GoGoKitty’s Wine Secrets

When going into tasting rooms, there are certain etiquette rules one should follow. If you are wondering to yourself what these rules entail, you are not alone. Most people are not aware of proper wine tasting etiquette, but by the time you are finished with this article you will be ready to make your way to the closest winery for a tasting.

The most basic rule for wine tasting is to start with white and work your way to the reds. In order to taste all the flavors in the wine, begin with dry wines and work your way to the desserts within white and red wines. Strong flavors can overwhelm the palate and can hinder your taste buds from experiencing the bouquets of each wine. Always save your dessert and ice wines for last. Those have the most sweetness and fullness attached to them and affects your palates ability to experience the next tasting.

When entering a wine establishment, don’t be timid. Go ahead and walk straight to the bar; most places are fairly relaxed and informal. After you take a seat, you will be approached by a bartender or a barista. Questions can aid you in finding the wines you enjoy most, so go ahead and ask. Most servers who do wine tastings enjoy explaining the wine and the flavors that are incorporated. Remember to work your way from whites, to red, to ports and ice wine.

Wine tasting can be an involved process. To help you understand various flavors of wine, keep a journal when participating in tastings. This will help you to identify specific flavors, regions, and full bodied wines. You can keep your notes handy to help you choose wines for dinner parties or get togethers. There are a few things to look for when doing a tasting if you are planning on becoming a wine connoisseur: color of the wine, legs, the aroma, and fullness or flavor of that wine. Smelling and tasting the wine poured for you during a tasting are the two most important steps in the examination your wine. It will give you a greater understanding of the types of wine and what you like in a wine. If you are interested in learning more, buy a book about wine. Details and specific aspects can be found in wine books that we have not even befun to dicuss.

Now that you know how to approach a bar and how to taste, take the time to learn when it is appropriate and when it is not to spit out your tasting. Movies show wine tasters spitting out the wine after they taste. This is not always the approach that needs to be taken. The reason why people spit out the wine after tasting it is mainly because of the alcohol content involved. Tastes buds can be affected by large amounts of alcohol. While some believe you are supposed to spit out your wine with every taste, this is not always the case. Save spitting out your wine for when you are judging wines or if you are participating in wine tstings of 10 or more. If you are judging wines, I suggest that you spit. Tasting 20 glasses can cause you to become intoxicated even if you spit it out because alcohol is absorbed through the skin in your mouth.

Since wine has high alcohol content, most people enjoy a snack with tastings. If you are going to be having snack with your wine tasting there are few things to keep in mind here as well. Most establishments have cheese tray, chocolates, dried fruit and nuts to serve. White wines pair slightly better with cheese and dried fruit and red wines go well with the chocolates. But don’t be afraid to mix it up. Wine sampling is about finding the flavors that you enjoy the most, and you can’t be wrong when it comes to choosing flavor combinations that you enjoy. These are tips to help you begin to learn what your personal preferences are. Ice wines and port wines pair well with chocolates, nuts, and dried fruit. I suggest staying away from cheeses with these since these wines are particularly sweet. They seem to compliment the sweetness the best.

Those are the basic things to keep in mind when doing tastings. Now get out there and start learning about the several varieties of wines that are available to you. Soon enough you will be able to host your own wine tasting party. Ask questions if you have any, take notes if you wish, but most importantly enjoy yourself!

Best Red Wine And Red Wine Benefits Red wine is simply wine produced from red (or black) grapes. What you might not know is that almost all grapes have colorless juice. The way that the red wine gets its color is by letting the skins soak in the juice until the red color bleeds out.

Tannin

Not only does soaking the skins give red wine its color, it also imparts a substance known as tannin. Tannin is what gives red wines a complexity that is beyond that of most white wines.

Do you know why red wines age better than white?

It is the tannin which gives the smell of wine in your mouth. Over time, the qualities of the tannin will mellow and blend harmoniously with the other characteristics of the wine. This is one of the main reasons that red wines usually age better than whites.

Benefits - Anti-Oxidants in wine

Red Wine contains Anti-Oxidants which is good for health. Drinking red wine can improve heart health and circulation while also preventing cancer. This site is for those looking for information, articles and news on red wine and health.

Aging Process

Red wines are most often aged in wood barrels to provide a deeper, richer flavor, sometimes described as woody, while white wines are not stored in wood to maintain their usually cleaner, clear taste. There are also guidelines on the types of wine to drink with different types of food, but many find the guidelines are not all encompassing.

Types of Best Red wines

Merlot

Merlot is one of the finest vintages of red wine and also one of the most popular. The higher alcohol content of merlot makes it an especial favorite among restaurateurs with an affinity for gourmet fare. Merlot has a rich and full-bodied flavor.

Cabernet Sauvignon

Cabernet Sauvignon is the most common red wine that you will find most commonly in homes across America. This rich, full-flavored beverage goes well with most any dish other than fish or seafood.

Zinfandel

The Zinfandel varieties of red wine are most often classified as ladies wine, due to their subtle and light flavor. Zinfandel can be found in both red and white varieties, it is the red which is most popular among wine drinkers who appreciate the richness of a red wine, but the subtlety of white.

What foods go fine with red wine?

For the most part, guidelines say that red wine should be consumed with red meats and white wines with white meat. However, with the different flavors of the different types of wine, people are finding that some red wines taste better with fish and some white wines go better with their beef. Essentially, it is a matter of individual taste that determines the flavor of the wine, regardless of the meal.

Do you know that not all wines are made of grapes!

Not all wines are made of grapes, and these types of wine are usually indicated by their name such as apple wine or elderberry wine. There is also several types of wine that are made from grains such as rice, but they usually have a closer resemblance to beer instead of the smoother taste of wine. There is even wine made from grapes that have been frozen on the vine known as ice wine that offers a crisper taste.

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Deciding on the best way to let your wine breathe can be a difficult one.  When I open a bottle of wine, I am ready to relax with my glass of wine. I generally don’t have much patience for allowing it to breathe.  Why do we let wine breathe?  By letting your wine breathe or aerate it allows for the full flavors to emerge and make the wine more palatable. While there are many wines that do not need to go through this process, it is good to know the little details that can make a big difference. Here are a few tips to help you enjoy your wine to its fullest potential.

The reason why wines needs to breathe, or age, is because of tannins. Tannins can transfer into wine during the fermentation process from seeds and skins of grapes. Fuller flavors will begin to surface when the tannins, which acts like a natural presevative, begin to break down. White wines and some red wines have low levels of these and therefore do not need aging, or periods of breathing, before drinking. Generally all red wines can benefit from aeration, but those that are lighter and fruitier generally don’t require much aeration.

The term breathing refers to the mixing of oxygen with wine allowing the breakdown of tannins. You can bring out fuller flavors of wine by using a decanter to allow the wine to mix with oxygen on a larger scale.

If you choose to allow your wine to breathe, you still have one more decision to make. Which is a better option for me, the decanter or an aerator? When using a decanter, you should make sure that you have at least one hour to allow the wine to breathe. This is plenty of time for your wine to mix with oxygen and for its full flavors to emerge.  All you do is pour your bottle of wine, or the ammount you would like to drink, into the decanter and let it sit.Surface area is key to the amount of oxygen that can reach the wine; the more area, the sooner you can enjoy it.

If you just opened a bottle of wine five minutes before guests arrived, or you are only wanting to drink a single glass, decantors may not be the best way to aerate your wine.An aerator achieves the same end result as a decanter but in a fraction of the time. There are two types, one that you hold over your glass as you pour or ones that you place directly into the bottle and acts as a wine pourer.

The Vinturi wine aerator allows you to speed up the breathing process by mixing the perfect amount of air for the perfect amount of time to bring out the color, aroma, and flavor of your wines. All you do is pour your glass of wine through the aerator. It comes with a drip free stand so there is no mess to clean up.

The second option, which is more user friendly especially for multi-tasking person, is the Wine Finer aerator . This easy to use aerator allows you to pour your perfectly aerated glass of wine and enjoy in an instant. After opening your bottle, just place the Wine Finer into the bottle and pour a glass of wine, you will hear “gurgling” noises which is the sound of the wine being aerated. With little effort you have brought out the full flavors from your wine.

So before you decide whether to get yourself a decanter or an aerator, consider your time constraints. Before using the decanter, make sure there is sufficient time for the wine to breath. You can play it safe but allowing your wine to breathe in an instant with a Vinturi or Wine Finer.

There have been many reports in recent years extolling the health benefits of red wines. Red wines are high in anit-oxidants and contain iron. The dry varieties of red wine contain tannins which are beneficial to digestion. Red wine has been credited with reducing cancer risks and lowering blood pressure and cholesterol levels. It is recommended that the average person drink one glass of red wine a day to achieve maximum health benefits. Too much wine, red or white is not healthy since the alcohol can damage the liver. If you are on any medications, ask your doctor about drinking wine. Never drink wine or any alcohol if you are taking medication that contains acetaminophen (Tylenol) as the combination can cause liver damage. A glass of red wine with dinner is the perfect accompaniment to a nice meal and helps relieve the stress of your day.

Choosing A Red Wine

So many wines, so little time, but if you want to sample a few to decide which types of red wines you prefer, you can join a wine club or visit ! a local winery. Wineries usually encourage visitors to taste their vintages. You can chose from Chianti, burgundy, merlot, cabernet sauvignon, pinot noir, claret, port and and more. Many domestic wines, produced in the Napa Valley of California, the Tennessee mountains and New York State are very good and inexpensive.

Many wineries have wine tasting where you can sample different types of red wine. There are also wine clubs. Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon are medium dry wines with a fruity taste and a smooth finish. Burgundy and Chianti are darker in color and dryer in taste. Port is a desert wine and is quite sweet. The different varieties of wine are produced by using different grapes. Red wines are fermented with the skins of the grapes. For white wines the skins are removed before fermentation.

The type of red wine that you chose will depend on your personal taste. Some people like very dry wines like Beaujolais, while others prefer sweeter wines. Wine is something of an acquired taste, many people don’t like it the first time they try it. At one time most imported red wine came from France and Italy, but newer exporters include Israel, Australia, Chile, and some eastern European states.