When it comes to enjoying a nice glass of wine with a meal, not much beats a perfect pairing. However, pairing your wines to your food can be quite a difficult task, particularly if you’ve never done it before. The following article has some great information about wine pairings that will surely help you out when planning your next meal.
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.
If you are having oysters or seafood, stick to white wine. White wine is lighter and has a higher acidity level, so it is best to have this when you are eating lighter foods. Seafood is a perfect combination with white wine, and will help to maximize the sensation that you get.
If you find a wine, you enjoy a lot, consider buying a case or two of it. A case of wine is almost always less expensive per bottle than buying each bottle individually. You can keep the wine for yourself and enjoy it on a regular basis, or you can have it on hand to give as gifts.
There are many types of wine, and not all should be aged. Do some reading on the wine that you purchase and how long it can be stored. Bordeaux is an example of something that you can invest in a case of as it stores well for many years.
When ordering wine at a restaurant, you should not spend too long looking at the list. If you are having diner with someone who knows a lot about wines, they will assume you are not familiar with the wines you see on the menu. It is best to choose within ten minutes.
Be skeptical about wine gurus and their advice, but give their thoughts some consideration as well. The best experts actually review their recommendations as they discover new wines. Remember that no two people share the exact same tastes, regardless of expertise–or lack thereof. This means you should acknowledge your own tastes before that of an expert.
If you notice that you are drinking wine each and every night, take a few nights off. The last thing that you will want to do is become jaded with the taste of wine. After this time period elapses, incorporate wine into your regime again and watch how great it will taste.
If you plan on pairing a wine with lasagna, try going with red wine. The higher acidity in these types of wines pair quite well with the tomato sauce that is usually in lasagna. Many lasagnas have ingredients like green peppers, and the flavor of a red wine can accentuate them.
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.
Tilt your glass and observe the color before you start tasting a wine. Swirl the glass lightly and put your nose near the aperture to breathe in the wonderful scent. Take only a modest sip of the drink, allow the taste to fill your mouth, then discretely spit the liquid back into the glass.
A good tip if you’re buying any wine from the grocery store is to make sure you get a bottle that’s fresh. Like anything in a supermarket, all the old stuff gets pushed up to the front, so you might need to dig a little deeper to find the newest bottle of wine you want.
A good tip when trying to pair wine with food is to keep on exploring the possibilities. Different combinations can provide interesting variety. Of course, you can do the safe thing, but as a wine lover, you should allow yourself the fun of exploring new things.
If you need to save wine for another day, cork it and stick it in your refrigerator. The coolness in your fridge will help slow down all of the chemical changes happening in your wine. It’s best if you can finish that wine off within a day, otherwise you may find it tastes quite different than when you uncorked it.
If you want to surprise your guests with a delightful and daring choice, you should try serving a sparkling wine. More wineries are releasing their own sparkling wine, and you should be able to find a sparkling version of your favorite wine. A sparkling wine is perfect for a festive occasion if you do not want to serve champagne.
A lot of people forget sake is a wine too. When someone mentions Japanese foods, you probably think of the popular Japanese rice wine, sake. The nice thing about this wine is that it’s very versatile because it can be served with a wide variety of types of foods and courses. For an authentic taste of Japan, serve a robust sake along with a tasty stir-fry.
When you buy a different wine, take notes for future reference. There are so many different varieties of wine that it may be difficult to remember which ones you really like and which ones you do not care for as much. You may find it interesting to note how much your opinion of wines can change.
As was stated in the beginning of this article, pairing a bottle of wine to a meal can be a arduous task if you’ve never done it before. Just make sure you use the information mentioned above and yo are sure to make a great selection. An as always, remember to drink responsibly!
