|
|
|||
|
|
|
Select from the following categories:
| Wine Tasting | Serving Wine | Wine Storage | Restaurants |
|
|
|
|
|
|
The
front and back of the tongue contain the taste buds and rather than specializing
in a particular taste sensation, all taste buds are capable of detecting sweet,
sour, bitter and salty flavors, although there may be some slight differences in
sensitivity. So that you get the most out of your taste buds, when wine tasting,
swish the wine around your mouth, which will allow all of your taste buds (and
your sense of smell) to participate in the detection of the finer flavors of the
wine. Winebow.com Tasting Guide - A few pages of guidelines for the proper tasting methods of wine. (PDF Format) The Aroma Wheel - A simple guide to different tastes and aromas found in wines (PDF Format)
Conducting a wine tasting party The best way to buy wines is to taste them first. One of the best ways to taste many new wines is to gather together friends and family for a wine tasting party! Here are some guidelines for creating and enjoying your own party.
To start, choose a format and theme for your event. Some possibilities include:
What You Need:
Salut! Wine Co. regularly holds events at our shop, and after each event we post our wines and tasting notes to the internet! You can use our "Past Events" calendar to give you ideas for your next party!
Use the information on this site to help you learn more about your theme. The more information you are able to share with your guests the better! Your guests will appreciate every effort you put forth to match the right wines with cheeses, appetizers, dinner courses and glassware.
Additional Resources:
|
|
|
There are a plethora of recommendations for wine serving temperatures, some complicated charts and some just easy guidelines. There are only two rules that seem to be absolutely universal...
1. Champagne should be served well chilled 2. If the area where the wine is served is warmer than 68 degrees, the wine will need chilling to some degree.
The rest of the rules are opinions based on the personal preferences of experts, which are excellent guidelines but not the end-all-be-all direction toward your most enjoyment of any specific wine or situation. If you prefer a wine served at a different temperature than the rules, that's OK!
What IS important is that one understand the affect of temperature on the taste and aromas, so you can adjust the temperature according to your preferences and situation. In the most basic sense, colder temperatures reduce the drinker's impression of a wines acidity as well as the fruit flavors & aromas. At some point between 40 and 65 degrees (Fahrenheit) you will find your desired serving temperature for all wines. Colder, and too much of the flavor is hidden (it becomes watery and boring). Too warm, and the acidity & alcohol become too sharp to enjoy.
In the most general sense, serve white wines somewhat chilled (50-60 degrees), reds at "cool-room temperature" of 65-68 degrees, and Rose' wines in-between.
For a more specific list of guidelines, this chart can provide further suggestions:
Decanting is the act of pouring a wine from a bottle into a larger container, to assist in the aeration of the wine and to separate any sediment that has formed in the bottle over time. With decanting, much of the sediment can be left behind in the original bottle, and the air will soften the flavors in the wine and accentuate delicate, and release complex or hidden aromas and flavors within the wine. There is very little need to decant most young and/or inexpensive red wines, or white wines at all. Very old red wines and vintage ports are the common exception, and should be decanted. Most wines open up nicely simply by being poured into a proper glass and standing for a few minutes. That being said, very young and often inexpensive red wines can benefit from aeration greatly. Decanting a young wine into a larger container several hours prior to serving, seems to take the "edge" off the wine and allow some measures of complexity to develop. But it is far from necessary or "proper" to do so.
Selecting a Decanter ... A decanter should be large enough to hold about twice the amount of wine that you plan to put in it. The reason is that decanting is done is to allow the wine to come in contact with as much air as possible. Those designed with a wider base can be more stable and give a broader surface area of wine to come into contact with air. There are hundreds of fine crystal decanters that you
can choose from. Before purchasing, it is a good idea to ask the store to allow
you to fill it with water and then try pouring the water into a glass. Too
many very expensive decanters are almost impossible to hold onto with one hand
while you are pouring, and many 'dribble' over an improper edge instead of
pouring cleanly. Older red wines sometimes accumulate some sediment in the bottle. If the bottle has been stored in a rack, the sediment will be along the side of the bottle. If you want to decant such a wine, stand it upright at least 24 hours (preferably 3-4 days) prior so the sediment can settle to the bottom. (you may wish to gently shake the bottle slightly to dislodge the sediment from the sides). When it is ready to decant gently (so as not to stir up the sediment) bring the bottle into the kitchen. Set a candle or a flashlight on a counter. Take the decanter in your left hand (assuming you're right handed) and tilt it towards the candle. Take the bottle of wine in your right hand and, very slowly, bring it up to where you can both pour it down the side of the decanter and see the candle through the neck of the bottle. As you ... slowly .. pour out the wine, you will eventually start to see a slight "ribbon" of sediment headed towards the neck of the bottle. Once this reaches the neck, it's time to stop pouring. About 1-2" of wine will remain in the bottle to be discarded.
Decanting Vintage Ports Vintage port is aged fully in the bottle and it throws off a huge amount of sediment in the process. But many old port bottles are so dark there is no way you can see a candle through the neck. Instead, try this suggestion, courtesy of Strat's Place, a website full of great wine information of all types.:
There really is no
right or wrong glass for wine tasting - or for drinking wine for that matter.
However, there are some glasses that are better than others for evaluating
wines. First of all, we like to suggest using glasses that you are comfortable
using. Aesthetics aside, there are really only two things to remember when
considering a wine tasting glass: the size of the glass and the overall shape of
the glass. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
Correct cellaring of wine is essential to its ability to age consistently. Good cellaring conditions can exist anywhere from a cool, dry corner under the house to state of the art professional cellaring facilities, however any location should follow these rules.
How to build a wine collection
There are four basic concerns about building a wine collection:
It’s important to know that most wines don’t need aging, and are ready to drink when the winemaker releases the wine for sale. With that in mind, wine collectors should avoid buying more wine than they intend to drink relatively soon (within a year or two). Great wines will be released every year, and you’ll need the space open to buy the newest releases!
A good rule of thumb to use is to have about:
To figure out how much room, and how many bottles, are needed to accomplish this, first figure out how much wine you consume in a year. Include parties, daily consumption, gifts, etc. Assuming a family uses 2 bottles per week, plus a monthly dinner party, and additional special events, that number might be about 150 bottles annually.
Now you know to allow space for about 800 bottles of wine. That’s actually able to fit in a very small space! Foregoing the grandeur of walk-in elegance, central dining area, and fanciful racks and lighting, 800 bottles could fit in an average coat closet.
First and foremost, taste a lot of wines! Attend tasting nights at wine stores, tour wineries, go to local wine events, and buy single bottles of wines to try whenever you have an opportune moment. THEN WRITE DOWN YOUR THOUGHTS. Use a wine journal or any notebook to keep track of what you like (the brand, the year, and type of wine), what it tasted like, and where it came from. This information will not only help you, but will help your wine store salesperson to know what to suggest.
Next, keep track of what you have. Use a wine cellar book or wine cellar software to keep track of your collection. Otherwise the natural instinct is to buy more than you need, and share less than you should!
When you find a wine you like, buy several bottles. Wine is intended to be sold out each year. Next year the winemaker will offer new wines, and your old favorites will not be available (it will be time to find and buy NEW favorites next year!) Buy 4, 6, or even a full case of 12. You’ll probably get a big discount on the price, too! (at Salut! we offer 10% off 6 bottles, 15% off full cases of 12) By drinking a bottle every few months, you’ll be able to enjoy learning about how the wine changes over time as it ages.
The most age-worthy wines include red and white wines from Burgundy or Bordeaux, France (Cru-Bourgeois or better. Yes, some French Chardonnays can age 30 years!), better Cabernet Sauvignon, fine Oregon Pinot Noir, most Ports, Great Vintage Champagne, good Syrah/Shiraz and many more your wine shop proprietor can help you find. The age-worthiness of wines can change from wine to wine…it’s best to know before you buy, either by asking your wine shop proprietor or by researching any specific wine on the internet or by reading wine magazines.
It is not necessary to age most wines under $25…drink and enjoy them now!
Many people are confused about the subject of aging wines. Some don’t realize
that wines change in the bottle. Some think that wines will last forever or that
the best quality wines will continue to improve forever. Some think that only
red wines improve with age. In fact, most white wines are ready
to drink upon release. Yet the wines most enthusiasts are interested in (the
best Chardonnays, Chablis or Cote D’Or White Burgundies, even the better German
wines) are released years before they will be at their peak. They can be enjoyed
when young, but they will not have reached their full potential. The consumer is
assumed to be knowledgeable enough to understand that these wines need that time
in bottle to smooth out, mellow, and evolve into something complex and
wonderful.
There are two vital conditions your wine needs to age well…darkness and a cool, stable temperature. Anywhere you can rely on a temperature remaining at a fairly consistent temperature between 50 and 65 degrees is a good location for wine. Seasonal fluctuations are OK, but daily changes in temperature are destructive to the character of the wine and will age it prematurely.
Darkness is necessary to maintain the temperature and color of the wine. Sunlight will warm the wine in the bottle, even if the room is cool. It will also fade the colors and theoretically the flavors in the wine. But darkness can be achieved as simply as storing the wines in a cardboard box, covering the racks with a curtain or wrapping the bottles in a bag or tissue…unattractive, perhaps…but it does allow for the creation of a cellar in a windowed basement, if necessary.
Store wine bottles on their sides. It not only keeps the cork moist and expanded for a better seal, but makes it easier to select any single bottle from the collection without disturbing other bottles. Most wine racks are built with this concern in mind.
Strong myths also exist today about keeping your cellar humid and free of vibrations from items such as refrigerators or conditioning units. However, today’s wine closures and foil capsules (the cover over most corks) will keep your wine corks from drying out from the outside, and the wine will keep your corks plenty moist from the inside. If your bottles are stored on their sides, there should be no concern about the corks ever drying out. In addition, humid rooms result in the molds and fungus that over time will ruin your wine labels. As for vibration, there is little indication from numerous studies that small vibration has any effect on wine. Just avoid moving stored wines as much as possible and the wine should be OK.
Store your collection on proper racks. Wood or metal garage-style racks, available at building-supply retailers, can be relatively inexpensive and sturdy ways to store wines. Many offer wine-bottle shelves as an add-on purchase. Stacks of cardboard boxes can become unstable over time, and are difficult to keep organized and accessible. Improper racks also can mean ruined labels, resulting in the inability to know what a bottle contains!
In a room or home lacking the proper conditions, wine refrigerators can be purchased to create the necessary cellar instantly, maintaining the perfect temperature and providing sturdy racks for storage.
Some interesting facts about wine storage:
The use of a wine cork and wine bottle were thought to be first used by Dom Perignon between 1650 and 1715 in the creation of a proper package for the fermenting of Champagne, which he is thought to have discovered. Before that time, bottles and corks were used sporadically and without firm purpose. Bottles lacked a defined shape, mostly taking the form of rounded bulbs with long necks, and were of inconsistent quality and thickness…which is why some bottles were wrapped in straw to create darkness and a stable base to stand on (the familiar traditional Chianti bottle we know sometimes is still wrapped in this fashion for fun). Corks were used to stop the bottles, but so were racks, pieces of carved wood, etc.
In the 1600's By proclamation of King James I, all glass makers were to stop using wood to heat their furnaces so as to not deplete the forests. The glass makers turned to burning coal which allowed for a much hotter fire. Sir Kenelm Digby is credited as the inventor of the modern wine bottle. With the use of a blower to make the furnace even hotter, Digby was able to make bottles that were thicker and stronger and with the unknown benefit of being darker. They could also be produced much cheaper than the old method. The French later copied the technology. With the new technology ‘wine bottles’ spread quickly in the form we know them today.
Wine Storage Links Portland Wine Storage - Climate controlled lockers available for rent in a downtown warehouse Hubbard Doors - Elegant luxury iron wine cellar doors The Wine Curators - Wine Cellar Software sellers |
|
Ordering Wine from a
Restaurant Wine Menu
|
(c) Salut! Wine Co., Vancouver, Washington. Site by David D. Gray
