There’s no prizes for working this out, but all the same it needs to be said, a wine’s flavour starts with the grape variety. Here’s a basic starters’ guide for styles.

• White

Light and fruity: Albariño, Garganega, Pinot Grigio (Pinot Gris), Prosecco, Muscadet, Sauvignon Blanc

Medium (weight) and fruity: Unoaked Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, Grüner Veltliner, Marsanne, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc

Broad and rich: Oaked Chardonnay, Viognier

Aromatic: Gewürztraminer, Muscat, Riesling, Torrontés

• Red

Light and fruity: Cabernet Franc, Gamay, Pinot Noir

Medium and fruity: Corvina, Grenache (Garnacha), Merlot, Pinot Noir, Sangiovese

Strong and fruity: Cabernet Sauvignon, Carmenère, Malbec, Mourvèdre, Sangiovese, Syrah (Shiraz), Tempranillo

Big, bold and often tannic: Nebbiolo, Pinotage, Syrah (Shiraz), Tannat, Zinfandel

So how do flavours vary and change in a wine? Some of the most important factors include:

• Location, location, location

This isn’t just Kirsty & Phil territory, origin has a serious impact on a grape’s flavour. Fans of elegant, reserved wines should opt for cooler climate countries and regions, the opposite applies to big, ballsy wines.

• Age

Wines mature as air passes through tiny holes in the cork, oxidising the wine and giving it more developed flavours. This is why the jury is out on screwcaps, they’re fantastic for early drinking wines, but there’s no proof yet that they’ll allow a wine which needs to age, to do so properly.

• Vintage

The quality of a vintage can change dramatically from year to year, depending on the weather. Vintage variation is greater in Europe (Old World) largely because there are more restrictions on production methods to compensate for a difficult year. The New World (southern hemisphere + USA) is much more flexible.

• Oak

A supersonic change in flavour can be achieved by fermenting grapes, or ageing wine, in barrels. Cheaper alternatives to barrels include tea-bagging oak staves or oak chips in a wine, but they’re sniffily looked down upon by some experts.

• Blending

Mix-and-matching varieties gives us a whole new army of flavours. Common partnerships include Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot or in the case of Champagne, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.

What gives the wine its colour? Natural pigmentation levels of the grape, the extent of colour extracted from the grape skins in the winery, blending, the use oak, especially on white wines. Or age – white wines get darker with age while red wines get lighter. What’s most important in a wine is that it is clear, if it’s cloudy it’s not necessarily a dud, but there’s a much greater chance it is a dud if it’s cloudy.