Although Sam eventually decided he liked green eggs and ham in the famous Dr. Seuss story, many people never get over their preference for white or red wines. Such color blindness is widely accepted within the wine world, and it doesn't mean you're necessarily limiting yourself too much by sticking with one color. Many wonderful wines are available within both the white and red styles, and either color will provide you with ample opportunities to taste and enjoy new wines.

So here is a list of the taste profiles you might encounter within the white and red style wines. You'll find a wide range of flavors, both sweet and dry, in each style.

Aside from sparkling and desert wines, white wines fall into four categories:

1. Fresh and Unoaked. This category includes most of the Italian white wines and some French white wines. The Italian whites would include Pinot Grigio and Soave, and the French might include Sancerre and some of the Chablis. These wines have a crisp and light taste with no sweetness or oaky character.
2. Earthy Whites. Macon and whites from the Cotes du Rhone region of France would qualify for this taste profile.
3. Aromatic Whites. Many of the German wines, as well as wines made from flavorful varieties like the Riesling or the Viognier. These whites are characterized by their intense aromas, and may be dry or off-dry (not bone dry).
4. Rich and Oaky Whites. French wines like many from the Burgundy region, as well as most Chardonnays would be classified with this taste profile. These are full-bodied wines, dry or fairly dry.

Red wines are classified into four styles as well:

1. Soft and Fruity Reds. These reds have a lot of fruitiness and little tannin. They are relatively light-bodied, and would include Beaujolais Nouveau from France, some of the Vapolicellas from Italy, and many U.S. wines priced less than $10.
2. Mild Mannered Reds. These are medium-bodied and have subtle, un-fruity flavors. They would include inexpensive Italian reds and less expensive wines from Bordeaux in France.
3. Spicy Reds. These are the fruity wines with spicy accents and some tannin, like the flavorful Malbecs from France and Argentina, and the Dolcettos from Italy.
4. Powerful Reds. This style would include the most expensive Australian red wines, Barolo from Italy, and the most expensive California Cabernets, as well as many of the other expensive red wines.

The basics of producing wine are so simple you could do it at home: get some grapes, crush them and wait until they become wine. But this simple process can include so many variables, no two wines are ever exactly the same. The raw materials, in this case grapes, effect such things as taste, color, and even alcohol content. Vintners can also control the wine's final outcome by the type and size of the tools they use making wine, as well as by the many choices possible throughout the wine making process. There are so many choices to be made in wine making, with each and every choice making a difference in the final product, wine making isn't for the feint of heart or anyone who has a hard time making decisions.

Of course the main ingredient of wine is usually the grape. Wine can be made with just about any fruit at all, but grapes make the best wine and therefore are the most popular choice. Different varieties of grapes will produce different types of wine (Merlot, Chardonnay, Riesling). Because the fruit's natural sugars are turned into alcohol during a process called fermentation, the type of grape will dictate the amount of sugar and consequently the amount of alcohol in the final wine. Even beyond the type of grape, the soil and climate of the region where they're grown will effect the nature of the grapes and the final product made from those grapes.

Aside from the difference a grape makes, the tools used in turning the grapes to wine effect the final outcome as well. First off, a wine maker might chose a stainless steel container to hold the grape juice during the fermentation process or they might use oak. The size of the container will make a difference and so will the temperature choices used during the fermentation process. Not only that, but you have to decide what color you want the wine to be, which depends on if the grape juice will have contact with the grape skins during fermentation or not. Once the grape juice has fermented, the wine maker chooses what kind of container to store it in and how long to let the wine mature. The fermentation process can take a few days or it can take a few months. Then after that, the wine can be left to mature for weeks, months, or even years.

The list of possible combinations may seem endless, but each one will effect the taste and quality of the final wine produced.

Wine making has long been a process veiled in mystique. With such a long and rich tradition, the process can seem intimidating. But in reality, the making of wine at its most basic level isn't complicated at all. The magic process of converting grape juice into wine is performed by natural yeasts already present on the grapes. That isn't to say the making of quality wines you want to taste in your home doesn't require a certain amount of skill and expertise, but just about any beginner can produce some sort of wine. Watch out Earnest and Julio Gallo!

At its most basic level, the process of making wine is a simple four-step process. With some grapes and a couple tools, theoretically you have everything you need to start producing your own wine.

1. Gather a large amount of ripe grapes (other fruits work too, but grapes make the best wines).
2. Put the grapes in a clean, leak-proof container. If you've seen any movies about old Italy, you've probably seen one of those big tubs where everyone jumps in and starts stomping.
3. Crush the grapes to release their juices. Okay, all those bare feet stomping around does sound less than appetizing. But once the wine ferments, the alcohol will sanitize things.
4. Wait until the grapes become wine.

Once the grapes have been crushed, tiny one-celled organisms called yeasts go to work on the sugars contained in the fruit, turning the sugars into alcohol. But don't worry, yeasts exist naturally in the vineyard and because of that are already on the grapes. Once the yeasts have finished doing their job, all the sugars which were in the grapes have been converted into alcohol.

As you might imagine, the sweeter tasting the grapes were initially, the more alcohol will end up being present in the finished product. The process of converting sugars within the grapes into alcohol is called fermentation. The process of fermentation can take three days or three months, then the wine can mature for weeks or months.

So now are you ready to run out and start your own winery? Probably not. If wine were made as crudely as I just described, we'd have some pretty crude tasting wines. The modern vintner has a laundry list of tricks and trade secrets to make their wines more appealing. The variety of techniques is one of the reasons you won't find two wines are exactly the same.