News
and Wine Resources
Types
of white wine grapes
Riesling
Old
Vine of riesling (Rees-ling) Riesling should taste fresh.
If they do, then they might also prove tastier and tastier
as they age.
Food-wine pairing: dry versions go well with fish, chicken
and pork dishes.
Districts: the classic German grape of the Rhine and Mosel,
Riesling grows in all wine districts. Germany's great Rieslings
are usually made slightly sweet, with steely acidity for
balance. Riesling from Alsace and the Eastern USA is also
excellent, though usually made in a different style, equally
aromatic but typically drier (not sweet). California Rieslings
are much less successful, usually sweet and lacking in acidity
for balance.
Typical taste in varietal wine: Riesling wines are much
lighter than Chardonnay wines. The aromas generally include
fresh apples. The Riesling variety expresses itself very
differently depending on the district and the winemaking.
Rieslings should taste fresh. If they do, then they might
also prove tastier and Read
More >>
Types
of Red wine grapes
Zinfandel
(Zin-fan-del) Perhaps the world's most versatile wine grape,
making everything from blush wine (White Zinfandel), to
rich, heavy reds.
Food-wine pairing: very much depends on the freshness/heaviness
of the wine; tomato-sauce pastas, pizza, and grilled and
barbecued meats.
Districts: only found in California.
Typical taste in varietal wine: often a zesty flavour with
Read More >>
Matching
wine with food
How
to combine wines with food? Herebelow are some basics. If
you have a specific varietal wine and you wonder which food
would match, you will find suggestions in my primer on types
of wines.
Avoid
The following food damages wine tasting: spice, garlic,
vinegar (to be replaced by white wine), raw fruits.
You should also:
Avoid red meat with white wines or sweet wines.
Avoid fish, raw vegetables, and goat cheese, with red wines
that dry the palate - but think of trying a cool Gamay or
a fruity Pinot.
Avoid desserts, Foie Gras, and very strong cheeses (Munster,
blue cheese), with Loire Cabernet, pink wine, or crisp white
(such as dry Loire, Champagne, or Vinho Verde).
Food-wine
pairing explained
Wine rouses pleasure with various food. Almost any dish
can be matched with many types of wines. People have different
palates and inclinations: everyone will make their own combinations.
For
example you can try cheese with a young white (any cheese
with Chardonnay, light cheeses with Sauvignon Blanc).
Some rules can guide your matching experiments though:
.A simple course leaves room for the wine to shine.
. Old wines are delicate to serve and match. The dish should
be discreet.
. In theory, a slightly sweetened or bitter course accentuates
the dryness (acidity, tannins) of a wine. You should thus
avoid hard wines with sweet food.
. On the contrary, the more a dish is salty or acidic, the
sweeter the wine will taste. This is an opportunity for
you to try wines for fresher climates.
How
to host a wine tasting party
This is not a manual on wine tasting. Here are basic recommendations
for setting up a wine party. They are organized chronologically:
1. numbers and place;
2. themes and invites;
3. catering;
4. tasting;
5. closing.
The first step is to consider how many people you would
like to invite. If the idea is to taste the wine, a bottle
can be shared among 15 (up to 20) persons. Therefore it
would less efficient to have around 4 persons or around
22 persons. In other words: between 8 and 16 participants
is excellent for a quiet session. Having more than 30 persons
is only a scaling problem.
Once you have a notion of the number of guests then you
can look for the place. It should be quiet. You must decide
if the people will be standing or sitting. A restroom is
necessary. At this stage you book the room.
Themes and invites
As a second step you can decide of a theme: Italian wines?
Only red wines? Chardonnay? You can brainstorm with another
participant. You can find ideas by looking up the list of
main wine regions.
Then you can invite people and give them the date, place
and theme. Ask them to confirm or infirm: you will want
to assess how many are coming so that you can invite others
and estimate the food amount.
If guests can sleep on the site, tell them. You can also
organize taxis for the way back.
Catering
Here is a list of things to book in advance of the actual
meeting: tables, chairs, plates, one big glass per person,
knives and forks, paper napkins, paper tablecloth, two ice
buckets, dump buckets.
Do I really need dump buckets (or spittoons)? Yes you do.
While many of your guests will simply drink the wine, there
will be some who wish simply to taste a particular wine,
spit it out and go on to the next wine. There will also
be times when a guest simply doesn't like a particular wine
and thus can dump their glass without feeling embarrassed.
Book up to two dump buckets per taster.
Optionally provide pens and paper for those people who would
take notes. You could list the wines being poured, accompanied
by notes on the origins and grape varieties.
Just before the party prepare bread (mandatory) and other
food (optional).
Tasting
Pour one wine into all the glasses. Have people sample the
wine and propose to comment their tasting (colour, smells,
flavours).
Then have people eat (bread if you are serious). Have attendees
taste again and discuss.
Then you proceed to pouring the next wine.
Typically, when tasting wines, you will want to keep the
sweet wines for the end of the session.
Closing
At wine tasting parties people may linger on discussing
for quite some time.
If there is wine left in some bottles you can propose that
each guest leaves with a recorked bottle.
If possible invite guests to sleep on the site or to call
taxis for their way back.
Have a nice party!
Wine storage and cellar conditions
How and why to build a wine cellar? Wines can be stored
in cellars or racks. Herebelow are the proper conditions.
A wine closet
Look around your home for a dark, quiet place with a constant
temperature and no vibration. If you choose a closet, it
is preferable to choose one that is on a north wall. A north
wall rarely receives direct sunlight, thus the heating of
the storage space in the summer is reduced.
Such a wine closet may ruin a few bottles after some months
of storage.
You can also purchase one of the wine cooler cabinets that
are on the market.
Building a wine cellar
To
establish your collection in the basement, find a location
that is far away from any heat source, vibration (subway)
or strong odours (like fuel). Insulation and humidity are
primary considerations for custom wine cellar design.
The
drier the cave, the faster the corks will dry out. If the
stopper lets too much air pass, it will ultimately spoil
the wine. Aging wines for ten years requires a minimum of
60 percent humidity.
Wine
racks
Bottles must be stored on their sides to keep the corks
moist. You have three solutions :
1. You build a few shelves yourself;
2. You take advantage of the many professional companies
that design wine racks to suit any space;
3. You go to your hardware store and purchase square clay
pipes (used for chimneys) and build instant racks with them.
Stackable and cheap!
In any case you can plan for the design of these racks.
Wine storage temperatures
Temperature variations must very gradual over the course
of the day. This is a priority which imposes that the cellar
be insulated.
The ambient temperature for your cellar can be anything
between 50°F and 60°F (between 10°C and 15°C).
This is ideal for long-term aging for all types of wines.
Note that wine generally matures better and more slowly
at the lower temperatures than it does at the higher temperatures.
Residential wine cellars can be maintained at the proper
temperature actively or passively. Actively cooled wine
cellars are highly insulated and need to be properly constructed.
Active cooling utilizes specific wine storage conditioning
and cooling systems to maintain the desired temperature
and humidity. Many cooling systems only control the temperature
and not the humidity in which case you must check the humidity
yourself. Passively cooled wine cellars take advantage of
naturally cool and damp areas (such as basements with uninsulated
outside walls in cool or temperate climates). This implies
that you tolerate minor seasonal and diurnal temperature
variations. Passive wine cellars may be less predictable,
but cost nothing to operate and are not affected by power
outages.
RED
WINE
What
is a red wine ?
A red wine is a wine that gets its colour from the skin
of the red or black grape. This is done by allowing the
skins to remain with the grape juice through part of the
fermentation process.
What
makes a red wine into a dry red wine or a sweet red wine?
By allowing the fermentation process to continue for longer,
more of the natural sugars in the grape juice are converted
into alcohol and therefore the sugars are 'used up' and
result in a dry wine. The converse will result in a sweet
red wine as residual sugars add the sweetness. There are
obviously variations in the length of process that result
in the semi dry red wine.
How
do red wines get their different flavours?
This is where the very beauty of red wine comes into its
own. There is such a vast array of factors that effect the
flavour of the wine and some of which are :-
a) The particular grape variety used. This in itself can
be modified by adding blends into the equation whereby a
particular wine could be made from more than one variety
of grape. However, to carry the grape varieties name on
its label it has to contain a certain percentage of that
varieties ingredients. On average this is around 85% but
does vary per type. This is mostly due to some varieties
being harder to grow than others and therefore needs bulking
up to produce that particular red wine in viable quantities.
b) Growth influences - These include the natural elements
to the particular season ie climate, rainfall, soil type,
sunshine and length of season and this can and will vary
from year to year and country to country and this can have
great influence on both the yeild and flavour of red wine.
c) Cellar influences - These range from the length of time
in the fermentation process, the storage medium and temperature.
Commonly we know that oak barrels will add to the flavour
and sometimes this is a negative impact to that particular
variety. The temperature at which the wine is fermented
has such a role in the process that it nearly resulted in
the pinotage never reaching our tables.
d) Time of picking. This impacts on the amount of sugars
produced in the grape ie the longer the grape is left to
ripen, the more sugars are produced and therefore this can
result in sweeter or higher alcohol content and in some
instances a loss of flavour.
From the above we can see that this gives a vast array of
possibilities thet makes the exploration of red wine into
an annual, worldwide challenge for both the vintners and
the end consumers.
Is
red wine good for me?
Numerous studies indeed conclude that red wine in moderation
is good for you and the reason is far from the variety,
climate, fermentation process etc but lies primarily in
the anti-oxidant resveratol contained in red wine. This
anti oxidant has been shown to have abilities related to
reducing the risk of heart disease and cancer.
What temperature should red wine be served?
Each red wine and varient has its own best temperature that
can be argued between experts right up to the point at which
the worlds supply of that years crop has been consumed and
therefore the exact temperature is not an exact science.
As a normal wine lover, I use the guide that red wine should
be consumed at a temperature range between 54 F (12 C) and
68 F (20 C). This is commonly above refrigeration temperature
and below room temperature and therefore suggests that you
use the guide of putting your room temperature bottle into
the refrigerator 20 minutes before airing it. This will
result in the wine feeling cool to the hand (below body
temperature). Remember that red wine should be aired before
consumption and this means opening the bottle around 5 minutes
before serving. This allows a small amount of oxidation
and enhances the flavour.
Current
grape varieties used in red wine production.
This list is definitely not exhaustive but will contain
names that you are familier with. Follow the links to find
out more about the variety and the red wines currently available
from our online retailers that contain this particular grape
varient.
Types
of White Wines
A
popular drink worldwide, the white wine looks like sparkling
water with a golden tint. The grapes from which white wine
is made are the same color under the skin as the grapes
from which red wine is made. The main factor for determining
the color of wine is the color of the skin. The grapes from
which white wine is made are immediately pressed after picking
and the juice is removed from the skins with little contact.
Sometimes, even the color of white wine differs, mainly
due to the different type of grapes. Given below is information
on the major types of white wines.
Chardonnay (Pronounced as Shar - doe - nay)
One of the best and most popular forms of white wine is
the Chardonnay. This white wine can be made either sparkling
or still. It is produced widely in France and California
and in other major wine producing areas in the world mainly
because of its versatility and adaptability. Chardonnay
grapes are also the main grape used in the production of
this white wine. When fermented in oak barrels, it gets
a buttery taste and usually taste of ripe figs, peach, honey
and butter, hazelnuts and spice.
Chablis (Pronounced as Sha-Blee)
Grown mostly in northern vineyards in Burgundy, France,
the Chablis is essentially a dry steely wine. Ranked as
Chablis Grand Cru, Chablis Premier Cru and Petit Chablis,
the name Chablis is basically a generic name that is used
to explain dry white jug or box wine. It is made from the
Chardonnay grapes like all fine white wines.
Gewurztraminer (Pronounced as Gah-vurtz-tra-meener)
What makes the Gewurztraminer stand apart is its rich aroma.
It should be taken in small and slow sips. The taste of
this wine is quite spicy and pungent. The Gewurztraminer
grapes are grown mostly in the Alsace in France, though
some areas in Germany and USA (northern California) also
grow this variety of grape. The grapes are basically pale
green in color and prefer cool climate for excellent growth.
Pinot Blanc (Pronounced as Pee-noh Blanh)
The Pinot Blanc is produced from the grapes that belong
to the Pinot family, unlike the belief that it is produced
from Chardonnay. These grapes produce medium-bodied dry
wines that are high in acidity and have a hint of apple
and spice. These grapes grow well in Alsace and of late,
California is producing some really good Pinot Blanc wines.
Pinot Gris (Pronounced as Pee-noh Gree)
The Pinot Gris is a dark-colored grape that has evolved
from Pinot Noir. It is mostly produced in Alsace, Oregon
and northeastern Italy. The Pinot Gris is generally dry
and crisp, though it can be produced as a full-bodied wine
also. The flavor and aroma, both are subtle and not too
pungent. The taste is close to flavors of almonds, minerals
and peaches.
Riesling (Pronounced as Rees-ling)
Mostly produced in Germany, Riesling wines are quite refreshing
and are known for their high acidity. Recently, some vineyards
in California have also started to produce some excellent
Riesling wines. The Riesling grapes produce three different
varieties of wine - dry, half dry and sweet. The earlier
the grapes are picked, the drier is the taste.
Sauvignon / Fume Blanc (Pronounced as So-veen-yawn Blanh)
The Sauvignon Blanc wine is known for its crisp and grassy
flavor. The grapes produce a white wine that is sometimes
considered to be too light and acidic for die-hard wine
drinkers. The grapes grow well in cold climate and need
to be monitored closely for producing the finest wines.
The best places for growing this one is California, New
Zealand, Northeastern Italy, Loire Valley and Bordeaux regions
of France.
Semillon (Pronounced as Say-me-Yaw)
Semillon is the best wine that is used to blend with other
wines like white Bordeaux wine and Sauternes. This grape
is used to make some of the finest wines of Australia like
Honey Hunters. This wine is produced in Australia and Bordeaux.
The Semillon grapes are a major variety of white wine grapes
and ripen at a faster pace as compared to other grapes.
They are less likely to be damaged in rain or frost and
are sweet and juicy. The Semillon is a bright colored golden
wine with even an oily texture sometimes.
Table
Wine
Table
Wine is a wine that contains a very low volume of alcohol-
under 14%. Table wines are served generally with food, hence
the name; table wines, because they are found on dinner
tables world-wide.
Wine
Types Explained
One
of the most popular and important beverages in the world
is wine. It has an important role in ceremonies, rituals,
events and celebrations.
Worldwide culture, society, geographical conditions and
other unique factors allowed countries to make their own
kinds of wine. As a result, a lot of wine varieties have
emerged from all over the world. However, all these wines
are classified into a handful of styles.
One of the most common styles of wine is white wine. This
is basically fermented grape juice, the main component of
wine. The liquid is not white but clear in appearance. The
flavors, textures and aromas of white wine will depend upon
the appellation, the type of grapes, the vintage and the
wine making styles of the winemaker.
Another common wine style is red wine. Just like white
whine, red wine is made out of
fermented grape juice. However, the presence of grape skin
makes the wine red in color. This is done through a process
called maceration. In this process, the skin is left in
contact with the grape juice during fermentation.
Another example of wine style is blush wine, commonly known
as rose wine. Blush wine is produced by removing the skins
of the grapes halfway through fermentation. It can also
be done by blending red wines and white wines. Finally,
blush wines can be produced by concentrating the
liquid that is removed during the fermentation process.
Table wine is another wine style. It is
a type of wine that is served during meals. Depending on
their color, table wines are classified as white, red or
rose. The alcohol content in table wines is very low, no
higher than 14% in the US. In Europe, table wine is considered
as a light wine and considered cheap. In fact, a table
wine’s label does not include information
about what grape variety was used or in what region was
it produced.
Another wine style is sparkling wine. Sparkling
wines, most notably champagnes, have carbon dioxide
that is produced naturally from fermentation or force injected.
This results in a fizzy, bubbly drink. Sparkling wines are
fermented twice, first in an open container to allow carbon
dioxide to escape into the air. Then it is fermented a second
time in a sealed container so that the gas remains in the
wine.
Dessert wines are another wine style. These
kinds of wines are sweet and can are usually drunk after
meals in place of desserts. These wines contain between
50 to 400 grams of sugar per liter of wine.
Lastly, fortified wines are sweeter and
more alcoholic than other wines. Their fermentation process
is halted with the addition of a spirit, such as a brandy.
Or the additional spirit may be added after fermentation.
