If youlike red wine but don't know much about it, you've come to the right place. Inthis article we look at some handy tips for buying and serving red wine.

Work up through the sizes

If youare going to be serving more than one glass (or bottle) of red wine, the keything to remember is to work through the sizes. In other words, start with a lightred wine such as a Merlot, Barbara or Gamay, then move onto a medium bodiedwine like a Tempranillo, Pinot Noir or Malbec, and/or finish with a full bodiedred wine such as Shiraz,Zinfandel or Cabernet Sauvignon. If you start with the heavier red wine first,you'll find that this will overpower the lighter red wine.

Full-bodied red wines are best saved for food

Big,powerful red wines such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz work best with tasty red meat. Why? Becausethese red wines are full of tannins, body and alcohol, which taste good withmeat proteins but are often too harsh drunk on their own.

Light red wines work best over lunch

Softand gentle red wines, such as Merlot and Gamay, are a great choice if you aredrinking over lunch. This is because they are low in tannin, alcohol andacidity, which makes them easy to drink and not too powerful for the afternoonahead. Similarly, they are a great choice as an aperitif, or for drinking ontheir own on a summer's afternoon.

Buy for the person and occasion

Everyone has different tasteswhen it comes to red wine, so make sure that you buy your red wine to suit theperson who will be drinking it. For example, if you are buying for yourself, gofor something that you will like, not what the shop assistant or your friendlikes. Also, it's worth considering the occasion. If you hosting a dinnerparty, then a big full bodied red wine is bound to come up trumps but if youare having a lunchtime drinks party then a softer and fruitier red wine will befar more appropriate.

Focus on the style

When itcomes to choosing a bottle of red wine, if you don't know where to start orcould do with a helping hand, it's worth looking to retailers who focus on winestyles. Wine styles can give you a lot more choice compared to if you focus ongrapes, countries or regions. For example, if you know that you like an AussieCabernet Sauvignon, the chances are you'll stick to that in future, but if youdiscover that you like ?Huge Reds? (full bodied, fruity reds) then you'll havea host of different grapes to choose from including Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon,Malbec and Zinfandel from Old and New World Countries.

Look towhere the value is

Don?tbe tempted to splash out on big brands or famous names, as you'll end up payingfor the labels. Instead, it is far better is to look to the lesser knownregions, where you'll get all the same quality for a fraction of the price. Forexample, try a Chilean Cabernet Merlot as a value alternative to a ClassicBordeaux.

Servingis the easy bit

The keyto serving red wine is to place it in the kitchen before drinking to ensurethat it is the right temperature. Also, especially if you have an old vintageor full-bodied red wine, you might want to open in advance to let it breath. Easyas that!

So nowyou've got the tips, you'll be ready to put them in to action.