What’s going on in California? Why all the hubbub? Smashed-grape lovers know it’s harvest season in wine country, so drop your cokes and grab your corks. Don’t know jack about wine? No bother, GearCrave is here to help. Don’t be a wine chump!

Read our fabulous wine 101 expose here, below the fold.

Whites: Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, & Riesling

Chardonnay is an excellent, mild white wine to begin your journey with. Chard is easy on the tongue and goes great with fish, chicken, and mild cheese. It’s best chilled, do not drink this at room temperature. An ice bucket will do nicely, thank you. The Chard grapes are also used to make white Burgundy and French champers, but Chardonnay isn’t “champagne without the bubbles”. Try St. Francis, Yellowtail or Clos du Bois as inexpensive starter Chards.

Sauvignon Blanc is a classic made from white grapes grown in France in the Bordeaux region among others, but and also in the USA and in New Zealand. Some wine critics call Sauvignon Blanc an “assertive” wine, and it varies from herbal to citrus flavors and can sometimes have a smoky quality. Try this one after you’ve gotten a few Chardonnay tastings under your belt. If you can find a 2003 Chateau St. Jean Fume Blanc La Petite Etoile Russian River Valley (made in California, hah!) you could have a lovely time getting acquainted with Sauvignon Blanc. A just-round-ten-dollars bottle is 2004 Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand. Nice.

Riesling has a reputation for being a dry white wine (dry as in, not very sweet at all) but Rieslings also come in other varieties, so you may have a hit-or-miss experience with this one at first depending on your taste. Most associate Rielsing with German grapes, but these can be grown in New York, California, and plenty of other places. Some believe the grapes Riesling’s made of are the greatest in the world. V. Sattui’s 2003 Dry Johannisberg is a good start at around $20 a bottle, Pikes Clare Valley is a similarly-priced bottle, and the German import 2003 Josef Leitz Rudesheimer Drachenstein Dragonstone Riesling is a $15 buy with rave reviews.

Reds: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, & Shiraz

Cabernet Sauvignon is probably the best-known red wine of all. The rich red color, and
cherry, currant, and cassis flavors make for a heady glas . In California and
Australia the grapes are harvested when they are low in acid for maximum “accessibility” to wine lovers of all experience levels. Sure, you could start off with that cheapie bottle of The Little Penguin, but you could also give Robert Mondavi, Hogue Cellars 2003 Genesis Cabernet, or Chateau St. John a whirl too. Try this red with meats and pasta. Yummy! By the way, do NOT refrigerate this wine. Serve it at room temperature, as with all reds.

Merlot has earned a bad and quite undeserved rep from that movie Sideways (one of the characters screams about hating Merlot and the idea just…spread. This wine is very smooth, plummy, and an excellent starter wine for noobs. Try 2001 Luna Merlot. There is a “Transylvanian” novelty called Vampire that some people have taken quite a shine to, and the equally oddball Marilyn Merlot actually does taste all right, but who wants to drink it? Just buy it for the bottle. Some newcomers take a shine to Blackstone, but you may also wish to sample the Kendall Jackson Vintner’s Reserve as a starter wine.

Shiraz varies wildly. Try this one after you’ve had the other two to sample. You’ll get anything from blackberry to pepper, with a hint of smoky leather or truffle thrown in for good measure. Aussie and Cali varieties are fruitier, but overall Shiraz is a full-bodied, drier wine. You can start with Miguel Torres, Columbia Crest, Wyndham Estate. A more expensive, but tasty buy can be found in The Fox Creek, and also Sheep’s Back. If you can find these, give them a try.