Of course, one has to know what type of wine to take, when to take it, and what kind of food to pair it with. Ines Cabarrus, a faculty member of the Enderun Colleges, which offers a carefully crafted Program of Study leading to a Bachelor’s Degree in International Hospitality Management (BS-IHM), major in either Culinary Arts or Hotel Administration, has a few points to share:

Riesling. A very light and refreshing wine, Great Rieslings come from Germany and Alsace in France. "New World Rieslings are fast becoming popular, especially those from the Eden Valley in Australia," says Ines. The wine is yellow-green in color, and has a tangy, citrus fruit flavor. Rieslings go great with seafood (grilled salmon!), and matches a great number of Asian foods like Chinese, Thai and Vietnamese.

Sauvignon Blanc. It’s becoming the most popular of white wines. It’s delicious, versatile, and, more often, affordable. Its straw yellow color is slightly darker than Riesling’s. Many say Sauv Blancs carry a most distinctive smell, but Ines finds it has a sour, lemon-lime quality. "I’d pair this with sushi, salads, veggie dishes, pesto-sauced pastas, egg-based dishes and soufflés, and shellfish."

Chardonnay. It’s the best-known white-grape variety in the world, with a yellow-gold color, and the darkest of the three white whites. It’s grown in every wine-producing country, from France to Australia to India and Peru. Its fruity, vanilla and smoky smells go well with oysters, shellfish, Indian food (with young Chardonnay), roast chicken, turkey, and soufflés. "You can go against type by matching a good, aged chardonnay with steak," adds Ines.

Pinot Noir. Saw the movie Sideways? The movie made Pinot Noir the "it" wine, exulting in its tasty, light, and fluid qualities. Great to pair with duck, pasta with tomato-based sauces, teriyaki dishes. Little known fact? Pinot Noir is the most-commonly used grape to make champagne. When white grape is used, the champagne is labeled "Blanc des Blanc."

Merlot. A quite popular red due to its richness and sweetness, with a color deeper than a Pinot Noir, with mixed smells of plum, roses, spicy fruit cake, blackberry, and coffee. Good for grilled meats, teppanyaki, lasagna, chocolate (yes, chocolate), grilled chops, lamb, sausages. A premium winemaker in Chile called Montes is known to make the world’s best Merlot.

Cabernet Sauvignon. The top-selling varietal wine in the world, with a dark red/purple, almost inky color. Smells of mint, black currant, cinnamon, oak, smoke, cedar, and dark chocolate. Goes best with young, hard English cheeses like cheddar and Double Gloucester, and even Manchego cheese. "You can pair this with pot roast, and surprise, surprise, even chicken/pork adobo!" says Ines.

There’s really not too much trouble in learning something about wines. "If you appreciate wine, you get to appreciate food even more." In the long run, Ines says, one doesn’t have to be an expert sommelier to know how to taste wine. "As long as you know what you like, then you should be all right. Still it is always good to know how to tell the difference between the basic grape varieties so that you will know where your tastes lie."