100 Wine Blogs, 100 Days Blog 45: Can you drink a glass of wine without a nose?

Blog 45 Can you drink a glass of wine without a nose?

For some reason, I was not only born with a huge sense of smell, but smells can make me actually sick. When I worked as a nurse, I went on rides with the fire department; I would take bets on what was burning when we went to a fire. Whether it was electrical, carrots on the stove, or paper burning, I would be able to guess it.

With wine, if I can’t smell the wine in the glass, I cannot enjoy the taste of the wine. The nose is part of the enjoyment for me and a soapy or dirty glass drops the enjoyment by about 75%. I even feel that I can guess where some of the wines come from, for instance, sometimes I can tell the Martini from the Cuvaison and which winery a wine may have come from in California. Some of the wineries have distinct smells that come up in their wines. Even though there are different grape varietals, I can smell a distinction between wineries.

I don’t think my nose knows what nasal fatigue really is. I think that if someone is wearing heavy perfume or have a strong odor; it can affect the taste of the wine. A very aromatic food can disguise what the wine tastes like. There might be too many smells surrounding the glass while you are trying to distinguish what scents are in the wine.

I prefer to taste wine in the morning first thing. Even brushing your teeth can affect the smell or the taste of the wine. Eating food and then trying the wine can also change the nose on the wine. When I plan my winery tours, I go to the wineries that I feel are the best in the early morning, if they can fit in the schedule that way. However, it does not stop me from doing a late afternoon tasting in one of my favorite wineries.

Many wines open up after you swirl them for a while or wait for a time to capture a better release of the true aroma of the wine. I like to try to distinguish the more complex aromas as the wine settles into its glass.

If you have trouble distinguishing what aromas you smell in the wine, you can purchase a smell kit. It helps you to train your nose to know what different scents may smell like in a glass of wine.

Tell me what you think! I want to hear from you! Give me your thoughts!
Bon Vin!
Veronica

100 Wine Blogs, 100 Days Blog 44: Wine and Tuna pairing. Just try it.

Blog 44 Wine & Tuna Pairing. Just try it.

Do you always need to pair your expensive wine with a gourmet meal?

I was starving, just back from Boston with nothing in my refrigerator. What do you eat when you have nothing? Better yet, what do you drink? A splitting headache had already started, or shall I say Migraine for those who know what that is like? Do I really have to go to the store or a restaurant? What to do?

I popped my head in the pantry and located some Stoned Wheat Crackers and a can of Starkist White Albacore Tuna. Those who know me don’t be shocked, but I am allergic to everything except wine. Two of the items on my long list that I am allergic to are onions and garlic. I know, I know, I am Spanish and Italian, how do you think I feel? I can’t have ketchup, barbecue sauce, mayonnaise or mustard because, they have onion powder in them. I choose to eat the tuna on the cracker, imagine that…plain tuna on a plain cracker.

I decide to pair my plain tune and crackers with a meritage from Cuvaison winery. I belong to 10 wine clubs from California, I might as well drink a great bottle of red wine with my tuna. I want my food to taste great too. I choose the Two Estates Cuvaison 2005 ATS Selection, a classic red wine representing a blend from the best grapes from the Carneros and Mount Veeder estates.

My tuna actually tasted like real fish! My meal became an event! It was not a cheap meal, by no means, crackers $3.69, tuna, $1.49 and the classic red $54.00 and out of production. Well worth my time and effort. Is that what canned tuna is really supposed to taste like?

Tell me what you think! I want to hear from you! Give me your thoughts!
Bon Vin!
Veronica

100 Wine Blogs, 100 Days Blog 43: What do you like to drink?

Blog 43 What do you like to drink?

Let’s hear from you. Do you like white, rose, red, sparkling, or desert wines? What is your favorite varietal? What is your favorite winery to visit and what do you get to do there? What is your favorite wine?

I like reds the most with Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel being my favorite varietals.

My favorite wineries to visit would have to be Far Niente for food and wine pairing as well as their cars and the grounds that they have surrounding their property, St. Supery for the barrel tastings and their tours and tastings, Hall Rutherford for their crystal chandelier as well as their cave tasting, Laird for their wines and hospitality, Schramsberg for their wine cave tour, Opus One for their unique building and design and great tasting experience, Peju for their gift shop and wine tasting experience, Robert Mondavi Winery for the Mustard Festival Event and wine tasting tour and I am sure there are many more that I just can’t think of at this moment. These are the ones that come to me first. Tell me about your experiences and which places you like to visit most.

My favorite wines are Far Niente Cabernet Sauvignon, Hall Kathryn Hall Cabernet Sauvignon and Jack’s Masterpiece, Opus One Overture, and any Laird wine. These are only a few of the wines that I love. We don’t want to list them all, we may not have room. What is your absolute favorite? My absolute favorite is the Monte Rosso, Louis Martini, Gnarly, Old Vine Zinfandel. Tell me about yours!

Tell me what you think! I want to hear from you! Give me your thoughts!
Bon Vin!
Veronica

100 Wine Blogs, 100 Days Blog 39: When in Boston…

Blog 39 When in Boston…

This week, I am in Boston, Massachusetts in the United States. Yes, it is cold compared to my home state of Florida. The Boston Wine Festival is taking place at the Boston Harbor Hotel. It started in January and ends in April of 2010. The nation’s longest running food and wine pairing series. Some of the wine owners that are showcasing their wines this week in the festival are Alex Gambal, Truchard Vineyards, and Arrowood Vineyards & Winery. Tickets are in the $100 and $200 dollar range and consist of the wine and food pairing as well as the winery owners themselves in attendance.

Little did I know that they have about 30 wineries in the surrounding area of Boston? Some specialize in blueberry wines and they have some hard core cider makers. There is even one winery called the Boston Winery where you can go to make your own wine. You can start by helping out with the crush and end up with the bottling of the wine.

Boston is known for their sports and beer. The Boston Celtics for basketball, the Boston Bruins for hockey, the Boston Red Sox for baseball, and the New England Patriots for football.

When you talk about beer, you are talking about Boston. Harpoon Brewery is a Boston original which has been opened since 1986. It is New England’s largest craft brewery. They brew Harpoon, IPA, UFO Hefeweizen and their variety of brewery-fresh beers.

When you order a beer in Boston, it is best to order on draught where your choices will be plentiful. If you order by the bottle, you may end up with typical Anheuser-Busch and Miller products; however, they do have a nice Sam Adams Light in the bottle. Samuel Adams originated in Boston in 1985 by first selling beer door-to-door to about 25 restaurants. They finally purchased a building and built a brewery in 1988. Their microbrew or craft beer consists of Boston Ale, Cream Stout, Double Bock, as well as a line of seasonal beers.

So, when in Boston, you may want to put your wine aside to try fresh microbrew ale.

Tell me if you love beer! I want to hear from you! Give me your thoughts!
Bon Vin!
Veronica

100 Wine Blogs, 100 Days Blog 32 How can you drink a Cabernet Sauvignon for breakfast?

32. How can you drink a Cabernet Sauvignon for breakfast?

It was Valentine’s Day and I posted a blog online asking others to blog about what they would be drinking on Valentine’s Day and what would be their beverage of choice. It made me think of what I was going to have. The typical Pink Champagne, which would be perfect for the celebration, or was I going to drink something else? Remember, this was for breakfast. Ryan was taking me and the children to a club in Tampa, Florida called “The Tampa Club”. It sits 42 stories high in our city’s largest building with a breathtaking view of the city and two of our island communities.



They go out of their way to make an experience that you will never forget. They called their breakfast, St. Valentine’s Day “Breakfast @ Brennan’s” which takes place from 10am – 2pm. My meal consisted of:

Starter
Warm Bourbon Baked Apple with Cinnamon Double Cream

Salad
French Quarter Salad with Cinnamon Toasted Pecans, Fresh Strawberries, Mandarin Oranges, Blueberries & Cracked Black Peppercorn Vinaigrette

Entrée
Steak Au Poivre (Classically prepared with Cracked Black Peppercorns, Brandy and Crème)



Desserts & Diablos



Chocolate Fondue (with a Chocolate Fountain)
Crème Brulee
Bananas Foster
Café Diablo (Coffee with Gran Marnier and an Orange Wedge)



What did we drink?

Ryan had a nice big bountiful California Cabernet Sauvignon from Kunde. I had a medium-bodied, toasty, berrytastic South African 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon from Robertson Winery. It went perfect with our meals. Check out our pictures of our very special day. So when you ask me, how can you drink a Cabernet Sauvignon for breakfast? I say, very easily!



Tell me your thoughts, make them funny, keep them nice and educate me.
Bon Vin!
Veronica

100 Wine Blogs, 100 Days Blog 26 Do you want to have an online wine tasting with sparklers?

26. Do you want to have an online wine tasting with sparklers?

Let’s start our wine tasting by reviewing the labels on the bottles, what each Web site has to say about their wines and the price of each. The two wines that we are reviewing are Korbel Brut, California Champagne and Schramsberg, Blanc de Blancs, Brut Sparkling Wine, Vintage 2006.


Korbel Web site:

Korbel Brut is America’s favorite methode champenoise champagne. It is used to celebrate more weddings, anniversaries, and New Year’s Eves than any other quality champagne. The goal is to make a champagne that consistently delivers a lot of quality for the price. Korbel Brut is crisp and refreshing, with a light citrus and fresh pear-like note in the finish.


Schramsberg Web site:

The first wine Schramsberg produced in 1965 and was America’s first commercially produced, Chardonnay-based brut sparkling wine. Small lots of malolactic-and barrel-fermented wines are added for complexity. The wine is aged on the yeast lees in the bottle for about two years prior to disgorgement. With its vibrant, fruitful and crisp nature, this sparkling wine will maintain its freshness, structure and refined finish for many years, even decades following its initial release.


KORBEL

Label:
Established 1882
Methode Champenoise
Korbel
California Champagne
Brut
Alcohol: 12%
Produced and Bottled by F. Korbel & Bros., Inc.
Greenville, Sonoma Co., California

Not on Label:
A blend of multiple varieties from multiple appellations and even multiple years.
Harvested: Non-vintage Blend
Appellation: California
Composition: Pinot Noir, Chenin Blanc, French Colombard, Chardonnay
Dosage: 1.00%
Production: 750,000 cases annually

$9.99 US Dollars


SCHRAMSBERG

Label:
Schramsberg
Founded 1862
Blanc De Blancs
Methode Champenoise
Brut
Vintage 2006
Produced and Bottled by Schramsberg Vineyards
Calistoga, California
100% North Coast Sparkling Wine
Alcohol: 12.9%
100% Chardonnay
Handcrafted
Cool climate North Coast Vineyards
Barrel fermentation and extended aging
Hugh Davies, Vintner

$25.99 US Dollars

If you have these two bottles in your local store, go out and buy them and give them a try. I want to hear what you have to say about each. Have someone label the glasses A and B and label the bottles A and B for a blind tasting. Do not look at which one you are trying. Try a blind tasting and see what you think. If you do not have these two bottles or cannot get them locally, just look for our next post and see what others have to say about the taste.


Tell me your thoughts, make them funny, keep them nice and educate me.
Bon Vin!
Veronica

100 Wine Blogs, 100 Days Blog 23 What is Cava?

23. What is Cava?

Cava is the name given by the Spanish to the traditional method process utilized to make sparkling wine. Champagne is to France what Cava is to Spain. The grapes traditionally used to make Cava are macabeo (the most popular white grape of northern Spain, contributing soft wildflowers and bitter almonds), xarel-lo (adds body, acidity and alcohol) and parellada (contributes delicacy and aroma) which are all grown in Spain in an area of Catalonia. Cava is a Catalan word meaning cave which is where the wines were traditionally stored. Freixenet is one of the most known producers of Cava in the United States, selling over one million cases of Cava per year.

Sounds good to me.
Tell me your thoughts, make them funny, keep them nice and educate me.
Bon Vin!
Veronica

100 Wine Blogs, 100 Days Blog 22 Gloria Ferrer, the First Sparkling Wine House in the Sonoma Carneros Region of California.

22. Gloria Ferrer, is the first sparkling wine house in the Sonoma Carneros region of California. What do I like about this winery? They have a great tasting tour, a picturesque terrace overlooking Sonoma Valley and they offer Spanish and local cheeses along with other delicacies available in their tasting room. Planning on getting married, you may not find a more breathtaking open view of the valley. Gloria Ferrer makes still and sparkling wines but I like them for their sparklers. Below is one of my favorites.

1998 Carneros Cuvee



93 POINTS - WINE ENTHUSIAST MAGAZINE
"A luscious and superior California bubbly, this blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay shows an irresistible richness of raspberry puree, cherry skin bitterness, vanilla, yeasty baked bread and something unidentifiably smoky-sweet. Yet it's bone dry. With a long, complex finish, it should continue to age beyond this, its tenth birthday."
- Wine Enthusiast Magazine, December 31, 2008


Tell me your thoughts, make them funny, keep them nice and educate me.
Bon Vin!
Veronica

100 Wine Blogs, 100 Days Blog 21 Three reasons why I like to visit Chandon Winery in Napa Valley, California.

21. Three reasons why I like to visit Chandon Winery in Napa Valley, California. They have a gift shop, they have art exhibits and they have great sparkling wines.

Maybe there are just a few more reasons why I like to visit Chandon. They are easy to get to, have plenty of parking, have a restaurant called etoile, have a cool tasting lounge and have a breathtaking view from their patio.

Thirty years ago, the founders of Chandon Winery came to Napa Valley from France. (Domaine Chandon, owned by the world’s largest Champagne producer, Moet et Chandon.)They decided to plant traditional grape varieties found in French Champagne including Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Pinot Meunier. Chandon Winery now makes both still and sparkling wines. One of my favorite sparkling wines that they make is:


etoile Brut

92 points Wine Enthusiast, December 2009
"The refined texture recommends this brut, which is mainly Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, with a splash of Pinot Meunier. It’s an elegant wine, rich in citrus fruits, green apples, raspberries, smoke and creamy yeast..."

Wine Tasting Notes from the Winery:



“Tiny bubbles elevate a complex bouquet of ripe pear, toasted brioche and apple compote. Lemon custard flavors caress the palate followed by notes of baked apple crisp and roasted hazelnuts. The elegant structure persists throughout the long, savory finish.”


Tell me your thoughts, make them funny, keep them nice and educate me.
Bon Vin!
Veronica

100 Wine Blogs, 100 Days Blog 20 How California Sparkling Wine started?

20. How California sparkling wine started?

We have all heard of Dom Perignon and Cristal but have we all heard of Schramsberg? Over in Calistoga, California in 1965, Blanc de Blancs was debuting at Schramsberg Vineyards. 100% Chardonnay grapes were used from Charles Krug Winery to make the first commercial sparkling wine in California using the traditional Methode Champenoise style of winemaking. In 1967, Blanc de Noirs followed using Pinot Noirs in the classic style. They then released the Reserve, their finest sparkling wine with over four years of aging. Now, their Reserve receives over six years of aging prior to release. The Davies family owns Schramsberg Vineyards and has produced sparkling wines with individuality, elegant style and grace for over four decades.

Visit their vineyards, winery and cellars high up in the hills. Enjoy their historic cave tour and tasting or if you are really serious about learning, attend their Spring Blending Camp in March or their Fall Harvest Camp in September.

Although I have toured their cave and have tasted plenty of Schramsberg sparkling wine, there is a new vintage in particular that I have yet to try; the 2002 J. Schram (1X750ml). They have aged this wine six years using an expensive process known as “ageing en tirage” to develop their finest flavor. Here is what they have to say about it:
“J. Schram epitomizes our philosophy to create a wine in which no effort has been spared and no care has been omitted. It is our very best Chardonnay-based Brut sparkling wine. Unbelievable score of 96 Points by Wine Enthusiast! December 2009.”

Priced at $100. What do the winemakers have to say about this wine?

“This wine delivers! Even with six years ageing en tirage, this wine's youthfulness bursts with aromas of fresh Granny Smith apple and juicy pineapple, followed by mature perfumes of freshly baked sourdough, roasted almond, and just a hint of graham cracker pie crust. A bright crisp entry leads way to generous flavors of candied grapefruit and glazed pineapple, with just a touch of key lime and mango. The mid-palate is rich and ever present, finishing with a tangy and lingering acidity. The 2002 J. Schram tastes deliciously today, and will continue to age and develop for decades to come."
Winemakers Keith Hock and Hugh Davies

How do I fell about Schramsberg wine? I will drink any Schramsberg, any day, anytime, anywhere at any age! If you have a forty-five year old Blanc de Blancs lying around, I’ll be right over.

Tell me your thoughts, make them funny, keep them nice and educate me.
Bon Vin!
Veronica

100 Wine Blogs, 100 Days Blog 17 How to Host a Wine Tasting in Your Home?

17. I would like to talk about wine parties and different ways to have fun hosting a party. In the last three blogs, we learned how to throw a great wine party, how to have your guests blend wines to make their favorites and how to identify wine aromas. This article will discuss how to host a wine tasting in your home. These are ways you can enjoy common interests without it becoming a boring ritual.

How to host a wine tasting in your home?

Invite your wine loving friends. Decide what type of tasting you are going to have. Will it be a sit-down tasting with tasting mats and tasting sheets? Will you have a spittoon, water and crackers available? Do you have a white table cloth if you are doing a sit-down tasting? It is better to see the color of the wine for observation with a white background. Do you want to have food or appetizers or should you have only plain crackers or bread to cleanse the palate? Remember to tell your guests that there is to be no smoking and for them not to wear heavy perfume or cologne. This can interfere with the tasting.

Do any wines need to be opened prior to the tasting? If so, have them ready to go. Some of the wines may need to be opened right at the time of tasting such as sparkling wines. You should pour about 2-3 ounces in each glass only. Do not pour a full glass since your guests will be trying several types of wines.

When you are pouring the wine and deciding the order of which wines to try first, pour white before red and light before heavy. Pour young wines before old if you are having a vintage tasting. Vintage tastings can be fun. You can try the same wine but at different ages.

Do you want to have a tasting that is blind? Your guests will taste from bottles that are inside sacks and will have either no information or limited information regarding what they are trying. It is fun if they try to guess which wine they are drinking, even if they are not experienced with wines. They can then get familiar in learning how to taste wines and differentiate one wine from another. It is fun to see who guessed right.

Remember that sight is used to determine the color of the wine, which is best against a white background. Smell is then used to determine the aromas the wine has captured by swirling your glass and taking in a sniff. Taste is used next to determine if you like the wine or not by swishing and swirling it in your mouth. The sense of touch is used to determine the texture of the wine. From all of this, you can reveal the overall feel of each wine and the qualities that make a great wine to you. Did any of the wines capture you?

Tell me your thoughts, make them funny, keep them nice and educate me.
Bon Vin!
Veronica

100 Wine Blogs, 100 Days Blog 16 How to Identify Wine Aromas?

16. I would like to talk about wine parties and different ways to have fun hosting a party. In the last two blogs, we learned how to throw a great wine party and how to have your guests blend wines to make their favorites. This article will discuss how to identify wine aromas. The next article will be about how to host a wine tasting in your home. These are ways you can enjoy common interests without it becoming a boring ritual.

How to identify wine aromas?

Another way to host a great wine party is to focus on the sense of smell. When we drink wine, we rely on several senses to learn about the wine. We first use our sense of sight to look at the wine’s color. We then use our sense of smell which may determine if the wine is drinkable. We use our sense of taste to determine flavors in the wine and sense of feel to determine the texture. These senses give us the color, aroma, flavor, texture and overall feel for the wine. Mastering these techniques makes us enjoy wine with a better understanding.

One of the ways that I like to learn about wine with my friends is to throw a “Wine Aroma” party. This can be done informally at your home, office or a local restaurant. Gather some friends and get started. First, you will need a “Wine Bouquet Aroma Kit” sold by Wine Enthusiast, or you can create your own scents by purchasing some of the items that are similar to the smells that you sense in the wine you taste. For instance, you can purchase a lemon, banana, dark chocolate, honey, green pepper, or any other item that you may want for your wine party. In the Wine Bouquet Aroma Kit, there are thirty-six wine bouquet aromas that are usually sensed in wine.

Wines will have characteristic scents that occur frequently differentiating a Sauvignon Blanc from a Syrah from a Cabernet. As you get to know the differences from training your memory and your sense of smell, you may be able to differentiate one wine from another.

For your Wine Aroma party, you can mix up the viles and have each person try to determine which aroma they smell. By trying to identify the scent, this trains your memory to know the difference between each scent and the aromas you may find in each different wine.

Another party idea is to open up some bottles of wine and try to determine which aromas are in the wine by matching up the scents in the viles with the scents in the wine.

Who’s got the best nose in the bunch? They should get to take home a bottle of wine!

Tell me your thoughts, make them funny, keep them nice and educate me.
Bon Vin!
Veronica

100 Wine Blogs, 100 Days Blog 15 How to have your guests blend wines to make their favorites?

15. I would like to talk about wine parties and different ways to have fun hosting a party. In the last blog, we learned how to throw a great wine party. This article will talk about how to have your guests blend wines to make their favorites. The next two articles will be about how to identify wine aromas and how to host a wine tasting in your home. These are ways you can enjoy common interests without it becoming a boring ritual.

How to have your guests blend wines to make their favorites?

There are kits that you can purchase that are on the market such as “fusebox” from Crushpad. The kit will come with the wine for blending. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Malbec and Cabernet Franc are included in the California wine kit. The kit will also come with a blending placemat, corkscrew, recipe cards, wine evaluation cards, pipettes and a graduated cylinder. There is a mystery wine that is included that has already been blended. Once you get good at blending wines and how the different variations of wine tastes together, you can decide with your guests what the mystery wine might be.

You do not need to use this wine kit if you want to purchase these items separately. You can decide on a region or area and purchase some wines you think would be best for blending. Keep in mind that you should purchase wines that are not already blended.

First, you will each set up your area on a table that can accommodate all of the participants so that you can comment and share your thoughts together. Each person will need these basics for any wine tasting: water and crackers or bread to cleanse your palate between wines, a spit cup, paper towels, blending placemat, a pen or pencil and five wine glasses. You will be evaluating each wine that you create.

You start by tasting each of the wines by themselves before blending to get a feel for what each one tastes like. You can then either use the recipe cards that come with the kit to make a wine or create your own blend. For instance, the 1997 Opus One from Napa, California is one of the recipe cards in my kit. It gives the blend that you can recreate with the wines that are provided. The evaluation cards let you rate the color, aroma, flavor, texture and overall feel for the wine. You can decide what blend you like best. You can compare your blend with other participants. This is fun, easy and can become a habit.

If you do come up with an incredible blend and you are feeling daring, you can actually contact Crushpad to create your wine. All of you can split the cost and end up with cases of your favorite blend.

At Crushpad, they let you actually go to their facilities and help in the creation of your wine. You can sort the grapes, help in the fermentation or even taste your creation throughout the process. It is a fun and exciting adventure!

Tell me your thoughts, make them funny, keep them nice and educate me.
Bon Vin!
Veronica

100 Wine Blogs, 100 Days Blog 14 How to Throw a Great Wine Party?

14. In the next four articles, I would like to talk about wine parties and different ways to have fun hosting a party. How to throw a great wine party? How to have your guests blend wines to make their favorites? How to identify wine aromas? How to host a wine tasting in your home? These are ways you can enjoy common interests without it becoming a boring ritual.

How to throw a great party?

Decide how many people you are going to invite. Do they all have an interest in wine? What knowledge do they have about wines? What type of party do you want to have? There are so many different choices when it comes to wine. You can have a wine party and pair it up with fruit, cheese, dessert, chocolate or even a full seven course meal.

When you decide what to pair your wine with, you will need to pick wines that match up and bring out the best in the wine and the food. You can also determine what you are serving by what time of day your party takes place. If it is late evening, you may want to pair it up with desserts or appetizers. If it is every evening you may want a full course menu. If it is in the afternoon, a brunch can always be fun or if in the morning a breakfast will do just fine. Many people think that they cannot have a wine party in the early morning. Get that out of your head. Early morning is the best time to taste wine. Your taste buds are alive and ready to take on some new blends of textures and flavors.

Where should you have your wine party?

You can decide to have your party in your home. You may want to rent out a club house or room in a restaurant for your party if it is larger than what your home can handle. You may want to have a smaller party in order to focus more on the wine and less on the party. One of my favorite ways to throw a party like this is something I call “house jumping”. Each of your friends will have a portion of a meal at their house. You can have a designated driver, and go from house to house having first the appetizer at one person’s home, the main meal at another, the dessert at another and split up the homes and the meals. You can focus at each home on one wine and one meal. This makes it fun for everyone to be able to showcase their wine and their meal and not have to worry about the entire menu. It also is fun to talk about in either a limo or van where you can all be transported safely to each other’s home.

So, that takes care of who, what, when, where and how to throw a great wine party. Next we will talk about how to have fun wine blending with your friends.

Tell me your thoughts, make them funny, keep them nice and educate me.
Bon Vin!
Veronica

100 Wine Blogs, 100 Days Blog 13 What should you drink your wine in?

13. I guess for some people, it doesn’t matter what they drink their wine in, as long as they get to have some. Well, after several wine blogs, I think you have gotten to know that I have a big pet peeve about my wine glass.

What should a wine glass look like?

Stem: A wine glass needs to have a stem. Not too long but just enough to be able to hold the glass without touching the bowl. If you touch the bowl of the glass, you will change the temperature of your wine through the heat of the palm of your hand, warming the wine unnaturally. There are some companies that are opting to leave off the stem. Although it may be a new trend, I tend to like a stem on my glass, just how I like my roses!

Bowl: The bowl needs to be able to hold my wine and should not be too small. Wine needs to have room to develop flavor.

Lip: The lip needs to be thin and tulip-shaped. For white wine, it should be a little narrow at the top. For red wine, it should be tulip-shaped but not as narrow as the white.

Champagne or Sparkling Wines

My Champagne or sparkling wine needs to be in a champagne glass. If it’s got bubbles, I want a thin tapered flute to hold the flavor and keep the sparkle.

Reds and Whites

Container: Yes, it has to be served in a wine glass. No plastic please. A wine glass needs to be clear. No etching, color or design on the glass. You need to be able to visualize the color of your wine while it is in the glass. There is one exception for me as far as design goes. I do not mind seeing a winery logo in a small area on the glass. These types of glasses are fun to collect and I find myself having favorites that I use at home. I use a Laird Family Estate glass in a Chardonnay style or a Robert Mondavi Winery glass in a Reisling style for my whites. I use a Kunde or Silver Oak glass which both happen to be in a Bordeaux style for my reds.

You not do always have to buy the best wine glasses either. Get that out of your head. What if you break one of those $80 crystal glasses? Riedel is one of the glass companies that many people are familiar with or have heard of but there are many glass companies that make a wine experience more delectable. In the end, you have to drink your wine in a glass that makes the wine taste good to you.

Tell me your thoughts, make them funny, keep them nice and educate me.
Bon Vin!
Veronica

100 Wine Blogs, 100 Days Blog 11 What makes a Wine Bad?

11. How can you tell if a wine is bad? What does corked mean? When can you send it back? These are only some of the questions that many first or even second-time wine lovers ask. What makes a wine bad?

There are several visual things you can look at before even purchasing a bottle of wine that may change your mind about your purchase. First, make sure the bottle is not sticky. This could mean that the bottle had a change in temperature or was stored incorrectly and that some of the wine may have seeped out. Look at the bottle to see if any wine is below where it should be; this also indicates that some wine may have seeped out. Make sure the cork is intact and is not protruding out. If the wine has been stored upright for long periods of time or even in direct sunlight, it can cause damage to the contents of the bottle. Check to see how the wine was stored. If stored properly, the contents are intact, the cork looks good, and the bottle is not sticky, you are ready for your next step.

How can you tell if your wine is “corked”?

2,4,6-Trichloroanisole or, better known as TCA, is a fungus and is one of the reasons why a wine may taste or smell bad. This is considered a “corked” wine. The cork containing the fungus will come in contact with the wine, causing the wine to be tainted. The taint is considered by most to be a wet cardboard or musty smell. The smell to me reminds me of when you leave your laundry in the washer and forget for a few days to put it in the dryer….yes, that smell.

If the wine tastes like vinegar, your wine may have a bacterial infection. No, antibiotics will not get rid of this. Don’t drink it. It may also just be out of date and/or stored too long or incorrectly. You know, you go to your friend’s house and they show you their many bottles of wines that were not meant to be aged. Many wines are meant to drink at purchase or within one to three years from purchase. Your friend’s wine is about thirty years old and it’s a Sauvignon Blanc which looks brown or a Pinot Noir which looks like rust. Rust might taste better. Throw it out. The nose alone may give you the hint.

Wines that have high alcohol or high acidity may not be bad. This may be a positive characteristic in the type of wine that you are drinking. Wines with crystals on the cork or in the wine do not mean that the wine is bad either; this is a sign of tartaric crystals which are harmless. Drink away. You may want to strain the crystals or decant them. Mold on the outside of the cork prior to opening is okay as long as it has not affected the wine on the inside of the bottle. You may have been storing this wine and the moisture could have caused the mold.

One of the things that I hate the most is when a restaurant leaves their wines open to oxygen and the wine becomes affected. Yes, aerate your wine. However, too much oxygen will make your wine taste flat and will turn it a brownish color. Aroma or flavor, forget it. Then, I hate it when they serve it in one of those “smaller” glasses that is “warm to hot” from just getting washed and they used “soap” of all things. How dare they!

I want my red served at the right temperature, in the right glass, without the taste of soap, with the right amount of oxygen exposure, and I want it to be the right color and have the right flavor and a wonderful aroma. I am a picky little creature! If you don’t like it, send it back. But, be nice.

Tell me your thoughts, make them funny, keep them nice and educate me.
Bon Vin!
Veronica

100 Wine Blogs, 100 Days 10 Where do you buy your wine?

10. There are so many ways that consumers are able to purchase wine these days. In the past, most would purchase everyday wine directly from a grocery store or liquor store. Now, we have the Internet for online auctions, specialty wine clubs, and we can even buy directly from the winery.

The grocery store may sell a small selection of wines or they may even contain a wine department that specializes in affordable drinking wines and occasional wine tastings. Wine specialty shops are able to help you with your selection and usually carry wines that are harder to get if you are looking for something special. They may also have wine tastings. Wine retailers in the US, such as ABC Liquors or Total Wine, may even have publications or newsletters they distribute to help you with your selections by describing the wine or region. They may offer a bigger selection and the wine tastings are fun.

Wine auctions can be located online and through different catalogs, publications or wine clubs. Try to find out the background of the wine prior to purchasing. Sometimes they will let you taste the wine during pre-sale and other times the wine may have no history. Find out if they liked the wine or not and if it comes in complete cases or if there is one or two bottles missing from the case. That may let you know that the previous owners may not have liked that particular wine. If you know your wines and the history of the wine, you may get by with a great deal.

Online, you can find some specialty wine clubs. Again, make sure that the wine is the quality that you are looking for. Some wine clubs offer bargain wines that they are trying to get off of their hands. Other wine clubs offer very exclusive wines that you cannot get anywhere else but in their club. You may want to check out the club in full detail prior to joining.

My favorite way to purchase wine is directly from the winery by joining their club and having shipments sent to my home. They give you privileges with the wine club, such as free wine tours or tastings and specialty wines that are only made for their wine club members. They also make you feel very special when you visit or call.

If you can, go to the wineries and try their wines and purchase the ones that you like. This is convenient if you are in the area because you are able to pick your favorites without having to worry about what it might taste like. In the US, this is common but in other parts of the world, you may not be able to buy directly from the winery.

You can buy directly from the winery online if they have a Web site where they sell their wines. Hopefully if in the US, you are in one of the states that are able to receive wine shipments. Florida used to be one of those states that were not allowed to have wine shipments, but now some of the counties in Florida are allowed to receive wine shipments.

Beware of shipping charges. The convenience of not having to leave your home might offset the shipping costs. The wine is shipped in crates on their side as opposed to the bottle being straight up unless you buy your wine by the case. What is best about buying this way? It is coming from the winery directly to you so you will know what you are getting and it is guaranteed to be winery quality.

Let me know of how you like to buy your wines. I am sure there are many other routes not mentioned.

Be nice, funny, or educational with your response!
Bon Vin!
Veronica

100 Wine Blogs, 100 Days Blog 9 What temperature do you serve your wine?

9. A wine must be served at the proper temperature for you to appreciate what you are drinking. There needs to be a balance between the acid, alcohol and the fruit. Why not get the most out of the wine that you are drinking instead of serving it too cold or too hot? If you serve your wine too cold, you hide the delectable flavors and aromas. It gives the wine an acidic lighter flavor. If you serve it too hot, it may taste too alcoholic or rough.

Sparkling wines (41-47 F), and whites and roses (44-54 F) can be served at a cooler temperature than light-bodied reds (50-55 F) which should be served at a cooler temperature than medium to fuller-bodied reds (55-65 F). However, fuller-bodied reds in the US still need to be served cooler than room temperature. What we consider room temperature here in the US (65-75 F) is not optimal for your wine. If it is stored in a warm area, grab an ice bucket with water and ice and chill the wine for about 30 minutes and longer if you are talking about sparkling wines, whites, roses, or light-bodied reds. Dessert wines or ports can be served at “room temperature” to bring out the aromas and flavors the wine was meant to have.

If you have a more tannic wine, it will need to be served at a warmer temperature than a wine with less tannin. If you have a French oak barreled Chardonnay, you may want to keep it a little warmer than a Chardonnay that was made only with stainless steel tanks. If your wine needs a little warm-up, put your hand on the bowl of the glass and that should do the trick.

And, what is it with some of the restaurants serving my wine in a hot glass?

Temperatures above are in Fahrenheit and quoted from Exploring Wine.

Let me know what temperature you like your wine served? In the end, it needs to be served at the temperatures that you prefer!

Bon Vin!
Veronica

100 Wine Blogs, 100 Days Blog 6 To Share or To Save

6. Would you be more apt to share a special bottle of wine with someone or save it for that special day?

Many people feel that they need to save their favorite wine. They think that they can’t just buy it and drink it! Wines do not need to be stored for long periods of time. Once a bottle is purchased, most likely it was sold ready to drink or it was meant to be stored for about 1-3 years. You can always store a few of those special bottles to open up for that “special occasion” or to taste it to compare the flavors as it ages. Get out those bottles and drink them up. Find someone who you feel is special. Let them know you care by sharing that untouched bottle of wine with them. You can do it!

Let me know what you think and be nice!
Bon Vin!
Veronica

100 Wine Blogs, 100 Days Blog 5 The Barrique

5. The barrique is a barrel used to store, age or ferment wine or spirits. Oak barrels from America, France, Italy or even Slavonia are used for wine. The barrique holds about 58-60 gallons. There are other types and sizes of container that can be used to store wine. The preferred method is to have enough influence of the oak to slightly affect the taste of the wine.

However, there are many other factors when it comes to making wine in barrels. First, you decide on which type of barrel you want to purchase and where you want to purchase it from. Some prefer French oak while others may prefer American oak. Then, you decide on the barrel maker or cooper. You will let the cooper know if or how you want your barrel toasted. You can have a light, medium or dark toast on your barrel. This will decide how much oak will influence the wine and whether or not the wine will have toasty aromas or flavors.

Will you put your wine in new barrels, some new and some old or old barrels? Will your barrels be 1, 2, or 3 years old or will a combination be used? Will all the barrels be toasted and will all of the wine go into toasted barrels or some of the wine? How much oak influence will you want your wine to have?

Purchasing a barrique can approximately range between $500 and $1200 for a new barrel with French oak costing the most. There are some barrels that are fancier on the outside than others. You can also decide if you want to reuse your barrels and how many times you will use them. You can then sell your barrels to someone else who wants to reuse the barrels to make a wine with less of an oak influence.

Tell me what you think and be nice!
Bon Vin!
Veronica