Wine Writer Information Blog

7:14 AM

September 2008 - German Wine

A Featured German Wine Article

Tasting Wine


Wine Tasting Component I: Look

Wine Tasting Component I: Look

The first step you have to undertake in wine tasting is visual.

1. Fill up the glass up to 1/3 of its volume; never fill it more than half;

2. Hold the glass by the stem. Initially you may find this too pretentious but there are good reasons for it:
а) by doing it this way you can actually observe the wine in it;
b) this will keep your fingerprints off the bowl;
c) the heat from your palm will not change the temperature of the wine.
Theres a good saying by one of the greatest French wine lovers, Emil Painot: Offer someone a glass of wine and you can immediately tell whether he/she is a connoisseur by the way they hold the glass. Even though you may not think of yourself as a connoisseur, you could still learn how to hold the wine glass.

3. Focus on the color intensity and the transparency of the liquid.
a) the color of the wine, and more specifically its nuances, are best observed on a white background.
b) the wines intensity is best judged by holding the glass without slanting it and looking at the liquid from above;

4. Next comes the swirling of the glass. This can also seem too pretentious or even dangerous if you have a full glass or a white top. But this movement is important since it prepares you for the next step in wine tasting the Taste. The easiest way to swirl the glass is to place it on a table or other even surface, and to swirl your hand while holding the glass by the stem. Swirl hard and have the wine almost touch the rim of the glass. Then stop. The wine leaves tiny traces with irregular shapes on the inside of the glass. Some experts then read them with as much zeal as coffee-tellers. The truth is however, that they are just an indicator for the quality of the wine the more alcohol a wine has, the more wine traces it forms.

What does the color of the wine tell us? The wines color tells us many things about its character.

First, the color shows the grape variety. Lets take two popular varieties as examples cabernet sauvignon and pinot noir. Cabernets grapes are smaller, with a thicker and darker skin than those of pinot noir. As a result, the color of wines made from cabernet sauvignon is usually described as violet to dark while the color of wines made from pinot noir is associated with ruby.

Second, the color is influenced by the climatic conditions. A hot summer and dry fall result in ripe grapes, with a dark, intense color. A cold summer and rainy fall will produce undeveloped grapes with a lighter color.

Third, wine-making practices also have an influence on the color of wine. For red wine, the grapes are fermented with the skin. Since the coloring agents are in the grape skin, and not in the juice, the longer the process of maceration, i.e. the longer the skin stays with the juice, the darker the wine color will be.

Fourth, the process of wine aging also has an influence on the color of wine. The young red wines are rich in coloring agents and that makes their color denser and fuller. In the course of time chemical reactions take place in the bottle and sediment is formed at the bottom. The wines color gets lighter and is often described as brick or amber.

Lets go through an example: you pour yourself a glass of red wine and after carefully observing it, you notice a full granite color, good density, and not so good transparency. What conclusions can you draw?

Well, you can safely say that the wine is:
- from cabernet sauvignon grapes;
- from a Southern region;
- relatively young;
- from a good yield;
- that the wine-maker has gone for a good long maceration.

If you know the wine, compare what you know with what you see: maybe the wine has a very full color and the yield has been bad this speaks of a good wine-making technique; or maybe the wine is too pale for its age this speaks for undeveloped grape or poor wine-making technique.


About the Author: www.wines-resource.com



A Short German Wine Summary

Tasting Wine


Wine Tasting Component I: LookWine Tasting Component I: LookThe first step you have to undertake in wine tasting is visual. 1. Fill up the glass up to...


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6:51 AM

Wednesday - Chardonnay Wine-

A Featured Chardonnay Wine Article

3 Quick Food And Wine Ideas


Alright the holidays have passed and needless to say you?re tired of turkey, ham or roast beef or what ever and now you maybe watching your diet after indulging yourself. So here are some quick and easy food ideas that keeps calories in mind but are still good and are a nice change of pace. If you?re really trying to watch your calories then try to keep the wine to only one glass a day and not too late at night the reason for this is that wine contains alcohol which will slow your body?s ability to burn calories. Of course you can always forget the wine but just remember you might not enjoy your meal as much.

We hope that you enjoy these recipes and they give a nice change to your meal ideas and nice change of pace. There can be many befits to adding wine to your meal it can enhance your dining experience with the proper wine food matching.

Tuna Salad Sandwich Recipe

1 can of tuna fish usually packed water or oil
1/3 cup of cottage cheese
2 Tablespoons of mayonnaise
1/4 purple onion, chopped finely
1 celery stalk, chopped finely
1 Tablespoon of capers
Juice of half of a lemon
Pinch or two of dill
2 Tbsp minced fresh parsley
1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard

Mix all of the ingredients. Be sure not to drain the water or oil from the can of tuna. Use it instead in the tuna salad mixture. I like to serve on toast, either open faced, or in a regular sandwich with lettuce and tomatoes and pickles. For a low carb option, serve on sliced lettuce. You can server this along with vegetables or cottage cheese. For wine Sauvignon Blanc or Chenin Blanc other wine that you might like.

Shrimp with Avocado Salad

1/4 cup of white wine vinegar
1/4 cup grape-seeds oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 lb medium shrimp, cooked, peeled, and de-veined
2 ripe avocados
Lettuce - preferably butter lettuce or red leaf lettuce
Lemon slices for garnish
As and Option - 2 Tbsp chopped roasted walnuts or pistachios
1 Tbsp chopped cilantro

Combine oil, vinegar, and garlic in a bowl. Chop shrimp into 1/2 inch pieces and add to oil mixture. Arrange leaves of lettuce on individual plates. Cut avocados in half and remove pits. Remove some of the avocado around the pit area and mix in with the shrimp. With a spoon, carefully scoop out avocado halves from their skins in one piece. Place avocado half on plate with lettuce, spoon shrimp mixture on to avocado. Sprinkle with walnuts and cilantro (optional). Serve with lemon slices for garnish. You can server this along with vegetables or cottage cheese. For wine Sauvignon Blanc or Chenin Blanc or you choice of wine.

Spanish rice with Chicken
2 tablespoons olive oil (can use up to 1/4 cup)
1 onion, chopped fine
1 garlic clove, minced
2 cups of medium or long-grain white rice
3 cups of chicken or vegetable stock if vegetarian
1 heaping tablespoon tomato paste or 1 cup of diced fresh or cooked tomatoes, strained
Pinch of oregano
1 teaspoon salt
2 pounds of chicken which can be grilled or fried and cut in to slices or chucks and added along side the rice or mix with rice as it simmers. This is a nice addition along with the rice and can be mixed in once the rice has been cooked as well.

In a large skillet brown rice in olive oil, medium-high heat the add onion and garlic. Cook onion rice mixture, stirring frequently, about 5 minutes, or until onions are softened.
In a separate sauce pan bring stock to a simmer. Add tomato sauce, oregano, and salt. Add rice to broth. Bring to a simmer. Cover. Lower heat and cook 15-20 minutes, depending on the type of rice and the instructions on the rice package and let sit for 5 minutes. For wine Chenin Blanc or maybe Gew?rztraminer again depending on your taste for wines.

The complete these recipes but there are many more avail so if you enjoy food wine as much as most people then stop by and visit our site listed below. Till the next time enjoy good food good wine and life.


About the Author:

John Maier is an experience wine and food and part time cook. His wine experience comes from being raised in a small American town that had multiple wineries and with a Europe style and has traveled the world. For more information go to: http://www.wine-food-matching.com or ? Copyright2006





A Short Chardonnay Wine Summary

3 Quick Food And Wine Ideas


Alright the holidays have passed and needless to say you?re tired of turkey, ham or roast beef or what ever and now you maybe watching your diet after...


Click Here to Read More About Wine ...

Chardonnay Wine Items For Viewing

The FTD Quiet Tribute Standing Spray - Premium


This soft standing spray is a sophisticated way to pay a quiet tribute. Appropriate to send to the funeral home. Arrangement is delivered with an easel for display. S21-3156P


Price: 189.99 USD



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