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Wine recommendations and comments from Dean and Lisa Foster, Vintage Connections Wine Educators and Consultants. Most wines are available in Southeastern Pennsylvania and are priced between $10 and $20. Up-coming "wine events" available in the Pottstown Tri-county area are listed.

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Wine Tips - Wine Appreciation Basics: Red and White

Cheers from Vintage Connections 

 Thanks to Brad and Christy at Pinnacle Ridge Winery for hosting our wine seminars at Pinnacle Ridge Winery.  On  May 12 and 13 we're offering Wine Appreciation Basics: Red and White, and on May 26 and 27 we're offering Wine Appreciation Basics: What's in a Name?  Each class is two and one-half hours and is $35 per person.



For more information on these classes or to register, email us at Vintageconnections@Comcast.net, call us at 610.469.6164, or see our
Vintage Connections Wine Blog.



Back to the Basics 

Several of our readers and friends have asked that we go "back to the basics."  We suspect, and they confirmed, that we've taken our Wine Tips and our classes too far down a narrow road, too often writing and teaching about wines that appeal to too few of our readers.  So, for the next few weeks we're going back to the basics and writing (and teaching) about basic reds and whites.  

This week, and for the next few weeks, our newsletter and Grapevine blog will provide the very basic basics about the most popular reds and whites.  Our up-coming classes at Pinnacle Ridge Winery will follow the same theme, expanding on and providing tasting examples to illustrate (and enjoy) what we're teaching. 

Basic Wine Tasting and Appreciation



The following are samples of what we will be discussing and tasting in the "Red and White" class. 

Before we get into the wines, we want to review a few wine tasting and appreciation basics.   

It's best to taste your way from light to bold and dry to sweet(er) wines.  If you are tasting both reds and whites, this means beginning with the dry whites (see below).

We suggest pouring about two ounces of each wine.  This will provide three sips of each wine and leave room in your glass for swirling and smelling (see below).  Most people will be able to taste 5 or 6 wines without consuming too much alcohol (not just too much to drive, but too much to really taste the final few wines).  Better Wine Glasses

Begin by "looking" at the wine.  Examine the color and clarity of the wine in the glass, ideally against a white background (napkin or piece of paper).  The wine should be clear, except sometimes for some sediment from unfiltered wines.   

Most importantly, smell the wine. "Taste" is actually about 80% smell so it's extremely important to smell, appreciate and enjoy the aroma before taking your first sip, and then again in between each sip.   

Many experienced wine tasters swirl their wine and stick their noses right down into the glass.   

Finally, taste the wine.  Take a small sip and move it around all areas of your tongue and mouth.  Swallow (or spit).  Unless you ate some bread and drank some water immediately before tasting, most likely you had residual flavors in your mouth from you last meal, drink, smoke, or whatever.  Don't judge a wine, or decide if you like or dislike a wine, based on the first sip. 

Swirl and smell again.  Take a second sip and keep it in your mouth.  Don't swallow (yet).  Swish the wine around inside your mouth.  This provides provides even more aroma and taste.   

Now, you can either spit or swallow.  Wine judges spit so they stay 100% sober as they taste many, many wines at one sitting.     

We encourage a third "swirl and sip" to confirm your impression of the wine.

What did you like and not like about each wine? 

Bread and water clean the tongue, palate, and other surfaces inside the mouth.  But food, especially cheese and other fatty foods, and salads and other foods high in acid, will greatly affect the taste of the wine.


Basic Whites - Part I 

The most common and popular whites include chardonnay (white Burgundy if from Burgundy France), sauvignon blanc, and riesling. 

Chardonnay is sometimes fermented and/or aged in oak, sometimes it comes "naked" without any oak influence by fermenting and aging only in stainless steel.  Many people who think they don't like chardonnay actually don't like the oak, which in some chardonnays can be overdone (we think) and result in an offensive "woody" wine.  Even light oak is unappealing to some, while a light, moderate oak influence imparts a vanilla, buttery taste to the wine.  We suggest smelling and tasting a naked chardonnay, followed by a lightly or moderately oaked one, and concentrating on the differences and the aspects of each that you like and dislike.   
barrel room 
Alcohol content can also influence your enjoyment of the wine and chardonnays are often made with 14% or more alcohol by volume.  We prefer our chardonnays, usually, around 12% ABV.  But, there are always exceptions if the higher alcohol is balanced with enough fruit (and oak influence).  Taste both a lower (12%) and higher (14%) chardonnay, both either oaked or naked, and see if you can taste the difference.  Which do you like better?

Next week, a little bit about sauvignon blanc and riesling, and maybe one red. 

Fun Fact

Chardonnay is planted in more wine regions across the world than any other wine grape.  It is relatively easy to grow, has good yields, and its taste varies greatly based on soil and winemaker style (oak or not, alcohol content). Chablis is chardonnay grown and produced in Chablis, France.
(wikipedia)

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