Verified answer

OK.. forget the web sites. The best thing you can do is purchase a copy of "Wine for Dummies." It is really great, and you can get it cheap on eBay, where I got mine new for about 12 bucks. I also picked up "White Wine for Dummies," "Red Wine for Dummies," "Italian Wine for DUmmies," "French Wine fr Dummies," "Champagne for Dummies," and "Whiskey and Spirits for Dummies." Trust me, you won't regret it, I work in a wine store with a premium collection.

Also....in the USA, they list the wine by the grape type. Other countries list wine by the region. Example: Pino Noir, is a red wine here in the US. If you ask for a "Burgandy," guess what???? It is also Pino Noir! It is called Burgandy, in France.

I don't know what website to lead you to, but the difference is the grape used. Merlot - merlot grape, Zinfandel - zinfandel grape, Chardonnay - chardonnay grape..... Wine generally indicates the type of grape.

American Girl is correct up to a point. Varietal wines indicate the specific grape used to make the wine. However there are many other great wines that are much harder to identify.

You can learn much here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wine