Drinking a glass of wine is not similar to sipping a cup of tea. Wine drinking is a culture to some of us. For others, it is a hobby. It is true that there is no strict rule for tasting wine. Still, you will get the best from every sip by learning the tricks of drinking wine. You can unleash the potentials of a wine connoisseur, hidden in you and Drink Wine Like A Pro. Let us now help you to know the perfect technique of drinking a glass of cool wine.
We cannot guide you without introducing you to the basic wine knowledge. Most of the wines have grapes. However, these grapes are different from what you have found in any grocery store. These special wine grapes are sweeter and smaller with seeds and thicker skin.
When you are new to alcoholic drinks, the most intimidating task for you is to buy the right wine. You may not know your own taste palate. To most of the beginners, Pinot Noir and Merlot wines are the best choices. These are red-colored wines with fruity flavor. You may also try out Sauvignon Blanc white wine. While choosing wines, you have to focus on different factors.
The wine bottle label is the source of information to the beginners. It will tell you all about wine, present in your bottle.
To dive yourself in the world of wine, you can try to learn about the diversity of this drink. Wines, produced at different places of this world, have subtle variations. To help you to learn about wine, we have talked about some varieties.
With its origin in France, it is much similar to Champagne. This wine is produced with the time-intensive production process. While you love Champagne, you can try it out.
This sweet flavored wine is made of aromatic grapes. It is a rich, perfumed white wine that may be within your budget. Torrontés and Moscato d’Asti are this type of wines.
This wine had gained popularity after the import of French wines to England. Rose wines are of different varieties, as they are made of various grapes. Most of the drinkers love the dry version. Grenache and Carigan are some of these wines.
Dessert wines are of various types, and their taste ranges from the sweet to the dry ones. You can find thick syrup in this wine.
Some of us love drinking wine directly from the bottle, while others find a style in holding a wine glass with their hand. Wine glasses are of different shapes, and some of them fit best for particular types of wine.
You may not be too much enthusiastic about the design of your wine glass. In that case, the space-saving option to you is to choose the universal glass.
As one of the regular drinkers, you may invest in these wine glasses. These are smaller glasses, having a narrower mouth for limiting the evaporation.
For most types of red wines, you can rely on this glass. You can choose this glass to enjoy wines, having a higher amount of alcohol.
While you are drinking bold red wines, you may choose this glass. The bigger surface area causes the evaporation of ethanol. As the opening is wider, you get a smoother taste from wine. Sauvignon, Cabernet and different other wines taste best in this glass.
To have pleasure from drinking white wines, you may buy small sized bowled glasses. These glasses help in preserving the floral zest and keep up the cool temperature. The acidity also remains at the best level. Orange wines, White, Rioja and Chardonnay are the wine options to use this bowled glass.
This is one of the important sections in our beginner’s guide to wine. The sommeliers also rely on various wine tasting techniques for sharpening their capability of recalling wines. Our guide will help you to taste wine as a pro.
Opacity and color of wine are the two major indicators of the grape species, acidity level, alcoholic content and sugar and the climate, where the drink is produced. You can find out these traits within a few seconds. The age of wines is also identifiable from the overall look. With the increasing age of white wines, you can find the altering color of the drinks. It turns into a yellowish and brownish drink. However, red wine becomes paler due to aging.
The rim and color variation indicates the types of grapes. Grenache and Nebbiolo wines are translucent colored drinks. Pinot Noir is a ruby colored wine, while Malbec has pink rim.
The viscous and thicker wine legs inform you about the presence of high alcohol.
Aroma is one of the strongest indicators of everything related to your wine. By identifying the aroma, you may answer different questions- What is the age of wine? Does the wine have fruity flavor?
Pie crust and Meyer lemon are the aromatic compounds, known as stereoisomers. We can sense the aroma due to the evaporation of alcohol. One glass of wine may have various compounds, and it will be always easy for you to interpret it rightly. We can categorize the aroma in three ways.
Primary aromas have their origin in wine grapes. Barbera emits the aroma of anise or licorice due to the compounds, present in Barbera grapes. The fruity taste is very common to most of the wines. However, the floral and herbal notes are also the primary aromas.
The yeast fermentation process at the time of making wine results in the secondary aroma. For instance, Brut Champagne has a sourdough smell. This smell is yeasty and bready. Yogurt aroma is also the secondary one, and malolactic fermentation results in this aroma.
The bouquets or tertiary aromas are present in the aging wine. Aging over a long period causes these aromas. For instance, you can find vanilla aroma in some oak-aged wines. This tertiary smell can cause a modification of the primary aromas, and you can sense it in solera wine.
Having some knowledge of these aromas is essential to a regular wine drinker.
The wines, having a higher acidity level, are not much sweet. Thus, acidity and sweetness have a relationship. The unit used to measure the sweetness is g/l RS. The wines with 220 g/l RS are much like syrup. 30 or 40 g/l means average level of sweetness.
Now to talk about acidity, you have to mention pH factor. Wines have varieties of acids. Acidity indicates the level of sourness of your wine. Zippy or tart is another name of the highly acidic wine. The pH value of wine varies from 2.5 to 4.9.
You know that the red wines have different fruit flavors. These flavors can be of black or red fruits. You have to learn the way to differentiate these fruit flavors. The full-bodied wines have black fruit flavors.
While preparing red wine, the manufacturers combine black and red fruit flavors. Grenache contains the flavors of red fruits, while Syrah has the tang of black fruit. White wines blend two different types of fruits, including the citrus and tree fruits. The tree fruits include apricot, peach, apple, nectarine and pear. The wines, made from these fruits, are Moscato, Viognier, and Sauvignon Blanc. The citrus fruits include lemon, pineapple and orange.
These few steps will help you in opening your wine bottle.
When it is white wine, you must store the opened bottle insider the refrigerator. Make sure that you have corked the bottle tightly. You must drink the wine within 3 to 5 days. However, for the red wines, you can place the bottles at any dark site. The regular drinkers can buy a special wine refrigerator.
Take a napkin for wiping the spout. Make sure that the label of the bottle is facing outward. Sommeliers love holding the bottle in this technique. At first, you can pour 5 to 6 ounces of wine. Fill out the remaining part of the glass with water. The bottle’s bottom side has to be away from you at the time of pouring the wine.
While you are tasting wine at a party or any other occasion, you must follow the customs-
As one of the beginners, you may question- Can wine go bad? Improper storage and different other factors can cause damage to your wine. In our wine guide, we have listed a few signs, indicating a bad wine.
Smell and flavor in the cork- The cork of the bottle has absorbed the wine’s flavor.
Smell like that of vinegar and cardboard- It indicates the impurities, present in wine, and these impurities cause mold formation in the drink.
Bubbly wine- Too much air results in this issue.
Intense brown color- The aged wines may be brown. However, you must not drink it without checking everything.
Mistakes in drinking wine-
Thus, you must avoid these mistakes to enjoy your wine in a better way
Most of the wine enthusiasts love pairing their drinks with some foods. However, the choice of the right foods with your wine is a must to have the best taste. In our wine guide, we have given you tips on these pairings.
While you find out the wine composition, you will find various traits of all the wine types. Tannin, sweetness, acidity and alcohol level are different for wines. By identifying the flavors and traits of wine, you can easily make the pairings with your food. DIY or creative pairings are interesting. Still we have guided you on the way of choosing food with wine.
Wine and chocolate pairings are very common to us. However, a minor mistake in these pairings may affect your feelings. For instance, a dark chocolate with red wine results in a sour or bitter taste. Milk chocolates, containing cream, go with most of the wines. However, dark chocolates have polyphenols, and you have to balance the bitterness while making the pair. White chocolate does not have cacao, and it is best to consume with your dry red wine. You may also take spices (mint, basil, sage, lavender and coriander) and herbs with your wine.
To conclude, we can say that the above guide on how to drink wine would make you confident. You will get more pleasure from drinking different wines. You can now visit to a winery and pick your favorite wines.
