Wine Tasting — The Traditional Way
June 10, 2009
Wine tasting is properly known as ‘Wine Degustation’. It is the art of being able to note the various differences between difference types of wine, and even the various differences between the vintages of the same type of wine.
There are basically two parts to Wine Tasting, first is ‘What are we looking for’ the second is ‘How are we looking’. We’ll start with the How, and move on to the What.
Traditionally the seven steps to sampling wine are: see, sniff, swirl, smell sip, swish, and spit. This is the process we see tasters going through at the table and in wineries.
The first thing we want to do is see that the color of the wine is good. Put some light behind the glass and look for clarity. Fogginess is a sign we probably want to be careful with. Rusty colors in a white wine are another sign that we probably don’t want to put it in our mouths.
Pairing Beer With Food
May 29, 2009
Pairing beer with the fine cuisine has recently come to the attention of many eating establishments as they try to cater to the 90’s micro-brew crowd. No longer is wine considered the only drink fit for a succulent entree. You too can bring this art form into your own home with a few simple tips.
Much like wine, you must consider the style of cuisine and the predominant flavors in a dish. Here are a few examples to get you started:
- Deep savory flavors, such as a dry-rubbed steak, can be balanced by a sweeter beer, such as a German Dopple-bock or cream stout. For the opposite effect, some like a dry Irish stouts here as well, but I would recommend a porter to avoid strong bitter flavors.
- Barbeque chicken, especially tomato based sauces, can be complemented by Hefe-weizen (wheat beer) where the citrus flavors show through.
- For more subtle fish or pork dishes, a nice Czech style pilsner, with crisp, hoppy notes will spice up the palate between bites.
- The yeasty belgian beers can have a bread-like flavor, which work well with fruit and cheese.
Tequila
May 17, 2009
It was once a ritual usually performed by a man. He would put some salt where the bottom of the thumb met his wrist. After licking the salt, he would take a swig of tequila from a shot glass and then bite into a piece of lime. Ladies were not too fond of this and always drank their tequila mixed into a cocktail. Tequila is listed as a spirit and distilled from the sugar sap of the blue agave plant then fermenting it and producing a liquor with a distinctive taste. Tequila was sold exclusively in Mexico until the nineteen-nineties when sipping it became trendy in the Southwestern region of the United States. The price of tequila varies from the modest to the more expensive depending upon the quality of the producer. Now with the demands of authenticity, the premium brands are truly appreciated world-wide.
Traditionally, tequila has always been served in a two-ounce glass, or caballito at room temperature or enjoyed ice cold with some bottled lime juice added or just a squeeze of the lime itself. A famous glass company in Austria introduced a six and three-fourth ounce glass for sipping tequila that fully allows the taste of it to be fully appreciated by the glass’s shape.
Enjoy Your Favorite Wine - But With Some Rules
May 3, 2009
The mere mention of etiquette brings to mind various images, mainly negative. Etiquette means observing set rules. It’s not about the quaint traditions but where wine is concerned etiquette matter.
The primary connoisseurs of fine wine are oenophiles who are stringent about treating, serving and tasting wine. Then there are wine lovers and those simply appreciating wine. For occasional enthusiasts, collectors and cellar owners, the essence of wine etiquette heightens the experience.
Determine Proper Temperature Wine is altered by temperature and environment, putting the emphasis on proper storage. Keep red table wines standing in the dining room for approximately 24 hours in advance, for settling sediments, followed by room temperature. White and Rose wines require slight chilling of around 50′F or one hour in a refrigerator.
Sparkling wines including champagnes require longer chilling of a few hours. Temperature levels drown inconsistencies and enhance the taste. A handy tip is to allow 10 minutes for a wine in a refrigerator to chill and for the reversal, in room temperature.
Time The Uncorking Uncorking a wine calls for basic guidelines. For red wines, remove the cork one hour in advance. Oxidation helps to experience the true flavor. The longer white wines are left open in room temperature, the more the loss in quality. Don’t uncork until just before serving.
France Car Hire
April 21, 2009
Here is a quick summary of the different French wine regions you can visit with some idea of what you’ll be tasting and the airports where you can conveniently pick up a rental car.
Champagne Region
What to taste: bubbly, of course! From the twin champagne-making centres of Reims and Empernay
Which Airport to pick up your Champagne rental car? Paris Charles de Gaulle car hire or Paris Orly Airport car hire.
Alsace Region
What to taste: sweet and scented white wines
Where to get your Alsace car rental? Strasbourg Airport car hire or Mulhouse-Basle car rental both within a reasonable range of this wine region.
Burgundy Region
What to taste: Pinot Noir for the red, Chardonnay for the white and Beaujolais Nouveaux for the fun of it.
Where to get your Burgundy hire car? Lyon Airport car hire (Lyon Satolas ? Saint Exupery) is the closest.
Loire Valley
What to taste: great white wine from the Chenin Grape and lusty, fruity reds from the Cabernet Franc.
Where to get your Loire Valley hire car: Tours Airport car hire
Bordeaux
Who Made the First Wine Anyway?
April 9, 2009
Although details are understandably sketchy, it is believed that, around 6000 BC, grapes were being grown and wine was being made in Mesopotamia (modern day Iraq).
Mesopotamia and Egypt Wine was popular with the pharaohs of ancient Egypt from about 3000 BC onwards. Inscriptions and illustrations of grape harvesting and wine making have been found in a number of tombs.
Many temples had vineyards attached to them and it is thought that wine was used for religious ritual purposes. However, as is still true today, the majority of Egyptian wine was produced in the Nile delta area.
Wine was stored in clay jars, as wooden barrels were unknown to the ancient Egyptians.
Greece The exact date that winemaking started in Greece is unknown. However, the remains of a stone wine press, dating from around 1600BC, have been found at a villa in Crete. Wine consumption in ancient Greece had strong associations with the cult of the god, Dionysos. With the rise of Greek influence throughout the Mediterranean and Black Sea areas, vines were introduced to areas as far apart as Spain, France, Italy and Georgia. It is believed that a number of traditional southern Italian grape varieties (e.g. Aglianico) were introduced by the Greeks.
The Stuff of Poetry ? Mead
March 26, 2009
People have been drinking fermented beverages since the dawn of civilization. At first, the production of alcohol may have been accidental. Over time, it became an art.
Mead is a beverage made from fermented honey. This very drink was the founding father of wine and beer. A purist might just stick to just the simplest recipe of honey, water, and yeast, but some people, like myself, add a few additional ingredients to compliment the main ingredient.
My first introduction to mead was on my birthday. I prepared a medieval feast, each ingredient carefully chosen to be historically accurate or at least as accurate as it could be. A friend of mine brought along mead made by a brewery also known for brewing Tej, an Ethiopian honey wine. It was a welcome accompaniment to the sweet and savory flavors of the various medieval dishes.
I acquired a taste for mead while in Denmark. I was attending a folk school, and two of our favored activities were singing and drinking. A local liquor store carried mead in a ceramic bottle. The label depicted two Vikings, who seemed rather happy enjoying their brew out of horns. My friends and I started having little parties we appropriately dubbed "Viking Giggle Fest."
What is Corked Wine?
March 15, 2009
Keeping a wine bottle sealed is probably the most important factor when it comes to maintaining a good wine.
A cork is essential, as it keeps oxygen out of the wine bottle. If a bottle of wine is not airtight then it may become oxidized and undrinkable
Traditionally, the only corks worth considering were those actually made of cork. Recently, however, many wine experts have recognized that cork may actually cause more problems than it solves.
Cork, due to its malleable nature may have imperfections; these can result in the seal of the bottle not being as airtight as it could be and the wine being spoilt. In an attempt to avoid this problem, modern cork manufacturers may treat the cork with a chemical called TVA. Unfortunately, this chemical can cause the wine to taste and smell a little damp and musty.
Having said this, cork is able to expand to fully fill the neck of the bottle, which therefore, still makes it the preferred option for special wines that need to be stored, over a long period of time.
Wine Tasting
March 1, 2009
Wine Tasting Component I: Look
The first step you have to undertake in wine tasting is visual.
1. Fill up the glass up to 1/3 of its volume; never fill it more than half;
2. Hold the glass by the stem. Initially you may find this too pretentious but there are good reasons for it:
а) by doing it this way you can actually observe the wine in it;
b) this will keep your fingerprints off the bowl;
в) the heat from your palm will not change the temperature of the wine.
There’s a good saying by one of the greatest French wine lovers, Emil Painot: Offer someone a glass of wine and you can immediately tell whether he/she is a connoisseur by the way they hold the glass." Even though you may not think of yourself as a connoisseur, you could still learn how to hold the wine glass.
3. Focus on the color intensity and the transparency of the liquid.
a) the color of the wine, and more specifically its nuances, are best observed on a white background.
b) the wine’s intensity is best judged by holding the glass without slanting it and looking at the liquid from above;
The Truth About Red Wine and Heart Disease
February 18, 2009
Red Wine, Heart Disease, Hungry Sharks and Knights in Shining Armor
What is so special about wine? What is it that makes it potentially more protective against coronary heart disease, and perhaps other diseases, that other forms of alcohol?
In recent years, scientists have concluded without doubt that many human diseases such as heart disease, cancer and the aging process is caused or stimulated by a ravenous group of chemicals called free radicals, that act like hungry sharks. These highly charged little villains prowl the body and attack healthy cell membranes through a process that is called oxidation. In this scenario, there is however a knight in shining armor that jumps to the rescue and purges these ever hungry little killers. The name of our crusader is antioxidants.
Without getting too technical, the oxidation process in our bodies is crucial for health, without it, for instance, we would not be able to extract energy from our food. But if there are too many free radicals in our bodies this can be harmful.
