There is no end to how much you can learn about wine. But to be able to choose a suitable bottle for the food you are about to eat, being in command of the 5 basic flavors will take you a long, long way.
There are grape varieties and then there are blends and then there are soils and then there are vintages and then there are new worlds and old worlds and then there are methods and materials for storing. Add to this that grapes can develop 200 different flavor compounds if grown and aged under the right conditions.
But do you need to know all this to be able to choose the right wine for whatever you are serving?
If you ask the pros, the answer is no. Welcome to our small but very, very useful guide to choosing wine according to the 5 basic flavors.
