Host A Wine Tasting To Increase Your Wine Knowledge
February 22nd, 2010 Subscribe To Our Feed
Hosting a wine tasting is an enjoyable way to sample and explore different wine growing regions of the world. Wine tasting is a sensory evaluation of wine, and includes noting the color, aroma (nose) and the taste and feel of the wine on the palate with the aim of assessing the quality of the wine and its suitability for drinking now or aging. While in your sensory journey exploring the characteristics of the wine you will discover its many different facets and detect any flaws that the wine might have. Remember that a wine tasting party is supposed to be fun.
When assessing the quality of a wine, you should attempt to gauge the overall complexity of its aroma and flavor. Note such factors as intensity of flavor, fruit characters, sweetness or acidity as well as paying attention to how long the flavor of the wine remains on the palate after you’ve tasted it which determines the length of the finish.
If you haven’t already tried it you’ll find wine tasting to be a fun and enjoyable experience to share. Hold your wine tasting in your own home or the home of someone you know, or you and a group can visit one of the many companies that offer wine tasting sessions. If you have your own basement wine cellar, then holding a wine tasting event is a great way to entertain fellow wine lovers.
If you’re not comfortable choosing the wines yourself for the tasting there are companies that offer to organize the event plus the wine 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 well organized wine tasting event will be both enjoyable and educational.
Learning how to taste wine will add a new level to your existing wine knowledge, give you an opportunity to taste a range of wines from different wine growing regions and you could even decide to build a wine cellar in a closet.
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A Little About Wine
February 21st, 2010 Subscribe To Our Feed
Wine has been made for centuries from just a couple simple ingredients: yeast and grape juice. Actually, just about any fruit juice can be used, but by far the majority wine is made from the juice of the grape.
We tend to think of wine as a special treat, a gracious gift (as in a wine and cheese gift basket), a beverage of celebration or a drink to serve with a special meal. For much of history, though, it was a drink of necessity due to the often poor standards of the available water.
How is wine made?
Yeast is the magical ingredient that turns grape juice into wine. Interestingly enough, there is actually wild yeast spores in the air and all that is really needed to make wine is an open container of grape juice and time. The result however, would probably not be the most palatable of beverages.
There are numerous strains of yeasts and the types used to make wine have been cultured just for this purpose. The strain of the yeast has an impact upon the wine’s eventual flavor. Well anyway, yeast is a living organism that feeds off of sugars in the grape juice in a process called fermentation. It is the fermentation that causes the sugars in the grape juice to turn into alcohol.
Once all of the fermentable sugars have been consumed, the yeast will fall to the bottom of the container. The wine is removed from the container, leaving the yeast, and is trasferred to another container to mature while waiting to be bottled.
There are black grapes and green grapes and grapes of various gradations in between. Regardless of the color of the grape the juice is always clear, or nearly so. If the skins are left in the juice during fermentation, a red wine is the result. A white wine results when the skins are removed.
Even though there are very few ingredients, there are many things which influence the taste of wine. First of all, there are many varieties of grapes. Each grape variety will produce different flavors, aromas, and even textures. In addition, the soil and climate where the grapes are grown drastically affect these variables. Not only that, but the wine maker can control various things by the technique, temperature and yeast used during fermentation. Other variables such as fermenting or storing in oak barrels will also affect the taste.
It is because of all of these variables that a wine drinker can always notice a flavor difference from one wine to the next. This can make for an interesting hobby of never-ending discovery.
What is tannin?
Tannin is a substance in wine that causes a firm, mouth-drying feeling in your mouth. It is extracted from the skins, seeds and stems of the grapes so red wines will contain more tannin than whites. White wines will get a degree of tannin when oak barrels are used for fermentation or aging. Eat just the skins of grapes or drink strongly brewed, unsweetened tea for a good idea of what tannin feels like in your mouth.
Because of the brevity of this description, this has been only a tiny overview of what there is to know about wine. Hopefully, though, it has given you a few nuggets for your conversation at the next wine and cheese tasting that you attend.
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Pairing Wine With Food
February 18th, 2010 Subscribe To Our Feed
It is generally considered that there are two main ways of pairing wine and food. First, wine can become a major component in the preparation of a meal. Second, it can be done by drinking and enjoying wine with the food we eat. Of course, the first activity should always be followed by the second for maximum wine and food enjoyment! And, of course, one can always participate in both activities at the same time providing an ideal combination of food and wine.
Enjoy Wine With Dinner
A good wine will add to the flavor of the food, assist in digestion and, in the case of red wine, be beneficial in keeping your heart healthy. There are several schools of thought as to which wines to combine with particular foods. However, I’d like to suggest that if it tastes right, it is right. While some gourmets may argue with this, there seems to be little downside in pairing wine and food in this manner.
Cooking With Wine
Italian and Fench chefs and home cooks are renowned for their use of wine in their cooking. Both these cuisines make extensive use of wines in preparing meals from appetizers to sauces to desserts.
Pairing wine and food in this way does not impart an alcoholic taste to the food as heating the wine or other liquor is designed to boil away the alcohol component.
Something important to consider when cooking with wine is never to cook with a wine that you wouldn’t want to drink. This can mean opening a bottle of wine just for the recipe you are planning but the flavor boost to your dinner is worth it. Do not be tempted to cook with a wine that has been sitting on the kitchen counter for the last week since it was opened. If it isn’t a wine you would drink, don’t attempt to cook with it. You’ll find more ideas for cooking with wine, how to store wine and how to taste wine at Wine Cellar Secrets.
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Is Your Wine Rack Full Up This Year?
February 17th, 2010 Subscribe To Our Feed
A couple of years ago I was lucky enough to enjoy a bit of a boozy weekend in Dublin. My other half had been invited over by one of the suppliers his firm does business with. Everything was going to be paid for and all we had to do was literally get on the plane.
We were met at the airport by our host and he swiftly whisked us off to his house so we could unpack. My jaw nearly dropped when I first saw how large his house was - it was huge. The house had everything you have always dreamed of - a tennis court, an indoor swimming pool and sauna a gym and a home cinema.
Waiting for us in his kitchen was some beautiful Australian wine, nicely chilled in a wine cooler and bottle opener all ready to go.
Our host was a real wine buff and has his own wine rack down in his cellar. He imports a lot of wine from Australia and was explaining that the cellar has to be kept at just the right temperature, which is quite difficult at times. He was telling us that if the conditions are closely monitored then lots of problems can occur. An example he was telling us was that if the humidity is too high in the cellar then this makes the corks dry out and in turn would allow air to get into the bottle and oxidise the wine, which would be disastrous.
After we had finished our drinks we were off for a night in the Temple Bar area. We had a brilliant night and the Irish are so friendly. Nothing was too much trouble and they are such lovely people. My husband was in his element drinking his beloved Guinness. Mind you I think the next morning he wished he hadn’t drunk quite so much.
We had a brilliant weekend and it is certainly something I would love to do again. Next time we go though, I think perhaps we should lay off drinking quite so much alcohol!
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