Join a Wine Club
May 30, 2008
Do you suggest I join a wine club? I really don’t have friends or family that are into drinking that much but I’m curious to learn and explore. Thanks for your help. - Linda in Boulder, CO
I highly recommend that you do join a wine club. Being curious is good but only if you satisfy it. For wine virgins, a wine club is a great place to hang out and meet like minded people that will happily take you into the fold and teach you everything you want to know. Also, one of the key benefits here is that you will be able to find out which wines are for you and weed out the others that aren’t.
Its the perfect way to find new wines on a consistent basis rather than having to go through a hit or miss, especially when your dropping good money for a bottle. Depending on how the wine club is set up, either every month or quarter the wine club will get together to where you get the chance to experience a selection of wines from all over the world. These can be whites, reds, rosé and maybe the odd sparkling or dessert wine.
This also will open you up to different wine varietals. Again though, you might not like all of them but this is a great way of wine tasting which provides a chance to enjoy some you’ve probably would have never found otherwise.So do it, simply do it Linda you might surprise yourself with how much you really, really enjoy it. Cheers!!
Wine Body
March 26, 2008
Hello over there Wine Virgin, I want some help with a wine tasting term. Wine body??? What is it???? I have a hard time understanding why they even call it that when all wines are basically flavored water with alcohol right? - Shooshoo in Amsterdam, NY.
My mouth is open at the sacrilege that my eyes have read… 4 quick sentences of wine hatred, all from a person named Shooshoo. Did your mother smoke and drink while she was pregnant? I’m not a wine snob, but what is wrong with you?
You know, it’s been a good half hour since I first read your question and I’m still pissed off. Fortunately for your sake, I had a couple bottles to spare and I’m indifferent enough now to answer the essence of your question for all the curious wine virgins out there.
So Shooshoo, are you ready to understand what this wine tasting term really means?
Wine body is used to allow the taster a means to discern the weight of the liquid and how it feels in their mouth. I’m sure your well acquainted with this process which is good for you so you don’t have to do the equivalent of mental gymnastics to grasp this concept. Franks and beans anyone?
Right now, “think” of the successive viscosity between skim milk, whole milk, and cream and apply it to the idea of wine body. Everyone is able to realize the difference of how these types of milk feel against the tongue and cheeks when you drink them. Something else to “think” about also is the higher the alcohol content, the more likely it will have a fuller body.
Consider it possible that if you have been drinking similar types of wine that they might just have a similar weight and feel to them. This in turn could lead you to the assumption that all wines are just “flavored water with alcohol” and no that one… the whole world over… has anyway of distinguishing them by using this supposedly, esoteric concept.
The quickest and simplest way I can suggest to experience wine body is to try different wines! So let’s broaden your scope a bit shall we?
1. Light body wine - Riesling
2. Medium body wine - Chardonnay
3. Full body wine - Cabernet Sauvignon
There, now do it. Go and get those wines, open all three of them and compare them side by side and you will understand exactly what I’m talking about and when you do…. feel ashamed, very ashamed… woe unto you Shooshoo, woe unto you!!!
Pigeage
March 18, 2008
Does pigeage still exist today as a way of getting the juice out of wine? - Jonas in Asheville, NC
Pigeage is a term for the traditional stomping of grapes in open fermentation tanks. This was practiced long ago and there are even ancient sites still around where you find stone pits that were hewn from the ground for this very purpose.
And yes for small scale wine making, the grapes are sometimes crushed by pigeage where the vintner uses their feet like a homemade wine press. But with the advent of mechanical pressers, these are used instead to mass produce wine on a very large scale and to increase their overall output of wine per ton.
Even so, pressing is not always a necessary act of wine making. If the grapes can be crushed by pigeage, the vintner is able to acquire a considerable amount of juice which is called free-run juice. Typically this free-run juice is of a higher quality than what you would normally find with press juice.
But what a fun way to make a few bottles with your friends just by hoping around in a bucket and stomping away. Hopefully for your sake you, you and your friends have clean-uninfected feet. Cheers!!
Refrigerate Red Wine Safe?
March 14, 2008
Can you refrigerate red wine? - Gary in Omaha, NB
Yes you can Gary and it’s even best to refrigerate red wine before you begin drinking it. To really enjoy your bottle, most red wines should be at served close to room temperature 55 to 65ºF which translates to about 30 minutes in the fridge. The caveat is that the red wines that are high in tannins and full bodied reds need warmer temperatures that help to soften these tannins and develop the flavor and aromas.
But again, lighter bodied reds are enjoyed better at slightly lower temperatures. You see, the slightly colder temperature slows the evaporation of alcohol, improving the it overall and making the wine smoother. Don’t over chill red wine as this will make the tannins in the wine taste rough and bitter.
The quickest way to chill red wine is in an ice bath. Now if you aren’t quite up to the task of being a complete lush one night and just can’t finish that opened red wine. It’s perfectly fine to refrigerate red wine after opening for a couple of days and this will give you a bit more time to drink it.
The worst thing a fledgling wino such as yourself could do is waste a bottle of wine. So keep that in mind and do not disappoint the Wine Virgin with such sacrilege!! I just might have to get the whip.
Wine Crystals
March 11, 2008
Last night I opened up a bottle of white wine and noticed what looked like wine crystals down at the bottom of the bottle. Are these harmless and what causes them to form? - Ada in Norwich, CT
You really shouldn’t worry about wine crystals and actually crystals in wine can denote the level of quality. I’ll explain. These are more common in red wine where they take on the color of the wine and are regarded as part of the sediment. In white wine they remain clear and some people worry that they may be glass.
Sediments occur in bottled wine and the wine crystals you saw are a type of sediment. The wine crystals are potassium tartrate and this is found naturally in wine. It will precipitate and form these crystals under certain conditions especially at prolonged storage under cold temperatures. The processing required to guarantee that these crystals will never form is generally considered to diminish the quality of wine.
When you buy some bottles, they may already have crystals that have formed. Others may develop crystals while being stored in cold weather or simply refrigerated for a few days. Wine crystals come in various shapes and sizes. Sometimes they resemble tiny grape nuts or small pieces of ruby glass and will completely dissolve in warm or hot water. But again these wine crystals are completely harmless.
Don’t have a fit the next time you see these crystals and do not try to shake the bottle up in the hopes that it will dissolve them. Gently pour the wine into a glass and have a care free moment of bliss knowing that the crystals will harm you not.
Corked Wine How to Tell
March 5, 2008
How do I know for sure that I have corked wine? This past weekend when I went to open a nice bottle of 2004, Santa Alicia Cabernet Sauvignon it tasted incredibly horrible and smelled like a wet basement after a flood. Is there anything I could possibly do to salvage this bottle? - Clara in Midland, TX
Unfortunately Clara, this is not much you can do other than toss it. Corked wine or corky wine is a broad term referring to a set of undesirable smells or tastes found in a bottle of wine. This can only be detected after bottling, aging and opening. The main cause of cork taint is the presence of 2,4,6-trichloroanisole (TCA) in the wine.
Corked wine containing TCA has a characteristic odor, variously described as resembling a moldy newspaper, wet dog, or your case “a wet basement after a flood” and gives it a corked wine taste. This makes the completely undrinkable and is what has happened to your cherished bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon.
Depending on how long ago you bought the wine you should return it back to the store you got it from. Most wineries completely stand behind their product and will work to ensure customer satisfaction. Getting a bottle of corky wine is something that is rare nowadays but this is the risk we take when we have our hearts desire set on the perfect bottle.
Wine Nose
March 4, 2008
Hello Wine Virgin, I would like to learn how to develop my wine nose. What do you suggest I do? - Matt in Nova Scotia, Canada
Wow, our first Canadian question… Matt, the first thing I would have to say in order to develop a good wine nose is simply sit back and relax. Try not to eating anything for two to three hours before you actually proceed with this process. Reason being is that the flavors from certain foods would interfere with you being able to fully appreciate the aromas and could possibly taint your first experience. What a horrible thing for a virgin.
Having a nose for wine makes the time spent well worth the effort and here is some information to help you get on your merry way. The nose or smell of a wine describes the perfume that is given off in the form of esters.
Esters are compounds produced by the reaction between acids and alcohol. This happens during the wine fermentation process and also as the wine ages. The contribution of esters to wine is an acetone smell that’s sweet and slightly fruity. Esters also contribute complexity to wine
Also, the nose is determined by the aromas and bouquets which are inherent to the wine itself. Aroma is the part of the smell derived from the grape such as a flowery nose. The bouquet comes from the aging of the wine in a cask or in a bottle e.g. a woody or nutty nose.
A wine virgin should judge the wine nose by sniffing the wine in an open glass. The nose of wine can range from very pronounced to moderate to subtle. A wine would lack nose if there was no discernible smell at all.
As a rule of thumb here are some guidelines for wines that have a nose which are pleasing: Fresh nose is a wine that is pleasant with a zesty charm. Flowery nose is a wine which is fragrant with an intense aroma of flowers that may have been involved during the wine fermentation process. A fruity nose is attractive and has a fresh quality with the smell of ripe grapes.
A fragrant wine nose is attractive and has a natural aroma while a spicy nose has a rich, herbal or spicy aroma. Clean nose is absence of unpleasant odors. Woody nose is a just as it sounds, a wine that has the scent of wood and finally a wine that has a yeasty nose can relate to how the wine was made, such as allowing the wine to remain on the wine lees which will give it certain hints of different flavors.
Now for wines with an unpleasant nose here are a few examples. A metallic nose is usually due or caused by metal contamination during wine-making or aging process. A moldy nose comes from the use of rotten grapes or stale, unclean casks or bottles.
Corky nose will give the faint smell of cork but not to be confused with corked wine. A sulfuric or matchstick nose has a similar smell of rotten eggs. An oxidized nose delivers a stale smell due to exposure to air and finally if wine has a vinegar like nose simply toss it due to it being unfit to drink.
Matt, follow these simple guide lines and let your nose show you the way. Cheers!!
Open a Wine Bottle Without a Corkscrew
March 3, 2008
Wine Virgin, you taught us how to bottle our wine so now will you please show us how to open a a wine bottle without a corkscrew? Thanks!!! - Sandy in Omaha, NB
Sandy, is that bottle of table wine just calling your name? Go get it and I’ll show you one of the easiest ways possible to open a bottle of wine without a corkscrew bottle opener. You will need a long screw, a screw driver and a claw hammer.
Screw the screw down into the cork. Sounds interesting doesn’t it? Now screw it down as far as you can without going through the bottom of the cork but not to far, you do not want bits of cork to get into the wine because that would ruin the perfect moment of savoring your first mouthful.
Then take the claw side of the hammer and work the cork out of the wine bottle. This is pretty simple to do, you have to be careful though in that you don’t get too carried away and crack the bottle. So when you’re in a pinch and need to open a wine bottle without your trusty corkscrew bottle opener, remember, young wino what The Wine Virgin has taught you.