If you’re new to drinking red wine, some of the jargon can feel pretty intimidating. From level of acidity, to the degree of body or tannins, it can feel like learning a different language.

Determining what kind of red wine to buy doesn’t have to be that complicated. Here are a few red wine tips for beginners to help you decode the red wine section, understand the labels on the bottle, and find the perfect wine for your dinner table.

1. Acidity

Although acidity is typically more pronounced in white wines, it is important to understand how it works to create balance in red wine as well. Some red wine varieties, like Sangiovese, can be quite acidic, so it is good to know whether this is a quality you enjoy or not. Think of acidity like the sensation you get from the lemon when you drink a glass of lemonade. The tart tingle makes you salivate, but it also provides a refreshing quality that makes you want to take another sip.

Acidity functions the same way with wine. A proper balance will create a desire for more, but be careful, as too much acidic can make a wine overly tart, while too little can leave it feeling bland.

2. Sweetness

This should be pretty straight forward. If you want a sweeter wine, pick up something that says sweet. Dry is its opposite on a linear scale.

3. Body

You’ll often see wine described as being light, medium, or full-bodied. Essentially, this is a characterization of how thick of thing the wine is going to feel in your mouth. Overall, red wines tend to be more full-bodied than the whites, and the further you tip on this scale, the most richness and robustness you can expect from the bottle.

4. Tannins

What acidity is to white wine, tannins are to red. Found in the organic substance of the skin and seeds of the grape, tannins are what gives wine its bitter and astringent taste. Red wines tend to have more tannins because they are usually fermented with the grape skins and red grapes naturally contain more. Tannins are usually felt most on the middle of your tongue and can create a slightly dry feeling in your mouth. Overly tannic wines, which are usually of lower quality, will make your cheeks pucker with dryer and are generally best avoided.

5. Variety vs. varietal

This might seem like a finicky distinction, but you’ll be happy to know the difference when you hear seasoned wine veterans mixing up the two. Essentially, variety is simply the noun used to describe the grape that has been used to make the wine, Pinot Noir variety, Cabernet Sauvignon variety, etc.

Varietal, on the other hand, is the adjective use to describe the wine itself, ex. a bottle or Pinot Noir or Cabernet Sauvignon. For a wine to be labels as a specific varietal, it needs to be at least 75% of the same grape variety, everything else would be considered a blend.

6. Temperature

The rule about serving white wine chilled and red wine at room temperature almost stands up, depending on the temperature of your room. Although red wine also should not be served warm, it is best not exactly chilled either and this is because of the tannins. When they get too cold, tannins will taste bitter and significantly interfere with the overall flavour of the wine.

White wine, on the other hand, requires the chilling process to activate its low tannin content. That being said, of course it is a matter of taste, and if you’ve found that you really enjoy your red wine chilled, you right ahead and enjoy it as such.