The Importance of Wine Temperature

         You purchased that special wine for that special occasion. In addition to that, you have researched and picked wonderful wine glasses to enjoy that wine. Finally, you have even paired the right foods with your wine selection. Do you think you are ready for that special wine experience ? You may be missing a very important detail. That detail is wine temperature. Yes, wine temperature can determine if you barely taste it being too cold  or overbearing if it is too warm.
     
       That brings up one important question. What is the proper wine temperature? With the expertise of New York Magazine, they provide the information you need to know the proper temperatures of  red and white wines.


        To enjoy wine at the proper temperature, you need to act in a counterintuitive manner: Chill your reds and warm your whites. Unless you have a proper wine cellar, you should let your red wines spend about forty-five minutes in the refrigerator or ten minutes in an ice bucket (fill the bucket with a mix of ice and water for the quickest results). This will bring out the fruit and de-emphasize the tannins. Whites should come out of the fridge about half an hour before serving, or you should start them at room temperature and ice them for some twenty or so minutes to release their bouquets. If you follow these rules of thumb, you'll notice an immediate improvement in your wine enjoyment.

         If you want to get more serious about temperature -- and I think it's well worth the trouble -- you can do a little experimenting. Chill a bottle of red wine overnight in the refrigerator. Get yourself a thermometer and pour and taste the wine as it rises through the various temperature levels. Touch the bottle to learn how the different temperatures feel on the back of your hand (just like feeling your kids' foreheads). You'll be an expert in a matter of hours, and you'll be able to serve every kind of wine at its ideal temperature.

• Full-bodied reds, such as Bordeaux, California Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, Rhone Valley, Australian Shiraz, Burgundy, Oregon Pinot Noir, Zinfandel, Italian Brunello and Barolo and port, show themselves best at 60ºF to 65ºF (about forty-five minutes in the fridge; bottle should be slightly cool to the touch). This is the warmest you should ever serve any wine. The truly great Burgundy whites, like Montrachet, drink more like reds than like whites and will also exhibit their flavors best at these temperatures.
• Light, fruity reds, like Italian Dolcetto and young Chianti, Valpolicella, young Rioja from Spain and Loire Valley reds like Chinon and Bourgueil do best at 50ºF to 60ºF (about one and a half hours in the fridge; bottle starting to feel cold).
• Likewise, the 50ºF to 60ºF range is ideal for substantial white wines, such as most white Burgundy, California and Australia Chardonnay and German Spatlese and Auslese, as well as high quality dessert wines like Sauternes and late-harvest Rieslings.
• Light, fruity whites, such as French whites from the Loire, Alsace and Bordeaux, lighter Australian whites, Oregon Pinot Gris and all Sauvignon Blancs are best at 45ºF to 50ºF (two hours in the fridge; bottle cold to the touch). This is also the proper range for fine vintage champagne and ice wine.
• Only the simplest wines should be ice cold (below 45ºF; three hours in the fridge). Basic Spanish and Portuguese whites (like Vinho Verde), the lesser-quality sweet wines, rosés and non-vintage sparkling wines. 

We hope this helps you to know the proper temperatures so you can experience the way the wine is suppose to be enjoyed. If you would like to contact us with any questions or feedback you can reach us by  email.

Thank you for visiting!

Joseph A Jones & The WellLife Team

How to Pair Wine & Cheese

 
         Food Pairings are so important to  have that ultimate wine experience. One of the simpler and more effective wine pairings is with cheese.How do you pair  the right wine with the right cheese?
   
        With the expertise of wineintro.com,  they explain the taste process and then finish it off with a wine and cheese pairing list.So where to start ... how about those two sense organs that most humans possess: the nose and tongue.

The sensation wine gives you - flavor and aroma - does not come chiefly from your tongue. Your tongue has "zones" for each type of flavor it can taste, so you want the wine to be able to go over each section. The tip senses sweet, the front sides salt, the back sides acid, and the very back bitter. Even in each section, there are buds of different "intensities".

In comparison with this well-organized but generalizing tongue, your nose is incredibly sensitive at picking out minute differences in aroma. It is able to sense concentrations of some odors in the parts-per-million quantity. Practice often with both senses, paying attention to the flavors you are detecting in the wine, learning what combinations you enjoy and do not enjoy. The more flavors you try in your day to day activities, the greater the "background of taste knowledge" you will have when you try to figure out what a particular wine tastes like.

Pairing is not an arcane science. It is simply the decision of which wine will bring out the best in a given food, and which food will bring out the best in a given wine, all based on how you personally enjoy both.

One very typical wine-food pairing is Cheese, and many wine parties have cheese as the main snack. Why is this? There are so many varieties of cheeses that there is one that goes well with any type of wine you might try.

 
Cheese tends to make a wine taste better, too. It "smooths out" the wine and brings out what is best in both. Both wine and cheese are natural products, something created with care and aged to perfection.
In most cases a red wine goes well with hard cheese, while white wines go well with softer cheeses, but again this comes down to your own personal tastes and what combinations of flavors you enjoy.

         Cheese Type                          Wine                        Suggestion

• Brie                                        Red Wine              Cabernet/Beaujolais
• Mild Cheddar                          White Wine            Chardonnay
• Strong Cheddar                       Red Wine              Cabernet/Sauvignon Blanc
• Cream Cheese                        White Wine           White Zinfandel
• Danish Blue                            Red Wine              Cabernet
• Feta                                       Red Wine              Beaujolais
• Gorgonzola                             White Wine           Sauternes-Bordeaux
• Gouda                                    White Wine           Riesling
• Muenster                                Red Wine              Beaujolais
• Provolone                                White Wine          Chardonnay

We hope this gets you started on your wine pairing journey.


If you would like to contact us with any questions or feedback, you can reach us by email.

Thank You for Visiting!
Joseph A. Jones  & The WellLife Team
                               

Explaining The Different Kinds of Red Wine and White Wine

         

         Whenever you go shopping for wine, it is easy to forget about all the the wines that are available to you.You also want to know what are in these wines and what are its characteristics.It is important to know these  choices that are available to you to enhance your wine experience.Vino for dinner.com is a wonderful resource to use which describes these wine in great detail below.

 

RED WINE

Cabernet Franc [cab-er-nay frahnk] - Traditionally used as a blending grape in Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, Cab Franc has recently come into its own as an exceptional stand-alone varietal. The aromas and flavors can vary greatly depending on the region of the grape.

 

Cabernet Sauvignon [cab-er-nay so-vin-yon] - Cabernet Sauvignon is one of the most widely recognized red wines and is considered to be the "King" of red wine. It is known for its depth of flavor, aroma and ability to age. It is full-bodied and intense, with cherry, currant and sometimes herbal flavors. Cabernet Sauvignon may have noticeable tannins and is usually aged using oak barrels.

 

Merlot [mur-low] - Merlot is a red wine grape that is used as both a blending grape and varietal wines. Merlot based wines usually have medium to full body and herbaceous flavors and hints of plum currant and berries. The flexibility of the grape has helped to make it one of the most popular and common wines in the United States.

 

Pinot Noir [pee-no nwahr] - The tremendously broad range of bouquets, flavors, textures and impressions that Pinot noir can produce sometimes confuses tasters. In the broadest terms, the wine tends to be of light to medium body with an aroma reminiscent of black cherry, raspberry or currant.

 

Syrah or Shiraz [sih-rah] - The name Shiraz is commonly used for wines that come from Australia, South Africa, Canada and New Zealand. Wines made from Syrah are often quite powerfully flavored and full-bodied. The variety produces wines with a wide range of flavor notes, depending on the climate and soils where it is grown, as well as other viticulture practices chosen. Aroma characters can range from violets to berries (usually dark as opposed to red), chocolate, espresso and black pepper. No one aroma can be called "typical" though blackberry and pepper are often noticed.

 

Zinfandel [zin-fan-del] - The taste of the red wine depends on the ripeness of the grapes from which it is made. Red berry fruits like raspberry predominate in wines from cooler areas such as the Napa Valley, whereas blackberry, anise and pepper notes are more common in wines made in warmer areas such as Sonoma County.

 

WHITE WINE

 

Chardonnay [shar-dun-nay] - Usually 100% varietal, Chardonnay is a white wine, which can range from clean and crisp with a hint of varietal flavor to rich and complex oak-aged wines. Chardonnay typically balances fruit, acidity and texture. Most Chardonnays spend time in oak, either barrel fermented and/or aged. It is becoming more common for Chardonnay to be fermented in using stainless steel. Chardonnay's fermented in stainless steel are usually more crisp and clean.

 

Gewurztraminer [gah-vertz-trah-mee-ner] - This variety has high natural sugar and the wines are white and usually off-dry, with a flamboyant bouquet of flavors. Dry Gewuerztraminers may also have aromas of roses, passion fruit and floral notes.

 

Pinot Gris [pee-noh gree] - Wines made from the Pinot Gris vary greatly and are dependent on the region and wine making style they are from. German Pinot Gris are more full-bodied with a balance of acidity and slight sweetness. In Oregon the wines are medium bodied with a yellow to copper-pink color and aromas of pear, apple, and/or melon. In California, the Pinot Gris are more light bodied with a crisp, refreshing taste with some pepper.

 

Riesling [rees-ling] - Riesling is a white grape variety which originates in the Rhine region of Germany. Riesling is an aromatic grape variety displaying flowery, almost perfumed, aromas as well as high acidity. It is used to make dry, semi-sweet, sweet and sparkling white wines. Riesling wines are usually varietal pure and are seldom oaked. Note that we did say dry for Riesling, this varietal is commonly thought to be sweet but most Rieslings made outside of Germany will tend to be drier.

 

Sauvignon Blanc [sah-vin-yon blahnk] - Is now planted in many of the world's wine regions, producing a crisp, dry, and refreshing white wine. Depending on climate, the flavor can range from aggressively grassy to sweetly tropical. It is common for this wine to be referred to as crisp, clean and fresh.

Semillon [sem-ee-yon] - is a golden-skinned grape used to make dry and sweet white wines, most notably in France and Australia. Usually blended with Sauvignon Blanc, and sometimes with Chardonnay, but can also stand on its own as a single varietal. Mostly fermented and aged in stainless steel and sometimes with oak.

If you would like to contact us with any questions or feedback, you can reach us by email.

Thank You for Visiting !

Joseph A. Jones & The WellLife Team