Wednesday, December 3rd, 2008 at
6:15 am
Clearly the selection of a specific brand, type and year of wine is a question of personal taste. But, leaving on one side the question of price, there are a variety of general guidelines on which there is agreement amongst wine drinkers.
Fortunatey the growth of vineyards throughout the world and of websites featuring wine means that accessing wine is fairly easy today. If you live in Mississippi or Brussels you can buy a New Zealand Syrah not carried by a local wine merchant as simply as anyone in Tauranga.
Putting on one side the subject of pairing particular types of wine with particular foods, do you want a white wine or a red wine? Some people feel that Madeira is far too heavy while other people believe that a German Riesling is much too dry. A lot of readily available wines are meant to be consumed shortly after purchase, but those of us who wish to taste the best wine will have to be patient. Cabernet Sauvignon would unquestionably be far better after it has matured.
A cool climate Chardonnay, like those from Canada, will appeal to those people who like a young acid wine and also to wine drinkers who wish to experience it’s honeyed and nutty character which comes from age.
Viewing wines by class may also prove useful. Class 1 wines, usually labeled as ‘Red Table Wine’ or ‘Light Wine’ will have an alcohol content between 7% and 14% by volume. Class 7 wines, by contrast, will have an alcohol content of not lower than 15% by volume. These wines have usually had Brandy added to then and could be flavored using herbs with those with the greatest concentration being considered as ‘fortified’.
Read the label for a declaration of the quantity of sulfites in a wine. Sulphur is often added during the winemaking process to prevent the growth of unwanted organisms, but some winemakers add more sulpur than many wine drinkers like. Sulphur dioxide is also sometimes sprayed onto the grapes themselves to reduce pests and can seep into the skin. A few wine drinkers are sensitive to sulfites and could experience an allergic reaction. Concentrations which are lower than 10 parts per million are normally fine for most people.
Whenever you are sampling a wine you should begin by cooling it to the proper temperature of around 11C (52F) for whites and 18C (65F) for red wine and use a thin rimmed glass which is free of dust.
Pour out no more than around one third of a glass and pick up your glass by the stem so that you don’t get fingerprints on the rim and warm the bowl.
What you are looking for is a clear color when a wine is viewed against a white background with a wine such as a Pinot Noir having a light ruby color and a Cabernet Sauvignon being a darker violet color. Wines which are fermented from grapes grown in a hot summer and dry fall will be darker in color than those wines made during cool summers and rainy falls.
The final step is to spin the wine gently around so that it coats the bowl of the glass and let your nose sample its aroma before tasting it.
Technorati Tags: choosing wine, fine wine, good wine, Red Wine, selecting wine, White Wine, Wine
