Let’s review some of the roads that one may roam trying to become an informed wine buyer. Some start out with the “intense staring and pick the prettiest label” route. This may introduce one to some great artwork, but little, if any, good wine. That route is a dead end. Also, buying solely on a price basis — nothing over, say $5.00 or $10.00 — will accommodate one’s wallet, but not one’s taste buds. That one-way street goes nowhere. And taking the short cut to the ABC’s of Wine — Always buy Cabernet, Always buy Chardonnay — while satisfactory for many wine buyers, can end up being a monotonous, round trip if the occasional vinous side trips are not explored.

Those periodic side trips are what I call the “Enlightened ABC’s of Wine” — Avoid buying Cabernet, Avoid buying Chardonnay (avoid buying ONLY them.) Alternately stated, try drinking something different every now and then. Sure, drink your favorites, but do your taste buds a favor and surprise them with some new flavors. There’s a world of wine varieties to be experienced and enjoyed. And grape variety — the wine’s name — is the flashing neon sign at the fork in the road that we will follow. Chardonnay is a distinct varietal wine, as is Cabernet, Pinot Noir, Zinfandel, and others. They’re named after the primary grape variety from which they’re made.

There are many variables that affect a wine’s flavor — where it’s from, the soil it’s grown in, the climate of the area, the age of the vines, the winemaker’s skill or lack thereof, plus a host of other variables that fill “How To” books. But the single-most important item that determines the flavor of a wine is the primary grape variety from which it is made. Moreover, grape variety affects the wine’s profile by influencing attributes like acidity, concentration, aroma, body, and aging potential. It’s that individuality — that genetic blueprint — that distinguishes a Chardonnay from a Sauvignon Blanc, and a Cabernet Sauvignon from a Pinot Noir.

Becoming familiar with the profiles of major and minor wine varietals, their similarities and differences, at least generally, is the first discriminating step — not wine snobbery — toward the increased and informed enjoyment of one of life’s more available and affordable pleasures of the table. And the good news is we live in California, which has, for all practical purposes, set the standard, and still follows the practice of wine labeling by grape variety, rather than the murky and challenging Appellation system of Europe.

Varietal labeling is inherently so easy to grasp and understand and so successful that many importers are now including the grape variety as a sub-heading on the bottle’s front label. A Bourgogne Blanc (White Burgundy), for example, will occasionally be labeled “Chardonnay,” for those not familiar with France’s appellation system. Do you suppose it’s similar to California Chardonnay? Do you think it’s different? Maybe it’s time to find out.

— Tom Barras