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Old 01-09-2019, 11:50 AM
Ozzy the dog Ozzy the dog is offline
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Join Date: Feb 2017
Location: Lancashire, England
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As you get more interested in wine you might find you taste drift more towards a dry wine. A good South African Chenin Blanc is one of my favourites.

Friends of mine are very keen on the wine they serve in their restaurant. In 2006 they asked me to make a 300+ bottle wine tower for their refurbishment. Whilst I only enjoy an occasional glass wine these days I did research the stuff with respect to storage etc and came across some interesting facts: -

To prevent a sparkling wine from bubbling up and out of the glass, pour a small amount in first and allow to settle, then add the remainder and it will not bubble as much.

All wines are essentially white. Red wines are fermented with the grape skins which extracts the colour from the skins. White wines are fermented without the skins so no colour is exchanged. If the wine is fermented partially with the skins you get a nice Rose wine which still contains the goodness associated with a red wine but without the weight.

A young wine has an aroma while a more mature wine has a ‘bouquet.’
‘Drinking to one’s health’ originates from ancient Greece where the host would take the first sip of wine to assure his guests the wine was not poisoned.

The Romans would float toasted bread in a glass of wine to absorb an undesirable taste or to neutralise acidity.

Women tend to make better wine tasters as they have a better sense of smell than men. You could say they are better at it because they smell better.

Allegedly, moderate, regular wine drinking can reduce the risk of heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease, stroke, and gum disease.

To taste a wine, hold it in the mouth for a moment or two and then either swallow it or, spit it out (into a suitable receptacle), the better the wine, the longer the aftertaste.

Wine grapes account for more acres planted in the world than any other fruit crop.

The Romans used to mix lead with wine to preserve it and to give it a sweet taste. It’s no wonder lead poisoning aided their decline.

A simple guide to choosing wine with your meal: -
• Heavy food, heavy wine – light food, light wine.
• Red meat, red wine – white meat or fish, white wine.
• Sweet food, sweet wine – savoury food, dry wine,
So (depending upon your choice of food) : –
• Start with a light wine and increase in weight with the different courses,
• Start light (in colour) and get darker,
• Start with young wine and get older,
• Start dry and get sweeter.

Vintage or Non-vintage? – Vintage wine tends to be of grapes that are sourced from a single year’s harvest whilst non-vintage wines are a blend of wines from two or more years. The vintage year is the year the wine was bottled and not necessarily the year the grapes were harvested.

If the Sommelier hands you the cork don’t smell it – it won’t reveal any secrets from the bottle. Look instead at the cork – the cork from a quality wine will usually have information such as the date on it. Also inspect it for drying, cracking or breaks.

A natural corked bottle should be stored lying on its side to keep the cork wet and so prevent it from drying, shrinking and letting in air. If an artificial cork is used or a screw cap it can be stored upright.

Red wine represents 55% of restaurant wine sales.

But the most important fact about wine is that you don’t have to understand it to enjoy it.
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