Are you a novice when it comes to wine? Are you clueless about the difference between red and white wine, aside from color? Do wine ages confuse you? If you answered yes to these questions, then you’re in luck. There is enough information in this article to make you a wine expert.
Keep in mind that an expensive wine is not necessarily good. Everyone has different preferences when it comes to wine and you should not force yourself to drink expensive wines to appear sophisticated. There are plenty of delicious wines you can find at an affordable price. Try different varieties until you find something you really enjoy instead of judging wines in function of their prices.
If you enjoy cooking, try incorporating wine into your dinner menu. Wine can be used in a variety of cooking formats including sauces and marinades. If you have small children, you need not be concerned about cooking with wine as most of the alcohol is cooked out during the cooking process.
Avoid over chilling white wines. Many wine drinkers will buy a bottle of their favorite white and return home to pop it in the fridge. While chilling whites is important, too much cold will diminish flavors in the wine; sometimes the most important ones. Target a temperature around 60 degrees up to 68 degrees to achieve the prime flavor.
You can make amazing pairings with your favorite wine. For example, you can pair a Chardonnay with either Gouda or Provolone. For stronger cheeses, such as Cheddar, opt for a Cabernet such as Cabernet Sauvignon or Cabernet Franc. Zinfandel wines go beautifully with the more delicate cheeses such as Feta and Gouda.
If you need to find a wine for an important occasion such as a wedding, it is best to have a small wine tasting party beforehand. Invite some of the guests and have them try different wines. Give them a large selection to choose from and do not hesitate to offer different options at the actual event.
Take notes on any wine that you try out. You aren’t going to really know what you are doing at first. However, over time, you will start noticing specific trends in your notes and reactions. You might even see that your reaction to particular wine’s changes as you drink more of them.
You should only drink the wines which you enjoy. Certain venues will promote their favorite bottles, but don’t feel pressured if you already have a selection in mind. These are generally priced much higher then they should be. Just because the price is higher does not mean the quality is better. Know the kind of wine you like and order that.
Make sure that the bottle is very cold when you open it. This will yield much better wine taste, especially if you are serving a large group of people. Obviously, wine will get cold once the bottle is opened, and it is at room temperature, so ascertain that it is cold upon opening.
Take the advice of wine critics with a grain of salt since you may have entirely different tastes than they do. Many people rely on critics to give them advice on what wines to select, but they end up disappointed. Only do this if you are sure that you and the critic have very similar palates.
If you have a wine bottle that is older than 20 years, make sure that you understand the deterioration process of the cork. Therefore, when you open the wine, there is a good chance that the cork will split or tear. This is a natural process that will happen with almost all wine bottles.
Learn how to read the label to make sure you get exactly what you want with a particular wine. More modern wines have labels that clearly describe the flavor and composition of the contents, whereas old country makers are vague and leave you guessing. Pick up a handy guide to bring with you and be guaranteed of getting a wine you’ll enjoy!
Look for clearance wines at your local grocery and liquor stores. Wine is an ever changing business so retailers are constantly clearing their shelves to make room for new wine options. The great thing is that it can work in your favor if you are looking to try new wines, as you will save money and have a constant flow of options.
Fancy restaurants offer pricey wines, and sometimes it’s tempting to order the cheaper items on the menu. Waiters do know though that customers don’t like to appear that they’re cheap when selecting wine. They may suggest the next cheapest option. The cheapest is often a really good choice.
Use Evernote as your wine note taking application. There’s many ways you can keep track of your wine adventures, but Evernote lets you pair images and text together. This way you can have an image of the wine’s label along with your opinions on it all in one place! Plus, Evernote is available on nearly every digital platform, so your notes stay with you.
A good tip if you’d like to save money on wine when dining out is to skip the wine by the glass. This is how a lot of restaurants make most of their money on wine but the consumer really misses out because most bottles are open for too long anyway.
After reading this article, you don’t have to be clueless about wine any longer. Wine is a great beverage that has existed for many years, and it’s about time that you started enjoying it. Remember this article when you want to get some wine and you’ll have a flavor experience that you’ve never seen before.