Serving And Drinking The Best: Tips For Wine Lovers
Visiting a wine store can be a less than enjoyable experience if you lack the knowledge to make a good selection. There are reds, whites and blushes, sparkling, fruity and acidic wines. It’s sometimes tough to decide which is best for your specific needs and taste. Thankfully, the following article will help put you on the right path to selecting a quality wine for just about any time.
You need to be friends with your local wine store. Visit the different shops in your area and choose the one you prefer. Variety and pricing will vary between shops. This is important because you may be narrowing your options too much if you are visiting only one store to buy wine. Choose the shop that best fits in with what you need.
Give wine tastings a try. This will allow you to find wines that you may love. It is a great social gathering. Bring some friends along and make sure to have a designated driver. It is a great way to spend quality times with those you love, while indulging yourself as well.
Store your wine the right way if you want it to taste good over time. Very cold or very hot temperatures could ruin the taste. Store your wine at 50-55 degrees to allow the flavor time to develop. Try a wine refrigerator or just keep your wines in your basement.
Don’t be afraid of sulfite warnings. All wine contains sulfite. However, American wines put warnings on their labels. Sulfites may cause rare allergic reactions. Try not to worry too much about them if you’ve never had a reaction before.
A screw top bottle would be perfect for a tailgating event with your friends. Caps that just need to be twisted are easier to open and eliminate the need to drag a corkscrew around with you. In addition, you can easily reseal your screw top bottle whenever you are done. A cork bottle isn’t as easy to reseal, and its seal isn’t as secure.
The idea that white wine must be chilled is simply a myth. White wines do differ in texture, and therefore may benefit from a variety of temperatures. While it is a good idea to serve sauvignon blanc while it is cold, pinot gris and chardonnay taste better when they are a bit warmer.
On one hand, respect the knowledge of wine experts, but don’t take their words unquestioningly. Good experts know that they may not always be right. Keep in mind that everyone’s wine preferences are different. It is important to trust your own tastes, also.
The biggest difference between red and white wines are the grapes that are used. Red and purple grapes are used to produced full-bodied red wine. Green grapes are used to produce the light and crisp white wines. There are many more intricate differences; however, this is a good rule of thumb.
You typically do not want to store white wine for more than one or two years. The only exception to this is Chardonnay. That’s because usage of oak is rare in white wines. However, wines that are darker in hue do involve oak in their production process.
As you have seen, it can seem overwhelming when you are faced with the many varieties of wine to choose from. Now you should feel better about approaching that wine aisle. By putting this advice to good use, wine selection no longer needs to be feared.