Wine 101: A Beginners Guide – Chapter 1

Sep 3 2009

“Wine improves with age. The older I get, the better I like it.” ~ Anonymous.

This quote is beyond true in my experience! While at a family barbecue several years ago, I tried a taste of my cousin’s wine, was disgusted, told my family they are nuts for drinking wine and I’ll just stick with beer, thank you very much. They all laughed and said, “Just wait a few years. By 22, you’ll be one of us.”

They were right; I now consider myself a wine-lover. And how did I get here – from college beer ponger and vodka tonics, to loving a good bottle of cabernet? I jumped in with both feet. There is no better way to start drinking wine than to do just that – drink and enjoy!

Remember to have an open mind to the possibilities of wine; this is supposed to be fun! When you go into tasting rooms, tell the attendants that you are just starting out and would really like to learn from their knowledge. They will be thrilled to teach you the building blocks of wine; which ones to start out with, how to taste wine, wine vocabulary, and what to pair with it. In this series, I will be the attendant, and give you my hints and suggestions.

If you have never enjoyed wine before, I suggest starting with a sweeter wine. A chenin blanc, riesling, viognier, gewurztraminer, or even a late harvest or ice wine will be your best bets to success. These wines are not going to knock you on your butt, because they have more of a fruit forward nose (smell) and palette (taste). Sweeter wines should be chilled to about 50degrees. If they are cooler than that, the flavors of the wine could be destroyed.

After you open the bottle and pour a glass, give it a little swirl. This allows the wine to breathe and will open up the aromas. Stick your nose in the glass, literally, and take a big whiff. For most of the above mentioned wines you will get a floral or fruity scent. After your nose has had the pleasure of the wine, let your taste buds in on the action. Take a drink and wash the wine all around your mouth. It will surprise you how it tastes different in the front of your mouth than in the back of the your mouth.

When this is all done, you are victorious! You have successfully tasted your first wine and are hopefully excited to move onto the next one.

My tip of the day: Take your time and enjoy wine; the bottle empties quicker than you think!

Glass Basics

Jul 20 2009

As someone who loves his wine, I make it known. I talk a lot about wine, sample it often and get into debates about what I think is important. One of the most popular topics I get stuck on with others is choice of drinking vessel.

Is any glass acceptable? Is shape important? Stem length? Does size really matter? Seriously. Let me start off by saying BE YOUR OWN PERSON.  Drink what you like to drink out of whatever you want to drink out of and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.  Now, if you want to know a few things I’ve learned about how drinking vessel choice can affect what you drink, read on…

Shape up! Are there shapes of glasses that make a wine better or worse?  I vote yes. Why? Because I’ve tasted the difference! Cabs, merlots, blends, and zinfandels are generally best enjoyed in a wide deep glass which allows plenty of air to mix with the wine to build body and flavor. Whites are usually served in smaller, not-so-wide glasses as they are tighter in body and don’t need a lot of exposure to come out of their shell.

Paper or plastic? Here’s something I don’t get too picky about as long as it’s glass – no paper or plastic cups please!  I like to taste all the flavor of my wine, and none of the vessel it’s served in.  If I’m feeling picky about the type of glass, I prefer crystal.  Why?  It’s hard to explain so I’ll invite you to test it yourself.  Here’s what you do:

Take a bottle of wine and two wine glasses of roughly the same size and shape, but make sure one is plain glass, and one is crystal.  Now pour equal amounts of your chosen wine into the glasses and give each a healthy swirl.  Let the wine sit for a good ten minutes, then taste each.  If you have a sensitive palate, you’ll notice a difference – feel free to be picky from now on! If you don’t notice a difference, no worries! Keep on enjoying what you like in what you like!

The long and short of it. I don’t personally care how long the stem on my glass is as long as there IS ONE.  Stemless glasses – while trendy – are incorrect for one reason: temperature.  You want reds to stay room temp, and whites to stay cool.  What you don’t want is the palm of your hand to warm up your vino. Simple.

So, what’s REALLY important? That you enjoy your wine!  What’s important to me?  A BIG crystal glass with a stem with a healthy pour!

Screw it! Corks, that is…

Jul 19 2009

What do you use to get into your favorite bottle of grapes?  A wing? A twin-prong? A waiter’s friend?  Have I confused you yet?

Those are all types or styles of corkscrew, a tool used for drawing a cork from a bottle.  There have been hundreds if not thousands of different variations but many still have one common trait, the screw.  The screw MAY have been derived from a device from the 1630’s called a “gun worm,” which was a tool used to remove unspent charges from a musket barrel.  Sources say that the earliest reference to an actual corkscrew is from 1681 describing it as “steel worm used for the drawing of corks out of bottles”.

Getting back to modern day, there are 4 main types of commonly used corkscrews.  There are also thousands of contraptions designed to make the task of removing a cork from a bottle “easier” however, I find most more difficult to use than my toaster.

First, there is the basic corkscrew.  A simple tool that does the job, but relies on you pulling the cork as hard and straight as you can from the bottle. Now, it is basic and cheap, but usually leaves me with a sample of whatever I was opening down the front of my shirt.

Second, we have the twin-prong cork puller. While not technically a corkscrew it does the same job by the user sliding two prongs – one long, one short – down opposite sides of a cork in a bottle, then using a rocking motion to pull it out.  This can be a handy tool as it can allow a skilled user to replace a cork, undamaged, back into a bottle.  The downside of this model, however, is that if you come across a cork that’s wedged a little tight, it’s as easy to push the cork into the bottle as it is to removing it.

Next, we come to the wing corkscrew, also referred to as the butterfly or angel corkscrew. The wing is great, and something I see used a lot especially in the home.  It has a basic screw in the center and two levers on the side resembling arms, or wings.  The center screw is turned via handle into the bottle which in turn raises the wings.  When the wings are pressed down the cork is easily lifted from the bottle.

Lastly, we come to the waiter’s friend, or a sommelier knife.  This is a corkscrew in a folded design which usually also houses a small straight edge knife to assist in removing the foil from the top of bottles quickly.  The screw is twisted using the body of the tool then an arm is extended to brace against the lip of the bottle giving the user leverage to pull the cork smoothly out. This is most commonly used by bartenders or servers in restaurants as it’s an all in one solution and fits easily in a pocket or apron.

My personal “weapon of choice” is the waiter’s friend. I picked up the habit from many years as a server but have remained faithful to it because of its all-in-one convenience.  As for the many other contraptions that people use to break into their favorite bottle, look for a video on that soon…it should be fun.