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By cmubag On July 3, 2009No Comments
wine country
It does not have to be a chore to learn about food wine. Although, there is a lot of different information out there about wine, it should not overwhelm the beginner. There are some basic rules that can be followed to make your food and wine experience an easy one. So read on to become familiar with the methods used to choose food-wine combinations.
The idea that white wine is best with white meats and that red wine goes with red meats is an old idea, but still has validity in today. That is the most basic rule for wine. Another basic rule for food wine is to pair tastes that counteract each other. Each taste of food should be overridden by the wine’s flavor and vice versa. Food and wine together should act as a palate cleanser for each other. Being able to taste the flavor of the wine or food over the other means that your wine is not a good match for that food. It has become more difficult to match wines and foods in recent years because dishes have become more flavorful. In these cases, matching the body of the wine to the body of the food is the best option. Light-weight foods pair best with light-weight wines and so on.
The main determination for food wine combinations is the balance of sweetness, acidity and bitterness of both the food and wine. It is pretty easy to figure out what wine should go with what foods by considering the wine and food characteristics. If a sweet food is being served, pair it with a sweeter wine. For bitter foods, a more bitter wine is in order. The best way to determine the acidity of a food is to determine if it would go better with more acid added. For example, adding lemon to a fish means that a more acidic wine should be consumed. Some common white wines that are acidic are: Rieslings, most sparkling wines and white Bordeauxs. Acidic red wines include: Gamays, Pinot Noirs and Sangioveses. Sweet white wines include: White Zinfandels, other forms of Rieslings and Chenin Blancs. Sweet red wines can include: Port and Lambrusco. There are not many bitter white wines, but there are some bitter red wines. These can include, red Zinfandels, Merlots and Cabernet Sauvignons.
Now you know how to pair food wine with the appropriate foods. There are a lot of different wines and it is nearly impossible to know them all. However, if you want to learn more, then joining a wine club or doing extra research can be a great help. It will increase your wine knowledge by a great deal.
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By pewter goblet On July 3, 2009
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By cmubag On July 2, 2009
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White Wines
Having invested possibly hundreds of dollars in your latest bottle of vintage wine (ah well, we can but dream), the next important decision is part to store this prized possession? The main issue when it crucial period to storing wine is that it needs to be maintained at a cool temperature of between 12 and 16 degrees Celsius. Shoved under the bed won’t do.
Many modern wines do not need to be aged over a great period of time; therefore extensive cellars are often unnecessary. Having said this, if you have the time, space and resource to excavate a cellar, your wine will surely benefit. A purpose built cellar is not normally an option for most households and so suitable alternatives must be explored.
Ideal areas for storage include a corner of a garage, garden shed, an unused fireplace or a cupboard that is against an outside wall.
Wherever you choose to store your wine, a few basic criteria are worth keeping in mind.
Choose an area that is less likely to be subjected to fluctuating temperatures caused by household heating systems.
Wines benefit from being kept in dark conditions. Although this is not always practical, wine should certainly be stored in an area that is not exposed it to direct sunlight.
As a final point, always store your red wine bottles on their side. Corks are designed to be kept moist, so that they remain airtight and do not crumble when a corkscrew is inserted.
Bear in mind that some wines do not benefit from being stored at all. If you have poor or no storage facilities available, consider purchasing wine that matures quickly such as most white wines or new technology reds or, possibly, a new Beaujolais.
Move white wine as little as possible once it has been placed in storage, unless of course it is being moved into a glass!
If you have a particularly special wine collection, it may be worth engaging a specialist company to store your wine for you. Good storage has been recognized as vital for many wines and as such, many companies now provide storage facilities. Of course, this does not come cheap and is best reserved for those very special bottles or for those experts who are considering selling their wine on, at a future date.
Decanting is a strange word to many fairies. Some do not order know what it means exactly. Taking the sophistication out of it, decanting literally means pouring the wine from the bottle to a special glass container. Uncommon is done in order to expose the wine to oxygen and enrich it.
What is the meaning of this process? Do all wines benefit from decanting or not? The wine experts are not in agreement. Some say wine should be decanted in order to allow it to “breathe” and develop fully before consumption. Others claim decanting does not contribute to the quality of the wine.
So who is right? Well, the truth is somewhere in the middle. Decanting does seem to benefit certain wines more captious others. Most red wines, except for the very aged and some white ones would definitely benefit from decanting 1-2 hours before serving. Young red wines, on the other hand, which are low in tannins, light and fruity, would not improve if allowed to oxidize. There are also wines specifically would actually suffer from decanting. Those are the aged reds. Their quality could worsen if allowed too much contact with air.
By pewter goblet On July 2, 2009
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By pewter goblet On July 2, 2009
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By cmubag On July 2, 2009
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The advent of wine refrigerators has been a welcome innovation. Most of us simply don’t have space, nor can we afford a walk in, built in cellar. Happily, we can now access these handy storage systems at virtually any size or price. If you have made the move to join a wine club, then one of these appliances will be needed to properly store your monthly deliveries.
It’s no secret that we’ve all grown in our appreciation of wines these days. No matter if you’re a dedicated Red Wine enthusiast, or simply enjoy a chilled White Wine on a hot day, the days of Baby Duck & other utterly gross boxed wines are long gone.
Nowadays just about everyone has a supply of their favorites on hand in their homes, but therein lies a problem, just where do you store that precious liquid.
Many people that enjoy both Red & Whites will look for a “dual zone” wine refrigerator, where each zone can be individually temperature controlled, or on occasion it makes sense to simply purchase two units.
Like all things you get what you pay for. The more expensive units will be better insulated, have special treated glass panels which help maintain a constant temperature, as well as better control humidity levels. These can be particularly important if your appliance is stored in an area with fluctuating temperatures, maybe an outside garage for example.
If you’re planning on having your unit within the home, the décor of the wine refrigerator will be something you’ll need to consider. Many models are actually like fine pieces of furniture, with embossed glass panels, decorative woods, & subdued backlighting.
Wine enjoyment is a social experience, and it’s especially nice to have your collection appropriately displayed, and thus a center of conversation with your friends.
Size matters! If you’re just starting to be purchasing & storing wines good advice would be to buy a wine refrigerator larger than you had initially thought necessary. However if you dwell in an apartment where there is not an abundance of space, there are may “apartment sized” units available, from “Counter Top”, to “Under the Counter” models.
Do you imbibe in a wine from a variety of countries? Enjoy some really good champagne? Then you’ll appreciate getting a unit that boasts adjustable shelving, as a lot of these come in non standard sized bottles.
More for much less? If the words “some assembly required” doesn’t scare you, then consider purchasing a unit that requires a little assembly. Often the savings you’ll reap by doing this will enable you to afford a much larger unit than you would have otherwise. Often you can store up to 500 bottles in perfect conditions and in a quite inexpensive way.
Are you a produ & deddicated collector? Need optimum storage & temperature control for anywhere from 1000 – 2500 bottles? Then a modular wine rooms may be what you should contemplate. These rooms are, prepackaged, relatively simple to assemble, and best of all, due to them arriving in pieces, can be assembled in a room, that you would never be able to fit a ready assembled unit into.
Now that you’ve an idea of what your needs are we highly recommend you visit the Wine Enthusiast, our choice for a huge variety of wine refrigerators , with every conceivable make, model and price range.
Cheers!
