shijina asked:


The process of matching food and wine is highly subjective and inexact process.The old rules like having red wine with red meat and white wine with fish and poultry do not hold well these days because in this fast moving world experimentation regarding the match of wine with the food recipes and no one follows these hard and fast rules. The pairing could be on your own will and wish. You can hear the suggestion about the new mix and match suggestions on an everyday basis.Vineyard tours and wine tastings are a great way to try to try the different wines and learn more as to which wine you favor the most. Then you can begin with trying the foods and wines you favor the most. While pairing food and wine, the goal is synergy and power. The wine should not overpower the food, and even the food should not overpower the wine.Try and match the food with the wine in such a way that it flavors the food in a better way. Wine in itself tastes better than the food; wine has a similar significance as that of spice in food. Wine when drunk along with your food produces different sensations.A good match can bring out the nuances that can enhance the flavors and bring very good characteristics of both the food and wine.Good food and wine pairing is achieved when there are similarities and contrasts between the taste and intensity.Rule of thumb that will help in better pairing of wine and foodIn case you take a wine for a gift to a dinner party, then there is no need to worry about the matching of the wine with the food. A good wine to be taken as a gift to a dinner party is a very good idea. A grand party deserves better wine than hamburgers and chips.When you serve wines it is important that you serve lighter wines before full-bodied people. It is important that you serve dry wines before the sweet flavored wines. Lower alcohol wines must be served before higher alcohol wines.Try and balance the flavor intensities. Serve light wines with light food and serve heavy wines with heavy food.While pairing wines with the food consider the preparation of the food, serve the lighter wines with food that is steamed. The wines which have strong alcohol content should be paired with food that is grilled, roasted or sautéed.Pair cheese and wine. In some European countries the best wine is reserved for cheese course. Red wine goes well with mild to sharp cheese. Intensely flavored cheese goes well sweeter wine.So before you decide on the pairing of wines with the food course it is always important that you taste the wine.

Salma

Sandee Lembke asked:


Many of us have been to wine tastings at a winery or a local liquor store but have you ever hosted a wine tasting party at home?It really is quite easy. First you need to decide what kind of wine party you are going to host.Types of Wine Tasting PartiesVertical — A tasting with an assortment of the same wine, from the same producer and vineyard, across several vintages (the year the grapes were harvested). An example is to taste Chardonnays from 2001, 2003 and 2006 all from the same vineyard.Horizontal — Tasting various wines from the same vintage and ideally, wines from the same region and general style. The purpose of tasting one vintage is mainly to compare the different producers and vineyards. For example, Napa Valley red wines from 2001.Blind — This is where you hide the identities of the wine by either wrapping them or putting them in paper bags. The bottles are numbered and scored without the tasters having the benefit of label, price, producer or anything else.Guest Choice — This is the easiest wine tasting party to coordinate. Simply tell your guests to bring whatever kind of wine they choose. If you want to narrow them down a bit, be specific in your invitations, like “Bring a bottle of your favorite red wine, $20 limit” or “Bring your favorite bottle of Chardonnay, $15 limit.”Obviously, you can combine some of these. How about hosting a Blind-Horizontal wine tasting party?Setting Up Your HomeIf you have the room set up 3 wine tasting stations; one for red wine, one for white and a third for the dessert wines. At each wine tasting station, have on hand:A corkscrewMeasured pourers (serves exactly 1 oz. each time) Bottled water for rinsing mouths and glasses between tastesA container for rinse waterCrackers for cleansing the palette between tastesFor the white and dessert wine stations, an ice bucket to keep the wine chilledIf you have separate wine tasting stations, you can increase the number of guests that you invite because everyone can spread out and start at different stations as opposed to everyone crowding around a single station. Either way, limit the number of guests to no more than 15 people. You want to easily be able to discuss the wines and having more people makes conversation difficult.How Much Wine to BuyIf you are providing the wine yourself, keep in mind that a regular sized bottle of wine holds 750 milliliters or 25.4 ounces.Using the Flip Top Measured Pourers, ensures that every guest receives an exact 1 ounce measure every time you pour. For $16.95, you get 3 of these nifty little gadgets and because they have a flip top, you can also store your wine with theseIf you have 12 guests and use the pourers, you will only use half of each bottle (about 12 ounces) during the tasting process, leaving the rest to enjoy after tasting is over. Make sure you buy additional bottles of various wine to serve before and after the tasting.Scoring the WineHow wine savvy your guests are will determine if you score the wines during the tasting and if so, how you go about scoring them. Keeping things casual is usually your best bet because after all, it is a party. Typically, people do not want to be bothered with a complicated scoring process.A good way to keep it easy is to give your guests a simple scorecard which lists the names of the wines. Ask them to force rank the wines in each category. For example, in the white category there are 5 wines to taste. Each person will score those 5 wines; 1 being their favorite and 5 being their least favorite.At the end of the wine tasting, collect the scorecards and determine which wines are the party favorites in the wine category (reds, whites, desserts).Lastly, to keep things simple, offer your guests meat, cheese, fruit and nut platters that complement your wine choices. This is a very important step in hosting a wine tasting party. You do not want your food choices to conflict with the wines you have chosen.Hosting a wine tasting party at home is fun especially if you take the time to pick out some quality wines and pair those wines with good food. Your guests will appreciate the special care given when planning this type of party.

Sydney

Michael Hutchins asked:


Most wine lovers, at some point, have taken the opportunity to participate in a wine tasting. In many cases, the tastings were sponsored by a commercial winery. Sometimes local merchants who sell wine will have a tasting. Even cruise lines have wine tastings on many cruises. However, did you know that it’s quite possible to turn your home bar, or wine bar, into a very professional wine tasting event!  Of course your wine tasting doesn’t necessarily have to be “professional”, but i’m sure you’d like it to be authentic and fun. This article will provide some keys to a successful wine tasting.Home wine tasings should be rather small gatherings. Anywhere from 4-8 friends is perfect. Tell your friends to each bring a bottle of wine in a specific price range. Now, there are two schools of thought on the types of wine to bring. Some wine tastings feature all of the same type of wine, a Merlot, for example. Other tastings feature a variety of different types of wines. The single type of wine tasting is not as challenging to the taste buds, and therefore a better choice for an amateur event. Certainly, you want your wine tasting to go as smoothly as possible. Consequently, preparation is the key. Definitely have a quality wine opener on hand. It’s well worth the investment to purchase a heavy duty commercial opener. They are fast and effortless, and seldom damage the cork. They also are much more durable then standard corkscrews. A good, modestly priced opener has two prongs that slide down the cork and help ease the cork out of the bottle has you twist. Also, make sure you have a wine bucket handy with ice, or an electric wine chiller, in case one of your guest brings a wine that needs chilling. A wine cart is a terrific way to present all the bottles, and even serve the guests as it moves around the room.Make sure that you number the bottles and disguise the labels. Have appropriate stemware on hand for the type of wine you’re serving.  Instruct your guests to evaluate the wines using a 3 step process. First, have them look at the clarity and color. Wine should have an appealing look.After all, presentation is everything! Next, they should smell the wine. Try to get your guest’s first impressions, as they are always the most accurate. Wine aromas change the longer they meet with the air. Have your guests inhale deeply and describe what they smell. Finally, have them taste the wine. The glasses should be no more than 1/8 full. Have them roll the wine evenly around their mouths, taking in a little air. Air can enhance the flavors. It’s interesting to note that when evaluating the wines, your guests will seldom show a consensus on which wine is “best” .Remember, this process demonstrates that we all have different tastes. There are no “right” or “wrong” judgements. The rating system is simple. The wines are scored on a 1-10 basis, with 10 being the highest. Add up the scores for each wine and divide it by the number of tasters. The highest average wins.Wine tastings at home are not only fun, but they give you the opportunity to show off your wine furniture and wine carts. Also, they keep you experimenting, and this process will always introduce you to new “favorites

Brisa

Nicholas Tan asked:


Attending wine tasting events can be a great experience and a lot of fun, although a lot of people choose not to attend out of fear - or not knowing what to do or what to expect.  Even though there are no mysteries to wine tasting, there are some things that you should always remember.During a wine tasting event, women are always served before the men. Some tastings will serve you bottled water between tastings, so you can clean your mouth out and be ready to taste the next wine that is served.  When you take the wine, you should always handle the glass by the stem, to avoid heating it with your hands.  There will also be crackers and other goodies on hand as well, to help you cleanse your mouth between wine tastings. As you may already know, you can tell quite a bit about the wine by the color.  When you attend a wine tasting for the first time, you’ll notice that the glasses are clear.  This helps you to examine the wine better.  There should also be white tablecloth on the table as well, to help you see the color the wine more clearly.  You should never go by the name of the wine alone, as it can easily fool you.  You’ll also notice the more experienced wine tastes swirl their wine around in the glass before they taste it.  Although it may look weird, slightly swirling the wine actually helps to bring out the flavor.  Most wines have been aging in bottles for long periods of time, sometimes even years.  When the wine is swirled around in the glass, the swirling will release the flavors in the wine and bring them out when the wine is tasted.At wine tastings, you’ll need to look at the wine, smell it, then after swirling it around in the glass - taste it.  Smells play an integral part of the process, as you’ll get a lot more from the wine by smelling it first.  Wine has quite an intriguing aroma, which helps to bring out the taste that wine is so well known for.  Once you have smelled the wine, you should allow a few moments to take in the smell and think about the wine that you are smelling.Last but not least, you’ll want to know how to properly taste the wine.  Your tongue has taste buds in the front and the back, which helps to detect flavors.  Wine is full of flavors, and how you taste it will make the biggest impact.  When you put the wine in your mouth, you should always swish it around in your mouth for a few seconds, and allow the flavors plenty of time to dance on your palate.  Once your taste buds have started to discover the wine, you can think about what you are tasting.  After swallowing the wine, the aftertaste that remains in your mouth should give you even more of an idea as to the type and flavor of the wine.Before you attend a wine tasting, you should always learn as much as you can about the many different flavors and varieties of wine.  This way, you’ll have a better understanding of what you should look for in both taste and flavor.  Even though you may be new to wine tasting, you should never pass up an opportunity to go.  You’ll get a great experience in the world of wine tasting and get to experience wines that you may have never heard of before.

Regina