Forever Crystal is giving away free glassware!
Online crystal glassware store Forever Crystal are giving away a pair of beautiful classic 24% lead crystal wine glasses on their blog, completely free! The beautiful red wine flutes are part of the ever popular ‘Cross Swirl’ range not available on the high street, and are delicate flute shaped glasses with a classic spiral design. The glasses will be won by one lucky visitor to the Forever Crystal blog, in the first of what are to become monthly competitions. They are a truly special prize as they are handmade and hand cut, so that each glass is slightly different and unique.
If like me you enjoy a nice glass of wine, you probably already know that a good quality wine glass can make all the difference. Most people know that lead crystal wine glasses are more enjoyable to drink from than regular ones and that they improve the taste of a good wine. But not everyone knows that to get the most pleasure out of your wine you should also make sure you’re using the right shape of glass for your chosen wine. Champagne, for example, is best drunk from tall thin flute shaped glasses which help retain its ‘fizziness’. Red wines require a slightly larger bowl than whites, as they need more breathing space, and it’s easier to keep whites cool in a smaller glass.
Small, tulip-shaped glasses intended for white wine are the most commonly used by most people, as red wine glasses are often quite large and can look clumsy in comparison. These pretty ‘Cross Swirl’ red wine flutes are the perfect compromise, designed with a larger bowl intended for reds but managing to keep a more delicate shape and design. To be in with a chance of winning the free glassware, simply visit the Forever Crystal blog and enter your answer to the question, ‘What is the minimum Lead Crystal content required in Crystal Glassware?’ along with your name and an email address in case you win. It really couldn’t be simpler! All correct answers will be entered into a prize draw and the lucky winner will be notified after May 15th.
What Are The Types Of Wine Accessories?
Wine accessories will certainly help the overall enjoyment of wine. There are many accessories that are necessary if you intend to bring out the maximum level of enjoyment from your wine. These accessories can be anything from having the right glasses in the house to having a great bottle opener or cork saver. The wine accessories are as vital as the wine itself in many cases and can make all the difference in the world between a great wine evening and a poorly planned experience.
One popular wine accessory is a wine humidity gauge. This item helps test the overall humidity of the wine and can ensure that the wine is being held at the right temperature. Most gauges are tested specifically for certain types of wine, so they are usable in wine cellars and wine fridges and can determine proper readings regardless of the type of wine. Many people use a humidity gauge in their wine cellars to ensure that the wine they serve to guests is always up to par.
A popular wine item in terms of accessories is the wine decanter. A decanter is an object, like a pitcher, that is used to hold liquids that have sedimentary properties. A decanter is shaped in such a way that it actively considers the properties of certain wines and treats them uniquely. Of course, another plus about a decanter is that they look great. Placing a decanter filled with lush wine in the middle of a table is a great decorating option that doesn’t have to cost too much.
Wine glasses are probably the most important accessory for wine. This is because wine glasses can be shaped at the exact inclines and angles to support the type of wine that is in them. There are certain wine glasses that are designed specifically for each of the different types of wine. The importance of this lies in the fact that the wine glass can actually influence the perception of the wine, and can impact the overall flavor sensibilities of the wine. Many people consider this important because wine is said to be “alive”, meaning that the wine changes properties as it evolves.
Another important accessory helps the wine lover actually get to the wine. Opening the wine bottle can be difficult without the proper corkscrew to open it with. There are many different types and designs of bottle openers available, from the very elaborate designs to simplistic pocket openers. Most wine bottles are stopped up with a cork, but the screw-top wine bottle is quickly becoming popular because of their ease of design and because they enable the wine to maintain all of the properties that a cork had in the past.
It is important to remember that wine accessories serve as the centerpiece of your wine experience, enabling you to get the most out of the wine you have presented. If you do not have all of the wine accessories you need, you may be missing out on some of the magic that can be unleashed with the right glass or the proper decanter. Of course, wine accessories are typically easy to find and aren’t all that expensive. You should be able to find all of the wine accessories you need at your local wine store.
The Various Brands Of Wine Accessories
Wine accessories are essential items that will help the enjoyment of wine. For true wine lovers, there are many wine accessories that are necessary to help bring the maximum levels of fulfillment and excitement out of the flavor of the wine. These accessories can be anything from the proper glasses to the proper bottle opener to a cork saver. Wine accessories are as important as the wine itself, to some, and to others wine accessories represent a way of life.
One popular wine accessory is a wine humidity gauge. This item helps test the overall humidity of the wine and can ensure that the wine is being held at the right temperature. Most gauges are tested specifically for certain types of wine, so they are usable in wine cellars and wine fridges and can determine proper readings regardless of the type of wine. Many people use a humidity gauge in their wine cellars to ensure that the wine they serve to guests is always up to par.
A popular wine item in terms of accessories is the wine decanter. A decanter is an object, like a pitcher, that is used to hold liquids that have sedimentary properties. A decanter is shaped in such a way that it actively considers the properties of certain wines and treats them uniquely. Of course, another plus about a decanter is that they look great. Placing a decanter filled with lush wine in the middle of a table is a great decorating option that doesn’t have to cost too much.
Wine glasses are probably the most important accessory for wine. This is because wine glasses can be shaped at the exact inclines and angles to support the type of wine that is in them. There are certain wine glasses that are designed specifically for each of the different types of wine. The importance of this lies in the fact that the wine glass can actually influence the perception of the wine, and can impact the overall flavor sensibilities of the wine. Many people consider this important because wine is said to be “alive”, meaning that the wine changes properties as it evolves.
Another important accessory helps the wine lover actually get to the wine. Opening the wine bottle can be difficult without the proper corkscrew to open it with. There are many different types and designs of bottle openers available, from the very elaborate designs to simplistic pocket openers. Most wine bottles are stopped up with a cork, but the screw-top wine bottle is quickly becoming popular because of their ease of design and because they enable the wine to maintain all of the properties that a cork had in the past.
It is important to remember that wine accessories can make the wine experience richer and more exciting for wine drinkers. Without the right wine accessories, there is no telling what type of experience will be had. With the right glasses, openers and temperatures, however, the wine experience can be made all the richer. Wine accessories are vitally important to any evening centered around quality wine and quality company.
How to choose the right wine to go with a meal
Choosing a good wine can be a real nightmare, especially when you’re trying to impress someone. You’re having a dinner party – you’ve planned the menu thoroughly, dusted off your best crockery and wine glasses, and got everything prepared – except for the wine selection. There’s just so much to think about, and it always seems like everyone else knows so much more about it than you do. You stand there for what seems like forever looking at the seemingly endless shelves of different bottles, and the more you think about it the harder it gets. That’s why we’ve put together a few tips of what to watch out for and how to choose the perfect wine to compliment your meal.
Firstly and most importantly, you need to match the wine to the meal you will be eating. Everyone has different opinions of which wine will taste good with different foods, but there are a few basic rules that you can follow if you’re really not sure. The easiest way is to match the colour of the wine to the food, you can’t go wrong. So if you’re eating red meat go for a dark red like Cabernet or Syrah. For lamb or pork a medium bodied red like a Merlot will be less heavy whilst still giving a rich flavour. Chicken and fish dishes can often be overpowered by reds so it’s best to go for a crisp white instead, perhaps a Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc. If it’s a special occasion or celebration, you might be better off with a sparkling wine, served in fancy Champagne flutes.
Once you’ve worked out what kind of wine you are looking for, look at where it has come from. Wines from different regions are hugely different in quality, so it pays to do a bit of research into the best regions. If you’re not sure, France is always a safe choice and has been producing fine wines for hundreds of years. Italy is another good choice, and Chilean wines are also very popular at the moment, particularly the reds.
Another thing it’s a good idea to check is the vintage of the wines you are choosing from, or the year they were bottled. A real wine buff will already know which were the good years for each region, and will buy only vintages which they know came from a particularly good crop. For the rest of us less knowledgable people, it can seem like a lot of guesswork, but if you know a few of the basics you’ll be on the right track at least. A common misconception is that the older a wine is, the better it will taste. It’s true that most red wines do improve with a little aging, but most wineries don’t distribute these reds for a couple of years after bottling, which gives them time to mature. This means they are ready to drink and will taste good as soon as they become available. Most white and sparkling wines don’t need any aging, and taste good if drunk straight away.
Does wine really taste different from a crystal glass?
It is a popular belief that the glass you use to serve a fine wine is almost as important to how much you enjoy the drink as the choice of wine itself. The shape, colour and fabric of wine glasses are all supposed to influence the way you appreciate the flavour and aroma of a wine. Whether there is really any truth to this or not remains to be seen but there are actually some convincing arguments that a wine really does taste better if drunk from the right glass.
So how do we know which ones we should be using? With so many different shapes and sizes out there it’s hard to know which ones will be the best. Most people agree that a specially shaped glass is required for some types of wine. The most common example of this is tall, thin flute-shaped glasses for champagne which are designed to retain the ‘fizziness’ in sparkling wines by reducing the surface area at the top of the glass. A serious wine buff will also use different glasses for red and white wines – a rounder, wider bowl for reds to allow more space for the wine to breathe, and a slightly smaller, tulip-shaped bowl for whites to help retain their cool temperature.
But some people have taken this theory a lot further. Real wine geeks say that the difference between wines runs a lot deeper than just the colour, and that for each different variety of wine there is a glass designed especially to enhance the experience of drinking it. No one has pursued this further than Austrian wine glass manufacturer Riedel, the company that came up with the idea. They actually produce different glasses not only for different types of wine, but also for different varieties and vintages within each type – although not many people could afford to collect the whole set!
As for what the glass is made from, lots of people believe that a fine wine tastes better if drunk from a crystal glass. This is not entirely true – although drinking from a lead crystal glass is usually considered to be more enjoyable. It’s actually less about flavour than aroma, the majority of what we think we ‘taste’ when we drink wine is in fact a combination of its smell and the effect of the evaporated aromas in the mouth. Crystal wine glasses, due to their heightened lead content (for a glass to count as ‘Crystal’ in Europe it has to contain at least 24% lead) have a slightly rougher surface than glass, which helps to release the aroma better by causing friction as the wine moves inside the glass.
Other than this, the differences are almost entirely aesthetic. A lead crystal glass is clearer and shows off the wine better, allowing serious tasters to examine its ‘legs’ more easily. It’s also a lot heavier than glass – again because of the high lead content – sparkles more and makes that nice ringing sound when you tap it – science aside, crystal glasses are just generally more satisfying to drink from!
Are expensive wines really worth it?
How many of us can really say we know anything about wine? Most people will be familiar with that feeling you get when you’re standing there looking at the rows and rows of bottles, with no idea what it is you’re actually supposed to be looking for. We assume that expensive wines cost more because they’re better and cheap wines should probably be avoided, but is there really any truth to this? I have tried both cheap wines that have tasted fine, and expensive ones that have been horrible – that’s not always the case by any means, but they do exist and how are we supposed to know which ones to choose?
It’s like the theory that crystal wine glasses make wine taste better than regular glasses. It’s true that it is nicer to drink out of a crystal glass, they do feel nice to hold and they make that lovely sound when you tap them, but I’ve yet to see any evidence that it actually affects the flavour of the drink. A nasty wine will taste nasty whatever you drink it from – just think of the familiar grimace on people’s faces when they take a sip from their posh celebratory Champagne flutes, only to be reminded that they’ve always hated Champagne and are only drinking it because it’s what you’re supposed to do.
A true wine buff would tell you they can guess the vintage of a good wine and the region where it was bottled just from tasting it. However in the opening episode of BBC4’s recent mini-documentary series entitled (rather inventively, I thought!) Wine, an interesting scenario took place. A group of professional wine experts were offered a taste from an unknown bottle and asked to guess the vintage. Most of the party placed it somewhere in the 1980s, with the exception of one French expert who said 1928. It turned out to be from 1870, proving that they really didn’t have a clue.
So do factors like the age and vintage of a wine really make any difference in terms of the quality of wine? If even the world’s most knowledgeable experts can’t tell the difference then it would seem that the answer is no, probably not. Older wines are likely to be rarer, which might explain why they cost more, but I bet those experts could have got a whole crate of good 1980s wines for the same price as that one bottle from the 1800s would have cost. And in these credit crunch times do people really want to be paying so much more for fancy wines when it’s entirely possible they could get one just as good – or maybe even nicer – in Threshers for under a tenner?