Wine can be the perfect complement to a good meal, and it is the best way to relax after a long, stressful day. No matter how much you know about wine–or think you know–there is always room for improvement. The more you learn, the more intensely you can enjoy this unique and timeless drink. Read further and you’re guaranteed to learn a lot more about the beauty of wine.
Do not judge a wine on its year of production alone. Just because a wine was made a long time ago does not mean that it is a quality wine. Be sure to investigate the wine thoroughly so that you are not fooled into paying top dollar for a bottom shelf wine.
There are wines from all over the world, so try them all out. You can drink a Canadian wine from Niagara, one from California or one from France. Test all the different regions until you find those you like the best. Whether it is Italy or South Africa, you’ll find the perfect selection.
If you drink wine for its health benefits you should stick with red wines. Red wines are full of antioxidants and are believed to promote optimal heart health when you drink it in moderation, ideally one glass a day. Other wines may have the same benefit in varying degrees, but red wine is definitely the best choice.
If you enjoy cooking, try incorporating wine into your dinner menu. Wine can be used in a variety of cooking formats including sauces and marinades. If you have small children, you need not be concerned about cooking with wine as most of the alcohol is cooked out during the cooking process.
When looking for a great bottle of wine, do not instantly go for the most expensive wines in the store. While the cost of a bottle is one indicator of the flavor and quality, there are also many others. Take the time to try a few inexpensive brands, and they just might surprise you!
Do you need a wine all your guests will enjoy? Instead of choosing a rare wine people might not appreciate, choose a Beaujolais, a Chilean, a Sauvignon or a Cava from Spain. These wines are easy to find and offer enough diversity to remain interesting for connoisseurs without making novices feel like they are sophisticated enough to enjoy the wine.
Avoid over chilling white wines. Many wine drinkers will buy a bottle of their favorite white and return home to pop it in the fridge. While chilling whites is important, too much cold will diminish flavors in the wine; sometimes the most important ones. Target a temperature around 60 degrees up to 68 degrees to achieve the prime flavor.
Allow red wines to warm up. Often, red wines are stored at temperatures near 60 degrees. The best temperature for serving red wines is above 70 degrees, which allows the full body of the wine to be present. When you open a bottle of red, allow it to sit and come to room temperature before drinking.
If you are venturing into trying new wines, it is better to get an experimental bottle over a whole case. Given the wide variety of wines and styles out there, single educational bottles are a great idea whenever drinking something new for the first time. If you like the taste, move up to a half-case.
Sparkling wines and champagnes must be served very cold. Drinking them around room temperature impedes their full flavors. Chill your champagne inside the refrigerator up to two hours before you consume it.
Take notes on any wine you try. if you are really getting into wines, you’ll be tasting dozens of them over the course of the year, easily. It can be tough to keep track of what your impressions are on certain bottles, especially if they shared many similarities with only subtle differences. Making notes will help keep you on track.
The real flavor of wine comes from the smell. Smell makes up about 90% of the overall taste of wine. The key to bringing this out in the wine is oxygen. When you pour a glass of wine, swirl it in the glass. This allows the wine to mix more readily with the oxygen around it, thus enhancing the flavor fully.
Tilting your wine glass will give you the best look at the actual color. Swirl the glass lightly and put your nose near the aperture to breathe in the wonderful scent. Now sip a bit of your wine, roll it on your tongue and then spit it out.
When you are ordering wine in a restaurant or buying it at a wine store, introducing yourself when being helped by the employee can be helpful. Getting to know them may lead to savings and advanced knowledge of new products.
When you are opening wine, make sure that you do not open it too fast. The sound that you want to get when you open it is not a pop, but a sigh. This will maximize the safety in the room when you are opening your bottle of wine for the evening.
Eat pasta and chicken with white wine. White wine sets off these flavors best. That is because white wine tends to have a lighter taste than red wine, and won’t overpower the taste of a great fettucini alfredo or barbeque chicken. Experiment with different white wines to see which you like best.
Wine can enhance a lot of different occasions. If you want to learn how to make the most of wine, you definitely need a certain amount of knowledge. The article you’ve just read contains some valuable information that you should use the next time you’re selecting a bottle of wine.
