“What Wine Goes With Captain Crunch?” asked George Carlin.
Here’s a short roadmap which will guide you on some of the many topics you need to familiarize yourself about wine.
HOW WINE IS MADE: It all starts with the grape, the main ingredient of any wine. Yeast is next added to the grape and interacts with the sugar in the grapes. Then the fermentation process starts and the result is alcohol.
TYPES OF WINE: There are three main types of wine: white, red and sparkling. When making white wine, the grapes are normally crushed and stems removed before being transferred to a wine press. With Red Wine the skins of the grape, and sometimes the stems too, are added into the fermentation process. With Sparkling Wine, bubbles are added by introducing carbon dioxide into the wine bottle.
HOW TO PURCHASE WINE: Many people buy wine based on its price. Basically, a no, no. Buy based on your budget and what you are pairing the wine with.
WHERE’S THE BEST PLACE TO BUY WINE: I’ve found it’s the local grocery store. And why not? Food and wine, perfect together. The grocery stores know this and will have informational cards about how to pair food and wine. Don’t forget the big box stores. You will also find many stores catering to wine. Basically, your choice is unlimited where to find wine.
WINE TASTINGS: A wine tasting is a fun way to meet new people, explore new wines and “show off your wine knowledge!” Don’t be afraid to set one up yourself. Some guidelines:
— Invite the amount of people that you can fit comfortably in the room you want to have your tasting. This is a good source for more information on wine tastings
— Always have bottled water on hand when you are having a wine tasting. This allows guests to rinse their mouth between different wines.
— Provide snacks for your guests. The best snacks to have on hand include unflavoured ones like bread or unsalted crackers.
— Open your wine bottles a few hours before the event. This allows your wine to “breath”. If possible pour the wine into a server like this one A warning, some wines are meant to drink immediately after popping the cork from the bottle.
— There are many types of tastings you can employ, Blind Tasting, this means that you do not want the guests to know what you are serving to them. Vertical Tasting, have the same wine from different years. Horizontal Tasting, taste the same wine from many different producers. This type of tasting will allow you to determine which wineries you think produce the better wine. Check out for more ideas.
— Old World versus New World Tasting is comparing old world wines (France, Italy, Austria, Spain) to new world wines (North America, South America, South Africa, New Zealand, and Australia).
— Wine and Cheese Tasting. Certain wines taste better with certain cheeses. For example, the best way to serve a Cabernet Sauvignon is with blue cheese. The blue cheese acts by coating the mouth and laying a foundation which will soften the wine and make it taste very good.
— There are many types of wine tasting you can do. Invest in a good reference like Wine Taster’s Guide found here
THE AGE-OLD QUESTION, WHEN INVITED TO DINNER WHAT WINE SHOULD I BRING: First, try to find out if possible what food will be served. If the menu is not available here are few general guidelines:
— Bring sparkling wine. These wines are designed to be consumed prior to dinner and allows the taste buds to get ready for the meal. The beauty of sparkling wine is that it also doubles for toasting.
— Bring dessert wine. These wines are intended to be paired with sweets. Since the majority of desserts are sweet you will have a much higher likelihood of matching a wine.
— Bring two bottles of wine. I recommend a mild flavored white wine and a red wine. Can’t go wrong doing this.
HOW CAN I LEARN MORE ABOUT WINE: Our web page has many links to free seminars as well as reviews of various wines and wineries.
Another way to learn is this reference book, The Commonsense Book of Wine, found here,
Whatever way you choose to learn more and enjoy wine remember what George Carlin said: “What Wine Goes With Captain Crunch?”
Or as Leon Adams (author: The Commonsense Book of Wine) said, “Anyone who tries to make you believe that he knows all about wines is obviously a fake.”
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