Tasting wine is made up of 3 elements. We taste wines to help us differentiate between what we consider better wines from the mediocre ones. Tasting also enables us to enjoy the differences amongst wines that appeal to us. Things you should ...

a. The pour should fill only a third of the glass so you will be able to swirl it without messing up the table or your clothes from spills. b. First, hold the glass by the stem instead of cradling the bowl of the glass in your hand. By holding the...

There are different kinds of corkscrews, each designed for a purpose, featuring two basic types of screws; the Helix and the Auger. The Helix spiral is a rounded open spiral that grips well allowing the cork to be extracted cleanly. The Auger s...

For the beginner, it is sufficient to know that there are three basic kinds of glasses. There is the Champagne flute, which is a tall narrow glass that slows the dissipation of the bubbles while at the same time enabling one to enjoy look...

Although French wine regions maintain different kinds of bottle shapes that provide the consumer with clues to the style of wines, it is slowly changing. In the New World, there are no hard and fast rules as to which style of wine can be identified by ...

Wines were originally made only in Europe. As wines began to emerge from non-European countries, a distinction had to be made. Today, we refer to wines from France, Portugal, Germany, etc. as Old World Wines. Correspondingly, wines from countries ...

The New World Wine Label

Short Term Storage Conditions Once you have opened a bottle, the best way to keep it is by stoppering the bottle, removing or replacing the residual air, and keeping it in the refrigerator. This will work for a week or so. There are aerosol pro...

Wine is essentially fermented grape juice. 1. Grapes are picked when they are sweet and thus ripe. 2. Grapes are then placed in a crusher. The crusher breaks the skin to liberate juice. 3. The juice is then fermented by the yeast. Y...

Noting the colour of wine is an exercise in recognition. Every wine will have a different colour. The colour of a wine is described in terms of hue, intensity and depth. Colour can provide seasoned tasters an indication of the grape varieties us...

Red wines that are mature will throw off sediment. Decanting is a method of separating the sediment from the wine. Decanting also introduces some air to the wine and old wines that have become musty will be 'freshened' up...

Always aim the bottle away from other people since the cork could shoot off. 1. Remove the foil. Take the bottle from the ice bucket. 2. Place your left thumb on the cork as you wipe the bottle down. 3. Remove the foil and wire from the cork whilst ...

A wine beginner knows that there are three basic types of glasses for drinking wine. Over the years however, specialists, primarily in Europe, have been studying the effect of glass design and its' effect during wine tasting. ...

These wines are purchased and sold at auctions. They are mainly investment wines of limited quantity and are mature. At auctions the condition of the wines will be provided. The main concern is whether the wine has evaporated at a ...

Chardonnay Colour Medium to light gold from barrel ageing/fermentation. Taste Dry, medium-full bodied. Aroma (when youthful) Tropical fruits/appley or fruity with pear and peach nuances. Vanilla/Toast ...

Italian Wine Labels appear complicated but once you learn the meanings of certain words, you will be able to work out what is in the bottle. Here are the most commonly used terms found on Italian wine labels Azienda/Tenuta/Cascin...

Wine bottles should be lying horizontally on their sides. This ensures that the corks are in contact with the wine and thus remain moist, swollen and airtight. Wine is a living thing and matures in the bottle. As such wine will beco...

BEGINNING OF WINTER The vine, worn out from the production of grapes and the harvest will shut down. They shed their leaves. Vignerons begin to prune the vine with shears. Pruning controls the number of grapes that will gro...

Wine lives in the bottle. As the wine matures in the bottle, it goes through an oxidative and reductive process. The fresh smells of the grape (Aromas) are replaced by the reductive smell (Bouquet) of the aged wine. (a.) Bouquet smells ...

It's hard to anticipate how much your guests will drink, but these handy tips will ensure you don't run out of booze for your party. Remember, you can use these calculations to plan not just a wine party, but any party involving...

Corks from mature bottles of wine may be crumbly, soaked or dried out . Such corks are in a delicate state and could fall apart if you try to remove them in the usual manner. Loose and unstable corks may even slip and fall into the ...

Methods for washing glasses differ but many wine aficionados like to Use Ivory (or similar) dishwashing soap. The soap is not a detergent and as a result, rinses very clean. Employ a sponge on a handle to clean glasses with lip...

At the restaurant, if a wine appears cloudy, there is a high chance that the wine is affected by microbiological spoilage. You do not want to drink a cloudy wine, whether it is spoiled or not. Request for a new bottle. CORKED - ...

Cabernet Sauvignon / Bordeaux (Medoc, Graves & Pessac Leognan) Color: Medium to dark red. Taste: Dry, Medium - Heavy- bodied, tannic when young but with a smooth aftertaste. Moderate tannins Aroma : Blackberry, stone fruit, pencil sh...

Typical French (Bordeaux) LabelFrench labels seldom show the grape variety. AOC (Appellation d'Origine Controlee) indicates that the wine was made and met minimum guidelines and in most cases signify a wine of a certain quality.

There are many places where you can purchase wine. Wineries/Chateaux When you visit vineyards, you can get to taste the wines and find out all about the wines 'from the horses mouth' so to say, before you buy. When visiting vine...

Grape is probably the world's most important fruit crop with 19 million acres of vineyards producing over 60 million tonnes of fruit. Viticulture is the scientific term for the study/practice of vine cultivation...

Many connoisseurs define the character of wine is that which makes a wine distinctive. But there is more: A region's wine-making tradition, soils, and grape varieties combine to produce a wine's Character. The winemaker, employing different me...

THE ORDER OF SERVICE Increase your appreciation of good wines by serving them appropriately. Here are the general rules on progression when you have a handful of wines: · Start from light-bodied and progress to heavy-bod...

Cork comes from the bark of the Quercus suber (oak) tree that has been stripped, boiled, cut into strips, punched out and sterilised. Wine cork production began in Catalonia, Spain but today Portugal controls most of the cork ind...

Everyone knows that most red wines are supposed to be served at "room temperature" but room temperatures differ in different countries. For example, the French serve wines 'a chambre' or at room temperatures of 18 degrees Ce...

Each year, the quality of wine produced is subject to weather conditions and in every decade, only certain years are declared to be great vintages. There is much wisdom to be gained from vintage information, but wines should never ...

NEW WORLD CLASSIFICATIONS In the New World the best wines are called RESERVE (high quality), or Directors' Bin or similar. The consumer is supposed to be aware of the top end wines that take on fantasy name labels such as Opus 1, Almavi...

Burgundy - the best wines or Grand Crus may indicate their classification on the label. The next best wines, the Premier Crus or 1er Cru may not explicitly declare their status. The aficionado is supposed to know that if the vill...

How wine quality improves or degrades with time makes the point about the necessity for an optimum maturation environment for expensive wines and those good value wines that will improve with time. Why You Cannot Use a Refri...

The Greek word Oinos means 'wine'. Hence, oenology, enology (US), oenologie (FR) or enologia (IT) is a science that incorporates the principles and practices of wine and winemaking. Winemaking may be as straightforward as co...

TABLE of AROMA VOCABULARY Most of the pleasing aromas you are likely to detect in wine are a combination of various scents. The more you taste wine the better you will be in identifying those with aromas that you like. Some common associations o...

THE THEORIES Food and Wine may be similar or different in three ways and can thus be paired accordingly: COMPONENTS - The Sweetness, Salt, Sour and Bitter sensations can be matched or contrasted. FLAVOURS -...

The task of ordering the appropriate wine when dining can be onerous. The wine list might look like a foreign language manuscript. If you are an initiated wine drinker, you may not find a familiar wine in the list before you. THE NO FUSS APPROACH ...

Glasses may be justa container for wine but it is also an important instrument for communicatinga wine's personality, character and overall being to the human senses. In your encounter with the previous modules (101.4-201.4)you will have deduced th...

This Chart was issued by the Sopexa Representative Office in Singapore and has been reproduced with their permission. It was produced in association with Courtiers Jures-Experts Piqueurs de Vins, Paris and brought to you courtesy of Asia1 and E-W...

A. The Lowest Level - Table Wines B. Country Wines - After the Table Wines and the Country Wines (Vin de Pays, IGT, Vino de la Tierra etc). C. Appellation Wines - Appellations are a guarantee of minimum wine quality and are therefore the ne...

QUALITY CATEGORIES Tafelwein or table wine Landwein QbA or Qualitatswein bestimmer Aribaugebeite QmP Qualitatswein mit Pradikat (highest level) HARVEST LEVEL OF SWEETNESS German wines can be selected in the order of s...

By now you will probably have a pretty good idea of your preferences. For example, you may like reds or whites or even enjoy reds, whites as well as sparkling and fortified wines. You might be impressed by the forward and...

The major processes are Harvest, Crush, Press, Ferment, Treat the wine and Bottle HARVEST - The Pre-Winery Stage The optimum conditions are during the cooler periods of the day (early morning, late afternoon) or at night (mechanical harv...

Smelling is important to appreciating wine. The part of the brain that houses our ability to 'taste' is called the olfactory centre where there is a bulb that forms part of the brain. I. The olfactory centre/olfactory bulb gets most of its input...

WINE & CHEESE Wine and cheese are inseparable. A good cheese accompanied by an appropriate wine, achieves a 'marriage made in heaven', at least in terms of gustatory pleasure. Cheeses can be bland, buttery, rich, creamy, pungent, sharp, salt...

Common Wine terms and Vocabulary to Describe Wines Acetic - Used to describe wines that have turned to vinegar. Unlike acidity, vinegary wines taste sharp and sour. Acidity - The tart, lively, crisp, refreshing sensation i...

Want to be impress your friends with your wine collection? Here are some tricks on how you can make mediocre wine taste vintage and valuable. Serve insipid white wines cold Over-chill your white wines to make them taste refreshing. You can le...

In Northern Europe, where the weather is less predictable than in southern Europe; or in many of the New World countries whose vineyards are blessed with much sunshine and exemplary weather throughout the growing and harvesting ...

Secrets of Terroir One often hears of aficionados describing a wine as tasting of 'terroir' or "the taste of the soil and region from which the grapes are grown and the wine is made". Indeed, the first scientific definition of terroir was conducted ...

With 50 recognised wine regions and thousands of years of experience at making wines, Spain has, as the Romans used to say, 'variatio delectat" - which roughly means "variety, the spice of life". Indeed, you'll find Generoso wines ...

In champagne, where there are 261 Houses, 44 Cooperatives and over 5000 growers, it can get mind-boggling just thinking about getting the right one. Brut - dry, lively, crisp, great for aperitif, to accompany cold seafood from sushi to caviar...

All wines are the result of a fermentation when sugar is turned into alcohol by yeast. Sparkling wines are the result of a second fermentation that endows the wine with bubbles. There are many ways of making a wine sparkle, the original and mos...

Oak barrels have been integral in winemaking for thousands of years firstly as storage vessels because of their lightweight, high strength and impermeability but lately (last 300 years) barrels have been used mainly for enhancing the flavour and st...

Have you noticed that depending on which kinds of food you have with wine, the taste or flavours of food can change the relative sensations of wine? For example : Salty foods (with soy, fish sauce, anchovies, salt-preserved foods) can make a...

Breathing Wines Letting a wine breathe, is essentially exposing it to air before serving to open up its aroma and flavor. The notion that wines, particularly reds, taste better if opened some time before serving is widely held but has no basis in...

Wine fairs are an excellent venue to discover wines and learn about regions and pronunciations since the producers are often present to share their knowledge. Even the most seasoned wine drinkers can't pronounce properly the names of regions and v...

California Wines Want to know if that chardonnay from California or Chile is just good or simply outstanding? Check out this chart. California Outstanding Very Good Cabernet Sauvignon 1984-1987, 1990-1992, 1994,...

Cult Wines Originated In California Cult wine is wine that is supposedly rare and majestic, thanks to glowing reviews, and glorious accolades from critics. Cult wines achieve their status because they are made in very small quantities and demand...

By now, you should be able to read labels of wines from countries like Turkey, Greece, Israel, Lebanon, Former USSR, Eastern Europe. Here's a short quiz to match the country with the label. See how wine-savvy you are! (a) (b) (c)...

The Choice is Yours If you like your wines aggressively tannic, woody and full of fruit (red wines), skip this module. If you like them basic but smooth, there are many generic wines that are designed for early drinking as soo...

Learn the terms and understand how the grape develops and any vigneron or winemaker will be impressed by your knowledge. They might even open up a rare bottle that they wouldn't have otherwise do for other visitors. GRAPE PHYSIOLOGY The g...

To fully appreciate the information in this module, you should have read 301.9, 401.1, 501.4 and 501.9 as well as all the modules on Tasting Wine. Here's what the wine judges / aficionados / hardened buffs of wine consider when faced with a win...

The Asian Palette & Asian Spices The Asian Palette is receptive to other sensations besides the basic four sweet-sour-salt-bitter ones. Ever so often we describe foods by how soft or silky the texture is. The Asian Palette may be differen...

Find out about wine and health, its nutrition and its composition Wine Composition: The basic ingredients of a completed wine are water and alcohol, although other components such as carbohydrates are present in minuscule quantities. Her...