Fiona Muller asked:


The table is set , the food is almost ready but you are unsure what to serve with it and how you can be certain that you will impress your friends with the food, wine and atmosphere of your party. There are loads of reasons why wine will impress your guests but the best way to make sure that you are serving the best wine to your friends is to do a bit of research to find out: what will go well with the types of food that you are serving; whether the wine should be served cold, chilled or at room temperature and to make sure that any wine that you buy is of a good quality. A good quality wine will impress your friends or that someone special. But how do you know that it is a good quality wine? And how do you know that it is something that will suit you or your companions palate? A great way to find out more about wines is to go to a wine tasting event. Many companies hold wine tasting events across the country and they are a great way to get to know wine in more detail. One tip to be aware of is that some companies only carry a small selection of wines - so make sure you go to an event held by an independent retailer, that way you can be sure that there will be a wide range of wines on offer and not just wine from a particular region or country. At a wine tasting there are three things to look out for: appearance, aroma and taste. It is best to taste wine during the daylight hours as this ensures that you can get a good look at the colour of the wine that you are drinking. Look out for clear, bright colours. Secondly, make sure you are not near anyone with gallons of perfume on - you want to be able to smell the wine, not Chanel No 5. Thirdly, don’t eat whilst tasting wine - the flavour of the food will taint the flavour of the wine that you are tasting, if you are really desperate for food, have some dry biscuits. Another way to ensure that the wine that you serve is of a high quality is to buy a fine wine. This is a term used fo wines that have achieved status within the industry. They can be from on of the world’s finest producers or from a region which is well known for producing high quality grapes. The best way to get into buying this kind of wine is to seek the service of an expert. Many independent online wine retailers employ people who can give you this kind of help to ensure that the wine you buy really is of a high quality. And one last thing that will definitely ensure that the wine you serve will delight your guests is to make sure you serve your wine at the right temperature. Nothing is worse than a warm white wine! In general a white wine needs an hour in the fridge before drinking and a red needs to be served at room temperature. If you have forgotten to chill your wine and need to do it in a hurry a bucket of ice and water will bring the temperature down.

Destini

Michael Hutchins asked:


O.k., o.k, so you want to “hold your own” vs your wine snob friends when it comes to evaluating wine. Trust me, evaluating wine is not the “rocket science” that some of your connoisseur buddies would lead you to believe. However, learning some basic terminology and understanding wine characteristics will help you in knowing how to describe the wines you drink. Let’s start with appearance, color, aroma and bouquet. Wine should not appear dull or murky. Nor, should it be cloudy. A clear wine should not be flashing with light reflections.When it comes to colors, white wine should have shades of yellow, gold or straw.Beaware of white wines with an amber tone, as this is an indicator ofoxidation. A Rose can be a true pink, although sometimes it is accented with deeper reds or oranges. Stay away from brown tints of amber or violet.The variety of grapes used determines the color of red wines.Cabernet and Merlot may be deep red. Younger wines typically have purple edges, while mature wines will have bronze accents. The term aroma applies to younger wines. This is simple, what does the wine smell like? Typically, you’ll detect fruit and grape odors. It may take some practice for you to detect subtle differences. As a wine matures, it develops a fragrance when it comes in contact with the air. This fragrance is called the wine’s bouquet. If your wine smells almost like vinegar, it ranks very low in volatile acidity. When you swish wine around in your mouth and it is refreshing, almost giving you a little “zing,”the total acidity is probably just right. A wine with a flat, almost “soapy” flavor is too low in acidity. Sharp, or sour tasting wines are generally too high in acidity. Some wines are supposed to be sweet, other wines are supposed to be dry. If the wine you are evaluating has a sweetness to it when it should be dry, watch out! And of course, if the wine is dry when it should be sweet, be equally concerned. These are indicators that the wine’s sugar content is unsatisfactory. The term “flavor” has to do with how well the taste and the aroma of the wine work together. The “body” of a wine is probably the most subjective term used in evaluating wine. Words like “density,” “richness,”fullness,” etc. are all used to describe a wine’s body. The type and age of the wine will largely influence the description of it’s body. Light, dry wines will typically have a lighter body, while Burgundies and young Zinandels will be more full bodied. As some wines mature, they may transition from full bodied to softer bodied. The only way to determine what “body” means to you is to taste many wines. Aftertaste is a term that describes the taste of the wine in your mouth after you swallow it. Quality, mature wines have a lingering, clean, smooth aftertaste. Young wines typically are high in acidity due to excess tannin, and can leave an undesirable aftertaste.So, now you’re equipped with some basic terminology used in evaluating wine. However, when all is said and “tasted”, the key point in evaluating wine is simply whether or not you enjoyed it!

Rebekah