What Is the Ideal Temperature for a Wine?

The ideal temperature to drink a wine is a subject that must be taken into serious consideration when thinking about drinking it.

And what is the ideal temperature for a wine? “At room temperature?” Totally wrong, imagine that you are in a tropical country in mid-summer, with tempratures reaching 38ºC. Ever imagined the terrible experience that is to taste a wine at 38ºC?

Now think precisely the opposite, like Siberia at -20º C… will you taste a frozen wine?

Wine temprature afects our senses?

Yes, definitely! The temperature of the wine considerably affects our smell, palate and touch, and for this reason, we cannot enjoy a wine if it is hot or very cold.

When the wine is at 18ºC, the aromas are better perceived, when it is at 10 ° C, the sensitivity decreases, and when the temperature is below 4 ° C our taste buds are almost insensitive to these aromas. So, warmer the wine, the sweet elements become more noticeable and the alcohol is better perceived by our senses. When Colder the bitter elements, acidity or astringency are more easily perceived, due to the tannins. Continue reading “What Is the Ideal Temperature for a Wine?”

Do Sulfites in Wine Cause Headaches?

I am often asked why nearly all wines contain sulfites and whether it is really necessary. The reason that most wines have a small amount of sulfur is to protect them from spoilage, predominantly from bacterial attack but also from oxidation. It is used both as as a preservative and an antioxidant so that the wine can be kept for a reasonable length of time without deteriorating. Sulfites are also introduced to stop fermentations at a desired time.

Yeasts are naturally occurring in grapes and therefore are in wine as well. It is these yeasts that consume the grapes sugar during fermentation producing bi-products of carbon dioxide and alcohol. When the fermentation finishes most of the yeast cells will die and be removed from the vessel by racking (pumping liquid off a sediment), but a few will remain within. Without the addition of a controlling amount of sulfite, the wine could soon develop off-flavours and turn ‘musty’ very quickly.

Winemakers know how much sulphite to add after analysing their wines, and should the addition be excessive this would be very noticeable on the nose and overall flavour in the glass. The secret is to make your wine in as hygienic an environment as possible, preferably in a stainless steel vessel, and monitor the wine for yeast or bacterial growth regularly – then take action straight away. Continue reading “Do Sulfites in Wine Cause Headaches?”

Types of Corkscrew and Wine Openers and How to Use Them

When I first started to write this article, I had a small list of corkscrew types, but I had forgotten all the obscure types so the list grew much larger. I decided to start with the three most popular like the Waiter’s Corkscrews, Wing Corkscrews and Lever type wine opener. I know everyone is familiar with these. First thing is to remove the foil from the top of the bottle before using any corkscrew, it makes things easier and it looks so much better.

The waiter’s corkscrew is the most popular and used in most restaurants. I’ve read some articles that say the waiter’s corkscrew is difficult to use but I don’t agree. To use a waiter’s corkscrew start the point of the screw in the center of the cork and simply twist the screw straight down into the cork until the last curve of the screw has penetrated the cork, place the notched lever on the lip of the bottle then raise the handle up and the cork is removed. Once you open a few bottles it will be like riding a bike. They are very reliable and virtually last forever. If you need more information on waiter’s corkscrews, see my article “Waiter’s Corkscrews Styles – Which ones right for you”.

Continue reading “Types of Corkscrew and Wine Openers and How to Use Them”

Do (Wine) Supertasters Exist?

If you have ever participated in a wine tasting event alongside “expert tasters”, you may be left to wonder how these wine jargon-sputtering enophiles can possibly detect so many aromas and nuances or, perhaps, if your own tasting abilities might be subpar. And if you are of the male type, chances are you may be further disadvantaged. It can be quite daunting when time comes to opine on the wine’s attributes.

Do supertasters really have special abilities to discern so many aromas, flavors, and discriminate all the subtle nuances, or are they mere snobs trying to impress the average wine enthusiast?

Although science has not confirmed this, it is believed that the human nose can perceive several tens of thousands of odors; estimates range between ten and fifty thousands. Robert M. Parker, Jr.-unquestionably the most influential modern-day wine critic who popularized the 100-point scoring system known to either make or break wine sales-is believed to be endowed with super tasting abilities, presumably capable of identifying specific producers as well as different vintages of the same wine. Others claim that it’s all nonsense, but not according to Parker; he had his nose and palate insured for $1 million. Interestingly, Avery Gilbert cites an experiment in What the Nose Knows where even professionals could not identify more than three odors from a prepared complex mixture, and that “no one could bust the four-odor limit,” or what is known as the Laing Limit based on Australian psychologist David Laing’s work. This begs the question “How can anyone smell a multitude of odors in wine?” And could Parker be able to bust the Laing Limit under laboratory conditions? Who knows? (Okay, the pun was intended.) Continue reading “Do (Wine) Supertasters Exist?”

Red Wine Headaches – What Actually Causes Them?

Headaches from red wine are a genuine and troubling phenomena, troubling because any certain sufferer will get a headache from certain red wines and not from others. But there doesn’t seem to be just one individual cause. Red wine headaches vary in their severity from mildly gentle to full-on migraine.

Just half a glass of wine can trigger an attack within fifteen minutes or thereabouts, and these attacks can last for several hours. Two average sized glasses of wine could even trigger a migraine in those people who are prone to getting them.

Some experts question whether the sulfites in the wine are the source of red wine headaches (RWH), for these reasons:

Breathing problems (which include asthma attacks), and not headaches, typically react more to sulfites;
Red wine is most likely to be the trigger, however many sweeter white wines contain considerably more sulfites than red wines, because they have a much higher sugar content;
Numerous other foodstuffs contain sulfites, so these headaches should not be particular to any red wine.

A few allergy experts think that tannins are responsible for the severe headaches. The Harvard Health Letter noted, Continue reading “Red Wine Headaches – What Actually Causes Them?”

Tartaric Crystals in Wine: the "Wine Diamonds" of Quality

Have you ever come across what appear to be white flakes floating in your bottle of wine? Did you assume that this snow-globe appearance somehow meant the wine was flawed or ruined?

What you had most likely seen are tartaric crystals, commonly referred to as “wine diamonds” or Weinstein (“wine stone”) in German speaking countries. So do these wine diamonds signal a bad bottle of wine?

Opinions about this issue are divided and the reason is simple: you have bought flawless wine, but you have not bought aesthetically flawless wine. Depending upon where you are from, this can matter to you more or less.

The American wine drinker is not used to finding wine diamonds in their bottles. Here, most wines undergo a cold stabilization process, which is when a wine is cooled down before it is bottled so that the white flakes, called crystallized tartaric acid, “fall out” and can be separated from the wine. But what price beauty? Cold stabilization influences a wine’s balance and taste: as some winemakers put it, the wine is actually being ripped apart, and the rapid cooling changes the wine’s colloidal structure. One might call it a clear case of style over substance. Continue reading “Tartaric Crystals in Wine: the "Wine Diamonds" of Quality”

There Are a Lot of Ways to Get a Wine to Market and It Doesn’t Involve Making the Wine

I notice numerous ads appearing in wine industry newsletters that advertise bulk wines for sale and often wondered why there is this classification of wine for sale and who buys such wine. I see ads for a lot of California bulk wines as well as some of these wine sales from Oregon, Washington, and from East Coast wineries and vineyards. And with some frequency it is not unusual to see ads for wines sales coming from many international wine regions.

Bulk wine is another facet of the wine industry that is not understood by the casual wine consumer, but it is a major contributor to the growth of the wine industry. What is bulk wine and grapes? This wine comes from surplus production at a winery that has not yet made it into the bottle and labeled. There is also a segment of the market where wineries and vineyards produce wine only for the bulk market. There are also brands that have no winery and rely on the bulk market to create their brand. Bulk grapes, like wine, come from a winery’s vineyard or an independent vineyard. These grapes are sold by the ton at time of harvest; often a year in advance.

Bulk wine is of a known quality that is tasted by a buyer prior to the purchase. Brokers that sell wines without a home never take possession of the wine, but still have licensing requirement from the Tax and Trade Bureau of the Department of the Treasury. Point being, bulk wine is a high-quality wine that has a pedigree-it has a known producer, known quality, historic characteristics and is easily sampled/tasted by the buyer. Continue reading “There Are a Lot of Ways to Get a Wine to Market and It Doesn’t Involve Making the Wine”

Medieval Wine Trivia

The cycle of the vineyards and man’s enjoyment of wine has continued throughout the ages
with some of these intriguing differences…

ONCE UPON A TIME

Roman civilization was well versed in viticulture and wine making, but then the Barbarians
destroyed their vineyards and turned them into pastureland and cornfields. Luckily,
Benedictine and other monks kept the art of viticulture alive at their monasteries. By the
12th century, viticulture was fully revived.

THEY WEREN’T SO FUSSY

One of the major differences between today’s wine connoisseurs and medieval man was that
back then they weren’t so concerned with which exact vineyard a wine came from, but rather
the general area. The body of the wine was more important than it’s subtle flavors and
aroma.

Continue reading “Medieval Wine Trivia”

Romancing With Wine and Food

You can always impress your date by romancing with wine and food. Everyone knows that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, and as for the wine we still aren’t sure on that one. However, most women love gourmet food and wine, so the man who can provide that and more is sure to impress his date for the evening.

Other countries like Italy, Brazil, and France are said to be known to have the guidebook on romancing with wine and food. The experience of romance with wine and food means that it is about the whole experience, with everything from the appetizer to the dessert; however don’t forget the environment in which the meal takes place.

Part of romancing with wine and food begins with the ambience, and nothing says romance like dining according to the seasons. During the summertime, dining outside can make all the difference in the world. You can enjoy the warm weather, and enjoy the food that goes with the season. Appetizers with fresh fruit and cheese are best for the warmer season, and pair well with chilled wine. Continue reading “Romancing With Wine and Food”

Wine Clubs and the Wine Industry – Adjusting the Stereotypes of Wine Enthusiasts in America

If you think American men only guzzle beer and women only enjoy cocktails, think again. In addition, if you think beer is the most popular alcoholic beverage in America, this article has a surprise for you. Today, Americans consume more wine than beer, and women purchase more wine than men do. More women also belong to a wine of the month club. As times have changed, these stereotypes require some adjusting too so that winemakers, wine clubs, and retailers can realize the importance of marketing to women. This article shows the new stereotype for wine drinkers in America. In addition, it discusses how women are changing the face of winemaking, both as winemakers and as consumers.

Merrill Research & Associates found in a recent study that Americans have increased their wine consumption for the last eleven years straight. This also includes wine consumption from an increase in wine of the month club memberships. This study proves that wine is extremely popular in America and more and more people are enjoying it every day through retailers, restaurants, and wine clubs. The per capita consumption of wine is now 2.77 gallons per year. An elite group referred to as “core wine drinkers” by the wine industry, only makes up 13.7% of the population, but they drink 87% of the wine consumed in America, 703 million gallons worth per year. With a $26 billion retail value, the wine business is booming, and both foreign and domestic wine producers and retailers are salivating at the opportunity that this potential market presents. Continue reading “Wine Clubs and the Wine Industry – Adjusting the Stereotypes of Wine Enthusiasts in America”