"Midlife" > wrote in message
...
>
> I live in California and have just found it easier to learn about more
> easily identifiable wines than figure out a way to tackle the French. I
> know that going to France would help a lot, but that's not in the cards at
> this time.

No no, you don't have to learn French. It's all about region. Learn some
regions, and you'll get it. Basically the more expensive the wine is, the
more specific it is in that region. So, Burgundy red = Pinot Noir.
Burgundy white = Chardonnay. You should see the region somewhere on the
bottle. If you see a more specific sub-region, like Cote de Beaune, it
might cost a bit more. Then you'll see townships or specific vinyard or
"house" like Chateau Blah du Blah Blah. That might not have the region
listed on it, but you don't care because that wine's too expensive anyway.
The other big region is Bordeaux, and that's a little more complicated, but
basically Bordeaux red = Cabernet Sauvignon (with a little Merlot etc. mixed
in.)