Good wine: Bothered, bewitched and bewildered by wine

Wine professionals live by the credo: “If you're not a little confused, you're not paying attention.”

Wine gives us ample opportunity for confusion. Why is one bottle labeled “Pinot Grigio” and another “Pinot Gris”? (The answer: one may be Italian, the other French.) Does “reserve” indicate anything? (It depends.) What's the difference between a wine labeled “classico” and one that's not? (The quick answer: About 10-bucks.)

Among wine enthusiasts, however, the primary questions are probably, “Will I enjoy the wine?” and “Am I paying a fair price?”

Choosing an enjoyable, fairly priced wine can be relatively risk-free with basic wine knowledge, which is easier than most people probably think.

Just learn the four variables that determine all wines' flavors. They are the grape, the climate, the soil and the culture.

Grape: After Eden's pesky apple and the modest fig, the grape is mankind's oldest fruit. The grape's high sugar content, as well as its sturdy vine that grows where other crops cannot once caused ancient peoples to carry vines during migration and to bring foreign vines home from voyaging like we bring a T-shirt back from vacation.

Through the millennia of cross-pollination, adaptation and hybridization, there are now about 10,000 wine grapes.

Each grape is unique, with its own chemistry, growing pattern and flavor. For example, in the same way, that blue is always blue, the chardonnay grape will always taste like chardonnay, Malbec will always taste like Malbec, (repeat 9,998 times.)

The best way to learn about wine is to follow a grape. Do you enjoy riesling? If so, follow riesling around the world, experimenting with wines from Austria to New Zealand. If merlot is a favorite, taste merlot from France, Chile, Washington State, Connecticut and beyond.

Your grape adventure is made easier by labels that name the grape, primarily in wines of the New World but don't ignore Old World wines, named for the growing region.

While blue is always blue, there are modifiers creating aqua blue, navy blue, etc. In the same way, climate, soil and culture modify basic grape flavors.

Climate: Each twist and turn of Mother Nature affect vine, grape and wine.

In general, sunny climates ripen grapes with rich sugar; when fermented, these grapes convert to wines of rich alcohol and fruit- forward flavors.

Wine drinkers who enjoy rich wines with higher alcohol levels (+14 percent) and chewy fruit should turn to warm climates (California, southern Italy or France). Note, these wines may also be low in acidity because most grapes lose acid during ripening.

Those who enjoy drier, leaner wines (7 to 14 percent alcohol) with refreshing acidity should head toward cool climates (Oregon, Alpine Italy or northern France).

Soil: Plain old dirt is wine's most valuable asset, in some regions costing millions (euros or dollars) per acre. With the variable soil types (for instance, sandy or clay), composition (iron or limestone), location (mountain top or valley) and fertility, soil sparks endless and enthusiastic debate. Even so, there is no hard evidence as to how soil affects wine flavor.

Culture: Plant, planet and man meet in the culture of wine, including law, viti-viniculture (winegrowing and winemaking) and everyday human culture.

In the Old World, the wine land is the brand; to protect that brand, wine laws control every step of viti-viniculture from the vineyard through the bottling line, including grape selection and typical flavor. So, the wines of Chablis, France (100 percent chardonnay by law) will always taste like Chablis; Germany's Mosel will always taste like Mosel (repeat for Old World wine regions back through time.)

U.S. wine law basically reads 1. Pay your taxes and 2. Don't poison anyone. Within these boundaries, winemakers are free to follow market trends and sales potential as they design wine.

Even traditional regions, however, are now forced to adapt to global warming, with government-sanctioned experiments to accommodate increasing heat and drought. (Stay tuned.)

The final piece in wine culture is human culture — you and me. For instance, in 1991, 60 Minutes reported on red wine's positive health effect. For the next five, four-week periods, red wine sales increased by 40 percent over the prior year. Today, Americans drink more wine and more red than ever before.

And with our dynamic Chicagoland market supporting this increase, there's little confusion that the healthy enjoyment of wine is here to stay.

• Write to Advanced Sommelier and Certified Wine Educator Mary Ross at food@daily herald.com.

Ross' choice

Name: Sangiovese

Region: Maremma, Toscana, Italy

Producer: Tenuta Sassoregale

Vintage: 2014

Availability: Wine shops, specialty grocers, wine & spirits chains, about $16

(Distributed by: Southern Wine & Spirits of Illinois, Bolingbrook)

Sangiovese is the top-planted grape of Italy, the top-producing wine country on earth. From statuesque wines grown in Chianti and Brunello to everyday quaffs, the grape's impact on Italy's economy and culture is evident in its name's origin sanguis Jovis, “the blood of Jove”. In cool climates, Sangiovese develops tannin and sharp acid that could scrape paint off a car; these wine are softened with barrel and cellar aging in wines labeled “Riserva.” The sunny warmth of the Maremma region, however, combined with the meticulous cellar operation of Sassoregale, express wine that is evocative to eye, nose and palate with strawberry hues, fruit aromas entwined with delicate wood, dynamic flavors of juicy berries, spice and pleasingly firm tannin. The label honors Maremma's wild boar and hints at pairing with Chicago's noble pig, including cured meats, ribs and pepperoni pizza.