Thanksgiving Wine Pairing Guide

For many people, a variety of items and high expectations come with the approaching holidays. A complex wine with layers versus a brutish-straight–forward wine will lend itself well to various dishes and palates. Note the job of food and wine pairing. Nothing is better than the first bite of food; after that, the palate is coated and the flavor of the next bite is not as intense. The job of wine is to clear the palate and make sure every bite is as good as the first. So, the wine should be slightly heavier and a bit more acidic than the food that it is paired with, with the end result being food and wine combining to become a third flavor. Wines that are slightly tannic and acidic use food for balance.

Appetizers

How about an Aperitif’ … French aperitif aperient, from Middle French aperitif: an alcoholic drink taken before a meal as an appetizer.

Dry Sherries (soup friendly) Sherry Fino, Dry Amontillado. Kir or Kir Royal Champagne Any dry wine, usually white or Champagne.

The Meal

Turkey is often confused with chicken when it comes to food and wine pairing. Actually, the turkey is much closer to a game bird and should be treated accordingly.

Bordeaux/Cabernet blends and the classic Zinfandel are great for game birds, but try something a little different.

The Cabernet Sauvignon grape’s parents are 50% Cabernet Franc and 50% Sauvignon Blanc. The flavor components that these wines offer are perfect with a wide range of foods so the sides go well with the wines and also with the turkey itself. I have both a white and a red at each side of my plate. Some examples of “good” Cabernet Franc (if you cannot find these, any Cabernet Franc with medium body, good fruit, and some acidity will do).Chinon AC [shee-NOHN] Located in the Touraine area, Chinon is one of the few villages in the Loire valley focused on red wines, which some wine lovers feel are the Loire’s best. Like its neighbors Bourgueil and Saint-Nicolas-De-Bourgueil, this picturesque village with its medieval hilltop fortress grows Cabernet Franc (known locally as Brenton) and minor amounts of Cabernet Sauvignon. Although, normally light and fruity with a heady raspberry aroma, these red wines have enough body to age a few years.

Sauvignon Blanc (Sauvignon Blanc with medium body, some fruit, and good acidity). Everyone knows that New Zealand makes great Sauvignon Blanc but most of the styles are too fruity to pair with a Thanksgiving meal. We offer several examples of “balanced” Sauvignon Blanc for the occasion!

If you are enjoying Cornish hen or other birds, these pairing should be great!

Pinot Noir is the perfect choice for ANYTHING! From ham’s smokiness and complex flavor to yard-bird and even “stone soup!”

For the high-end adventurer: Pinot Noir, Domaine Serene

Your Desserts

Cheese The simplest way to pair cheese is to consider the ‘style’ of cheese being used. Creamy, runny cheeses need a dry somewhat tannic wine to give them some structure and hard cheeses tend to need wines that have more fruit and soft edges. Big acidic or tannic wines match best with soft cheese. Fruity or “sweet” wines match best with hard cheeses. Fruity & sweet white wines and dessert wines work best with a wider range of cheeses. Champagne can work with the fat in heavy cheese. Sherries, Ports and dessert wines are great for blue cheese.

Apple Pie with its bright fruit and tart acidity, apple pie is actually a difficult pairing. The old term ‘buy wine with apples and sell wine with cheese’ is true. After much research, I have found the perfect match. Any ‘real’ sherry with medium sweetness should work well. As the cheese robs the fruit from the wine.

Pumpkin Pie With the dense creamy flavor of pumpkin pie a botrytized or late harvest fits quite nicely.

Chocolate anything! Chocolate is a very strong flavor, and dark chocolate works best with most wine. Consider flavors that complement (lemon, apple, orange, caramel) rather than compete when it comes to this type of pairing. Tawny Ports and ‘Late harvest’ tends to work best. Late Harvest Pinot Gris, Riesling, Hardys Whiskers Blake Tawny 8 Year Old Port, 10 year old, NV, 20 year old, or LBV

Wine and Cheese Pairing

Best to keep it simple with:
Hard cheeses like, Asiago /  Edam / Gruyere preferring soft fruity wines.
Soft cheeses like, Mozzarella Bufala / Humbolt Fog, Goat Cheese / Saint Andre preferring wines with more structure.
One amazing exception: Blue cheeses rob wine of it's fruit so a super fruity dessert wine or port makes an amazing match!

Champagne [Sham-Pain]

“Sham-Pain”
Current “rules of disgorgement” state that champagne and sparkling wines are “celebration only” wines. Served with the purpose of commemorating something and not to be enjoyed for what they themselves are…really good wine, yes wine.

With all of this ego and pride “flowing” it is no wonder that we only want to decide once a year what bubbles to purchase! Complicated by the fact that the “confused consumer” has dictated what is available for purchase. Extra-Dry, which would better match our American sweet tooth [since we drink colas like water] is very hard if not impossible to find. Why, we never bought it so they stopped shipping it; not to mention many people liked Brut better because Extra-Dry was “too dry.” Dam dam dam those labels! Think I am kidding, why you think they have animal wine labels, because they taste soooo cute! It is simply the power of suggestion. Also, our confusion and lack of consumption of Champagnes has kept others from entering the market. Australia for example has the French involved in producing great products in their country but they will not ship to the U.S. because they became worn-out just trying to get us to drink Shiraz!

Why drive a formula 1 race car in rush hour traffic? Going by sheer taste, it is hard to justify spending up to 5 times more for a producer’s cuvée de prestige versus a Non-Vintage. Non-Vintages are a blend on different years that enables each Champagne house to maintain its style or flavor on wine. The middle tier and harder to find but worth searching for is “Vintage” Champagne, made from a single year, this wine offers refined flavors for half the price of the cuvée de prestige or cuvée spéciale and tete de cuvee.

Yes, Champagne has a purpose and should be enjoyed often, but why not give some others a chance; sparking wines from California, Spain [cava], Germany [Sekt] and Italy [Asti] make great substitutes for Champagne. Offering a refreshing style without the price pressures of supply and demand! Even France has it’s own offering from other parts of the region that offer good value, Champagne-like wines called crémant from d'Alsace and crémant de Bourgogne [Burgundy] are the most popular. Called crémant because they are done in the Champagne style of a secondary fermentation in the bottle, which causes higher pressure and therefore smaller bubbles then you can get from any other methods like adding CO2 to a tank. The Champagne style or Champenois is considered the best and can be emulated by many other regions around the world, usually at a better price. Quality and preference are the other considerations.

I drink champagne when I'm happy and when I'm sad. Sometimes I drink it when I'm alone. When I have company I consider it obligatory. I trifle with it if I'm not hungry and drink it when I am. Otherwise I never touch it - unless I'm thirsty. ~ Madame Lilly Bollinger

What to look for...

France
Produces non-champagne sparkling wines called Cremant. Look for:
Crémant d’Alsace- made mainly from Pinot Blanc; may also contain Pinot Gris, Riesling, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Rosés are made with Pinot Noir. Crémant de Bourgogne- uses thirty percent Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc or Pinot Gris. Aligoté is added to round out the final blend.
Crémant de Loire- the largest sparkling producer outside of Champagne- uses a blend of the Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc or Cabernet Franc

Italy
Makes several great sparkling wines from Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, but even more exciting varieties are made with the Prosecco grape and called Asti. Formerly known as Asti Spumante, the name was changed to distinguish it from cheaper U.S. brands. Sparkling wines from the Moscato grape are made in a frizzante style, which has slightly less bubbles.

Germany
Makes Sekt. The best examples are made from Riesling, and their labels state the following: “Deutscher Sekt” [made with German grapes.] The best of the best in this group are made in the méthode champenoise.

Spain
Makes sparkling wines called cava from grapes like Macabeo, Parellada, Xarel·lo, and Subirat. Wines made from Chardonnay were introduced about thirty years ago and add further refinement to these expressive wines. The traditional method must be used which is the same as in champagne, with the second fermentation taking place in the bottle.

United States
Produces sparkling wines made in both the champagne method and the charmont process. The latter is a less expensive style, made in a manner similar to the way soft drinks are made, with the occasional use of a concrete pit. YUMMY! Better versions range from brut to sec, but remember no hard and fast rules apply. If you have a taste for American sparkling wines but not the French, it is probably due to the fact that our version of brut often contains the same amount of sugar that French demi-sec has.

Hard Cider! - A rant!

We should drink more cider! 
Too sweet? Try French cider!
Too metallic?  Try an Irish!
Too plain? Try a British!

Hint at food pairing with cider is to think white wine!
Pairs well with most fish and can also handle stronger flavors like NC BBQ!


History:
As with many other beverages, were are confused because the term "cider" everywhere else refers to fermented apple juice! Until the mid 1800s, hard cider, was the most popular beverage in North America. Plentiful and as in keeping with most other beverages a great way to preserve a perishable fruit!

French and English colonists brought to the New World their love of cider and planted orchards in New England. Orchards also spread to Virginia and Massachusetts colonies,

John Adams, in 1796, wrote about cider, reporting that drinking a tankard of cider each morning put his stomach at ease and alleviated gas. Hence, "An apple a day ..." Thomas Jefferson made cider, as well as many other beverages, at Monticello and served it at meals regularly.

Cider was so well accepted in the American culture that even clergy, who denounced whiskey and ale, had cider for personal enjoyment.

You have not had a cider until you have had one of these... Cidre Bouche Brut

Excerpted from thier website:
http://www.bunitedint.com/information/brands/description/203/

Unfiltered & Unpasteurized
The orchard: There are now 6000 trees of typica Pay’s d’Auge apple varieties. The trees average twelve years of age. The older the tree, the less the yield, and the better the character of fruit. Also, the low trees contain apples with more sugar. Therefore, much of the orchard is composed of low trees. Apples are picked manually, making the quality of fruit consistantly high.

Shelf Life:
30 months from bottling (which takes place in April of the year following the vintage date). Aromatic persistence improves, and the cider becomes more flashy over time. The froth also becomes thinner. Must be stored upright between 8 - 12O C (46-54 F).
However the product can in some cases last far longer than this. More acidic vintages will tend to hold on longer. Great ripening vintages with higher alcohol in the end product will last a bit longer as well. Tartness and earthiness become dominant after a few years.

Accolades:
The only cider to achieve Ale Street News’ 5 stars (out of 11 ciders) “The 1997 Dupont was like biting into a fresh apple, lots of flavor that kept going to the end.” ***** Tony Forder - Ale Street News

Who is behind your cider?
Sam Adams - HardCore Crisp Hard Cider
Guinness Imports - Woodpecker and Strongbow Ciders
Gallo Wineries - Hornsby's Draft Ciders
Molson Breweries USA (a subsidiary of Miller) imports Dry Blackthorn Cider
Stroh Brewing owns fifty percent of Green Mountain Cidery - Woodchuck ciders


Things to do with cider...

Black Velvet - stout and cider

Snake Bite - ale and cider

Cocktails:

Caramel Apple
Ingredients
36 oz. Apple Cider
10 oz. Silver Tequila 
4 slice(s) Caramel Apples
Instructions:
Pour tequila over full pitcher of ice. Add apple cider and mix well. Pour into 12 oz glasses with the ice. Do not strain. Garnish each glass with 1 slice of caramel apple and drizzle a tsp. of caramel sauce.

Apple Cider Punch
Ingredients
6 Allspice (Whole) 
6 Cloves (Whole) 
6 oz. Lemonade (Frozen) 
6 oz. Orange Juice (Frozen) 
4 quart(s) Apple Cider 
3 stick(s) Cinnamon
1 cup(s) Brown Sugar (Packed)
1 tsp. Nutmeg (Ground)
Instructions:
Tie the cloves and Allspice in cheesecloth and heat the mixture. Stir occasionally.


Candy Apple
Ingredients
1 1/2 oz. VeeV Acai Spirit 
1 oz. Apple Cider 
1/2 oz. Apple Liqueur
1/4 oz. Simple Syrup
Instructions:
Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker with ice and shake very well. Strain over ice into an old-fashioned glass. Garnish with a caramel covered apple slice. 

Diesel
1/2 pint lager
1/2 pint cider
1 dash blackcurrant cordial
Instructions:
Pour the lager first then add the blackcurrant cordial. Top up with the cider. The colour sholud be very dark approaching the colour of Guiness.

Holly Jolly Roger
Ingredients
2 oz. Apple Cider Spiced
2 oz. Cruzan Black Strap Rum
1/2 oz. Torani Hazelnut Syrup
1/4 tsp. Absinthe
Instructions:
Combine everything in a shaker with ice. Shake well and strain into an ice-filled rocks glass. Garnish with a lime wedge.


Mastering Mulled Cider
In a large soup pot, combine 1 gallon of apple cider, a bottle of dry red wine, 2 cups of orange juice, a 1/4 cup of lemon juice, about 7-8 cinnamon sticks, a tablespoon of ground cloves, and either 1 cup of rum or brandy.
Cook the mixture over a low flame until just simmering. While the mixture is being heated, core and slice 3-4 of your favorite red apples, and add to the pot once the mixture has just begun to simmer. Turn off the heat and serve.


Hard Cider’s perfect pairing! 
Harvest Apple Cider Stew
This recipe is for a hearty fall harvest stew using apple cider.
Ingredients:
2 pounds stew beef
2 parsnips or carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
4 red apples, cored and sliced into wedges
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 medium-sized onions, sliced thinly
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 14 -ounce can of beef broth
2 cups of apple cider
1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar

Optional: In a traditional stew you would also add about 2 pounds of potatoes, peeled and sliced into bite-sized chunks, but for the harvest stew, you can purchase a few baby pumpkins, which will need to have the pulp cleaned out, and then sliced into bite-sized chunks. Peeling the pumpkins is also optional.

To begin, season the beef chunks with the salt and pepper and coat with flour. Then brown the beef in either a dutch oven or a large stew pot in a tablespoon of olive oil.

Then add the broth, the onions, the cider and the vinegar. Bring the stew to boiling, then reduce the heat and simmer for 75 minutes, covered.

Then add the pumpkins or potatoes, and the parsnips to the stew. Bring to boiling again, then reduce the heat and simmer for another 20 minutes. Then add the apple slices and simmer for 5-10 more minutes.

This stew makes approximately 8-10 servings.


Home Brewing cider:
President Carter legalized home brewing in 1978, and beer and wine-making at home took off and now cider and mead making are on the rise!

My favorite Sangria recipe!

 

1 bottle of red wine - preferably Portuguese
...4 shots of brandy
1 shot of triple sec
...2 shots of Porto "ruby"
2 shots of Noilly Prat
1 apple, thinly sliced
1 lemon, thinly sliced
1 orange, thinly sliced
1 quart of orange juice
1/2 cup of 7-Up
2 tea-spoons of sugar / simple syrup
cinnamon
3 mint leaves

White Sangria - My Favorite!

 
White Sangria

1 750 White Wine - Dry Portuguese
6oz Orange Juice
12oz Sprite
1 shot Triple Sec
3 shots Brandy
1 cup of White Porto
1 shot white rum is desired
2 apples & oranges sliced

Top Ten Candy Bars and Wine Pairings

Eating and drinking your sweets
They say "candy is dandy but liquor is quicker." Why not have both? The intensity inherent to dessert wine nicely compliments an array of sweets. Such boldness plays well with dark and milk chocolate, caramel, nuts, and more exotic flavors like coconut. Given the various innuendo that these yummy treats provide, these pairings are "sure to satisfy."

Pairing Hints:

● Nuts: wine, cream sherry, madeira, and tawny ports have nutty toasted nuances
that mirror nut flavors.
● Nougat: Late harvest or Sauternes dessert wines add to nougat's creamy
texture.
● Chocolate: Ports and chocolate both
● Nuts: wine, cream sherry, madeira, and tawny ports have nutty toasted nuances
that mirror nut flavors.
● Nougat: Late harvest or Sauternes dessert wines add to nougat's creamy
texture.
● Chocolate: Ports and chocolate both play the game of bitter and sweet.
● Coconut: Well-oaked wines such as aged tawny or vintage port reflect the
coconut in the wood.

Kinds of nougat: 

The first, and most common, is white nougat (which appeared in Cremona, Italy in the early 15th century and later in Montélimar, France, in the 18th century) is made with beaten egg whites and honey. 

The second is brown nougat (referred to as "mandorlato" in Italy and nougatine in French) is made without egg whites and has a firmer, often crunchy texture. 

The third is the Viennese or German nougat which is essentially a chocolate and nut (usually hazelnut) praline.

The most popular candy bars based on 

sales and libations to pair them with:

10. Hershey Bar
Basic pleasure can be a tricky match. Try a orange Muscat from Quady that turns a simple taste into the classic combination of citrus and chocolate.

9. Oh Henry!
Fudge, peanuts, and caramel covered with chocolate demands a complex and intense port such as Tawny 20 Year.

8. M&Ms
Not a candy bar, but the melt in y our mouth element cannot be ignored. Try Croft LBV with a handful of these candies.

7. Baby Ruth
Nougat, peanuts and chocolate are a match for sauternes or muscat

6. 3 Musketeers
All-chocolate nougat covered with milk chocolate is slightly complicated. Compliment, not contrast, is the key here, so use King Estate "Vin Glace" Pinot Gris or
Peter Lehmann Botrytis Semillon.

5. Milky Way
Chocolate malt-flavored nougat and caramel covered with milk chocolate needs good
intensity combined with a fruity edge. Try a Brachetto d' Acqui semi-sparkling.

4. Butterfinger
Butterfinger consists of a crunchy blend of butter and peanut butter covered with
chocolate. Peanut butter's creamy, nutty intensity combines well with sherry; enjoy
it with Alvear's Amontillado.

3. Kit Kat
Wafers, nougat and chocolate need a spicy Madeira like Sandeman "Fine Rich."

2. Reese's Peanut Butter Cups
Again, peanut butter needs a bold partner; try a cream sherry like with the Pedro Ximenez grape

1. Snickers
You can't go wrong with nougat, caramel, roasted peanuts, and milk chocolate. The
number-one selling bar deserves only the best: try it with a solera sherry.

For the adventurous, experience an Almond Joy or Mounds bar with A fine Vintage port.

What the heck is "Room Temperature?"

Like food, adjust to your personal preference...
45 degrees Most white wines you'll come across including Chenin Blancs, Sauvignon Blancs, Loire Wines, Rieslings and 'everyday' Chardonnays.
50 degrees Full bodied, high quality white wines including Sauternes and rich white Burgundies.  Light red wines like Beaujolais.
58 degrees Red wines including Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Bordeaux, Zinfandel, Rhones and Syrah/Shiraz.

"Room Temperature" is reference to an English house in the 1700's and it was pretty darn COLD! Why the cold shoulder? Think about a steak served with the perfect amount of "doneness," 'nuff said!

The EASY WAY TO DO THIS: Follow the 20/20 rule and either put your red in the fridge for 20 minutes or pull out for 20 minutes and enjoy!

What the heck is "Bottle Shock?"

Bottle Sickness/Bottle Shock—Moving wine within the winery, bottling it, or transporting it to a different location can have a temporary negative effect on the flavor. After a period of time—a few days or weeks—it will be back to normal.

What the heck is "Lees"

Lees — Lees refer to the thick sediment that floats to the bottom during the wine's fermentation process. The lees consist of the dead yeast cells, grape skin and seed fragments and various grape solids that separate from the juice and go with gravity to the bottom of the barrel or fermentation tank. Winemakers will occasionally stir the lees during fermentation to conjure up additional contact with the grape juice and solids. This stirring of the lees gives more body and flavor to the final wine.Sur lie literally translates from the French as 'on lees'. 'Sur lie' wines are bottled directly from the lees without racking (a process for filtering the wine). In the case of great Chardonnay, such as Montrachet, this adds a toasty, nutty "hazelnut" quality and additional depth and complexity, especially on the finish. Chemically this can alter the oak flavor molecules increasing the integration, and making the oak seem less obtrusive to the palate. This is desirable because oak tannins are a poly-phenolic acid, and can be harsh. This process can also give an added freshness and creaminess to the wine, and improve color and clarity. Muscadet is made in this fashion. The effect of the lees during bottle fermentation for at least five years on champagne is considerable. The "bready" toasty notes associated with some of the greatest sparkling wines made are the result of 'sur lie' aging.

Beer — on lees is also sometimes made. Many of the beers offered by the Quebec, Canada based Unibroue are on lees.

Brettanomyces in beer and wine!

Brett-OH-MY-ces

What the heck is brettanomyces? It is a fault we love to embrace!
It’s a yeast — that is a unicellular type of fungus, not a bacterium — that is a common spoilage organism. Brett for short, a genus of yeast consisting of multiple species found naturally in wood. Brettanomyces contributes distinctive flavors to the beverage it grows in. When used properly,  distinctive flavor and aroma is considered desirable in some sour beer styles, and at low levels it is depended on to add complexity to many styles of wine.
The strain brettanomyces claussenii was discovered at the Carlsberg Brewery in 1904 by N. Hjelte Claussen, who was investigating brett as a cause of spoilage in English ales. The term brettanomyces comes from Greek for “British fungus.”
The flavor contributed by brettanomyces is often called barnyard, but has also been described as gamy, or as smelling like damp wool, leather, wet fur, a sweaty saddle (or horse blanket), or a butcher shop. Brett is very invasive, and if not handled properly can become out of control in a winery or brewery. But, if used properly, it can add rich aromas and flavors of earthiness, leather, smoke, barnyard, a famous descriptor is “wet dog in a phone booth!”
Brettanomyces (also known as brett) is feared by most brewers and winemakers alike.  Some winemakers will not even visit breweries that put brettanomyces to work. Brettanomyces is yeast, and has the ability to continue fermenting through almost any type of sugar, including those natural sugars found in the wood of an oak barrel. The “barrel boom” in the 80’s contributed to the growing trend of infection as coopers struggled to keep up with demand.
Brett likes oak. It particularly likes toasted new barrels, and has been found 8 mm deep in staves. It can feed off a compound, cellobiose, that is formed when barrels are toasted. It likes high pH, so when some wineries tried to kill it with bleach, it thrived. It enjoys residual sugar, low SO2 and lees. It can go dormant, so culturing doesn’t reveal its presence, and then, like a bad rash, it re-emerges later on to bloom in the bottle. Brett can and does occur in the cleanest cellars.
Brett control! The use of a chemical called DMDC, and filtration. DMDC is dimethyl dicarbamate. This is extremely toxic to microbes, but breaks down into harmless products once it has done its job. Filtration is another way of dealing with brett but some say it causes loss of flavor. Many fine beers and wines are not, or only lightly filtered.

Brett and Beer
Riding the edge is a big part of our craft beer evolution. Brett infected, or sour beers, our fast becoming the next “in beer” style. Eight or so years ago, the now famous craft IPA’s would have also been considered a fault.
In Belgian ales, brett is both appreciated and encouraged. Lambics and Gueuze owe their unique flavour profiles to brettanomyces, which are also found in Oud Bruin and Flanders red ales.

Examples of these styles:
Liefmans Brown Ale
Rodenbach Grand Cru
Duchesse de Bourgogne
Ithaca Beer Company (in their Brute)
Russian River Brewing Company
Deschutes Brewery
Lost Abbey
New Belgium Brewing Company
Goose Island Beer Company (in their Matilda)
Boulevard Brewing Company (in their Saison-Brett)
Allagash Brewing Company
Ommegeddon and Bière de Mars
Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales
Victory Brewing (in Wild Devil)
Saint Somewhere Brewing
Avery Brewing Company (in Depuceleuse).
The Orval Trappist monastery is a unique Trappist with brettanomyces characteristics. In Orval’s case, the brewers add the yeast to the beer at bottling.
Many American craft breweries have begun to use brettanomyces in their beers. Some breweries use 100% brettanomyces for the fermentation of some of their beers, and omit saccharomyces from the recipe. It’s also common practice for American brewers that use brettanomyces to also include lactic acid producing bacteria such as lactobacillus, and pediococcus in order to provide sourness to the beer.
Sometimes pitched in the fermenter, aging in infected wood barrels, brett is another method used.
While most stouts achieve their sour tang using acidulated malt, roasted barley, or in “Milk Stout” lactose and incipient lactic acid, though, some use brett.

Brett and Home Brew
Be careful, once brett has been introduced, it can be difficult to eliminate. Brett can take up residence in micro-scratches in plastic fermentation vessels and escape alkaline cleaners and acid satirizers used by home-brewers. A bonus? Brett can consume almost any sugar so final gravities are low.

Brett and Wine!
Brett at low levels can have a positive effect and often is associated with on wine, contributing to complexity, and giving an aged character to some young red wines.
Many wines even rely on brettanomyces to give their distinctive character such as in Château Musar and Château de Beaucastel.
When the levels of the sensory compounds greatly exceed the sensory perception and will be negative. Sensory thresholds differ between people, and some are much more sensitive to it than others.
Brettanomyces taint in wine is also sometimes incorrectly identified as cork taint.
In short, this and for many other reasons, beer and wine share many of the same challenges while in the pursuit of providing pleasure.

What the heck is "Fining?"

Wine before fining.

In wine-making, fining is the process where a substance (fining agent) is added to the wine to create an adsorbent, enzymatic or ionic bond with the suspended particles, making them a larger molecule that can precipitate out of the wine easier and quicker. Given enough time many of these suspended particles would gradually precipitate out on their own.
White wines are fined to remove particles that may cause the wine lose color as well as removing heat-unstable proteins that could cause the wine to appear hazy. Red wines are fined for the same reason but also for the added benefit of reducing the amount of bitter, astringent tannins which makes these wines smoother and more approachable sooner after bottling and release. Ancient fining agents, such as dried blood powder were used, but today there are two types organic compounds and solid/mineral materials.

Organic compounds used as fining agents are generally animal based, which may bring concerns for a vegan diet. Most common organic include egg whites, casein derived from milk, gelatin and isinglass obtained from the bladders of fish. Solid materials can also be used as fining agents with bentonite clay. Activated carbon derived from charcoal removes some phenols that contribute to browning colors as well "off-odors" in the wine. Other inorganic materials use include silica and kaolin.

Some countries require the use of fining agents that may be an allergenic substance to appear on the wine label, as there may be trace amounts of the substance still in the wine. However a study conducted by the UC, Davis Department of Viticulture found that no detectable amount of inorganic fining agents.

As with filtration, there is the risk of some loss of flavor with fining with desirable flavor molecules going out with undesirable particles. Production processes get as much flavor and aromatics from the phenols before they are removed. Fining is considered a less harsh process than filtration.

What the heck is a "Sommelier?"

A restaurant employee who orders and maintains the wines sold in the restaurant and usually has extensive knowledge about wine and food pairings.
French, from Old French, officer in charge of provisions, pack-animal driver, alteration of *sommerier, from sommier, beast of burden, from Vulgar Latin *saumrius; see summer [A period of fruition, fulfillment, happiness, or beauty.]

What the heck is a "Biodynamic?"

A vineyard that is certified Biodynamic© meets and typically exceeds the standards and regulations for organic certified farming.

The term "Biodynamic" (now a copyrighted term) refers to an agricultural movement that gained ground in the 1920s and was defined by Dr. Rudolf Steiner, a professor and philosopher from Austria. The goal of Biodynamics is to get a vineyard, a farmyard or a backyard to be largely self-sustaining, utilizing waste products from one zone as fuel for another area. Vines grown under a Biodynamic© management system, are viewed not as a single "row of vines" but as a small (albeit vital) piece of the whole vineyard structure. It's been said that Biodynamics© look at the vineyard or farm as a "living, breathing organism" itself from the soil to the sun, all striving for a well-balanced ecosystem that is self-sustaining.

What the heck is a "Oak's Purpose?"

Sherry barrel showing the aging process                 


Oak drying before being made into barrels

In the United States, white oak, grown in Virginia, Missouri, Kentucky, Oregon, and Ohio, is the species used for barrels. It is preferred over red and black oak due to its tighter grain which minimizes evaporation of wine from the barrel and its resistance to shrinkage after wine is removed, an important feature in preventing wine from leaking out of a newly-filled barrel, and its high tannin content.

French white oak is harvested from several different forests in France. The Forests are Limousin, Alliers, Vosges, Troncais and Nevers, each producing oak that imparts slightly different nuances of flavor to the wine. The tightness of the grain, which determines the rate of extraction of these flavors, also varies among forests. Winemakers typically use a blend of barrels from different forests to take advantage of the unique characteristics of each.

The porous nature of an oak barrel allows some levels of evaporation and oxygenation to occur. In a year, the typical 59-gallon barrel can lose anywhere from 5½ to 6½ gallons of wine through the course of evaporation. This allows the wine to concentrate its flavor and aroma compounds. Small amounts of oxygen are allowed to pass through the barrel and act as a softening agent upon the tannins of the wine. Phenols within the wood interact with the wine to produce vanilla type flavors and can give the impression of tea notes or sweetness. The degree of "toast" on the barrel can also impart different properties affecting the tannin levels of the wine as well as the aggressive wood flavors.

What the Heck is a "Appellation?"

Above is a basic Napa appellation map

An appellation is a legally defined and protected geographical indication used to identify where the grapes for a wine were grown; other types of food often have appellations as well. The rules that govern appellations are dependent on the country in which the wine was produced.

The oldest references are to be found in the Bible, where wine of Samaria, wine of Carmel, wine of Jezreel, or wine of Helbon are mentioned. This tradition of appellation continued throughout the Antiquity and the Middle Ages, though without any officially sanctioned rules. Historically, the world's first exclusive (protected) vineyard zone was introduced in Chianti, Italy in 1716 and the first wine classification system in Tokaj-Hegyalja, Hungary, in 1730.

In 1935, the Institut National des Appellations d'Origine (INAO), a branch of the French Ministry of Agriculture, was created to manage wine-processing in France. In the Rhone wine region Baron Pierre Le Roy Boiseaumarié, a lawyer and winegrower from Châteauneuf-du-Pape, obtained legal recognition of the Côtes du Rhône appellation of origin in 1937. The AOC seal, or Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée, was created and mandated by French laws in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s.

Champagne enjoyed an appellation control by virtue of legal protection as part of the Treaty of Madrid (1891). Only sparkling wine produced in Champagne and adhering to the standards defined for that name as an Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée could be called champagne. This right was reaffirmed in the Treaty of Versailles after World War I.

Germany is unusual among wine-producing countries in that its most prestigious classifications, the various grades of Prädikatswein, are based on the ripeness of the grapes, though their geographical areas are also defined.

Portugal The world's third-oldest appellation control, after Chianti and Tokaj was introduced in Portugal in 1756, pertaining to port wine, which was produced in the region of the Douro valley.

The American Viticultural Area ("AVA") is for the United States. The only requirement to use the AVA name on the wine label is that 85% of the wine must have come from grapes grown within the geographical AVA boundaries. The first American Viticultural Area was in Augusta, Missouri, in 1980. Augusta's wine region approval was based largely on its long historical relationship with wine in the United States.

What the Heck is "Wine Aging?

 

Only a few wines have the ability to significantly improve with age. Master of Wine Jancis Robinson notes that only around the top 10% of all red wine and top 5% of all white wines can improve significantly enough with age to make drinking more enjoyable at 5 years of age than at 1 year of age. Also, in my humble opinion, if you need to age a wine it might not be the wine for you?

Bottle sickness: One of the short-term aging needs of wine is a period where the wine is considered "sick" due to the trauma and volatility of the bottling or shipping experience. During bottling some oxygen is exposed to the wine, causing a domino effect of chemical reaction with various components of the wine. The time it takes for the wine to settle down and have the oxygen fully dissolve and integrate with the wine is considered its period of "bottle shock". During this time the wine could taste drastically different than it did prior to bottling or how it will taste after the wine has settled. While many modern bottling lines try to treat the wine as gently as possible and utilize inert gases to minimize the amount of oxygen exposure, all wine goes through some period of bottle shock. The length of this period will vary with each individual wine.

Dumb phase: During the course of aging a wine may slip into a "dumb phase" where its aromas and flavors are very muted. In Bordeaux this phase is called the age ingrat or "difficult age" and is likened to a teenager going through adolescence. The cause or length of time that this "dumb phase" will last is not yet fully understood and seems to vary from bottle to bottle.

What the Heck is a Punt?

A punt is the concave bottom of "better" wine bottles.  Origins of the punt are unknown but likely existed either for strength of the bottom of the bottle (especially with sparkling wine) or in order to form a stable (non-rocking) bottom in the hand-blown bottles. Today a punt is unnecessary and exists only for the customer perception of quality.

And sadly no, it is not for "holding" the bottle!

What the Heck is Balanced?

Balance—When a wine is well-balanced, all its components—fruit, acid, alcohol, tannins, body—are in harmony, with no one component dominating the others. Now more than ever, wines are being produced "in balance" and fewer wines need aging!

What the Heck is an Apéritif?

An Apéritif [the word comes from the Latin aperire, "to open"] is a light, most often dry, most often modestly alcoholic beverage meant to spark the appetite without overwhelming the senses. [It should start your salivary glands]

Liquors: Campari, Dubonnet Vermouth only: [Noilly Prat] Wine: Champagnes / Sherries (particularly the lighter Fino) / Un-oaked chardonnay / Sauvignon Blanc / Grüner Veltliner / Verdejo / Rosé wine and more!

Snacks and nibbles: All the food that can come with the drink. This includes an Amuse-bouche, such as crackers, cheese, pâté, or olives. An amuse-bouche [amyzbuʃ] is a single, bite-sized hors d’œuvre. In restaurants: Amuse-bouches are different from appetizers in that they are not ordered from a menu by patrons, but, when served, are done so according to the chef's selection alone. These, often accompanied by a complementing wine, are served as an excitement of taste buds both to prepare the guest for the meal and to offer a glimpse into the chef's approach to cooking.

The term is French, literally translated to "mouth amuser". The plural form is amuse-bouche or amuse-bouches.

What the Heck is Residual Sugar?

Residual sugar
Term commonly used in wine analysis referring to the content of unfermented sugar in a wine already bottled. Sometimes it is added back into the wine as in some sparkling wines. In other cases, the natural sugars are so high that the normal fermentation process is stopped as the yeast cannot continue to produce alcohol. And sometimes sulpher dioxide is added to inhibit the yeast so that the sugar content stays high.

What the Heck is Meritage?

The Meritage Association was formed in 1988 by a small group of Napa Valley, California vintners to offer a way to denote wines that do not meet the 75% minimum grape labeled wines. Interest grew in creating Bordeaux-style wines, their blended nature failed to qualify for varietal status. In 1988, the association hosted a contest to conceive a proprietary name for these wines, receiving over 6,000 submissions. "Meritage", —a combination of merit and heritage, was selected and its coiner awarded two bottles of the first ten vintages of every wine licensed to use the brand. In May 2009, The Meritage Association announced that it has changed its name to The Meritage Alliance.

A red Meritage must be made from a blend of at least two or more of the following varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Petit Verdot or Carmenère, with no varietal comprising more than 90% of the blend.

A white Meritage must be made from a blend of at least two or more of the following varieties: Sauvignon Blanc, Sémillon or Muscadelle du Bordelais, with no varietal comprising more than 90% of the blend.

Although many people, including many wine experts, have a tendency to Frenchify the word "Meritage" by pronouncing its last syllable with a "zh" sound, as in "garage," the Meritage Alliance specifically states that the word should be pronounced to rhyme with "heritage."

What the Heck is Sake?

Sake types:

Junmai : rice that has been milled 30% with 70% of each grain remaining.

Honjozo : a portion of added distilled alcohol, and the rice is milled 30% with 70% of each grain remaining.

Junmai Ginjo : rice milled 40% with 60% of each grain remaining.

Ginjo : a portion of added distilled alcohol, and the rice is milled 40% with 60% of each grain remaining.

Junmai Dai Ginjo : rice milled 50% with 50% of each grain of rice remaining.

Dai Ginjo : a portion of distilled alcohol, and the rice is milled 50% with 50% of each grain remaining.

Nigori: (unfiltered sake).

Taru: Freshly brewed sake in cedar tanks (cedar sake).

Nama: (unpasteurized sake.)

Koshu: (aged sake).

Kijoshu: adding more sake instead of more water to the brew (dessert sake).

Genshu: (undiluted sake).

Aviod Sunburn by Drinking More Wine!

What to avoid sunburn? Drink more wine!

A compound found in grapes or grape derivatives may protect skin cells from skin-damaging ultraviolet radiation, report researchers from the University of Barcelona and the Spanish National Research Council. The flavonoids found in grapes work to halt the chemical reaction that kills skin cells and causes sun damage. Here's what happens: When UV rays hit your skin, they activate "reactive oxygen species," or ROS, which then oxidize big molecules like lipids and DNA. This activates particular enzymes that kill skin cells.

But grapes' flavonoids work to decrease the formation of the ROS's in skin cells that were exposed to UVA and UVB rays. The researchers, led by Marta Cascante, a biochemist at the University of Barcelona, Spain and director of the research project, note that this finding may lead to better sun-shielding drugs and cosmetics.

The study was published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

What the Heck is Ullage?

Ullage is the word used to describe the air space above the wine and under the cork or cap. The word comes from the Latin word oculus, by the Romans for the bung hole of a barrel. This was taken into French and the verb ouiller was created, to fill a barrel up to the bung hole. (When wine ferments in the barrel, evaporation through the wood can create unwanted bacteria causing off fermentation.) English, ullage came to refer to any amount by which a barrel is unfilled and it is also applied to the unfilled air space at the top of a bottle of wine, which in this case is essential to allow for expansion of the contents as the temperature changes.

High fill or Normal fill - Level of young wines. Exceptionally good in wines over 10 years.

Into neck - Perfectly good for any age of wine. Awesome for a wine of 10 years.

Mid neck fill - In bottles over 10 years of age, indicates good storage conditions.

Base neck fill - The fill is at about the bottom of the neck. Indicates excellent storage for any wine. For wines over 25 years of age, indicates exceptional storage conditions.

Top shoulder - Not unusual for wines over 40 years of age, but most older wines should be refilled, with the same wine from other bottles, and re-corked before the wine gets to this point! High-risk-undrinkable!

Wine Cocktails Wines big word of the Week!

Mixing with wine! Wine offers a great way to add dimension to cocktails.

Bishop Cocktail- red wine, rum, simple syrup, lime juice

Bloody Rum Punch- red wine, rum, lime juice, triple sec, simple syrup

Candy Corn- moscato wine, kettle-corn infused gin, citrus peel grenadine

Cardinal Cocktail- red wine, creme de cassis

Champagne Bowler- white wine, sparkling wine, cognac, simple syrup, strawberries

Cobb's Cognac Dream- Rose wine, Cognac, rum, fruits

Endless Possibilities- Covey Run Semillon Ice Wine, vanilla-ginger simple syrup, club soda

English Christmas Punch- dry red wine, dark rum, tea, orange juice, lemon juice

Falling Leaf Fizz- sparkling wine, pear vodka, pumpkin butter, pumpkin pie spice

Ice-tini- Covey Run Semillon Ice Wine, vodka

Kir- dry white wine, crème de cassis

Liquid Lust- white wine, Rosangel tequila, orange juice, cranberry juice, club soda, fruits

Miranda Cocktail- pinot noir, Lillet Blanc, Bluecoat Gin, simple syrup, lemon puree
Mulled Wine- red wine, brandy, orange, cloves, honey or sugar, cinnamon sticks, ginger

Pink Elephant- merlot, Amarula Cream, chocolate liqueur, raspberry puree, heavy cream

Rosé Berry Bliss- Rosé, pink lemonade, blueberries, lemon-lime soda

Sangria- red wine, brandy, curaçao, ginger ale, sugar syrup, club soda, fresh lemon or lime juice, fresh orange juice

Brazilian Sangria- red wine, Spanish brandy, absinthe, orange liqueur, fresh fruits

Dutch Appel Sangria- white wine, Van Gogh Dutch Appel Vodka, orange liqueur, pineapple juice

White Peach Sangria- Pinot Grigio, mango rum, white peach schnapps, lemon, lime, orange, lemon-lime soda

Something Blue- white wine, Hpnotiq, ginger ale

Viscusi Cocktail- dessert wine, Prosseco, Canadian whisky, orange bitters

Wine Spritzer- white wine, club soda or mineral water

Xalapa Punch- dry red wine, apple brandy, amber rum, black tea, honey, oranges

Ziaza- Dubonnet, gin