Judge a Wine by Its Color? Get Ahead at a Blind Tasting Party -Vol.1 Red Wine
When you pour a glass of wine the first thing that catches your eye is its color. Color reveals clues about the grape variety used, the wine’s age, and winemaking techniques. Learning to read these visual cues can enhance your tasting experience and help you identify wines with confidence.
This guide explores how to decode the colors of different wines and connect them to their grape varieties. Discover how subtle differences in hue, opacity, and rim colors point to popular grape varieties like Malbec, Sangiovese, and more. By the end, you’ll have practical tips to judge a wine by its color—just by looking at the glass.
Wine Color Development
Color derives from pigments in grape skins called anthocyanins. These pigments dissolve into the juice during fermentation, giving red wines their range of colors from ruby, purple, garnet, tawny to browns. Subtler colored white wines derive mostly from the juice (pulp) itself, ranging from nearly clear to lemon-green, lemon, gold, amber to browns.
Note: Color consists of balance between red, blue, yellow, green or brown in a wine. When you tilt a glass of wine, the rim is at its shalllowest and the core at the deepest point. The colors at the rim and the core don't change compositionally yet, the intensity of the color changes at these points when tilted.
Several factors influence wine color:
Grape variety: Different grapes have different pigment levels and hues.
Winemaking techniques: Skin contact time, fermentation temperature, oak maturation or aging in a bottle.
Age: Red wines tend to lose color and develop orange or brick-colored rims as they age. Conversely, white wines tend to gain color with age as oxidation progresses.
Climate and region: Grapes grown in warmer climates often produce darker wines. Where sun and heat cause vines to develop thicker, darker skins as a natural protection mechanism.
Recognizing Key Black Grape Varieties by Color
Certain grape varieties have distinctive color profiles that make them easier to identify visually. Here are some examples:
Malbec
Malbec wines are known for their deep, opaque purplish color. The wine often appears almost black in the center of the glass with a pinkish-purple rim. This intense color comes from Malbec’s thick grape skins rich in anthocyanins.
Color traits: Dark purple, almost opaque
Rim color: Bright pinkish-purple
Typical regions: Argentina, Cahors (France)
Nose traits: Black cherry, blueberry, plum, vanilla
Nebbiolo
Nebbiolo wines are famous for their translucent pale ruby to garnet with a distinct orange or brick-colored rim even when young. The orange rim is a characteristic of this variety. As the wine matures, the color can then fade to lighter and paler brick-red, and develop an orange-brown hue at the rim.
Color traits: Pale ruby to garnet, translucent
Rim color: Orange to brick red, even in youth
Typical regions: Barolo and Barbaresco (Italy)
Nose traits: Sour cherry, violet, rose, dried herbs, tar, truffles
Sangiovese
Sangiovese shares the orange rim trait with Nebbiolo yet, usually has a deeper ruby core. The rim color often appears orange or garnet, especially in aged wines.
Color traits: Medium ruby red
Rim color: Orange to garnet
Typical regions: Tuscany (Italy)
Nose traits: Red cherry, tomato leaf, oregano, savory, leather, clove
Pinot Noir
Pinot Noir typically shows a pale ruby color with a translucent quality. It rarely has an orange rim when young but may develop one with age.
Color traits: Light to medium ruby, translucent
Rim color: Usually red, sometimes garnet with age
Typical regions: Burgundy, Oregon, New Zealand
Nose traits: Red fruit (raspberry, cranberry, red cherry), mushroom, earth, forest floor
Cabernet Sauvignon
Cabernet Sauvignon often has a dense core of deep ruby to purple color with a slight bluish rim when young. Color fades to garnet with age.
Color traits: Deep ruby to purple
Rim color: Bluish or purple rim when young
Typical regions: Bordeaux, California
Nose traits: Black fruit (black cherry, black plum), green bell pepper, graphite, cedar
Grenache (Garnacha)
Grenache wines often have a pale to medium ruby color with a hint of orange at the rim, particularly with age. Due to the grape's thin skin it yields a much lighter pigmentation.
Color traits: Pale to medium ruby
Rim color: Slight orange or red brick
Typical regions: Spain, Southern France
Nose traits: Red fruit (raspberry, strawberry, red cherry), anise, cinnamon
Note:
These are just typical examples, and there are always exceptions. Note that not all wine colors match these descriptions.
Tips to Observe Wine Color Like a Pro
Use a clear glass: Not tinted or decorative.
Hold the glass against a white surface: Use a white napkin or paper to see the true color.
Tilt the glass: Look at the wine’s core and rim by tilting the glass about 45 degrees.
Note opacity: Is the wine clear, translucent, or opaque?
Observe rim color: Look for any orange, brick, or purple hues at the edge.
Compare with known examples: Practice with wines you know to build your visual vocabulary.
What Wine Color Tells You Beyond Grape Variety
Color can also hint at other wine characteristics:
Age: Red wines lose brightness and develop orangey rims as they mature.
Body: Darker, opaque wines tend to be fuller-bodied.
Potential faults: Brownish or dull colors may indicate oxidation or spoilage. Does the wine smell stale or dull without any fresh fruit flavors?
You Just Have to Practice
The best way to sharpen your color-reading skills is to compare wines side by side. Try comparing:
A young Malbec and a young Cabernet Sauvignon to see differences in purple hues. Hint: Remember Malbec tends to be more pinkish at the rim.
A young Nebbiolo and a Sangiovese to spot orange rims.
Hint: which is more translucent?
A young Pinot Noir and an aged Pinot Noir to observe color changes over time.
Hint: Red wines tend to lose their color and develop orange or brick-colored rims as they age.
Keep notes on what you see and taste. Over time, you will start to recognize grape varieties just by their color.
That's all for today's lesson on how to judge red wine by its color. Next time, I will guide you through determining varieties of white wine just by observing their colors.
Wouldn't it be something if you were able to pinpoint the red grape variety just by looking at its color at your next blind tasting party? "Mmm...this distinctive pinkish-purple color at the rim and dark, inky at the core...I think this is a Malbec." You would sound like a pro.
Cheers!
