Wine is really becoming very popular and is often drunk by people everyday. Although it's important that you don't drink too much, a glass per night is perfectly OK. Some people drink wine just for the alcoholic effects whilst other people drink it because they understand the complex flavours and how they interact with the food that they are eating. There are so many different types of wine and it's important that you learn about what wines should be taken with which foods. Although you will know of popular wines such as Chardonnay and Chianti, you might not know what an ice wine is.

Basically ice wine is made from grapes that have been harvested much later than most other types and are then turned into wine during the winter. The reason they harvest the grapes later in the year is so that they can absorb plenty of sunlight and produce as much sugar as possible.

The grapes are protected form the cold with covers and then harvested in the middle of winter so that they can then be turned into what we know as ice wine. Because there is a lot of sugar in ice wine, the levels of alcohol need to be increased so that the yeast is killed off. This is why you will find that ice wine has a very high alcohol content in comparison to most other types of wine. 20 to 40% alcohol is typical.

Because of the sweetness and alcohol content, this is not the sort of wine that you drink in large quantities. Instead you sip it in small amounts and you can have it well chilled. If you want to have it with a dessert then you will find that fruit tarts are very complimentary.

Canada is very well known for ice wine however you are now seeing it in other countries too.

In addition to ice wine, other types of dessert wine include port and sherry. Port originates from Portugal, hence the name and can be eaten with strong cheese such as stilton. A variety of red grapes can be used but white grapes aren't.

Sherry is another popular drink, although you would never call it "trendy" as the older generation tend to drink this. You can drink sherry before the meal begins and is something that you should try even if you do think it's just a drink for old people.

If you think of wine as something that you want to learn about and not just drink for the purposes of getting drunk then learning about all the different types of wine can actually be very enjoyable as well as educational.

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About the Author

April Kerr owns website Food and Wine World which is a blog with plenty of info on wine for beginners including details of how to build your own wine cellar and wine tasting invitations.