How to Taste Wine

Learning how to taste test wine is as simple as 1 - 2 - 3. The main skill in tasting wine is easy to learn, and anybody can become a good wine taster if they want. Truly "tasting" wine means taking care to study the qualities wine has to offer, which leads to a better appreciation and enjoyment of the wine, and the food you have paired with it.

Three senses unite to make wine tasting a delightful experience: sight, smell and taste. Watch an experienced wine-taster at work and you'll see a relatively casual 3-step process: a glance, a sniff and a sip (#4 could be the Ahhhh! after the sip ritual is completed). This expertise can be easily acquired with a minimum of practice.

Sight or Appearance - Looking can tell you quite a lot about the
wine. Lift your glass up against a white or neutral background in a well lit room to get a general impression of the color. Tilt it away from you until it is almost horizontal to reveal the width and hue of the wine's "rim". Then, with the glass standing on a table, examine the wine from above to see its true clarity, brightness and depth of color.

What you See: The wine should be clear and bright, not hazy. The color should be rich and full. When checking the appearance for degree of color, notice if it is: bright purple (typical of young red wines), ruby and browny-red (typical of aging red wines), or brown and dull (an indication of a wine that is oxidized).

Smell or Nose - The smell of a wine is described in a general sense as its "nose". Smell stimulates the palate as do tastes, and is the most important of our senses for appreciating and enjoying wine. Most of what we "taste" is in fact what we "smell". Just recall how little you were able to taste food or drink when you had a cold or a stuffy nose.

To begin, swirl the glass around gently, holding it by the stem or foot in order to release the "aroma" (forward smells that come from the grape) and "bouquet" (subtle scents that develop as a result of maturing and oak aging). Then sniff the wine, concentrating on the smell, and of what it reminds you.

What you Smell: The nose of a wine will vary in intensity and distinction according to its age, grape variety, origin and quality, but it should always be clean i.e. free of unpleasant odors. There are many words to describe what we smell, however the easiest is to correlate what we smell to that with which we are familiar. For example, you may hear wines described as floral (rose, jasmine, violet), spicy (pepper, licorice), fruity (lemon, cherry, melon) and woody (oak, cedar, vanilla). These correlations will help you express the sensations your nose experiences.

Taste - Tasting is the only way to build real knowledge of wine. Experiencing the taste of bitter, sweet or salt is relative to which part of the tongue is exposed to food or drink. Therefore, take a sip of the wine and instead of swallowing it straight down, work it around your mouth for several seconds (this is called "chewing"). Notice how much more of its flavor you can taste. With the next sip, in addition to chewing it, purse your lips and suck a little air through the wine a few times before swallowing. Notice how you can taste/smell even more of the wine this way because you have deliberately released its aroma and bouquet. "Chewing" and "aerating" for several seconds help to get the most out of any wine you taste. And then there's the "Finish" - the taste that's left in your mouth after the swallowing - the longer the finish, the better the wine.

How to Serve Wine

Wines produced from organically grown grapes allow us to experience their true quality and taste, just as nature intended. Following some basic serving, tasting and storing techniques will allow our wine selections the best opportunity to enhance those special food and mood events of your life.

Let's make the most of every sip!

.Serving - The decision to open a bottle of wine can, of
course, be spontaneous. That's part of the excitement!
The following basic considerations will help enhance the pleasure of every glass.

.Rest - A bottle of wine that is rushed to the table straight from the delivery box or shopping bag can never be at its best. Wines, especially older ones, suffer from being moved, and regain their balance and character only after a period of rest (a few days), preferably in a cool, dark place.

.Temperature - Even the simplest bottle of wine tastes better at the right temperature. Allow time for bottles to chill - or warm up - before serving. In general, white and sparkling wines should be served chilled to around 48°F to 54°F. Red wines are usually best between 58°F & 65°F. Useful tip: An ice/water bucket is the quickest way to chill wine. Cubes of ice surrounded by water will rapidly chill a bottle in less than 15 minutes, while a refrigerator takes more than an hour to do the job. Today, there are also "sleeves" that can be kept in your freezer, and then slipped over a bottle to do the chilling.

.Let wine "breathe" - Whenever possible we strongly recommend opening the bottle of wine at least one hour before serving. Uncorking a bottle and exposing it to oxygen for a period of time before pouring gives the wine a chance to aerate, enhancing subtle flavors and aromas, and making an enormous difference in the character of the wine. Pouring the wine in a decanter or in a large glass jar and putting it back in the bottle will considerably speed up the process.

Selecting the "right" Stemware - Rule #1 is cleanliness; always use a clean glass! Using one that is dirty or tainted will, without fail, ruin any wine tasting experience. That being said, wine tastes better, more like what it is supposed to taste like, when drunk from the appropriate stemware. This observation, seemingly esoteric, has been proven over and over in carefully-conducted comparative taste tests.

In General: Thick glass will distort the clarity of the wine, and colored glass will alter the look as well. The preference here is to use stemware that is thin and clear, the ideal being thin clear crystal. The bowl should be of a size to allow for a half-full glass to be swished without spilling.

For White wine: Use an all-purpose white wine glass with a tulip-shaped bowl and a tall, thin stem. Small to medium glasses work quite well for the whites.

For Red wine: Most red wines show best in a larger glass with a round or tulip-shaped bowl and tall, thin stem. Medium to large glasses work quite well for the reds.

For Sparkling wines: These are usually served in tulip-shaped stemware. Flutes are ideal for serving Champagnes and Sparkling Wines.

For Dessert wines: The general rule of thumb for dessert wines is to use basically small glasses, some with unique shapes which have a tendency to generate conversation and enhance the moment.

It is really not necessary to spend a lot of money to ensure that you have all the varieties of stemware on hand to meet every possible situation. Typically an all-purpose red wine glass will allow you to enjoy any occasion without compromising the effect.

Matching wine with food

Matching wine with food

Avoid

The following food damages wine tasting: spice, garlic, vinegar (to be replaced by white wine), raw fruits.

You should also:

Avoid red meat with white wines or sweet wines.

Avoid fish, raw vegetables, and goat cheese, with red wines that dry the palate - but think of trying a cool Gamay or a fruity Pinot.

Avoid desserts, Foie Gras, and very strong cheeses (Munster, blue cheese), with Loire Cabernet, pink wine, or crisp white (such as dry Loire, Champagne, or Vinho Verde).

Food-wine pairing explained

Wine rouses pleasure with various food. Almost any dish can be matched with many types of wines. People have different palates and inclinations: everyone will make their own combinations.

For example you can try cheese with a young white (any cheese with Chardonnay, light cheeses with Sauvignon Blanc).

Some rules can guide your matching experiments though:

• A simple course leaves room for the wine to shine.
• Old wines are delicate to serve and match. The dish should be discreet.
• In theory, a slightly sweetened or bitter course accentuates the dryness (acidity, tannins) of a wine. You should thus avoid hard wines with sweet food.
• On the contrary, the more a dish is salty or acidic, the sweeter the wine will taste. This is an opportunity for you to try wines for fresher climates.

What is Vegan Wine?

Vegan Wine is a Surprising and Delightful Complement to Vegan Food - Satisfying the Strictest of Vegetarian Demands!

During the wine making process both organic and non-organic vintners typically employ the use of clarifying/fining agents derived from animal products - those ranging from egg whites, egg albumin, casein (milk protein) and gelatin (derived from animal bones) to chitin (obtained from lobster and crab shells) and isinglass
(a fish by-product).

Fining is the process which makes cloudy wine clear, and removes "off" tastes and unwanted substances missed during the filtration part of the process. As the fining agents are poured into the wine, they pass from top to bottom, acting as magnets that attract the unwanted particles. Once completing their journey they are removed - theoretically leaving no traces of them behind.

It is the agents used for fining that determine the suitability of wine for Vegans. Fining agents used to process Vegan Wines are typically organic, plant or mineral-based material such as bentonite clay, kaolin, carbon or diatomaceous earth (rock made from pulverized algae).

It is fortunate that there are wines available that have had no contact with animal matter whatsoever. It is unfortunate however that finding them is difficult, as they are not always readily available, or clearly labeled. Then too, once you locate one of these Vegan Wines you'll find that it may not be produced as vegan in a subsequent vintage of that same wine.

What is Biodynamic Wine?

Biodynamic Wine is Truly the Hallmark of Natural Flavor in Wine!

The proof is on your palate! For those who have tasted biodynamic wines, you know what we mean. For those who have yet to taste them, you're in for a treat.

Comparatively speaking, biodynamic is like "ultra" organic, and is actually the oldest system of organic agriculture known, dating back to 1924. Most people are aware of the superior quality, nutritional value and flavor of organic foods. With respect to wine, the theory is that better-tasting wine is the result of better-tasting grapes, which result from healthier vines and healthier soil - seems rather logical.

. Organic vintners shun synthetic chemicals in favor of nurturing soil and plants in an ecologically sound manner. They follow nature's lead in combating plant and soil adversities with natural remedies - No synthetics for us to digest.

. Biodynamic viticulture adheres to the same natural practices as organic viticulture, but places even more emphasis on nourishing the soil while caring for the vines - using natural remedies and stringent vinification processes. The biodynamic grape grower carries organic to the next level by supporting and intensifying nature's processes to heal vineyards damaged by decades of previous pollution.

Biodynamic viticulture is in tune with the totality of forces affecting the growth of the vines and their fruit. Believing that plants respond to all the various forces of nature, biodynamic vintners conduct their farming practices on strict schedules in accordance with the cycles of the moon, planets and stars. They have been able to us that total harmony with nature to optimize the taste that you experience with biodynamic wines.

Gradually, more vintners are moving toward biodynamic viticulture because they know it works, and wine critics are finding more and more that biodynamic wines have cleaner taste, better aroma and a longer finish.

Organic Wine Types

2000 Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Domaine Pierre André

NV Champagne Carte d’Or Brut, Serge Faust

1999 Chianti Classico Riserva, Casina Di Cornia

Port Finest Reserve Casal dos Jordoes

2003 St.Chinian, Château Bousquette Prestige

NV Cartagène Prestige Dessert Wine, André Bourguet

2004 Bourgogne Chardonnay, Guy Chaumont

Blanquette de Limoux Brut Delmas

2004 Chianti Classico, Casina di Cornia

2004 Syrah, Mas de Janiny

2003 Bordeaux, Château Moulin de Peyronin Capucine

2002 Limoux, Domaine Delmas Chardonnay

2003 St.Chinian, Château Bousquette Tradition

2006 Prosecco Perlage Riva Moretta

2006 Muscadet Sèvre et Maine, Guy Bossard

2003 Coteaux du Languedoc, Château Véronique

2006 Bordeaux, Château Moulin de Peyronin

2006 Côtes-du-Rhône, Domaine des Cèdres

2006 Pinot Grigio Perlage

2006 Cabernet Sauvignon Domaine de Bajac

2002 Merlot Domaine de Bajac

The fundamental idea behind organic anything is health. There is an enormous amount of scientific evidence documenting how pesticides, weed killers, fungicides and other synthetic chemical substances damage the health of our soil. They also affect the health of plants grown in it, which in turn affects the health of the fruit and anything else in the extended chain - including you and I.

If it goes into the soil or onto a plant, it will be absorbed and transferred to whatever follows. What's the likelihood that chemically sprayed grapes grown in chemically altered soil will give us wine whose taste is unaltered?

By using conventional viticulture with pesticides, herbicides and fungicides it throws the natural harmony of a vineyard and winery completely off balance. The soil is stripped of minerals essential to its health, thus necessitating an ever-increasing reliance on artificial inputs to restore what has been lost. The chain never ends.

CATEGORIES OF WINES

Wine can be made from almost any vegetable matter. However, when referring to grape wine, there are three basic categories; red, white and rosé (pronounced "rose-ay") which is a pinkish wine. More on this later.

Wine contains sugar. The less sugar the "drier" the wine. When you buy wine at a wine store, you will notice that each bin is usually classified with a number "1", "2" or "3". The higher the number, the sweeter the wine.

The alcohol content of wine is between 9% and 12%. This is because the yeast used to make wine reaches its tolerance at about 12% then it stops fermenting. But, you ask, what about brandy, sherry and port? Their alcohol content can be as high as 20%. True.

Spirits are alcohol which is made by means of distillation. Brandy, sherry, and dubonnet are distilled from grape wine. Liqueurs however are generally distilled from fruit wines. Distilled wines are call Apertifs (ah-pair-teefs) and are usually served before a meal with or without an appetizer. No further information is available on this site about distillation except to say that doing it at home is illegal and can kill you if you don't do it exactly right. Beware the evils of methyl alcohol. Condsider yourself warned.

Table wine is served (surprise) at the table with dinner. Usually the wine will be dry in order to complement rather than compete with the food being served. As an only very general rule, white wine is served with white meat and, conversely, red wine is served with red meat. The reason being is that the flavours of most white wines are subtle as are the flavours of most white meats, therefore there is no competition for the taste buds. Red wines generally have a stronger flavour as do most red meats and the taste buds can handle the equality of flavours.

Still not sure which wine to serve? Compromise and delight with a rosé. It is fairly dry, goes with almost everything and generally pleases everyone.

Dessert wines are sweet and usually served with (surprise again) dessert. Mosëlle and sauternes are such wines.

After-dinner wines are (take a guess) served after dinner. They are sweet wines which are either spirits (see above) or fortified wines which means alcohol was added to the wine after fermentation stopped. Port, sherry and brandy fit this category. So do liqueurs.

Wine Accessories

Rapid Wine Chillers

Rapid Wine Chillers

Get the edge off the Champagne with a rapid wine chiller. There's nothing worse than being unprepared with guests arriving -- you've got the Champagne flutes out but neglected to put the bottle of bubbly in the refrigerator to get it down to that primo sub-50 degree Fahrenheit range of chilliness. And please, stuffing the bottle into the freezer is not the solution—that only encourages exploding corks and frigid temps can affect the Champagne's balance of aromas and flavors. No, the best solution for this scenario is to use rapid wine chillers that cool the wine down to the right temperature in a just a matter of minutes. They are quick, easy, and efficient for the job.

Copco Wine Bottle Stopper

A Copco wine bottle stopper is an often sought after wine gadget. Find out more about this brand of stopper as well as others.

Corkscrews

The Right Tool for the Right Job

Many people, retailers in particular, consider a corkscrew an accessory, something haphazardly cast into the kitchen drawer with the nutcracker, the lobster fork, the ice pick, the odd-shaped cheese spreader, and the double-sided half-moon folding clamp device that one's spouse says is "perfect for making gyo-za." I've never actually seen the gyo-za device in operation, but I trust that my spouse is correct in that assessment.

Kokopelli Wine Bottle Stopper

Kokopelli adorns plates, glassware, silverware and yes, you can even find a Kokopelli wine bottle stopper.

Metal Wine Stopper Supplies

There are many types of metal wine stopper supplies available for storing and preserving a bottle of wine that has been opened. They also make the perfect gift for any wine lover.

Wine Chiller

If you are looking for a better way to chill your wine than a bucket of ice, look no further than the GE appliances wine chiller.

Wine Decanters

Many of us think wine decanters are for looks only, or perhaps somewhere the idea was that decanters were for that old 1960 Mouton Rothschild hanging around the house. Luckily for you, they are not for display only, nor are they reserved for that special bottle of wine — thus only to be used on special occasions. I would say that decanters are probably THE singular thing you can purchase to drastically change the wine you drink. Robert Mondavi recently said in an interview in Wine Spectator magazine that, “I think all red wines should be decanted, regardless of age or wine type.” I probably wouldn’t go that far, but he has a point.

Wine Glass Racks

Space Issues?

If you’re a big fan of wine glasses and having the right stemware for the right wine, you have probably run into the problem of having not enough space for all your “vessels”. If you’re like me, you have Riedel glasses for lots of different types of wines, but those big bulbous Burgundy stems and those extra-tall Syrah stems quickly eat up your space, assuming you had any to fit them to begin with. A wine glass rack may be the answer you’re looking for.

Wine Glasses

Selecting the correct wine glasses or stemware need not become a nightmare. Follow some simple rules and you are well on your way to your own wine glass collection-

1. Go for light and transparent materials like fine glass and even ordinary glass. The color of the wine plays an important role in the enjoyment of the wine, besides imparting a lot of information on the wine such as its age. It is genearlly recommended to avoid colored and frosted glasses as well as those made from pewter and silver.
2. See that the stem is of a sufficient size to allow you to hold the glass comfortably. Wine glasses are meant to be held by their stems, mainly because it prevents the transfer of heat from the hand to the glass.
3. Ensure that the size of the bowl is adequate to allow for a decent measure of wine to be poured in. Ideally, there should be enough space left over to allow for the swirling action that is so important in releasing the aromas of the wine. Glasses that need to be filled to the brim for a decent measure are to be avoided.
4. The next important consideration is in the shape of the bowl. Wine glasses should ideally taper towards the top and the rim is somewhat smaller than the body portion. This also influences the manner in which the aromas of the wine are released by directing them towards the nose.
5. There are as many types of wine glasses as there are types of wines. Though there are some basic rules that can be followed.
6. White wines are typically served in smaller glasses. Red wines are served in glasses with wider bowls, while champagne and sparkling wines are generally served in fluted glasses.

Decorative Wine Glasses

Stickler oenophiles swear that it's criminal to use decorative wine glasses when sipping one's Screaming eagle. Rest assured, there's no actual law against using a glass with a cluster of grapes painted on the side. The wine police are not going to break down your door during dinner to arrest you if your wine glasses are anything but clear.

Colored Wine Glasses

Whether for everyday or occasional use, colored wine glasses can provide a beautiful accent to any table setting.

Stemware Racks

Got questions about stemware racks? Wondering where, oh, where to put the Spiegelau? How to store your stemware? What's the best way to keep the precious crystal stemware safe, out of harm's way, get rid of the water spots from my prized Riedel?, and most importantly show them off to your wine snob guests? All good questions, not brilliant, but astute all the same. As we all know, death and taxes are two things that a person can count on to be certain. There is one more of life's little certainties that most people forget, if not outright neglect. Ever heard the term, shattered glass? Yeah, thought so. And if that happens, stemware, good stemware, can be dear to purchase and double-dear to replace. And let's not forget to mention the shards scattered all over and need to be careful walking barefoot.

Electronic Wine Bottle Chiller

Do you think you have no use for an electronic wine bottle chiller? Read on and you just might change your mind.