There are many different components all working together to make your glass of red or white taste the way it does. Everything from grape varietal, residual sugar, alcohol content, oak barrel aging, and even where the wine was made can be a factor. And that’s not considering the decisions made by the winemaker during the winemaking process.
You’ll often hear someone describe ripe fruit or peppery notes in red wine, but that doesn’t mean the winemaker has actually thrown in extra fruit or cracked black pepper over the barrel. Wine changes while it ages, picking up new flavors while losing others. Trying similar wines from different vintage years is a great way to experience the way a wine evolves over time.