Do you wonder what you call a wine glass or which one you should pick for which wine choice. If you do, then you might be interested in this information on 'drink-ware.'
Stemware is drink-ware that stands on stems above a base. Stemware is most often made from glass, but may also consist of ceramics or metals materials.
Stemware includes these glasses and their often decorated styles or variations:
- Brandy Snifters
- Chalices and Goblets
- Champagne flutes
- Cocktail glasses-Including martini glasses and margarita glasses
- Cordial glasses
- Wine glasses
For the sake of simplicity and relevance we are focusing this post on stemware related to the consumption of wine and champagne.
1 - Brandy Snifters are primarily used for after dinner drinks. Brandy can be defined as Pomace brandy, Fruit Brandy, or Grape Brandy. The brandy glass is also good for brandy, scotch and cognac. Serve your Brandy without ice (neat) or on the rocks .
When you are looking for a Brandy Snifter keep these points in mind:
- While resting in your hand it has excellent balance
- It has a large surface area for enhanced aroma and flavor
- The glass is crystal clear and silky smooth
- Durability for years of enjoyment
2 - A champagne coupe (or saucer) is a stemmed glass that is shaped like a saucer and is used for serving champagne. It's not used so much now for serving champagne. For awhile now it has lost its champagne serving appeal because the more broad surface of the rim allows the champagne to lose the bubbles (carbonation) too fast, unless you are the kind of person who doesn't need a glass and prefers the bottle anyway (use a glass bowl if this is you), this is more an appropriate choice for a daiquiris style of drink. If you prefer, you have the option of a white wine tulip glass, which has the shape of a tulip in that the rim is more narrow than the middle and it is closer to a champagne flute, but it is still considered a champagne coupe – without the disadvantage of a flute of ripping your back out from tipping the glass back for the last of your champagne. Interesting enough, this glass is preferred for sparkling beers.
2a - A Champagne Flute is also a stem glass but the bowl is tall and narrow instead. The design was created to play up the bubbles, aroma and flavour. Weddings are symbolic celebrations for this glass style.
Keep these things in mind with a champagne flute or saucer:
- You can hold the glass stem without touching the beverage, this allows for zero fluctuation of your beverage temperatures.
- There is such a thing as too small a stem diameter. Your goal is to carry the champagne glasses on a tray easily.
- Smoother surfaces let you enjoy the bubbles in your mouth, instead of in the glass.
Wine glasses:
3 - Red wine glasses have a wider, more round bowl. The rounder bowl lets oxygen mingle with the wine to alter the flavour and aroma. Yes, that is good – for oxidation to occur, because it allows you to appreciate your red wine experience more. Red wine glasses can be either a Bordeaux glass, which has a broader bowl for the fuller bodied reds, or a Burgundy glass with an even more broad and larger bowl yet.
- Pick a Bordeaux glass that is tall, so that the wine travels down the slope of your glass and goes immediately to the back of your mouth and the base of your tongue. Generally speaking, you will want a glass large enough for the wine to breathe and for the fragrant aromas to mingle. Some people like a glass that is large enough for their nose to fit in while they sip their wine. For those people it is simply a matter of comfort.
- Pick a Burgundy glass that is also large as well, but has a shape more like a bowl. The cup will be more 'squat' and the wine has to travel a faster changing slope before arriving into your mouth and being deposited on the tip and sides of your tongue. This Burgundy bowl lets you appreciate the strong aromas while also focusing on the flavours of the brighter and lighter components of the wine.
3a – White Wine Glasses are as varied as butterflies. They come in a variety of shapes and sizes. You'll notice that they are a designed with a smaller size and a bit of a closed shape so that the wine stays cool longer. The surface area and volume ratio helps to minimize the contact of air between wine, making it cooler-longer. The glass shape allows you to taste the wine on the sides and front of your mouth – where you'll experience the sweet or dryness of the wine. Crisper wines are the result of a good white wine glass. The wide mouth glasses promote a faster oxidization which alters the flavor of the wine. A smaller mouthed glass reduces the surface area and therefore, the oxidation rate. And for those sparkling wines, an yet smaller mouthed glass is used so that the wine is sparkling longer. Now THAT'S A CELEBRATION!
If you really want to get into the swing of things, try to collect one set of each glassware that is relevant to your wine choices so that you can fully experience the exquisites tastes that accompany good stemware choices.
Now that you know what you are doing, can you identify these glasses?
Filed under Champagne, Getting Started With Wine, Wine Gifts, Wine Glassware, Wine Tasting, Wine Wisdoms by on May 15th, 2007. Comment. 
When we were considering whether or not to join a wine club of the month, we had no idea whether it as a good or a bad idea, so we put together a list of questions and started hunting for one we liked. One thing we did notice was that we were drawn to the more visually pleasing sites and they weren't always the ones with the best value, so here is a list of questions that you may want to ask yourself (and the wine club) when you are deciding to join a wine club.
1. Why should I choose this particular wine of the month club?
Look for customer testimonials, selection and variety, educational information and opportunities, social function and wine tasting opportunities, regular (informative and current) newsletters, but mostly you are looking for information on customer satisfaction. If you can't find it look for the contact information and phone or contact one of the reps to see if they have anything published you can see.
2. Are the wines selected be of the premium quality type, selected by worldwide experts, whose selections are based on the more traditional factors of complexity, aroma, and international tasting honors received, or are they standard choices that are easily found in most places?
3. Are you receiving a variety each month, or will there be duplicates? And What guarantees can you get if you don't like the wine you are sent?
4. Will you be receiving a full-size bottle of wine (750ml) or a sample-size bottle of wine?
5. Is the packaging top rate, in a way that prevents spoilage and breakage, with safe delivery guaranteed? Is it shipped timely? Shipped outside of the USA-(if so, how, since most wine clubs do not allow this because of the higher risk of spoilage and breakage)?
Hint: Know that deliveries to PO Boxes, FPO or APO Boxes are not normally allowed, because of the alcohol content, most policies state that you are required to be 21 years of age to sign for a delivery of alcohol, or to become a member of a monthly wine club, which therefore ethically and federally regulated requirements mandate that deliveries of alcohol can only be made to residential or business addresses-for enforcement purposes (it's not a plot to make your life difficult because there exists a high rate of teen alcohol consumption with lax rules on this). Banning or restricting home deliveries may be part of a local ordinance or a state law. Communities that do not want to completely ban home deliveries can and will impose restrictions.
6. Are the selections the latest available or leftover from not so great previous selections? In other words, are the monthly selections hand-picked (by season?) And, are you allowed to choose your own selection?
7. Always ask the question about guarantees, membership cancellation, length of memberships, and refund restrictions or (any) additional costs. And, don't forget to inquire about any discounts, too!
These questions helped us weed out the good grapes and kept us from the sour ones! We hope you find them useful too!
Filed under Wine Of The Month Club by on Apr 18th, 2007. Comment.
For the Wine and Spirits enthusiast, there are a variety of Wine tasting Classes that are taught both locally and on the internet. We found these classes to be at all levels and all varieties. There are several classes for people new to wine.
These classes generally cover topics for people who feel intimidated about shopping for wine, who are confused by all the different labels with the names of places and grapes they never heard of. These beginner wine classes are developed to take the mystery out of your wine experience. In its most basic format, the classes guide you beginning with the grape at the vineyard to the final bottle of wine at your table. You are shown how to taste a wine, how to understand the different wine labels, and how to properly serve your wine. These classes are normally offered in a relaxed atmosphere so that a beginning wine lover doesn't feel intimidated and they usually offer a chance to give feedback, so no matter what experience level you are, everyone can find a benefit in one of the classes offered for people new to wine – even the more experienced wine lovers!
For us, there was a local wine store that offered these classes and we walked to the class. We recommend you take a cab, because you are tasting the wine, not just looking at it. Also check to see about any fees involved if you register and take one of the classes.
Additional classes taught at a more beginning level may include information on how to identify a wines key components, how experts score a wine, proper wine serving temperatures and how to identify wine styles. you may also be interested in learning about comparing and contrasting Old World and New World wines as well as learning about the regions they were made from. Please take a cab or other transit if you cannot walk to the class.
If you are interested in learning an appreciation of wines that are made from the most well known grapes and some of the lesser known grapes from around the world, or learning about the origin of grapes, then you may want to look into a varietal class. If exotic wine names frightened you before then you won't be afraid after you take one of these classes that explains in a class, tasting, seminar type format the grapes and wines and growing regions and their significance of the world. These classes teach you about diversity of flavors and their cultivation. We found them to be an excellent resource and made some great friends too!
Once you master those things you may be interested in a class on Appellation. In appellation classes you'll learn about wines from the world's growing regions and the classic wines produced from them. These wine regions are appellations and are recognized by the wine industry and countries from all over the world as producing wines with a distinct uniqueness and character.
If you were ever confused by labels of wines from around the world that often don't list the grape varietal name, Or, does list the varietal name, but not where the wine came from, then you will enjoy getting information from your local winery or wine shop on where to begin. We started our trek with information online, but found the classes to expedite our learning, friendly and easy to participate in and made valuable connections to both people and new wine experiences.
Filed under Cooking, Getting Started With Wine, Wine Classes, Wine History, Wine Storage, Wine Tasting by on Mar 18th, 2007. Comment.
We were invited to be guests of honor at an event and it required making a speech and a toast. We knew it had to be special so we did some research and came up with these quotes that we thought were worthy of sharing with you – for your next event . . . a TOAST!
May you never lie, steal, cheat or drink.
But if you must lie, lie in each other's arms.
If you must steal, steal kisses.
If you must cheat, cheat death.
And if you must drink, drink with us, your friends.
- Not attributed
My only regret in life is that I didn't drink enough Champagne.
- John Maynard Keynes
There comes a time in every woman's life when the only thing that helps is a glass of Champagne.
- Bette Davis
In victory, you deserve Champagne, in defeat, you need it.
- Napoleon Bonaparte
I only drink Champagne when I'm happy, and when I'm sad. sometimes I drink it when I'm alone. when I have company, I consider it obligatory. I trifle with it if I am not hungry and drink it when I am. otherwise I never touch it – unless I'm thirsty.
- Lily Bollinger
Three be the things I shall never attain: envy, content, and sufficient Champagne.
- Dorothy Parker
Meeting Franklin Roosevelt was like opening your first bottle of Champagne; knowing him was like drinking it.
- Winston Churchill
Remember gentlemen, it's not just France we are fighting for, it's Champagne!
- Winston Churchill
Gentlemen, in the little moment that remains to us between the crisis and the catastrophe, we may as well drink a glass of Champagne.
- Paul Claudel
In a perfect world, everyone would have a glass of Champagne every evening.
- Willie Gluckstern
Why do I drink Champagne for breakfast? doesn't everyone?
- Noel Coward
Too much of anything is bad, but too much Champagne is just right.
- Mark Twain
I had taken two finger-bowls of Champagne, and the scene had changed before my eyes into something significant, elemental and profound.
- F. Scott Fitzgerald
The brewery is the best drugstore
- Proverb
He is believed to have liked port, but to have said of claret that, "it would be port if it could!"
- Richard Bentley
A cask of wine works more miracles than a church full of saints.
- Italian Proverb
Claret is liquor for boys; port for men; but he who aspires to be a hero must drink brandy.
- Samuel Johnson
I've made it a rule never to drink by daylight and never to refuse a drink after dark
- H.L. Mencken
Even though a number of people have tried, no one has yet found a way to drink for a living.
- Jean Kerr
Frenchmen drink just like we used to drink water before Prohibition.
- Ring Lardner Jr.
Truth comes out in wine
- Pliny the Elder
I am sparkling; you are unusually talkative; he is drunk
- Not attributed
What contemptible scoundrel stole the cork from my lunch?
- W.C. Fields
In water one sees one's own face;
But in wine one beholds the heart of another.
- French Proverb
There were so many to choose from that we wrote our speech around these quotes and really had a crowd pleaser when it was finished. OK, the honored guest was us at our wedding and the speech was by us, for our friends at the ceremony who were there and the friends who could not be there. Let us know if you have a favorite quote or special speech that you really like!
Filed under Champagne, Wine Wisdoms by on Feb 18th, 2007. Comment.
If you are experiencing headaches from red wine, you will be interested to know that it may be the histamine in the wine instead of an allergy to red wine. Red wine has a higher concentration of histamines than white wine does. Red wine contains 20- to 200-fold more histamine than white wine. Histamine-induced headache is a vascular headache, and nitric oxide probably plays a role in its causation. If you know this is an issue for you, then you can reduce the headache impact on you by taking an anti-histamine before you drink the red wine.
Who hasn't had a stubborn cork! If you are trying to get a cork out of a bottle that just will not cooperate then you may consider putting the bottle neck in hot water for ten seconds. When the glass expands your cork becomes easier to remove. Keep in mind that heat changes the flavour of wine-so no more than ten seconds and only the bottle neck!
Flavour and taste are completely dependent on the person, but in our experience, the meals that use foods that are cooked by grilling, roasting, broiling and baking are best cooked and served with oaked wines. While meals that are steamed, poached, braised, or cooked in clear liquids work best with white wine or a red with a more subtle oak taste. Again, I would emphasize to not become dependent on recipes and to explore your tastes. Don't go cheap if you don't like the essence of cheap in your food, because although the alcohol is cooked away, the essence of the flavor of your wine choice stays.
If you have a light colored carpet and . . . oops . . . you spill your red wine on it then grab a bottle of white wine and pour it over the top of the red wine stain. The white against the red takes the red out. A professional carpet cleaner gave us that advice and it works! It has to do with the acid content, which is why citrus based removers work. Also, a mixture of lemon juice and white vinegar works too – but watch out that you don't only dab the stain so that the vinegar odor does not linger.
If you want your wine to chill faster, the freezer is not the place to store it. Try adding 1/4-1/3 cup salt to the ice bucket. You'll find that the cooling process speeds up by about fifty percent faster than water from your faucet.
Two to three weeks is almost too long to store a bottle of wine in the refrigerator. After that period of time, it can begin to lose the flavor that makes it your favorite wine. For champagne and sparkling wine, the time from opening to serving goes down to 24 hours, or overnight. After 24 hours the bubbles go away – The 'fun' is gone!
Do you need to send a wine gift. If you do then make a wine basket and include specialty foods, or wine related accessories like stoppers and corkscrews, crystal ice buckets, tongs, wine totes and bags, crystal glasses, as well as a plethora of other wine-related ideas available to you with a little online research!
Filed under Cooking, Getting Started With Wine, Wine & Food Pairings, Wine Gifts, Wine Storage by on Jan 18th, 2007. 2 Comments.
It's holiday time and you can bet that wine events will run the gamut this season. Many people feel intimidated by the idea of not knowing what to do at a wine tasting event and so they decide to avoid the event instead of risk going to something unfamiliar. Don't miss out on the festivities this year simply because you don't know what to do at a gathering for wine sampling. Besides a great opportunity to learn you'll be missing all the fun if you do! We were afraid at first too, but got hold of these simple tips and there was no turning back after that!
There is an etiquette that should be observed and it's the same as the customary opening of a car door – It is Ladies First. Women are served before men. Chivalry isn't truly dead, now is it!? In order for you to rid your mouth of the previous wine flavor, you may be offered a bottle of water. Use the water as a mouth rinse instead of a beverage so that you can more fully experience and appreciate the flavors of your wine choices.
Heat has a tendency to affect the wine flavor, so hold the stem of your glass and not the glass itself when you are taking your sip.
If you are a smoker then you'll want to avoid smoking at the event so that your taste sensations are at their peak. The same rule applies to colognes or perfumes. Try to steer clear of additional 'odors.' This courtesy will also be appreciated by others at the event. Mints or gum can throw off the taste too, so use caution when you introduce other tastes and smells into your wine tasting experience.
I always wondered what people were looking for when they held their glasses up to the light. Now I understand that it is not an empty gesture full of pomp, but rather an attempt to determine the body of the wine. You may want to carry a cloth handkerchief or napkin with you so that you can wipe your glass to keep it free of smudges and so you can see clearly through it when you hold it up to the light and check the body of the wine. You should also be able to hold your glass against a white table linen to check the body of the wine. You are looking for variations in color. White wine really are varied in color. They may have variants from yellow (notice I didn't say white) to green and to brown.
Red wines can have variations from light red to brown red and, with age, are often lighter. Here is something fun that we learned. Do a rim test. A rim test is when you check the color of the wine by tilting the wine to the glass rim. Younger wines display a more purple tint and older wines are more of a dark (or brown) red shade.
If you want to appear to know something about wine then you will swirl the wine in your glass so that the aromas and flavors of the wine are released. If you think of it as if you are cooking and by performing this task, releasing the flavor into the air to add flavor instead of into your food ingredients, then it makes great sense.
Once you have swirled your wine, you'll want to sniff your wine. Smell and taste often combine for the full effect when we experience the taste and what our senses perceive of it. It is an age old battle of the senses and their perception of one another. Now you have two choices when it comes to smelling (or sniffing) your wine. You can either sniff your wine in one long sniff or a short sniff followed by a longer sniff. Once the smell hits your senses, think about what your senses are feeling (or experiencing). You'll want to let the aroma rest on your nasal senses first – without tasting.
Tongues taste everything from sour to sweet, so you'll experience a variety of taste sensations. First you want to know what your impression of the wine you are tasting is and second you want to know what your impression of the wine aftertaste is.
Once you take that first drink, swish it around in your mouth for a second or two so that all your taste buds experience it and can know the full flavor and then think about and decide if the wine is either heavy or light, rough or smooth. Second, what aftertaste stays in your mouth after you swallow. Did it last long and did you enjoy it – or not. Whether you swallow or spit out the flavor to taste another, try not to stand too close to the spit bucket because you might get 'spotted,' if you do and it's not polite to watch someone spit, plus it doesn't look very nice and you might be tempted to make a face (completely innocent on your part, but if accompanied by any outburst that even resembles, "Oh yuck," then it is you who are being rude, not the person discharging their wine from their mouth by spitting – take my word for it as the voice of experience).
And one more thing you may want to do. If you know in advance what types and kinds of wine are going to be at the wine tasting you might want to either go online and research those wines, or go to the bookstore and look up a good book on the subject so that you are familiar with what they are known for in regard to taste and flavor.
Enjoy your time at the tasting! And by the way, we celebrate all the holidays that our family and friends enjoy so whatever the season means to you, we hope you have a beautiful memory to cherish forever – Salut!
Filed under Getting Started With Wine, Wine Tasting by on Dec 12th, 2006. Comment.
After mentioning the fact that I have a slight allergy to the sulfites in red wine and that it has affected our wine choices and our participation as wine enthusiasts to a certain degree. This post is an attempt to help people understand what sulfites are and how they may be able to either substitute or seek out alternatives to their wine drinking so that they are not discouraged. I simply decided that a slight allergy would not hold me back from learning about something that was both intriguing and interesting.
If you suspect that you have any allergies, I strongly advise you to seek the advice of a doctor – A simple allergy test in the office that consists of a light prick of a pin head that has a dot of that substance (you may be allergic to) on it to your forearm which will show whether you have an allergy. The complete allergy test takes about 45 minutes. Better to know than to guess. That's what we did to find out.
According to the Wikipedia definition – "Sulfites occur naturally in all wines to some extent. Sulfites are commonly introduced to arrest fermentation at a desired time, and may also be added to wine as preservatives to prevent spoilage and oxidation at several stages of the winemaking. Organic wines are not necessarily sulfite-free. In general, sweet (dessert) wines contain more sulfites than dry wines, and white wines contain more sulfites than red wines. In the United States, wines bottled after mid-1987 must have a label stating that they contain sulfites if they contain more than 10 parts per million. The government entity that monitors wineries in the United States is called the ATF. The ATF has determined that the wine classified as sulfite free is when the levels of sulfites are under 10 parts per million, or ppm.
In the European Union an equivalent regulation came into force in November 2005." Sulfites can be found on garlic, onions (Yummy), growing plants and grapes. There really is no such thing as sulfite free.
Sulfites have been added to wine for a thousand years or so. Sulfur candles were used by the Romans and by the Greeks so that their two handled, narrow necked ancient jars, that were used to hold wine or oil, and their wine barrels were sterilized.
Oxygen can damage wine, so sulfur protects and assists in the prevention of organisms growing in wine. In this way, wine lasts longer-is preserved and allowed to age so that the flavors can develop. Wine without sulfates equals vinegar in just a few short months. Eighteen months – and unfortunately, that includes the time from being bottled.
Some factors that you may be allergic to the sulfites are if you get headaches after you drink wine – especially red wine. Not just a slight headache, but a more severe one. Red wine routinely has a higher sulfite level than white wine. You can also tell if you have a poor wine by the smell. The wine may possess an odor that resembles rotten eggs. This is an indicator that the sulfites were not used correctly in the wine. There is little agreement as to this theory, but it still remains valid in our opinion. If you have an allergy this would make you very suspect of the wine.
If you are careful you will notice whether your wine choice has, natural sulfites, or has added in sulfites. Added in sulfites have a higher level of sulfites and can cause an allergic reaction, but you may not experience a reaction with wine that has natural sulfites. You'll want to also remember that a natural sulfites will not last as long as a wine with added in sulfites, so don't wait to drink it.
If you buy a wine that has natural sulfites in it you should have been warned to drink it quickly and not store it by the label warning or by the winery itself. Pay attention to labels or special instructions or information. In order to produce the natural sulfites, a winery must maintain a meticulous level of cleanliness and sterility, so that the organisms that normally grow and will turn a wine to vinegar are kept to a minimum and to help prevent contamination from harming their wine.
Unless you actually go into the winery, it would be difficult at best to know what procedures any one winery used. So you may ask, if you are at the winery, what process is used. If you are given the information that they use a layer of carbon dioxide on the wine to kill off the bad microbes that depend on oxygen. Or that, Nitrogen gas is used for Bottling. Also if they talk about the sterile filtration methods they have in place, then you can feel fairly confident that they are taking every step available to them to create the best atmosphere for their natural sulfites wine. Take note, too that the bottle of wine is stored on its side – especially important when you get it home – and chilled.
Filed under Getting Started With Wine, Wine History, Wine Storage by on Nov 28th, 2006. Comment.
If you were not brought up in a family that drinks wine then you may have began drinking wine as an adult – Just as we did. For us, it was a decision we made because it helped us mingle in social situations, we enjoyed it with our meals and we learned that there were some potential health benefits (you are on your own with this one – I have a slight allergy to sulfites so our research was a bit more involved in this area and included conversations with doctors. You may want to do the same as we are not doctors-nor do we claim to be!).
-Absolutely no one on this planet can tell you what type of beverage or flavor, especially when it comes to wine, that you will appreciate, like, and enjoy. Our taste buds are what would rule that conversation! For instance, if you are add lemon to your fish you might like a dry, yet fruity white wine, perhaps a Pinot Grigio, or if lighter is better for you then a White Zinfandel might suit you better. On the other hand, if you like your coffee black your preference could be for a heavy red wine that has more tannin.
In order to find out what your true favorite is you can start in a good restaurant, or ask about local tastings in your area. Order a glass and get a different choice each time you go out so that you are experiencing a variety and not just limiting yourself to one or two selections. You may find, as we did, that the variety and knowledge base is greater at a tasting – even though they are often there to sell their own product, they have a far greater 'reach' when it comes to product knowledge and make better 'guides' in the world of wine choices, plus it's fun to go. Try to figure out in your travels and sampling what it is about certain types or brands that you like best and try to gain more information about those that you particularly like or enjoy. We enjoy going in the Spring and Summer the best because not only are there more people out and about, but distributors are more willing to talk about what is realistically going to be produced, or has been produced, they have more knowledge of the growing season so they are more helpful in that way to you.
We discovered that both red and white wine have benefits. There are benefits from a white grape and benefits from a red grape. Research on brands of wine is based on all wine, not just a brand of wine. No matter what your financial tastes are, the benefit is in drinking wine – be it red or white. One thing we watch out for is sulfites in wine. I have a slight allergy so that fact often affects our choices.
Being wine enthusiasts we enjoy a glass of wine with dinner and hate standing in front of a large selection wondering which one to pick, so we began by calculating a wine budget, then taste-testing until we decided which preferences we had. What was most important for is, though was that it was something we enjoyed so we took our learning slow and serious. You can too.
Filed under Getting Started With Wine by on Oct 28th, 2006. Comment.
At it's most basic – wine is either red or white. Wine is one of the most popular drinks since – well, no one has determined an exact date yet, however, certain historical information does exist. Seeds and residue of wild grapes have been found and dated back as far as 350,000 years ago (at Terra Amata, modern day Nice in France). Earlier finds also include Franchthi Cave in Greece, dated to ca. 12,000 years ago, Grotta del ‘Uzzo, Sicily, mid-eight millennium B.C., and in various places in the eastern Mediterranean and near east that range between the 11th and seventh centuries B.C. These finds were among human settlement remains. It is presumed that the grapes were used for food and (perhaps) also for wine.
Evidence such as seeds, empty skins, stains and residue, possibly from wine, were found in earthenware jars at sites dating from the Neolithic Age (8500-4000 B.C.). Though this doesn't necessarily indicate (as fact) that the contents in these jars was wine. The more popular theory is that wine was fermented from pictorial and literary sources of times coming later. What is certain to have been the earliest wine (dated ca. 5400-5000 B.C.) was found at Hajji Firuz Tepe, in the Zagros Mountains of Iran. What was discovered there did contain residues of grape juice AND resin from the terebinth tree (known as a preservative used in ancient wine-and still used in Greek retsina to this day) and was found in earthenware vessel-like containers.
More than likely, wine production was an accident, therefore it was more of an "discovery” than an “invention.”
Wine enthusiasts base classification on a variety of factors, including but not limited to; color, smell, taste, place of origin, alcoholic strength, vinification (Process/es used for turning grapes into wine) method/s and also style. Classifications based on style consist of: Sparkling, Fortified, Cooking, Fruit, Table, and Dessert.
The main four factors leading to the growth of wine production include:
1 - Knowledge and practices that were part of the information and technology shared between cultures coming into contact with one another. Indians were said to be the best producers because they learned the process from their forefathers.
2 - Wine became a part of cultures in both secular and religious practices. I know of one altar boy who just loved to prepare the communion cup at his church.
3 - Wine was developed as a profitable agricultural product and trade commodity.
4 – Markets emerged to represent wine cultures. A modern example of an emerging market is related to Mark Twain, after successfully publishing his book, "Celebrating Jumping Frog of Calaveras County," he left California for New York in 1866 to promote those wines in the East. Both white and red wines experienced a sharp increase in sales just one year after he arrived-1867.
Entire industries were spawned with the 'discovery' and development of wine. To honestly appreciate the aroma and flavors of different types of wine, use different types of wine glasses. For Example -
Sparkling Glass - designed with a tall and more narrow bowl so that it holds carbon-dioxide for a longer time and lets you appreciate and enjoy the sparkling or bubbling that goes with wine.
Red Wine Glass – designed with a more defined round bowl. The larger opening lets you dip your nose into the glass, letting you truly appreciate the distinct aromas of red wine. There are many brands of glasses available in the market.
Wine become a very important commodity, and more cultures began to learn and develop methods for its production, making it more common throughout the ancient world. Wine remains an important commodity today. Cheers!
Filed under Wine History by on Sep 28th, 2006. Comment.
Originally, cheese was developed as a way of preserving milk. Now cheese is recognized as a gourmet food, . . . at least some cheese is.
Cheeses from different regions have their own characteristic texture and characteristic taste because the bacterial fermentation conditions for cheese is carried out differently. Cheese makers can use fresh or pasteurized milk, skimmed or whole milk and they can also add coloring. Different temperatures and different pH levels for the fermentation all affect the taste and texture of the finished cheese product/s.
Taste in Cheese is truly personal. Many people do not like foreign cheese. Often French people have never heard of the majority of English cheeses. As a child my grandparents lived on a large acreage and a variety of animals and crops including cattle and they made their own milk, butter, creams and cheeses. I learned to love the warm tastes of all these things as they were freshly created in my grandma's kitchen by hand. We were summertime guests after school was out for a 6-8 week visits every year just to help out at the ranch. For some it would have been like a prison, but for us it was a holiday filled with sunshine, horse-back rides, and working in the fields with our family and an ever changing variety of ranch hands. Growing up we often had milk straight from the cow, or goat or both, although we would not do that today because of the risk involved with bacteria, but we never had a stomach ache as a result of it. As a matter of fact, drinking milk that way created flavors that only nature could dream up.
Camembert and Brie are made from pasteurized and unpasteurized milk. Look for cheeses made from unpasteurized milk. They do not bear any resemblance to the distasteful and dull pasteurized varieties. Unpasteurized cheese is not suitable for very young children or the elderly. According to doctors, Cheeses in their unpasteurized, or raw, form are a delicacy that could be dangerous to a pregnant woman and her unborn baby. Unpasteurized cheese and other raw dairy products and meats could be contaminated with listeria, a bacteria that can cause serious infections and complications during pregnancy. Cows can carry harmful bacteria, salmonella, listeria, and E-Coli. For the cheese lover this idea is criminal.
Even though we were taught about how to make your own, English cheese is what we grew up with. For my husband, it was a shot and a chunk of Brie. Lancashire cheese is mild, very pale and very crumbly. It is best cut from a whole cheese. Shrink wrapped Lancashire cheese is fine for cooking, but not a lot much else. You can only keep Lancashire cheese for a maximum of three or four days. If the taste did not deteriorate with exposure to air, this would not be the case. Because it has a very high melting point, Lancashire is the best cheese for making toasted sandwiches. My favorite at home on rainy days was tomato soup and a melted cheese sandwich.
Red Leicester cheese is another favorite. This has a nutty taste and should have cracks in it. This is another cheese that is infinitely better when freshly cut. Red Leicester has better keeping properties than Lancashire plus it works well on toasted sandwiches too.
Stilton cheese is made in Leicestershire and has blue veins running through it. Your choices include mature, extra mature and vintage Stilton. Once you have developed a taste for the vintage cheese then you can never go back to the ordinary varieties carried in supermarkets.
The extra cost for the vintage cheese is not huge, but the taste comparison is unbelievable. You can recognize a good stilton by the rind. It should be around one centimeter thick, crusty and a deep creamy yellow color. The cheese itself should be deep yellow with plenty of blue veins running through it. Most people do not eat the rind on Stilton, but to some, it is good too. I'm sure most will find it edible.
If you eat vintage stilton and drink a ten or twenty years old port with it you are getting a taste combination that can only be described as euphorically wonderful. You will judge the quality of the port by how far up the taste goes into your sinuses. You might enjoy a 1991 Noval LB with a vintage Stilton. Incredible! The sensation made my eyes glaze over, the taste went so deliciously far up my pleasure thermometer.
Of course, like any food, tastes are as varied as people so with that in mind, go ahead and have a slice. Cheese parties can be a lot of fun! Tell us what your favorite is!
Filed under Wine & Food Pairings by on Aug 22nd, 2006. Comment.
