Have you ever gone to a fancy restaurant and been confused as to which wine you should order? If so, you’re in luck, as you no longer have to stare at the wine menu in confusion. All you need is the right advice to help you select wine, and this article features just that.
Never cook with a wine that you do not enjoy the flavor of. When wine cooks down during the cooking process, it concentrates. Any flavors that you do not like will be more prevalent, which means you will not like the taste of the food you have worked so hard to prepare.
Select the right glasses when tasting wine or serving it. It is best to use a clear glass so you can look at the color of the wine. Choose a glass with a long stem and a round shape so you can easily swirl the wine. You should avoid using glasses that can contain more than twenty two ounces.
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.
If you tend to get headaches right after drinking wine, you should try a different kind of wine. For instance, some people only get headaches from red wines. If the headaches persist, you should go to your doctor to make sure it is safe for you to keep drinking wine.
Learn the pronunciation of all of the wines that you serve so that you sound as professional as possible when you are around your guests. This can go a long way if you are having a party or get together with friends in your house. There are common names for wine, so get acquainted with the lingo.
Instead of throwing out your last bits of wine, consider saving it for a marinade for dinner the next night. Take your wine, add some seasoning and place it in a bowl. Add your favorite piece of meat to the bowl and let it sit for several hours or even overnight. This will add delicious flavor to your next night’s meal!
If you are a fan of the best wines, take some time to visit the wine country. You will see wine in a new light when you’ve visited the place it originated from. You’ll broaden your knowledge, too. So you can learn and have fun all at once?
For a spring picnic, evening at the race track or other outdoor events during seasonable weather, your best bet is a sparkling wine. Take your pick of bubbly’s like a nice Asti or Champagne and complement it with mild cheese, fresh bread and fruit. Remember to bring flute glasses too, to make the experience complete.
Don’t shy away from ordering or buying a bottle of something that you can not pronounce the name of. The clerk is not going to care. If they own the business, they are happy to make the sale. If they just work there, they are watching the clock until the end of their shift and will not remember you in an hour anyway. Don’t deprive yourself of tasting new wines because you can’t speak the name.
Take digital photos of wine labels and store them with your notes. Your wine hobby will take you to dozens of tasting and hundreds of wines. At some point, it’s going to get a bit overwhelming and confusing. These photos – when paired with notes- will help keep your knowledge on track.
Remember that rules were made to be broken, even when it comes to selecting wine. Just because the “norm” indicates you should pair red wine with red meat and white with fish, chicken or salad, doesn’t mean it’s set in stone. Enjoy your meal with your favorite wine, no matter who says they go together!
Many people think that the only wines that are worth drinking have to cost an arm and a leg. While there are a lot of great wines out there that cost an awful lot of money, there are just as many good tasting wines that are much more moderately priced.
Be adventurous when you are pairing new wines with your meals. You never know what kind of dish might go good with a certain type of wine. You may find that there is a better choice than what you first assumed.
Do not eschew a wine just because it has a screw cap. In fact, lots of fine wines are now using screw caps rather than corks. These tops have been known to keep the bottle purer than the average cork. These stoppers prevent air from permeating the liquid, and it also helps to prevent bits of crumbled cork from sullying the wine. Gradually, screw caps are becoming commonplace.
When stocking your wine collection at home, opt to purchase experimental bottles before buying full cases. With such a vast number of different wines out there, you want to expose yourself to as many wines as possible before committing to a case. Keep your collection full of ‘educational’ bottles.
The Internet has once again come through to make the job easier and buying wine will never be the same again. You can now turn on your computers and shop the local and distant venues without leaving the home. This is perfect for when you have a selection in mind or don’t want to make the trip.
Once you get the hang of it, selecting wine is a pretty easy process. Don’t let the different kinds of wine intimidate you into not enjoying a flavorful beverage. The wine advice from this article will come in handy in the future, so use it to your advantage and pick a nice wine for yourself.
