Defining Type and Style:

It's pretty confusing at the best of times to remember the mix of type and styles of wine out there. A lot of wine-writers, winemakers and marketing goobs offer a mix of terms to describe a wine, and in some cases they conflict with each other.

In a bid to simplify definitions:

Type

... refers to the winemaking technique used to make the wine, and generally cover wide differences, eg:

• red or white

• dry or sweet

• low or heavy alcohol concentration

• bubbly or still

Style

... refers to the wine in terms of body weight, and subtle variations, eg:

• light-bodied

• medium-bodied

• full-bodied

• aromatic

Vintage -v- Non Vintage

The distinction between the two is that Vintage wines come from the grapes of one vintage only.

Non Vintage wines are a blend of wines from different vintages - with current vintage usually making up 70-80%, in the case of sparklings.