A plain-language guide to wine

Understand what is
in the glass, and why.

Guides, tools and charts on grapes, places, serving and tasting, arranged in the order a bottle travels from vine to glass.

Red White Rosé Sparkling Sweet & fortified Food pairing

Independent information for adults of legal drinking age. Please drink responsibly.

The layers of a wine Select a layer

Layer 02 of 05

Acidity

What makes a wine feel fresh and lively. Grapes from cooler places usually keep more of it.

Where you notice it: your mouth watering along the sides of the tongue after you swallow.

A common tasting structure. Schools name and order these slightly differently.

Guides by stage

From vine to glass, in seven stages.

Pick where your question sits. Each stage has its own page with a guide, a checklist and the tool or chart that fits.

Stage 01

Start with the grape

The variety sets the basic character of a wine. Learn the main ones and what each tends to taste like.

Open the Grape page →
Guide The main grape varieties
Checklist Six grapes to try first
Chart Grapes from light to full

Topics

A library that grows page by page.

Each topic opens into its own pages, and each page follows the seven stages. New pages slot in without changing the map.

01 Red wine Grapes, styles and regions, from light to full. 02 White wine Crisp, aromatic and rich whites explained. 03 Rosé How it gets its colour and how styles differ. 04 Sparkling Sweetness terms and the main regions. 05 Sweet and fortified Dessert wines, Port, Sherry and their kin. 06 Regions and appellations Where wine comes from and what the names promise. 07 Food pairing The principles behind matches that work. 08 Wine at work Service, wine lists and study notes for the trade.

Tools

Work it out here, next to the guide that explains it.

Everything is calculated in your browser. Nothing you type is sent anywhere.

Alcohol in your glass

Pour size

17.9 g Pure alcohol
2.3 UK units

Volume × ABV × 0.789 g/ml = grams. One UK unit is 10 ml pure alcohol; other countries define a standard drink differently.

Bottles for a gathering

Bottles to buy 4
Wine poured 3.0 L

Based on standard 750 ml bottles, rounded up to whole bottles.
Planned: food pairing finder Planned: label decoder Planned: cellar tracker Planned: tasting notes sheet

Charts

See the shape of it before you read the detail.

Serving temperature by style

Typical recommended ranges for orientation; individual wines vary. Source: WSET and major wine education body guidance.

Sparkling sweetness terms

Residual sugar in grams per litre, as defined for EU sparkling wine labels. Source: EU Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 Annex VII Part II, point B.

How pages work

Every page is laid out the same way.

One template for every grape, region and style, so you always know where to look.

  • Who it is for. Each page is marked beginner, enthusiast or trade.
  • Plain words first. Wine terms are explained where they appear and linked to the glossary.
  • When it was checked. A review date and reviewer on every page.
  • Where it comes from. Rules and figures cite their source.
Level [beginner] Reviewed [date] by [reviewer]

[Grape, region or style]

1. At a glance

Two or three sentences in plain words.

2. In the glass

Sweetness, acidity, tannin, alcohol and body.

3. Where and how it is made

The places and the methods behind the taste.

4. Serve and pair

Temperature, glass, and food that suits it.

5. Sources and next page

References, glossary terms and where to go from here.

Common questions

Everything you might wonder before you start.

Wine has a reputation for being complicated. Most questions have a short, plain answer. Authorities such as the OIV and WSET set the standards behind most of what you will read here.

What is WineTheGuide?
WineTheGuide is a free, plain-language guide to wine, organised in the order a bottle travels from vine to glass — grape, place, making, label, storing, serving and tasting. It is independent and carries no advertising from producers. See the About page for more.
Do I need any wine knowledge to use this site?
None at all. Every guide is marked with a level — Beginner, Enthusiast or Trade — and every wine term is explained where it appears. If you are completely new, the seven-question questionnaire is a good starting point. The WSET and Guild of Sommeliers offer structured courses if you want to go further.
Is this health advice?
No. WineTheGuide gives general information about wine for adults of legal drinking age. It is not health advice and makes no claims about health benefits. For guidance on alcohol and health, see the NHS alcohol advice pages or WHO guidance on alcohol.
Are the tools private?
Yes. Every calculator runs entirely in your browser using JavaScript. Nothing you type is sent to any server, logged or stored. You can verify this by checking the browser's network tab while using any tool.
Where does the information come from?
Facts, rules and figures cite their source on the page where they appear. We draw on authorities including the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV), the UK Government wine regulations, and regional appellation bodies. Each guide carries a review date.
How often is the site updated?
New guides are added steadily, one topic at a time. Each page carries a review date so you know how current it is. Sign up for the monthly newsletter on the News page for new guides and harvest updates.

Find your style

Not sure where to start?

Seven questions to a style recommendation and two runners-up. A starting point, not a verdict.

Start with the basics