Wine has been celebrated for centuries around the world and with good reason. It compliments a meal as well as an occasion! Learning how to select the best wine, however, can be a bit challenging. The following article will help you in choosing a great wine and all that goes with it.
Make sure that you drink at least one glass of wine a day with one of the meals that you have. Wine is great in helping with your heart, especially red wine. Do not drink too much though, as excess wine can cause you to feel groggy and can hurt your health.
If you are new to wine tasting, you should know that true connoisseurs actually spit the wine after tasting it. Spitting the wine is the best way to avoid overpowering your taste buds so you can keep tasting other wines. Take a small sip of wine, wait a few seconds to feel all its different flavors and spit it.
If you drink wine with your meal and you get frequent headaches, you may want to reduce the amount you drink. Wine has sulfites in it which can cause headaches sometimes when they are consumed. You just need to drink moderately at all times.
You can easily make a mulled wine with only a few ingredients. You will need a bottle of red wine such as Merlot, Zinfandel or Cabernet Sauvignon, a peeled and sliced orange, a quality brandy, honey or sugar and a few spices including whole cloves, cinnamon and ginger. Combine your ingredients into a slow cooker. Then, heat for 30 minutes and enjoy!
Get to as many wine tastings as you possibly can. Taste as many different kinds of wine as you can, and you learn a lot in the process. Not only will you learn about the various kinds of wine, you also learn about wine in general and how to learn good wines from bad very quickly. Just remember that you need to spit!
In order to fully taste the wine, you have to be able to smell it. Make sure that your nose is as clear as possible prior to doing a tasting. Once you have the glass in your hand, lean your face down toward it so that your nose is partially in the glass. Make sure you smell using both the right and the left nostril.
If you are going to go to a winery, plan ahead. Create a budget prior to your visit, and enlist the services of a designated driver. The winery staff will be able to answer any questions you have, as well as help you choose the perfect wine for your particular taste.
If you are not too familiar with wine, make sure to shop at a wine store. While many grocery stores and even some convenient stores carry wine, they do not have the staff on hand who really understand wine. If you shop with professionals, you will have a better chance of finding the wine you want and gaining valuable information in the process.
If your recipe calls for cooking wine, think twice before purchasing this product, which is found next to the vinegar at your local grocers. Cooking wine contains little or no alcohol, and often contains extra salt and additives that can wreak havoc with a potentially tasty dish. Instead, opt for a wine that does not have “cooking” in its description!
When you are opening wine, make sure that you do not open it too fast. The sound that you want to get when you open it is not a pop, but a sigh. This will maximize the safety in the room when you are opening your bottle of wine for the evening.
If you are dining out with work colleagues and trying to impress the boss, try to arrive at the table first and order a bottle of wine to be delivered upon your guest’s arrival. This will really make it look like you know your wines. Avoiding a wait time for the bottle can also enhance the evening for everyone.
Try a new wine once in a while. Many great wine flavors you haven’t tried and should do so. Try some of the recommendations that you get from wine clerks or friends.
Go to wine tasting events. This is a great way to discover wines that you will love without purchasing a whole bottle to see how much you like it. Many times wine cellars and wineries offer wine tasting as part of their tours. Wineries are a great vacation destination, and you can bring home a souvenir bottle.
Study up on the right temperatures to drink certain wines. Yes, a few degrees can make a major difference when it comes to a wine’s overall flavor. You may find your favorite wine is perfect at room temperature, but a few degrees warmer or cooler lowers its quality. Keep notes on these peculiarities so that you can make the right choices down the line.
When stocking your wine collection at home, opt to purchase experimental bottles before buying full cases. With such a vast number of different wines out there, you want to expose yourself to as many wines as possible before committing to a case. Keep your collection full of ‘educational’ bottles.
History has shown how enjoyable a good wine can be and when selected wisely. Any meal can be highlighted by a delicious red, white or sparkling bubbly! Hopefully this wine has made you somewhat of a connoisseur and your next meal will be an unforgettable event, paired with the perfect wine!
