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Corked Wines have a defect caused by a mold that can appear in corks. There could be other reasons as well.You have no way of predicting this before opening a bottle. However when you pour a glass and it smells like old, wet newspaper, it’s probably corked. Next time you discover one, hold onto the glass and try it side by side with a good bottle – you will really learn to recognize the difference!
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Your waiter recommends a White Burgundy – What kind of wine will it be?
Chardonnay! Chardonnay plays the starring role in white Burgundy. A few other varieties, such as Aligote, may be used as well, but to a much lesser extent.
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Fancy Chinese, Thai or Asian cuisine. Look for a Gewurztraminer.
In general most white wines work with Asian foods, but the classic pairing is Gewurztraminer with its own spicy characteristics that complement the spices in many Asian dishes. The slight sweetness in the wine softens the foods spiciness. Other classic pairings with Asian foods include Rieslings or rich Pinot Gris.
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A Cabernet/Bordeaux blend is considered a classic pairing for lamb or beef. Although its really what you prefer, but this pairing is considered good because protein from the meat softens the tannins of the Cabernet.
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Sniffing the cork does not necessarily give you a good sense of the wine. In the days when authenticity of a bottle was more suspect, it was important to see the wine uncorked at the table, and to verify the brand on the cork. These days everyone behaves. And smelling the cork can be misleading. At times a cork will look and smell awful, yet the wine will be perfectly fine !
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Fine wines are always filtered? False – Some are some are not. Filtering is a process in which particles (such as yeast cells) are removed from the wine. This helps guard against a wine refermenting, and makes it appear brighter and clearer. Many wine purists argue that filtering is an unnecessary process that takes away valuable flavors. You decide!
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Simply uncorking a bottle of wine does not really help it breathe. Instead pour it into a carafe or simply into your glass and swirl it around a bit.
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In order from dry to sweet, most champagnes sport one of the following labels: Extra Brut (0 to 6 grams of sugar per liter), Brut (less than 15grams of sugar per liter), Extra Dry (12 to 20 grams of sugar per liter) , Sec (17 to 35 grams of sugar per liter), Demi-Sec ( 33 to 50 grams of sugar per liter) and Doux (more than 50 grams of sugar per liter). Cuvee typically indicates a blended batch of wines and does not refer to a wine’s sweetness.
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One of the axioms of Champagne has always been : The smaller the bubbles; the finer the wine. Bubble size is affected both by the length of time a Champagne ages (the longer, the smaller) and by the temperature of the aging cellar (the cooler, the smaller).
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Switching to a different glass of wine? Should you swirl your glass with some water first? No…. water will actually dilute your wine. Instead pour a small bit of the new wine into your glass, swirl it around and dump it. Then pour yourself a glass of the new wine.
Interestingly in Italy, in many homes and virtually all top restaurants, a perfectly clean wineglass does not exist! The Italians always pour a small amount of wine in a fresh glass, swirl it, then throw this wine rinse out. When asked about this, Italians will say they are preparing the glass to receive wine – a baptism of sorts. Is it any wonder that most of us, on our first trip to Italy, fall in love with Italian wine, Italian food and Italian sensibility?
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Pouring – Wineglasses should only be filled halfway. That leaves plenty of room to swirl the wine so that its aromas and flavors come alive as they mix with oxygen. The exception is when serving Champagne and sparkling wine. Flutes can be filled slightly more since the goal is to encourage a long bead of bubbles streaming to the surface. However, flutes should not be filled to the absolute brim. Some air space will help to focus the aromas.
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The vintage year on a wine label refers to the year the wine was bottled. True or False?
False – The vintage refers to the year the grapes were harvested. An exception to this would be an Eiswein from Germany; picked in January, it would still carry the vintage of the previous years growing season. Some wines are made from blends of different years (such as sherry or champagne), and in these cases the year is not listed on the label. These non-vintage wines should not necessarily be considered inferior.
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The Austrian glass manufacturer Riedel makes what many wine lovers consider the best wine glasses in the world.Riedel has designed a different glass for every major type of wine. Though the uninitiated are usually skeptical of the idea that a glass can make much of a difference, try a Bordeaux in Riedel Bordeaux glass, then compare it to the same wine in any other glass (including any other Riedel glass) and you’ll be won over too.
