Ordering Wine in a Restaurant
The wine list arrives at your
table. Don't panic. Ordering wine with dinner should be a pleasurable
experience. Just remember these simple tips:
Most wine lists are grouped into broad categories - red and white, sparkling or dessert.
Rely on your waiter or the restaurant's wine steward. It's their job to ensure that your dining experience is enjoyable - which includes helping you select a wine.
Most people don't hesitate to inquire about an item on a menu. A wine list should be no different. Tell your waiter what you plan to order for dinner.
If cost is a factor, tell your waiter what you want to pay. That will narrow your choices, but focus your attention on the wines in your price range
Most bottles of wine contain five to six glasses. If you're with a large dinner party, consider ordering two bottles. Consider selecting two types.
Starting a Wine Cellar
If it's time to get serious about your wine
collection; it's time to start your own wine cellar.
Experts suggest that the ideal place to store wine is a dark, dank, but roomy cellar. Line your cellar with racks, but make sure you give yourself plenty of room to roam about your collection. A place to relax and enjoy part of your collection is a must.
If a wine cellar doesn't fit into your home's floor plans, consider storing your wine in an attic, basement, under a stairway or in empty space in a spare room. Place your bottles under an insulated blanket.
Select a place that is free from vibration, protected from sources of heat and shaded from direct sunlight. Although a little humidity is fine, your wine "cellar" must be protected from temperature swings.
Showcasing Your Wine Selection
You've just brought out a favorite wine to share with friends. Showcase
that wine using proper glassware. And best of all, that glassware
doesn't have to cost a fortune.
Choose glassware that is clear. Don't hide your wine's color, highlight it. Give your wine plenty of room in the glass. Choose glasses that are at least 12 ounces or larger. This allows for vigorous swirling to release the wine's bouquet without spilling. Finally, select glassware with long stems. When you hold the bowl, your body temperature can raise the temperature of the wine.
Be sure your glass is clean. Soap, detergent and dust can change a wine's flavor. Don't let a less-than-clean glass ruin a wonderful wine experience.
A Perfect Way to Entertain
Friends and wine make a perfect combination. Organizing a home wine-tasting
can be a great way to enjoy both.
Invite a half-dozen friends. Encourage them to leave their perfume, cologne and cigarettes at home. Select your wine for the evening. Consider mixing some old favorites with some ones that soon may be. Consider selecting wines from different states (Nebraska included, of course), or several reds, whites or other combinations.
Hide the identity of your selections, and encourage your guests to enjoy each one. Let them sample at their own pace. Provide your guests with water and bland crackers. Following your blind tasting, talk about the experience. Rank them. Then reveal each wine's identity and bottle.
More conversation is sure to follow.
Just the Right Temperature
Serving and storing wine at the proper temperature
doesn't have to be a chore. A little common sense and a decent thermometer
go a long way.
When serving wine, follow this simple principle: cooler wines mean less smell; warmer wines smell more. White and sparkling wines are best served at 45 to 55 degrees Fahrenheit. Serve red wines at cool room temperatures, generally 55 to 65 degrees Fahrenheit.
When stocking your cellar, a reliable thermometer is a must. This purchase, generally for less than $5, can prevent a more costly loss: ruining your wine. Be careful that the temperature of your wine never falls below 25 degrees Fahrenheit - the point when the lightest wines freeze. On the other end of the thermometer, wine should never be stored in temperatures greater than 77 degrees Fahrenheit - a point in which a wine's more volatile compounds are boiled off.
Generally, store your wine in temperatures that range from 40 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit.
Stop and Smell the...
Using your mouth alone to taste
wine could be compared to watching an epic movie without the sound
to accompany it. Enjoying wine is not a one-sense experience.
To fully enjoy a wine, engage your sense of smell as well as your sense of taste.
True, your sense of taste allows you to distinguish between sweet, sour, bitter and others. Engaging your sense of smell makes the experience that much better. Call it a partnership or a dynamic duo. Doesn't freshly baked bread taste just a little better when it's made at home - where the wonderful aroma can be enjoyed during the very first bite.
So, when it's time to try a new wine. Stop. Enjoy the taste, but be sure to enjoy the aroma. Let your senses take over, sit back and enjoy the experience.
Try This at Home
A little practice can go a long
way when developing the proper touch to open a bottle of wine. It's
a common, overused phrase, but practice does make perfect.
Picking the right utensil helps. You have several options.
The screwpull may be the most common. Simply screw this utensil in and keep turning. The screwpull will ease the cork out of the bottle. Rest assured: No extra effort is necessary.
Other options include the Butler's Friend, which removes the cork without damaging it (which allows for it reinsertion), and the Bootlever, which employs a jackknife and requires some strength and dexerity.
Whatever tool you choose, be sure to practice. You never know when you might have an audience.
Winemaking 101
Understanding the difference between red and white wine can be as simple
as night and day.
Basically, red wine comes from crushed, fermented red grapes. After they are crushed, these grapes, with their skins intact, ferment for several weeks. The skins rise, but often are mixed back into the fermenting juice. The result is wine that is clarified and allowed to age.
White wines come from white grapes. During the crushing process, the skins from white grapes are separated from the juice. Before long, this juice becomes white wine, which is aged and later bottled.
Red wines often are served with red meat; white wines with seafood and poultry. However, all rules are made to be broken, so we suggest that you find a wine you enjoy and match it with your favorite foods. The results can often be very rewarding.
