Simply enjoying wine is great, but with a bit of knowledge, you can be your own sommelier! This article will guide you through many ideas which you may never have thought of before. This will ensure that you start pouring a glass of wine which never disappoints yourself or your guests.
If you are new to wine tasting, you should know that true connoisseurs actually spit the wine after tasting it. Spitting the wine is the best way to avoid overpowering your taste buds so you can keep tasting other wines. Take a small sip of wine, wait a few seconds to feel all its different flavors and spit it.
Read up as much as you can on wine through books and magazines. In these works, you will find that some of the best wine connoisseurs in the world rate some of the most popular wines. This will help you to decide what wines you want to buy if you have yet to try them.
Attend as many wine tastings as you have time for. Wine tastings introduce your palette to many different styles of wines. And the people who attend these events may also be much more advanced than you in terms of wine knowledge. You can pick their brains to learn even more!
A great tip if you love wine is to look into joining an online message board that caters to fellow wine lovers. There are message boards for literally all kinds of communities. This is great because you’ll be able to connect with people that share the same interests, and you’ll learn a lot.
You can easily make a mulled wine with only a few ingredients. You will need a bottle of red wine such as Merlot, Zinfandel or Cabernet Sauvignon, a peeled and sliced orange, a quality brandy, honey or sugar and a few spices including whole cloves, cinnamon and ginger. Combine your ingredients into a slow cooker. Then, heat for 30 minutes and enjoy!
Wine is a popular accompaniment for your holiday gatherings, and it is important that you choose the right variety to complement your entree. Generally, white wine goes well with chicken, turkey or seafood, and red wine is the best choice when the menu features beef or pork as the main entree.
If you plan on pairing a wine with lasagna, try going with red wine. The higher acidity in these types of wines pair quite well with the tomato sauce that is usually in lasagna. Many lasagnas have ingredients like green peppers, and the flavor of a red wine can accentuate them.
Have an idea of how much you want to spend on your wine in mind before you enter the store. A wine store can be a very confusing space with lots of shelves filled with various varieties. By having a price point in mind before you shop, you can narrow down what you are looking for and walk out of the store without spending too much.
After opening a bottle of wine, you may end up losing the cork on the top (especially if you pop the cork). You can still save your bottle by using cling wrap and a rubber band to keep the top sealed. Refrain from drinking the wine if it has been left for over one or two days.
As you may already know, if you have an open bottle of wine, the oxygen can start to diminish the taste. However, if you place the bottle inside of the fridge, the cold can help relieve some of the reaction that air causes. This is a temporary fix and the wine will not last long.
Study up on the right temperatures to drink certain wines. Yes, a few degrees can make a major difference when it comes to a wine’s overall flavor. You may find your favorite wine is perfect at room temperature, but a few degrees warmer or cooler lowers its quality. Keep notes on these peculiarities so that you can make the right choices down the line.
When choosing a wine glass, select one that is large (around 20 to 22 ounces). With this size, you can swirl the wine around more freely. Furthermore, select a glass wine that is clear and thin with a long stem. Make sure the glass curves slightly inward at the top.
If you need to save wine for another day, cork it and stick it in your refrigerator. The coolness in your fridge will help slow down all of the chemical changes happening in your wine. It’s best if you can finish that wine off within a day, otherwise you may find it tastes quite different than when you uncorked it.
If you’re about to drink a very young red wine, a recent vintage, hold the stem of the glass and swirl it around. This lets all the flavors, and aromas come out of the wine while oxygen is introduced to the wine itself. This softens the tannins and makes for a great drink.
Avoid seeking out only the highly rated, highest priced wines for your collection. While you may feel this will end up in the best wines, this is simply not true. There are plenty of moderately priced wines out there that are just magnificent. Make sure that your collection has as much variety as possible.
Join an online group for wine lovers. You can get advice in almost real-time about a wine you might be thinking about. You can get information about wine in general. A group can help you get a deeper understanding of what wine is all about, so that you can enjoy it even more.
Now that you’re well versed in wine tips, you should feel confident in your new knowledge. Want to learn more? Keep reading and stay on top of news in the wine world. With all of the knowledge at your fingertips, you’ll be able to take wine to astronomical new levels!
