A guide to the most popular red wine grape varieties

The main difference between red and white winemaking is skin contact; by leaving the grape skins on during the fermentation, red wines absorb both colour and tannin from the skins. This is why red wines have the capacity to age for much longer than white wines, with the colour and tannin acting as preserving agents. Whereas acidity tends to be the most polarising element in white wines, tannin tends to be so in red wines.