How many of us can really say we know anything about wine? Most people are probably familiar with that feeling you get when you’re standing there looking at the endless rows of bottles, with no idea what it is you’re actually supposed to be looking for. We assume that expensive wines cost more for a reason and cheap wines should probably be avoided, but is there really any truth to this? I have tried both cheap wines that have tasted fine, and expensive ones that have been horrible – that’s not always the case by any means, but they do exist and how are we supposed to know which ones to choose?

It’s like the theory that crystal wine glasses make wine taste better than regular glasses. It’s true that it is nicer to drink out of a crystal glass, they do feel nice to hold and they make that lovely sound when you tap them, but I’ve yet to see any evidence that it actually affects the flavour of the drink. A nasty wine will taste nasty whatever you drink it from – just think of the familiar grimace on people’s faces when they take a sip from their posh celebratory Champagne flutes, only to be reminded that they’ve always hated Champagne and are only drinking it because it’s what you’re supposed to do.

A real wine buff would tell you they can tell the vintage of a good wine and the region where it was bottled purely from tasting it. But in the opening episode of BBC4’s recent mini documentary series entitled (rather inventively, I thought!) Wine, an interesting, and quite amusing, scenario arose. A group of professional wine experts were given a taste from a mystery bottle and asked to guess the vintage. Most of the party placed it somewhere in the 1980s, with the exception of one French expert who said 1928. It turned out it was from 1870, proving that none of them really had a clue.

So do factors like the age and vintage of a wine really mean anything in terms of the quality of wine? If even these knowledgable experts can’t tell the difference then it would seem that the answer is no, they probably don’t. Older wines are likely to be rarer, which might go some way to explaining why they cost more, but I bet those experts could have bought a whole crate of good 1980s wines for the same price as that one bottle from the 1800s would have cost. And in these times of the credit crunch do people really want to be paying so much more for fancy wines when it’s possible they could get one just as good – or maybe even nicer – in Threshers for under a tenner?

Wine Pairing Guide

At some point or another we have all been here, trying to choose wine. We’re sitting in the restaurant, looking at the list of wines wondering which is the right one for our food. Sometimes you can really run into trouble either because you are not familiar the wines that are being offered at the certain restaurant or even worse; you may not be educated on any wines at all!

And the situation can be even worse, you may have a date with you with this happening to you (oh you’ve been there? Sorry!) Then you need to keep reading this article, it could keep you from being in these awkward situations, and put you in charge the next time you have to order wine.

If you’re the experimental type, we recommend joining a wine of the month club so you can experimenting with wine pairings from the comfort of your own home. 

All of us have heard the old thing of white wine for white meat or sauces and seafood, and red wine for red meat and sauces. This is somewhat true, but there is further information you can use when pairing wine with your desired foods.

Cote Du Rhone is an example of a red that goes well with seafood, the Mourvedre, Grenache, and Syrah grapes offer a pleasant level of smoky, mineral flavor which brings out the best in several fish dishes as good as the Sauvignon Blanc. Wines that are made with the Gamay grapes can be a good fit with not only seafood but also duck and some turkey dishes.

Conversely, there are whites which are excellent with tomato-laden dishes. One example is again Sauvignon Blanc (OK, you may not want to drink it with your spaghetti marinara, but it is excellent IN marinara sauce! Something to remember when cooking at home). Speaking of this wine, it is an easy pairing for many foods – think lemon and cream here. Anything which would go well with lemon (poultry, salads, seafood) works well with this wine. It also provides a good contrast to heavier, creamy sauces.

One of the rules of pairing wines with foods is to consider the flavors in the food itself. Suppose that you’ll be having barbecue (wine with barbecue? Really?). You want a red here, one which has both enough acidity and/or enough body to not be drowned out by the strong flavors of the sauce. A cabernet is just a little too soft for this, although it is certainly done. A better choice, however would be something more assertive such as an Italian Barbera (with its relatively high acidity) or a Valpolicella (which has the body to stand up to any BBQ). Another good and popular choice for this meal would be a red Zinfandel, which has pepper and black cherry flavors which are excellent paired with grilled meats.

So how about whites? Again, we’ll go with the grill, given that grilled foods are a perennial restaurant option (and spring is right around the corner). Some good white wine pairings are a crisp, dry white such as a Semillon or a Pinot Grigio with grilled vegetables, salads and even fruit (melon is an especially good pairing with these two whites). These are also good with a variety of cheeses ranging from mild Gouda and Havarti to strong blues.

There is a lot more information to know about the pairing of wine with your food, but the info covered here should get you started as far as being able to do some experimenting on your own and seeing which you like. It is definitely delicious research to do and you will not mind tasting the different pairings.  One easy way to start experimenting, join a wine club. Enjoy!

Choosing a good wine can be a nightmare, especially when you’re trying to impress someone. You’re having a dinner party – you’ve planned the menu thoroughly, dusted off your best crockery and wine glasses, and got everything prepared – except for the wine selection. There’s just so much to consider, and it always seems like everyone else knows so much more than you do about it. You stand there for what seems like forever looking at the endless shelves of different bottles, and the more you wonder about it the harder it gets. That’s why we’ve put together a few tips of what to watch out for and how to choose the perfect wine to compliment your meal.

Firstly and most importantly, you should match the wine to the meal you will be eating. Everyone has different opinions of which wine will taste good with different foods, but there are a few basic rules that you can follow if you’re really not sure. The easiest way is to match the colour of the wine to the food. So if you’re eating red meat choose a dark red Cabernet or Syrah. For lamb or pork dishes a medium bodied red like a Merlot will be less heavy whilst still giving a rich flavour. Chicken and fish dishes are often overpowered by reds so it’s best to go for a crisp white instead, perhaps a Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc. If it’s a special occasion or celebration, you might be better off with a sparkling wine, served in fancy Champagne flutes.

Once you’ve worked out what kind of wine you are looking for, look at where it was made. Wines from different regions are hugely different in quality, so it pays to do a bit of research into the best regions. If you’re not sure, France is always a good bet and has been producing good quality wines for hundreds of years. Italy is another good choice, and Chilean wines are very popular at the moment too, particularly the reds.

Another thingit’s a good idea to check is the vintage of the wine, or the year it was bottled. A true wine buff will know which were the good years for each region, and will buy only vintages which they know came from a particularly good crop. For the rest of us non-experts, it can seem like a lot of guesswork, but if you know a few of the basics you’ll at least be on the right track. That all wines taste better the older they are is a common misconception. It’s true that most red wines do improve with a little aging, but most wineries won’t distribute these reds for a couple of years after bottling to give them time to mature. This means by the time they appear on the shelves they are ready to drink and will taste good. Most white and sparkling wines don’t need aging, and taste good if drunk straight away.

Hosting a wine tasting is a great way to explore the characteristics of different wines. Wine tasting involves the sensory evaluation of wine, and includes noticing the color and aroma, and the taste and feel of the wine on the palate with the aim of determining the quality of the wine and its suitability for drinking now or further aging. While you explore the characteristics of the wine you will discover its many different facets and detect any flaws that the wine might have. The other purpose of a wine tasting party is fun.

In order to assess the quality of the wine, you need to gauge the overall complexity of its aroma and flavor. You need to determine such factors as intensity, fruitiness, sweetness or acidity as well as noting how long the taste of the wine remains in the mouth after tasting which determines the length of the finish.

Wine tasting is a fun and enjoyable experience, and one that you should definitely try out for yourself if you have not already. You can either hold wine tasting in your own home or the home of someone you know, or you and a group can go in to one of the many companies that offer wine tasting sessions. If you have a home wine cellar, then holding a wine tasting is a wonderful way of entertaining fellow wine lovers.

If you don’t feel comfortable in choosing the wines yourself for the tasting there are companies that offer to organize these events for you. If you’re interested in tasting the wines from just one winery you may be able to arrange a cellar door tasting. An organized wine tasting can be both educational and enjoyable.

Holding a wine tasting event will add depth to your existing wine knowledge, give you an opportunity to taste a range of wines, learn about starting a wine cellar and wine growing regions.

Spanish wine tasting is an experience every wine advocate should try, although it can be quite a drizzle. But the taste would be no different than giving into just another wine. On the other hand, Spanish wine tasting carefully suggests that it is quite a different experience to try the taste of wine the Spanish way.

First, to really feel the ambience, one must incorporate a real Spanish red wine. There are certain kinds of flavors of Spanish wine that one must and must not consider. The professionals of wine find that every kind of red wine is attractive but there is not always the possibility of choosing the grape used. For the people who have not developed a palette in order to select the correct wine for their buds, they are suggested that one must go through different tastes to appreciate the flavors of the red wine of Spain.

Some of the most commonly suggested Spanish red wines are: black fruits, vanilla, earthy, red fruits, herbal, balsamic, animal and vegetable. These flavors will erupt and can be easily noticed by your tongue once you have appreciated its content. The trick in tasting Spanish wine is not the flavor that you have tasted but how well your taste buds remember the flavor of what you have tasted even if a couple of years has passed.

Now, when it comes to trying out Spanish wine for the first time, here are some of the basic tips where you are most likely to find in common grounds with other wines.

1. Overfilling is a no-no. A wine is something that goes a long, long way. It is not malt beer or soda that you can just spill out the contents in your mouth if you feel like you haven’t had enough. You would wonder why wines are offered in glasses that are only filled with only a quarter of the size. Wines served in this manner are wines that are worthy. After being poured onto or given, tilt your wine glass against a light or white surface and observe the color.

2. In order to release the flavor, swirl the wine content around the glass. Now, if your glass is overfilled, do you think swirling is still possible? It is only in this way that a wine’s real flavor is released. For professional wine drinkers, swirling is a breeze but for beginners, it is quite a deal. If you are having a hard time swirling your drink in a proper manner, try putting the glass on top of the table then gently swirl the glass in either a clockwise or counterclockwise manner. Tables, in this manner, give you more control and lessen the risk for spills.

3. Get addicted with the aroma. You should smell the beautiful scent of the Spanish wine. Allow it to touch your olfactory for a little while. Make your nose work and sniff hard. Drink. Give yourself the opportunity to taste the sweetness of your labor. To get the most out of drinking wine, let it linger around your mouth for some time. Another trick for realizing Spanish wine tasting is to suck a little amount of air during the drinking of wine.

Through air sucking, you can get a sense of the strong yet rejuvenating effects of wine on your mouth. Before giving into another sip, appreciate the aftermath of the wine left to stay on the sides of your inner cavity.

grape

Wine is considered one of the many aspects of the world that can be enjoyed by anyone. There is something for everyone in the world of wine, making it the most popular beverage in the world. Wine has cultural significance, too, that tests the limits of time and creates new philosophies and moments based around its very existence.

The word wine refers to the processing, fermentation, and production of the grape. Grapes are naturally balanced to ferment on their own without the help of any chemicals, extra sugars, or enzymes. This makes the taste and flavor of wine one that is very natural and uninhibited. Other fruits are sometimes added to wine for their fermentation qualities, including apples and black currants. When fruits of this type are used to make wine, it is called an “apple” or “elderberry” wine.

Red wine and white wine are the two primary categories of wine.  They are then sub-divided into many other subcategories. The varieties that fall under each umbrella, are typically determined by the type of grape or the region in which the grape was grown.

Red Wine is divided into styles like Merlot, which comes from anywhere from Argentina to the United States. Merlot is a red wine that usually has a medium body and contains hints of plum or berry. It is also considered one of the most flexible types of wine and is often served with meals involving red meats or darker foods. There is a white merlot that is also in circulation, which is made with a hint of raspberry.

A popular type of white wine is the Riesling. It comes from a white grape variety of the same name and is grown historically in Germany. Riesling is  very versatile and is considered appropriate to serve with almost any type of food. It is, however, most popular with white fish or pork. Riesling is also known as one of the few wines that can stand up to the bold flavors of Asian cuisine such as Thai or Chinese food.

There are many different ways for people to enjoy drinking wine. There are appetizer wines or apertifs, for example, that are used before a meal to open the palette to suggestions. Apertifs include dry sherries, Vermouth or other flavored wines. Table wines are served, as the name would infer, primarily with food. Cooking wines are used to provide a base of flavor for cooking. A dessert wine is typically served after meals as a good closer to the flavors from the meal. Dessert wine can be medium sweet to very sweet in flavor and includes port and sweet sherry.