Alice King's wine course
Part 3: red wines

Merlot
If you’ve ever enjoyed Saint-Emilion, the Claret from France’s Bordeaux region, you are likely to love Merlot because this classic wine is made predominantly from the Merlot grape.

Flavour. This grape produces lighter, more velvety, medium-bodied wines than Cabernet. Merlot is the grape variety for chocoholics as it really does have an aroma and flavour reminiscent of plain chocolate. Merlot always reminds me of Parma Violets, the tiny purple sweets I used to enjoy as a child. It’s good with red meat such as beef and lamb and also with classic soft French cheeses like Brie and Camembert.

Where in the world? Look for great Merlots from Portugal, Bulgaria, Hungary, Yugoslavia and Romania. You’ll find slightly sweeter, richer examples from Chile, Argentina and Australia.

Cabernet Sauvignon
This is one of the traditional three grape varieties that goes into France’s best-known wine – claret, from the Bordeaux region. Today, however, it is grown pretty much all over the world.

Flavour. Stick your nose into a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon and you’ll discover that it really does smell like blackcurrants. And on the palate it has a mouth-watering taste, reminiscent of both blackcurrants and blackberries. Indeed, some of the Californian and Australian examples could almost be described as alcoholic blackcurrant cordial.

Cabernet wines tend to be medium to full-bodied. When producers mature the wine in oak barrels (rather than stainless steel vats), it takes on an even richer, more concentrated flavour rather like blackcurrants and cream with a hint of spice and a slight touch of bitterness or tannin on the finish. This means the wines will age well. As Cabernet is a full-bodied wine, it goes well with robust flavours – rich sauces, beef dishes in reduced wine gravy, mature Cheddar and other strong hard cheeses.

Where in the world? The Cabernet grape grown in hotter countries such as Australia, California and South America tends to be slightly sweeter on the finish than examples produced in cooler climates such as France, Italy and Bulgaria. The last of these represents fabulous value for money.