You have to spend a fortune or spend hours reading labels to make good wine selection for your guests. Here is a brief wine guide for beginners.
Wine styles
Although the basic winemaking is always the same, every wine has a unique flavor, depending on a number of factors, including the type of grape and the conditions under which the fermentation takes place.
Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc grapes make white wines.Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir grapes make full, rich reds. Merlot grapes produce lighter, softer red wines.
The six types of wine:
Red: Includes Bordeaux, Burgundy, Cabernet, Chianti, Merlot, Petite Sirah, and much more.
Sparkling Red: Includes Brachetto, Cabernet Sauvignon, Gutturnio, Lambrusco and Syrah / Shiraz.
Solera: Includes Malvasia delle Lipari, Marsala, Moscatel, Palomino, Pedro Ximenez and Porto.
White: Includes Chablis,Chardonnay, Frascati, Goldmusketellar, Meursault, Muscat, Riesling, Vidal Blanc and many more.
Sparkling White: Includes Champagne, Moscato d'Asti Spumante and more.
Pink: Includes Busuioaca de Bohotin, Lagrein Rosato and Rose.
Most red wines with a little aging, some for as long as ten years. Most red wines are only about two years after they set broken down into the bottle. Most whites who benefit on the other side, not from aging (except champagneand sweet dessert wine.)
What kind of wine should you choose?
Although there are guidelines, there are no fixed rules, because wine pairings really are a matter of personal taste. The rule of thumb for selecting wine to complement your meal is a light wine with light food and choose a full-bodied wine with hearty, robust dishes.
Red wine is traditionally with beef, veal, ham pairedPoultry, pasta, lamb and pork. For poultry, ham, pork, beef, try a Beaujolais or a red Zinfandel. For pasta, beef and lamb, consider a Merlot or Cabernet Sauvignon.
White Chardonnay complements pork, poultry, seafood (including shellfish) and strong cheeses. For appetizers, mild cheeses, desserts, ham, lamb, poultry and seafood, you could a white Zinfandel or rosé wine.
Sparkling wines such as Champagne or Spumante can also be served with mild cheese,Appetizers and desserts.
Wine Categories
Wine is often classified as one of the following categories:
1. Aperitif: Appetizer wines such as Madeira, sherry and vermouth.
2. Red: Dry wines typically with red meat and pasta dishes served.
3. Rose - Pink wines typically served with seafood and pork.
4. White - dry to sweet wines often served with chicken and seafood.
5. Champagne - Wines often served in formal settings asAperitif. If a sparkling wine comes from the Champagne region in France is named after the region.
6. Table - Low-cost, low quality wine, usually served with lunch or cocktails used to make beverages.
7. Desserts - Sweet tasting wine, often served with desserts.
8. Cooking - Salty, poor quality of wine used for cooking.
Eight other Helpful Hints
1. Alcohol: Wine is an alcoholic asDrinking, unless otherwise indicated.
2. Chilling Wine: Put the bottle of wine in a bucket of ice water for 10 to 15 minutes. For sparkling wine, for at least 4 hours in refrigerator before serving (or put it in the ice bucket for 30 minutes.)
3. Labels: If you live in North America, should you remember that domestic wines will be used followed by the grape variety, characterized by the origin, whereas imported wine list continue where the winemade and then the type of grapes used.
4. Chilling: Sparkling and white wines taste best served chilled. A red wine should be served if it is only slightly below room temperature. Both wines are best left to stand before the opening. Some red wines have sediment, which should remain at the bottom of the bottle.
5. Serving: You can serve a white wine immediately after removing the cork, but a red wine benefits from 'breathing' for about half an hour after the Bottle is opened. For best results gently decant the red wine into another container. This allows a larger surface of the wine to breathe and remain behind the sediment in the bottle. A glass half full allows the wine to breathe.
6. Storage: Wine storage relates cool temperatures, preferably away from heat and light. Keller can still be hot, humid and sticky during the summer months, and it is proposed that the retention> Wine in a constant, cool environment will allow it to age properly and achieve its best features.
7. Variety: Also known as terroir. The climate, soil, land slope or obliquely, the grape (s) used, elevation, weather, topography, fermentation and yeast cultures are all key factors for the wine's appearance, aroma, and ultimately how the wine tastes.
8. Vintage: Other Classification covers the years that the grapes were harvested. ForFor example, the output of a vineyard wine can taste different from one year to the next Good wines usually have their year of production on the bottle. This is called the vintage. A few years to produce better wines than others.
Once you have familiarized with the different types of wine on the market, you'll feel less intimidated and more likely to impress your guests with excellent selection. Enjoying wine is a lifelong process, because itare always new sights, aromas and flavors to discover along the way too.
