. If it does, it points to a higher quality wine; however, if it becomes pale and watery, the quality is lower no matter what the hue. Finally, pour yourself a glass, raise it and toast: “To the beauty of red wine, whatever its shade.”

SHADES OF RED FROM THE FLEMING’S 100

Palest Pink GLORIA FERRER, Blanc de Noirs Sonoma County NV

Garnet GEORGES DUBOEUF, Julienas Chateau des Capitans, 2005

Crimson ESTANCIA, Pinot Noir Santa Lucia Highlands Stonewall Vineyard, 2005

Ruby Red SEBASTIANI, Merlot Sonoma County, 2004

Purple-red DOMAINE TERLATO & CHAPOUTIER, Shiraz-Viognier Victoria, 2005

Opaque Purple CLOS DU VAL, Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley, 2004

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