Most people know that a pinot noir is a light bodied red wine, while a cabernet sauvignon is a heavy bodied wine, but not many can name the wines that fall in-between these two markers, the medium bodied varieties.
We’ve looked a lot at wine characteristics and how to pair wines with different foods, but one of the most common ways people like to reference their wine preference is with a simple light, medium or heavy.
The infographic below, produced by the wine makers Kendall Jackson, looks at wine in exactly this way, starting with the light bodied wines, such as Gamay, and heading to the heaviest wines like Malbec and Durif.
It’s a great starting point if there’s a wine you know you like and you want to try grapes that sit in a similar family of light, medium or heavy.
Red Wine Type Chart: From Light to Full Bodied
