Drinking Wines

Most of the times, we drink a bottle of wine without fully appreciating its texture and aroma. Wine is volatile and will react to its environment. There are three simple steps to obtain a better tasting wine.

(1) Serve the wine at the right temperature:

Though it is common wisdom that red wines are to be served at room temperature and white wines chilled, this will not give you the best wine tasting.

A bottle of wine opens up and releases its richest bouquet of aromas at a particular temperature. This particular temperature differs for each wine, depending on the grape variety and region. For example, a rich, intense Bordeaux could be served 2-3 degree below room temperature (~65?F); but a light, fruity red such as Beaujolais is best serve at least 10 degree (~54?F) below room temperature.

Typical temperature for storing red wine ranges from 52?F %u2013 65?F, and 45?F- 50?F for white wines. Generally speaking, serve more intense, fuller-bodied wines at higher temperature. For best wine tasting, do refer to a serving temperature by grape variety chart.

(2) Aerate or breathe the wine:

Aeration (airing) can make younger wines more balanced and smoother by rounding their tannins. In addition, airing helps get rid of bottle stinks — the unpleasant odor that emerges when the bottle is opened.

Uncorking a bottle of wine and letting it sit for an hour is surely the worst way to aerate the wine. Not only must you wait an hour to drink the wine, but also the method is ineffective. Even after many hours, the narrow bottleneck still prevents much air from opening up the wine.

Most wine lovers use a decanter, a glass pitcher with a wide opening. The increased surface area allows faster aeration. If you don’t want to invest in a decanter, swirling the wine in the glass helps aerate it.

The key to aeration is timing! A young, intense, tannic red might need up to 2 hours to open up. An hour is great for a mature, full bodied, complex red. As for aged wines (older than 15 years), they are highly volatile. Do not aerate them for more than minutes!

(3) Use complementary wine glasses:

Wine glasses help us better taste wine. Innovators like Claus Josef Riedel had spent years perfecting the shape and size of the wine glasses so that they can direct the wine to the right sensors on the tongue and funnel the aroma up to the nose.

Many wine lovers go all out with an extensive collection of wine glasses, each wine glass designed for a specific type of wine. If you don’t want to spend a fortune on wine glasses, try the multi-purpose wine glasses that are designed to serve varietals.

Tips on wine glasses selection: Use larger wine glasses for red wines with strong aromas and complex personality. Wine glasses with smaller rim and volume are better for white wines with more delicate aromas; they can better concentrate its aromas and reduce aerating surface area.

Try these three small steps on the same bottle of wine and experience the big difference! Keep in mind that smell contribute to >90% of wine tasting and enjoyment. The right serving temperature, aeration, and wine glasses will bring the best bouquet (and taste) out of your wine.

About Kendra: Kendra Kinney is a key contributor to BetterTastingWine — http://www.bettertastingwine.com — a nonprofit website dedicated to helping our community better understand and enjoy wine. Get free wine lessons, wine tips, and useful resources (e.g. wine serving temperature by grape variety chart) at http://www.bettertastingwine.com

Perhaps one of the most troubling problems which usually occurs that takes the enjoyment out of having a glass of wine is when even though your glasses are clean, look very foggy. We have all encountered it at one time or another and probably all can agree that there is something detracting about a foggy wine glass. Before you decide to throw out your glasses or invest in a set of inexpensive ones with the thought that fogging is inevitable so you might as well be ready to throw them away when the time comes, there are a few things that you can do to prevent fogging and bring back the glorious sparkle and shine to foggy glasses that you remember from when they were first purchased.

I know that some think that it?s perfectly all right to put wine glasses in the dishwasher, and some machines even have special sections on the top rack to hold wine glass stems in place. We all know that crystal should never be put in the dishwasher, so I assume said stem holders are for everyday glasses. My dishwasher has them and I still won?t use it to wash wine glasses. Why? There are two main reasons for this, the first is that dishwasher detergent tends to be a lot more harsh and abrasive and can etch your wine glasses making it fog with repeated washing, and second is that the temperature in a dishwasher can become so hot that it can actually cause a glass to crack.

With that being said, when washing wine glasses by hand the best method is actually quite simple, especially since you should be able to simply rinse out yours glasses to clean them. First, it is important to remember to use lukewarm water and not hot water. Abrasive cleaning agents should be avoided at all costs; and if you feel the need to use soap it is best to only use mild liquid dish soap. Remember to never use hard scrubbing sponges and cloths and to rinse the glasses thoroughly or the soap will leave a film deposit which will fog with build up and time and thus defeats the purpose of taking care when washing your glasses.

If you have taken care of your glasses and hand-washed them and still find they are starting to fog, there is still something you can do. Soak the foggy glasses in straight white vinegar for two to three hours. Then wash with warm water and mild liquid dish soap and repeat the soaking process if necessary to remove the remaining residue. It might be a bit of a time consuming process, but it will be worth it in the end when you have sparkling glasses that look beautiful!

Finest Wine Racks is a major supplier of a variety of wine racks including wood wine racks, metal wine racks, counter top wine racks, floor standing wine racks and wine storage systems.

Ken Finnigan - CEO
Finest Wine Racks

When most people think of school, they are usually transported back to their elementary school days, a time of crayons, grumpy cafeteria ladies, and tennis shoes filled with playground gravel. Because they are taken back to a time of youth, people don?t usually think that ?school? and ?wine? belong in the same sentence; the school board would have had a fit the instance cartons of chocolate milk were replaced with bottles of Pinot Noir.

However, in adulthood wine and school often go together, merging with each other in the form of a wine class. A wine class, despite what some people may think, isn?t merely a class where students read the Grapes of Wrath or A Raisin in the Sun. Instead, a wine class teaches its students about wine tasting, wine clubs, wine glasses, wine openers, wine corks, and just about every wine related subject on the vine.

Why Take a Wine Class
From the newest novice to the ripest connoisseur, wine classes offer all sorts of things. For beginners, wine classes teach people how to truly taste wine, savoring its aroma and intricacies. This wine tasting helps novices to learn their preferences, get to know the vintages they really like, and allows them to identify the differences in wine, arming them with the ability to provide evaluation.

For the connoisseur, there is always more wine knowledge to obtain, no matter how much is already known. This is because wine contains so much information. From learning about the variety of wine glasses to learning about the differences in wine corks, the most accomplished wine drinker will still benefit from a class. When it comes to wine, the knowledge is nearly bottomless.

Wine classes also provides an outlet for people with commonalities to get together, discussing their hopes, their dreams, their Merlots. The classes are fun, lacking the monotony of reading a book or watching a film, and give the learner more hands on learning, a chance to grab the grape by the vine.

What Happens During a Wine Class?
On the first day of a wine class, people may understandably feel nervous, they might not know anyone or be worried that they have forgotten their corkscrew. But, of all the classes known to ever fill a schoolroom, wine classes are among the neatest to take. Trigonometry has nothing on ?em.

The syllabus of a wine class will differ from class to class and level to level. Overall, however, classes touch on a variety of topics. Some of the lessons include the basics of wine tasting, how to recognize specific flavors, how to compare wines, wine history, reading a wine label, navigating a wine store, at-home wine tasting, compiling a wine tasting kit, the differences of wine regions, using wine vocabulary, pairing food and wine, wine openers, wine corks, and ordering wine in a restaurant. Many of the courses include several in-class wine tastings as well as a few bottles for practicing at home.

Different Types of Wine Classes
Wine classes, like wine itself, come in all shapes and sizes. There are classes aimed at teaching people the specifics of wine glasses and there are classes that focus only on pairing wines with desserts. Some classes only offer instruction on tasting Italian wine, while some are focused on the tasting of wines from Australia. Certain classes may instruct a person how to purchase wine, while others may focus on the variety of wine openers.

While there are a variety of wine classes offered all over the world, some people may not be able to locate one near them. Others, wanting to get a leg up on other students by doing extra ?homework,? may simply be better off not driving. For these folks, online classes are offered. While these don?t allow for the interaction of physical wine classes, they are the next best thing. Some people, wanting to study independently or go at their own pace, may even prefer online classes to others.

The length of the wine class, as well as the cost, can drastically vary. Some classes are only a few hours long and cost around 40 dollars while other classes can last for several weeks and cost a few hundred dollars. Many of the classes have access to study materials online and offer, upon completion, certificates and diplomas (to frame and hang from the wall of your wine cellar).

Wine classes are a great, easy, and quick way to learn about wine. They allow you to go from novice to connoisseur in no time at all, arming you with the knowledge to impress friends, family, and yourself. Along these lines, they are also fun and enjoyable; while a pottery class takes a field trip to an art store, you may find your wine class taking a field trip to Napa Valley.

Jennifer Jordan is the senior editor at http://www.savoreachglass.com. With a vast knowledge of wine etiquette, she writes articles on everything from how to hold a glass of wine to how to hold your hair back after too many glasses. Ultimately, she writes her articles with the intention that readers will remember wine is fun and each glass of anything fun should always be savored.

We’ve all heard that there are rules to selecting the right wine. Those rules are based on the type of meat or fish main course, cost, the snootiness factor and other less savory snobbery. Heck, I’m no snob when selecting just that right wine to go with my meal. I have 1 rule that fits no matter what’s on the menu. But before I give you Franks rule of wine selection, let’s review a few of the more recognized rules.

Red with meat, white with fish. Yea, this is a good direction to take all right. It’s good if you like your meals color coordinated. Heck, I’m satisfied if my husband is color coordinated and don’t really care if my meals are on a specific color spectrum.

Price determines quality. OK, I made this one up after having a wine steward get almost indignant at my wine selection because it didn’t have the nose of a truly good wine. A nose of course is what’s on people’s faces that they look down on us less sophisticated wine connoisseurs. Apparently wine also has a nose and it simply means the way it smells. The difference between us and them however is that we say smell and they say bouquet. Well la tee-da.

How about using the Sommelier of the restaurant to select your wine? If you get one with a sense of humor, this is an excellent way to find new wines to enjoy. A Sommelier is someone who is a trained and knowledgeable wine professional. They understand all the aging, grape selection, part of the country and wine making techniques that basic wine drinkers like myself just aren’t interested in studying about. A great sommelier will not focus on price but on what types of wine you enjoy. What you’re eating will be considered but actually, a good Sommelier is looking to select a wine based on my 1 rule of wine selection.

That 1 rule of wine selection trumps everything else in picking a wine drink. That number 1 rule is …

GET SOMETHING YOU LIKE AND ENJOY!

That’s it! Who cares if it’s expensive except the restaurant that gets the huge mark-up price. You’re going to drink it and if the wine is something you’ve enjoyed before or at a previous special occasion, you will start to reminisce. You will begin to walk down memory lane and if that special someone you’re dining with happens to be your lifes partner of many years, they too will begin to remember back when. The romance is rekindled not by the wine but by the memories.

There is a certain magic to a wine that can be tied back into your own personal history. So what kind of wine goes with my chicken salad sandwich? I’ll take the one I like…the one with the magic.

Abigail Frank writes on many subjects having to do with home, and Business. For more information on wine and wine accessories visit the site at http://www.wine.primo-living.com

You?ve heard somewhere or read somewhere that wine must be served in the best crystal to get its full advantage, well not necessarily but there are a few basic principles to remember when choosing glasses that will help you get the best from your favorite bottle.

It is true however that the appearance, smell and even the taste can be enhanced by using the proper glasses. The oldest surviving wine glass with a stem and foot are 15th century enameled goblets that holds more than four ounces of liquid. Towards the end of the 16th century in Germany, wine glasses are sophistically engraved as decoration . Meanwhile The earliest surviving English wine glasses that were produced near the end of the 16th century were made by Verzelini, there were diamond-engraved. Around the 1740s plain straight stems and air twist stems gained popularity . France introduced fine crystal glasses towards the end of the 18th century.

Wine glasses during the 19th century were often produced in sets of a dozen each, each set for port and sherry, burgundy and claret, champagne glasses and liqueur glasses. In the 1950s, Riedel Crystal and other manufacturers have refined the design of wine glasses with unique size and shape for almost every wine variation.

When choosing glasses, always remember to first choose a plain glass to set off your best wines, stay away from colored or even those that have tinted stems or bases. The effect of light on the wine, specifically the ?legs? and ?tears? on the inner wall when you swirl the wine and the way aromas are captured within the wine glass and finally presented to your nose while drinking are one of the most important things to consider when choosing wine glasses. Glasses with a wide bowl that tapers toward the mouth will allow the aroma of the wine to be released generously. This is because the deeper bowls allow more room for swirling and the narrow opening channels the aroma to your nostrils efficiently. A big flared opening will disperse the aroma rather quicker.

Red wines are traditionally served in bigger glasses than white wine, this is because red wines needs more space to breathe and develop, remember, a wine glass can never be too big. Sparkling wines should be served in think glasses with straight side or flutes so that the fizz is preserved. Realizing the plight of budget restricted consumers, the California Wine Institute has developed an all-purpose wine glass. It is five and one half inches tall with a one and three quarter inch stem. Its clear, tulip-shaped bowl holds a capacity of up to eight ounces.

Setting of wine glasses at a dinner party should also be taken into consideration when serving different types of wine throughout each course. The glasses should be arranged in the order they are to be used and right to left. Typically wine is poured from the right, while food is served from the left. You might want to begin with tall stemmed glass for whites followed by a large wine goblet for reds and ending with short smaller glass for port or sherry. Finally remember that you need to leave room to capture the aroma as it rises from the swirled wine and allowing room for it to be tilted to evaluate the color of the wine, therefore it?s best to fill the wine glass at one third to one half full at the most.

Wine Glasses Article From www.wine-blog.net

Stop by http://www.wine-blog.net for the latest on fine wine, gourmet foods and wine and more. With more than 25 helpful how to articles such as our wine making guide, wine cellar equipment list and more your sure to find relevant information about great wines.