Throughout history wine has been very popular. In many different places throughout the world there have been many types of wines created over the years. Some of the most well liked wines are the white wine, red wine, the table wine, as well as the sparkling wine and the cooking wine.
Within these various wine groups there are also are sub types to them. Nevertheless, because these different elements are so numerous and varied to mention and may simply confuse the beginner; we will go into the four most popular kinds of wines.
The White and Red Wines
In terms of the popularity of wines, the red wine as well as the white wine are constantly on the top of the rankings. Numerous individuals throughout the world enjoy drinking these kinds of wines during as well as after having dinner. In the majority of European nations, it is very common for the people there to drink red and white wines. As a matter of fact, numerous Europeans would not think of their meal as complete if they don’t have a glass of wine.
The question often arises of; what determines a wines color? The answer is quite simple; the absence or the presence of the skin on the grapes determines a wines color. To produce white wine the skin of the grape is removed prior to extracting the juice.
On the other hand, the production of red wine happens by allowing the red skin or the grapes to come into contact with the juice while the fermentation process is happening. Because the majority of the flavor is concentrated on it’s skin, it is typical for red wine to have a stronger flavor in comparison to white wine.
Because white wine has a flavor that is light it usually goes well with meals that are subtly flavored as well as meals that are light. In contrast red wine is more ideally suited for meals with a stronger flavor.
The Sparkling Wine
An additional type of wine that is popular is the sparkling wine. Sparkling wines have a higher level of carbon dioxide which is manifested in it’s bubbly consistency. There are some wines that have much lesser amounts of carbon dioxide which is in direct contrast to sparkling wines that are purposely injected with carbon dioxide during the process of fermentation to give it a fizzing effect when consumed.
Numerous people refer to the sparkling wine as champagne style wines. Because this kind of wine fizzle is very much like there champagne counterpart, numerous people choose to use this kind of wine in place of champagne during times of celebrations.
The Table Wine
Another kind of wine is the table wine which has become very popular over the years. In this type of wine there is a greater content of alcohol compared to other kinds of wines. In the USA, the level of alcohol content of table wine if just within the 8.5% and the 14.5% content range. However, in the regions of Europe, table wines typically contain more than 14% alcohol.
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/wines-and-spirits-articles/beginners-guide-to-the-numerous-types-of-wines-539297.html
About the Author:
Listen to Korbin Newlyn as he shares his insights as an expert author and an avid writer in the field of food and wine. If you would like to learn more go to Wine Accessories advice and at Homemade Wine tips.
By Jodie Smith
We’ll start this article by asking the questions: “Why is wine so confusing?” and “Does selecting a wine intimidate you?” If your answer is yes, then you are not alone!
Most people have been to a liquor store or a restaurant and been absolutely overwhelmed and intimidated by the sheer variety and number of selections offered. Herein lies the problem: too many choices.
So what is the solution?
If you’ve just begun to learn about boutique wine, even choosing a bottle may seem intimidating. The variety of choices among wine varieties, brands, labels, and prices seem almost infinite. Here are a few tips to point you in the right direction.
Discover Your Palate
Many people know when they like a wine. The difficult part is understanding why. What do you like about it, and how do you communicate your feelings? Is it light or full bodied? Is it tannic or not? What are tannins anyway? Is it fruity or sweet? Do fruity and sweet mean the same thing? And, if you try and like a Shiraz, does that mean you will like all Shiraz?
All these questions can be answered by tasting, and then tasting more. Yet tasting is not enough as you must pay attention to what you are tasting. Even better, in my opinion, is to learn with comparative tastings.
Consider the Chardonnay grape. It is grown in Mornington Peninsula, Victoria as well as in a region in Margaret River, Western Australia. Tasted side-by-side, you may think they have little in common, yet they are both made with the Chardonnay grape.
When you taste them side-by-side, you easily begin to get the idea of full body versus light body, and fruity versus mineral.
From such tastings, you may form a preference, or you may like them both, simply wanting one or the other depending on the occasion or your mood.
So given the above, here are some tips on how to choose a wine that is right for you:
Step 1:
Decide whether you want a white wine, red wine, sparkling wine, dessert wine or fortified wine. This will narrow down your choices and give you some direction.
Step 2:
Have a think about your wine tasting preferences
As a minimum, decide whether you prefer a dry vs sweet wine. (Dry is the term used to describe the absence of sweetness in a wine.)
If you are a little more knowledgeable on your wine preferences you may like to decide on which of these wine characteristics you prefer:
1. Low Tannins vs High Tannins: Tannins are a vital ingredient in wines, especially red wines. It comes from the stalks, skins and pips of grapes. Tannins in a young wine produce a bitter, puckering taste on the palate.
2. Short Palate vs Long Palate: The “length” of a wine is the amount of time the sensations of taste and aroma persist after swallowing. Usually, the longer the better.
3. Low Acid vs High Acid: Acids of various types are present in wine, and are essential to the wine’s longevity and also to your enjoyment. Too little can affect the wine’s quality and too much can spoil the wine. A higher acidity makes the wine more tart and sour tasting; whereas a low acidity results in flat tasting wine that is more susceptible and spoilage. It is that quality that makes your mouth water and your lips pucker, and without it, wines (and anything for that matter!) taste pretty flat and one dimensional. However, when acidity is present in the right quantities, it is the element that makes all of the other flavors in the wine stand out, including the undertones of fruit, spice and herbs. Note that when people discuss cool years and warm years in regards to the vintage, one of the most important elements they are alluding to is the acidity level in the wine. A cooler year will produce wines with more acidity whereas a warm year will produce wines with less acidity The flavor in wine that you would describe as tangy, sharp, refreshing, bracing, bright, crisp or zingy is the acidity.
4. Light Bodied vs Full Bodied Understanding the differences between a light-bodied wine and a full-bodied wine is about as simple as understanding your preferences for milk. Think of light-bodied as skim milk and full-bodied as cream. In between you have 2%, and right there you have your body range.
What makes it even easier, is that a wine’s body is directly proportional to its alcohol content. On every wine label you’ll notice a percentage of alcohol by volume, just as with any alcoholic beverage. Note how it applies to body:
7.5% - 10.5% indicates light body
10.5% - 12.5% indicates medium body
12.5% and over indicates full body
no oak vs heavy oak
Wines might be stored in oak containers, usually to impart extra and more complex flavours. French, American and German oak barrels are widely used in Australia, but are getting quite expensive as oak trees become scarcer. Oaky Describes the aroma or taste quality imparted to a wine by the oak barrels in which it was aged. Can be either positive or negative. The terms toasty, vanilla, dill, cedary and smoky indicate the desirable qualities of oak; charred, burnt, green cedar, lumber and plywood describe its unpleasant side.
Step 3:
It’s important to purchase wine from stores that take proper care of their inventory. Extreme heat or cold, direct sunlight, and dramatic temperature fluctuations are enemies of wine. Also, before you buy, make sure the wine is filled up to the neck of the bottle, the cork is not pushing out of the bottle, and there are no signs of leakage.
Step 4:
There’s no reason not to explore all of the wines that Australia has to offer in all its diversity. Don’t stick only to the well-known varieties like Chardonnay or Shiraz — experiment with other whites like Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling and Gewurztraminer or reds like Zinfandel, and Pinot Noir. Also, try examples of a variety from different wine regions to understand how regional conditions affect wine character. Expose yourself to every type of wine.
Step 5:
When you find a wine you really like, consider buying wine by the case (12 bottles). Most wineries will offer you a 10% or 15% wine discount when you purchase a case of wine or more.
Step 6:
The ultimate goal of wine buying is to buy wines that taste good to you. Just because a merchant, friend or writer says a wine is good doesn’t mean you’ll like it. Conversely, don’t shy away from a wine because someone else trashes it. The only arbiter of good taste in wine is you.
And most importantly, be open to possibilities and then, make note of them.
About the Author: Article by Jodie Smith of http://www.boutiquewineries.com.au a leading online cellar door offering uniquely different wines from over 120 boutique wineries. It makes finding the hard to get wines of Australia’s small wineries easy.
Source: www.isnare.com
Permanent Link: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=58690&ca=Food+and+Drinks
A common wellspring of confusion is wine literature. Many excellent wine books are currently available to lay readers. Most of them praise the vintages of individual regions, debate wine’s subtle food harmonies, or relate pleasant sojourns among the vineyards enjoyed by the authors.
Although always delectable reading, they rarely spare space to rehearse the ABC’s of wine. When an occasional writer does discuss the subject in grade-school terms, he leaps so abruptly to the post-graduate level that the novices among his readers are left completely befogged. Wine volumes heretofore published have thereby helped to create the need for the present one.
From the various sources available, largely gourmets and writers in Great Britain, but also in recent years from those of the United States, have also come many of the rules which surround fashionable wine selection and service. These rules did not come from the wine countries of Europe, where the average citizen consumes his wine as freely as most Americans gulp their ice water. The ordinary Frenchman, Italian, Spaniard, or Portuguese, to whom wine is among the staple necessities of life, is happily ignorant of its abracadabra, and if he ever were told that red wine should not be served with fish, would regard it as so much nonsense.
American winegrowers have done little to clear up the maze. Most of them would be happier if their product could be freed of the enigmas and paradoxes which hinder its broader sale. Yet few would be willing to strip wine of its noble traditions and its undeniably valuable romantic atmosphere. Half-hearted attempts have occasionally been made to depart from the time-honored, but ambiguous, wine-type nomenclature inherited from Europe, only to be frustrated because the Old World wine names have become permanently anchored in the English language. And European vintners, whose principal customers already know how to buy and enjoy their merchandise, lack any motive to change their perplexing labels.
All of this confusion helps to make wine more intriguing than if it were simple. It also helps to account for the growing numbers of wine snobs. For on a subject as tangled as wine, almost anybody can expound safely, because hardly anyone else knows what is right or wrong. What is wine snobbery? Let’s first get the terms straight by distinguishing among wine experts, wine connoisseurs, and wine snobs.
A genuine wine expert is one who can readily distinguish among the world’s principal wines without reading the labels-a Tocai, http://www.wineaccess.com/wine/grape/Tocai/, from a Trebbiano, http://www.wineaccess.com/wine/grape/Trebbiano/. The number of such people is surprisingly few. You can become one, if your senses of taste and smell are keen, by sampling a sufficient number of wines with an open mind and a retentive memory, and by learning, at the same time, about the principal wine grape varieties and how wines are made.
To be a wine connoisseur, it is not necessary to be such an expert. Surely you are already a connoisseur (that is to say, a critical judge) of steaks, roasts, coffee, cheese, and also, perhaps, of liquor and cigarettes. In fact, we are all connoisseurs of the things we especially enjoy in food, drink, and entertainment. We are not shy about discussing our likes and dislikes among such items. Why be suddenly shy about our likes and dislikes among wines? Your taste is unique just as your thumb print is. You alone are the judge of what pleases your discriminating palate. It should be maintained that you are a connoisseur of wines when you have sampled enough of them to know which ones please you and which do not.
You are a wine snob, on the other hand, if (a) you look for a wine’s faults instead of its virtues, if (b) you behave like an expert when you are not, if (c) you are influenced by a wine’s price instead of by its flavor, if (d) you turn up your nose at bottles that lack famous names or vintage dates, if (e) you belittle wines simply because they do not come from Europe, or, in general, if you drink the label instead of the wine, whether it be a Merlot or a Viognier. More information on these grape types can be found at http://www.wineaccess.com/wine/grape/Merlot/ and http://www.wineaccess.com/wine/grape/Viognier/.
From the above distinctions it is readily apparent that while wine snobs are not necessarily experts or connoisseurs, you are likely to find many connoisseurs and some experts behaving like wine snobs.
Yet there is no particular harm in wine snobbery. In fact, it is fun, and might even be recommended as an easily acquired mark of gentility. Other cultural endeavors get welcome support from art snobs, book snobs, and music snobs, to name a few kinds. All of them enjoy themselves and derive benefit there from.
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/food-and-beverage-articles/wine-snobs-versus-wine-connoisseurs-550228.html
About the Author:
Sarah Martin is a freelance marketing writer based out of San Diego, CA. She specializes in the history of wine, legendary vineyards, and Viognier. She especially enjoys a great glass of Trebbiano. To learn more about different grape types, please visit http://www.wineaccess.com/wine/grape.
By Jodie Smith
It can be amusing sometimes to read the labels on the back of wine bottles… you’ll see wine given some very interesting and amusing descriptions, for example “This wine has an aroma of fresh citrus, pear and orange blossom” OR “This wine has a hint of white truffle chocolate, spearmint, spice and black pepper flavours”.
While I always enjoyed a good wine, I never quite understood those wine descriptions. I used to wonder where those descriptions came from. How could these flavours come from fermented grapes?
That is, until I learnt how to drink a wine so that I could fully appreciate its aromas and flavours. Now I understand that by smelling and tasting a wine in the correct way I can smell the aroma and taste the flavours described on the label. You just need to open your mind to it!
Most people associate the look-smell-taste wine drinking style with wine judges/experts. But with a small amount of knowledge and by following their example, you can easily improve your experience of wine. Drinking the wine is only a small part of the experience!
Here are 3 simple steps you can use to maximise the enjoyment of your wine drinking experience:
Step 1: Look
It’s important to have a good look at the wine. If the wine doesn’t look good you may not want to drink it. Make sure you’ve got good light, a white background and clean glassware.
White wine should be clear and sparkling with no sediment or haze. The colour of the wine will be affected by the grape variety, whether or not it was aged in oak, the sugar content and bottle aging. But generally as it ages, the wine becomes darker in colour; changing from straw, to yellow, to dark yellow, to gold.
The colour of red wine varies depending on the grape variety. It will also depend on the quality of grapes; length of time the wine was fermented with the skins and bottle aging. Young red wine is generally a vibrant “purple” colour and as it ages the colour will change from plum, cherry, brick red, to tawny.
Step 2: Smell
The smell of a wine can be very interesting and can be almost as enjoyable as drinking the wine!
When you pour a wine, only fill the glass to a third full. The best wine glasses are those that close in towards the top to trap the aroma. Hold the glass by the stem, and give the wine a swirl to coat the glass with wine. This will release the full aroma. Then, stick your nose into the glass, breathe in and concentrate on what you can smell.
When you first start doing this, you may want to compare what you smell with the winemaker’s description on the label. It’s interesting that you really can smell the aroma as described by the winemaker, such as “fresh dark cherries and plum, spice, white pepper and liquorice”.
Step 3: Taste
Sip your wine. Hold it in your mouth for a moment, and then swallow. Look for:
- Fruit flavours or other recognisable tastes
- Wood flavours – has the wine been fermented in oak?
- Nutty flavours – from yeast aging
- Acid tastes – which contributes to the crispness of the finish
- Palate length – does the flavour start big and then drop away in the middle palate? Or is it long and lingering?
- Astringency – can you detect involuntary “puckering” of your mouth as the tannins hit your tastebuds?
As you can see there is a little more to drinking and enjoying wine than simply swallowing, especially if you want to gain the maximum pleasure. Try the look-smell-taste method and compare the difference.
This is also a great topic of conversation at a dinner party… see who can pick the aroma and taste that the winemaker suggests on the label!!
The bottom line though is: drink the wine that you enjoy. The best way to find out what wine you enjoy the most is by tasting as many wine varieties as you can and make a note about what you thought.
About the Author: Article by Jodie Smith of http://www.boutiquewineries.com.au a leading online cellar door offering uniquely different wines from over 120 boutique wineries. It makes finding the hard to get wines of Australia’s small wineries easy.
Source: www.isnare.com
Permanent Link: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=58689&ca=Food+and+Drinks
To the seasoned wine drinker, it is easy to forget the daunting early days of a new wine connoisseur. There are so many countries, colors and years of wine to choose from! At the most basic level, wine is classified by red (which is high in tannins) or white (which is lower in tannins). Tannins - natural preservatives within the grape skin - are what give wine its dry, strong taste. Red are exposed longer to the grape skin when fermenting, and so have more tannins, and hence a stronger taste.
The best way to ease into wine drinking is to begin with the sweet white wines, such as pinot grigio. From there, you can make the transition to red, beginning with blush wines. Blush wines are mixes of cabernet sauvignon or merlot and another white wine. After you develop your sense of the blush wines, you can transition into the full-bodied and diverse reds. The best red wine to begin with is pinot noir, followed by the lighter cabernet sauvignons and finally, merlot.
What are the best wines for the right food? Historically people have used the rule that red wine goes with red meat, and whites pair well with poultry and fish. From a modern perspective, it’s much more complicated than just one rule. Light-bodied wines work well with lighter foods and full-bodied wines work well with heavier, more flavorful foods. Saltier foods tend to pair well with red wine.
Beginning your wine journey is one that will never end. Your tastes invariably will change with time. All that truly matters in the wine world is that you enjoy the wine, regardless of its price, year or color!