Knowing the different wines for beginners

Of cause I can't sit here and write down all wine sorts on the market, that wouldn't even be educational, instead I will write which kind of wines as an overview, and tell you what those kinds are used for and when.

Aperitif:
This is a pre dinner wine, its usually something you get just before you get to eat, like an appetizer.
The ones I have tasted usually is kind of sweet (not a bad thing)

Barley wine:
This is a very strong wine, up to 12 percent alcohol, I'm not even sure this will go very well with food.

Cooking wine:
This is not wine to drink, usually its wine used to put in food while cooking, therefore it is also a bad quality.
Actually I talked to a cooking chief recently, he told me a rule of thumb. If the wine is to bad to drink, its also to bad to use in food.

Dessert wines:
The title kind of says it all, it wine served with the dessert, some cake, ice cream or what ever.
Usually its very sweet and very low on alcohol. (Note: this not counting Port wine which is a strong wine also not so sweet).

White and red wines:
Red wines are typically best for enhancing meals of red meat or tomato sauce, white wines are good for white meat as chicken and fish.

Rose wine:
This is kind of a mixture of red and white wines, they are sweet, good with seafood, salad and pork. Also called summer wines.

Taste of Italy Gift Box

Cascina Adelaide Langhe Rosso DOC Jula Red Wine Italy 2001 A 50/50 blend of Barbera and Nebbiolo, two grapes that complement each other exceptionally well. The wine takes the best qualities from both grapes; from the Nebbiolo comes tannin, body, and a wonderfully floral quality. It takes from the Barbera great acidity and purity of fruit. It can best be described simply in two words, "big" and "delicious."

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Home Made Tip For Fast Cooling Wine

Yes I know, this is going to be a very brief post, but I just had to share this information with you, if you did not already know this tip.

We have all tried it, unexpected company, and we want some cold wine, the fridge take to long to cool down a couple of bottles.

Now this is what you should do, take a lot of ice, crush is, pore a lot (and I mean a lot) of salt in to the ice, mix it a bit. Now bring your wine bottle in to the ice/salt.

This will cool down a lot faster then regular ice, because, salt has something chemically that wants to make ice smelt, but for the ice to smelt, it needs to gain some energy, in in that energy gaining state, the temperature will be much colder then the ice it self.

pretty neat stuff there.

Champagne for the Champagne Region

I actually had to tell my friends of this law I'm going to tell you, I was amazed how many people didn't know about this.

When we speak of Champagne, like we drink Champagne for new years and to celebrate something, well are we sure we are drinking champagne?

By law the word Champagne is strictly reserved for the wines produced only in the Champagne region of France (yes there is such area, look it up if you don't believe me).
I know some countries still calls their wine for champagne, but that is actually illegal, all new wine made after this law was enforced may not be called champagne if not produced in that specific area of France.

So when you drink some cheap wine in the believe that you drinking Champagne, you may be disappointed.

Basic wine tasting tips

Here is some pointers on how to be a wine taster so when you go out public at some wine tasting public place you will not seem like the one how knows nothing.

Start with a clear wine glass. The rim of the glass should bend inwards to help funnel aromas to the nose, and allow you to swirl without spilling.

Now pour a bit of wine into your glass, about an inch.

If you are going to be tasting a lot of different wines start with the lightest (ending with a full-body wine). If you start with a heavy wine you may loose some taste senses.

Now also notice color and hue of the wine, try to hold the glass into some light, the color can give you a clue to what age it is. White wines usually gain color when they age, and red looses. You have to be an expert in a many different wine spectra's to spot specific wine ages just by looking.

Swirl the wine a couple of times by moving the glass in a circular motion. Holding the glass by its stem, instead of the bowl, allows you to swirl more easily. Swirling is done to aerate the wine and release vapors, evaporating from the sides of the glass, for you to smell.

Now put your nose tot he rim of the wine glass and breath in, note the strength of the aromas.

Take a sip, letting the wine spread across the tongue from front to back and side to side before swallowing. Notice the flavors and acidity of the wine. How silky or rough does the wine feel? See more tips below on

Unless you are to taste a lot of wines you may swallow it, but if you have to taste a lot of different wines its a good idea to spit it out.

This was only the basic of what the real professional wine tasters does, of cause they also take some other notes that I have no idea of yet, (that why I don't call my self an expert I just write what I experience and hope you learn something)

You should now find be prepared to go out and find information about the different aromates and looks of wines, take notes, listen to what other people has to say about wine, or just enjoy the wine as it is like me.

Wine Label Rating Systems

How do we foresee all those confusing wine labels telling us which wine is the best and what to buy.

First of all keep in mind that wine taste is subjective, that means, even though some expert says its a good wine and blah blah. You do not have to like the wine, actually if you like the cheapest wine existing, you are lucky because you can afford more wine :-)

Well although wine taste is subjective there is some rating systems, they usually has one thing in common, the purpose of a wine rating is to quantify a wine's quality separate from those factors that influence price.

But always see your self as the best judge, don't take for granted what some expert may think.

Good Wines, what NOT to do

This is a couple of tips a have collected from my own experience and what I have heard from others, and I just want to share them with you.

First of, do not store wine standing up. Why you ask? well if you don't keep your bottles on their sides, the corks will dry out and let damaging air into the wine.

In addition to the corks getting dry issue, Never store wine in a dry place because this may also make the bottles cork dry out and let air into the wine bottle.

Also don't store the wine in a fridge, because its too cold, with the awful low temperature a lot of aromas will be lost. And a fridge has a compressor motor that shakes, and will give repeating shakings to the wine, and is not a good thing.

If you cant open a bottle because you have destroyed the cork, do not try to hit the cork down into the bottle, this will give some fun but messy results (instead you should use a quality bottle opener).

Combine Wine and Chocolates

I have done something bad, really bad, I tried to combine chocolate and wine. That is not good for my health, I got a really sweet tooth and now I cant stop, but I will still share my experiences with wine and chocolates.

First of, not all wine suits chocolate, I prefer some really sweet Rieslings white wines, because they are really sweet without overdoing it.

My first rule is, combine wine and chocolate which has the same level of sweetness.

Second rule, avoid dry wines, I don't believe any chocolate will go with dry wine, because they lace of naturally sugar (as you can also taste of it).

Of cause you can also combine some dessert wines with chocolate, this is the common relationship but if you just want to share a bottle of wine and a piece of chocolate with a dear friend, and not a dessert plate, then you can use my advice.

But be careful, this combination can be addictive.

Is wine good for your health

There has been a lot of questioning on alcohol and our health, but the answer is yes, wine is good for your health, lots of researches proves that wine can even lower the risk of coronary heart disease.

By reducing your LDL or bad cholesterol levels, your risk of a coronary heart disease will lower.

Some scientists even believe that wine could help us with other health problems. A recent study discovered that an antioxidant in the skins of red grapes, called resveratrol may inhibit the growth of tumors.

but still be careful, this does not mean you should be drinking gallons of wine every day, women should drink at most 4 ounces of red wine daily and men about 4-8 ounces.

This is good news for us wine lovers.

Importance of good wine presentation

The importance of a good table presentation. To serve wine all you need is a wine glass and a bottle of wine right?

Well yes and no, first of it depends on who you are serving it to, some people think half of the experience in wine tasting comes with the visual appearance. Other people like me think of the wine.

Another thing to concern about may be the wine thickness, so to get a great wine tasting experience, use thin wine glasses, because thinner wine glasses seem to keep air out easier then thick.

crystal is not mandatory, crystal wine glasses do tend to enhance the essence of wine to a greater degree.