When the holidays arrive, it makes sense to keep lots of different wine varieties on hand. The following article will help you to understand how to pair the right wine with the right food to maximize your overall dining experience.
Make sure that you drink at least one glass of wine a day with one of the meals that you have. Wine is great in helping with your heart, especially red wine. Do not drink too much though, as excess wine can cause you to feel groggy and can hurt your health.
Wine should be stored in a dark, cool location. One of the best places to help your wine remain fresh if you do not have a wine cellar is in a closet in your basement. Store your bottles on their side away from any light sources to help it remain fresh.
Keep in mind that the color of the wine is not always the same as color of the grapes that are used to make it. The color results from the process of wine making and it is the skin of the grape used in the process that gives an individual wine its final color.
Take a blind taste test of a few wines. Judge them on flavor, scent and boldness. Ignore the most sought after qualities like price or the winery’s region. Tasting blindly is a great way to get your honest opinion on the wine itself, without getting tricked by the hype that sometimes goes into certain varieties.
Purchase the Magnum bottles in the store, which are a bit larger, giving you the best bang for your buck. These wines will generally run for about 10 or 15 dollars, and will last a little bit longer for the price. This is a great way to maximize your monetary value of wine if you drink often.
Think about what you like before you splurge on expensive wine. Wine professionals may have strong opinions about which wines are best, but ultimately, your own palate is all that matters. If you really like an inexpensive white, go ahead and buy it! After all, the goal is to drink something you enjoy.
Attend as many wine tastings as you have time for. Wine tastings introduce your palette to many different styles of wines. And the people who attend these events may also be much more advanced than you in terms of wine knowledge. You can pick their brains to learn even more!
Remember that wine shops can vary as much as wines themselves. Each one has a different set of priorities, product list and pricing structure. If you are very new to wine and setting foot in a place where the cheapest bottle is $60, you should look for a lower-end store where you can discover your palate and favorite brands.
Many kinds of wine go great with desserts. Usually, dessert wines are sweeter than wines that are served with a meal. Dessert wines that include the ruby port and tawny port varieties will complement chocolate desserts. Keep them at 55 degrees to get the optimal flavor.
Vintage refers to the year that the grapes were taken out of the ground. A 2010 wine would have grapes harvested in autumn of 2010, for example. The grapes are then fermented in barrels, aging until it’s time to bottle the wine for sale. The bottle of wine would end up in the stores around 2011 or 2012!
A Spanish wine should always be kept fresh but this is not an absolute rule. Lots of folks drink Rioja, which can stay fresh upwards of seven years following bottling. Store it in a cool, dark area until you are ready to enjoy it!
Want to know how grappa is made? Grape skins, called pomace, which remain from making wine are distilled. This ferments them to create a very strong beverage which is perfect as an aparatif or digestif. Want a real kick in your coffee? Add some grappa for a real wake-me-up in the morning!
Aim for wines that were produced in the 1960s and 1970s. These are generally the best types of wine, in addition to the fact that they have aged a good amount of time. If you see that you are accustomed to drinking wine from a certain period, explore other wines in that span of time.
Look for bottles of wine that have a screwcap rather than a cork. Since cork has imperfections in it, it may affect the taste of the wine. While this doesn’t happen often, it is a possibility. Screwcaps are becoming more popular and are less likely to affect the wine in any way.
Searching for glasses for your wine? The best kind of glass is one that is 20 ounces or more, has a long stem and inward curve at the top, and is no more than $15. These statistics have been thoroughly researched as the best for a wine glass. You should never spend a lot of money on a glass because glass is easily breakable.
Buying wine online can be rewarding. Traveling can become expensive, which means visiting local vineyards and wineries in other states is not possible. By researching online, you can find not only great wineries, but also great deals as well. Buying online also gives you the ability to buy in bulk at better savings.
There are many kinds of wines, from fruit types to red types. As you head to the wine shop or liquor store, it’s best to have a clear idea of which bottles you must pick up. You’ll have an easier time making the perfect selection now that you’ve educated yourself.
