WineLife365

Archive for the ‘Tips’ Category

New Years Ball - Times Square

Tick Tock.

It’s that time of year again when most of us go wandering around in the “Champagne” aisle looking for that perfect bubbly to toast with loved ones.  You ask yourself, should I purchase the genuine article from Champagne, France or just something modeled after it?

Sparkling wine is the term used when talking about all of the other bubbly stuff made outside of the Champagne region of France.  Some examples of sparkling wine include Cava from Spain, Prosecco from Italy, and French inspired Brut from California estates.  The choices and style differences from around the globe can be endless and pricing can also be all over the board, depending on what you’re looking for and how much you want to spend.

Here’s a list of 10 reliable Sparkling wines/Champagne that know how to make it pop year after year.

1. Segura Viudas Brut Extra Dry Cava (Spain) Price: $10.  For the money, this might be the most delicious sparkler on the market.
2. Freixenet Brut de Noirs Cava Rose (Spain) Price: $8.  Another great Spanish sparkler with a touch of sweetness.
3. Mionetto DOC Prosecco (Italy) Price: $12.  Italian sparklers really got my attention this year, and this one is totally fantastic.
4. Domaine Ste. Michelle Extra Dry Sparkling (USA) Price: $12.  A real crowd pleaser and very reliable year after year.
5. Domaine Chandon Brut Sparkling (USA) Price: $20.  Can be a bit too dry for some, but very French in style and taste.
6. Roederer Estate Sparkling Brut and Rose (USA) Price: $25-$30.  This stuff starts to move into French Champagne pricing – but so does the quality!  Both the Brut and Rose are superb and its as good as the best that France has to offer.  If your wallet runneth over with Benjamins, you may want to try a bottle of their Cristal (Rappers sold separately).
7. Gruet Blanc de Blancs (USA) Price: $25.  The Gruet Winery is located in Albuquerque, New Mexico – reason enough to try this American sparkler.
8. Veuve Clicquot Yellow Label NV (France) Price: $40.  Some may argue that this French Champagne is overpriced, but it has established a benchmark in quality for itself that a lot of other producers have imitated.
9. Pol Roger Blanc NV Brut (France) Price: $40.  I love this Champagne!  It’s rich, interesting, and tastes even better after two days in the fridge after being opened.
10.   Bollinger Special Cuvee NV (France) Price: $60. At 60 bucks a bottle, this Champagne delivers the goods!  The Bollinger is about as good and reliable as it gets when it comes to rich tasting French Champagne. 

Happy New Year! 

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…Making a list and checking it twice!  I posted a wine tip earlier this year, and thought that it would be a useful and helpful piece to share again for your holiday party planning.

1.    What’s considered a “full” glass of wine?  Answer: About a ½ glass.  A half full glass allows the swirling folks to play “merry-go-round” with their wine.

2.    How many bottles of wine should you purchase for a full evening of entertaining?  Answer: Assuming you have a bunch of wine drinkers – at least 1 bottle (750ml) per person.  Note:  You gotta know your crowd and plan accordingly.  If you’ve got guests coming that you know can throw’em back; best to buy more wine or be prepared to holler “Last Call! But you’re welcome to stay for a cup of Nescafé Crème de Menthe coffee…”

3.    What’s the approximate number of servings in a standard size (750ml) bottle of wine?  Answer: 5. The pour is a tad light at 5.  But generally speaking, you get about 4-5 glasses per 750ml bottle depending on the generosity of the person pouring the wine.

4.    How many calories are in a glass of wine?  Answer: A standard bartender’s pour is considered to be 5 ounces. The approximate number of calories based on a 5 oz pour is between 100 and 150 calories.

5.    How many different glasses do I need?  Answer: 1 red and 1 white wine glass.  Or, just one great all-purpose glass.  If you like the bubbly stuff or wear an ascot and a smoker’s jacket, then you’ll need a Champagne flute, a brandy snifter, or maybe even a cocktail glass too!

6.    How long do I need to fully chill a white wine in the fridge before serving it?  Answer: About 2 hours.

7.    How long do I need to fully chill a red wine in the fridge before serving it?  Answer: None.  Most red wines should be served at room temperature unless you’re dealing with a “cross-dresser” red wine like Beaujolais or Pinot Noir.  It all depends if you prefer to serve these particular types of reds at room temperature or with a little chill on them.

8.    What’s the best storage temperature for wine to not freeze or “cook” it?  Answer: Generally speaking an ideal storage temperature would be somewhere in your home that is constantly between 50-55 degrees Fahrenheit.  That’s why the basement makes for an ideal cellar.

9.    How many days do leftover wines keep?  Answer: Generally speaking, about 2 days. White wines tend to last a little bit longer than reds. I would say that red wines should be finished the day after opening it.  If the wine comes in a box, you’ve got a month to suck it all down.

10. How many different bottle openers do I need?  Answer: One that is sturdy and capable of opening several bottles over the course of an evening.  Any wine bottle with a cork enclosure can be opened with a decent and relatively inexpensive Spinhandle Screwpull.

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With Thanksgiving only days away, you might be wondering what wine to serve with your traditional turkey and side dishes.  Here’s a hint – Something American!

Thanksgiving is an American holiday that, in my opinion, deserves an American-made wine.  There are many types of wines to choose from, whether white or red, or sweet or dry, but my personal favorite with this holiday meal is a good old-fashion American Cabernet Sauvignon.  It’s big and bold flavors are brawny enough to stand up to just about any traditional side dish that you throw at it as well as any herbs and spices that you decide to use on your Thanksgiving turkey.

Here are a few very reliable American Cabernet Sauvignon names that you may want to consider shopping for:

·         Beringer Vineyards – Whether it’s their inexpensive Cab or higher priced Reserve Cabs, Beringer Vineyards Cabs are pretty darn reliable and tasty year in and year out.

·         Columbia Crest Winery – Like Beringer Vineyards, Columbia Crest fires on all cylinders at any price point in their line-up of Cabernet Sauvignon offerings.

·         Rodney Strong Vineyards – Good, solid, and reliable – for under $15 bucks, this Cab really tunes in the dial with turkey, stuffing, and cranberry sauce.

·         Chalk Hill – For some reason, these guys are under the radar of a lot of California Cab lovers.  Take the discount and this hidden Sonoma County gem to the bank and buy yourself and your guests 2 bottles for the price of 1 big Napa Valley Cab with the same headiness.

·         St. Supery – If you’ve got $30 or more in your wallet, this California Cab will certainly blow you and your guests away.

·        If the sky’s the limit in your budget, you may want to try one of these ginormous tasting American Cabernet Sauvignons:  Fife Vineyards Reserve or Cornerstone Cellars.

Happy Thanksgiving!  

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I went over to see my Mom the other day and she shared with me a wine tip regarding wine preservation that showed up in an issue of “Woman’s World” that she was reading.  The brief write-up was titled, “No More Wasted Wine”.  Here it is in it’s entirety:

“Next time you have left-over wine, forgo recorking the bottle and try this preservation trick, courtesy of vintner Darren Hesington of Cape May Winery in New Jersey: Pour the remaining vino into a small container like a water bottle, and seal tightly.  Being exposed to less air keeps it fresher longer”.

I agree with Mr. Hesington’s tip except for the suggestion to utilize a water bottle as a suitable vessel to prolong a wine’s life.  I disagree with the use of any plastic container for a couple reasons.  First, I have tried several “bag in box” wines this year which have made me question whether the plastic bags used to store the wine have an effect on how the wine tastes.  These wines have barely had any taste and no discernible aromas.  I’m not sure yet if it’s the wine, the vessel, or a little of both, but it all just makes me question whether the plastic bag is “numbing” the wine.  The second reason plastic is not a good idea is that it can retain smells from other foods or liquids that has been stored in it.

If you do decide to put this wine tip to the test, I would recommend using a stainless steel thermos that is free of coffee and chicken noodle soup “flavor-savers” over the use of a plastic container.

Good luck with which ever one you try!

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Admit it, we’ve all done it at least one time – your brain tells you that there’s an ice-cold bottle of white wine sitting in the fridge, but when you peek inside you only find juice boxes, pudding packs and moldy cheese with no sign of any wine.  What do you do in this situation?  Simple, you just throw a bottle or two in the freezer to make up for lost chilling time, right?  Isn’t that what we all do?  The key, however, in doing this is to actually remember that you put the bottle in the freezer just for a short bit and not totally forget about it until the next morning when you’re grabbing for the Eggo waffles.

I’ve freezer burned more bottles of white wine than I’d care to admit to in this post.  But, rather than beat myself up over a few bottles of frozen wine daiquiris,  I thought that it would better to think about the positive and wonderful things about frozen wine in a “Top 5 Late Night with Dave” sort of way.

So without further adieu, here’s my Top 5 “Best Things to Love about Frozen White Wine”:

Reason #5: A frozen bottle of white wine makes for a delightful adult water-ice on a hot summer day.  Who needs Rita’s Water-Ice when you’ve got this tasty frozen treat sitting in your freezer?  Just crack open bottle (literally) and enjoy!

Reason #4: A bottle of frozen white wine is the ultimate king-size “boo-boo buddy”.  Just imagine how helpful a frozen bottle of white wine would have been to Marcia Brady when she got beaned in the nose with a football! … Ouch! That looked so painful!! The thought of it still makes me cringe.  A frozen bottle of white wine would have been very handy in that situation.

Reason #3: A frozen bottle of white wine is a lot safer than keeping a loaded gun in the house.  How so you ask? A frozen bottle of white wine can be an effective weapon to El Kabong any would-be intruder that tries to break into your house, and will give that creep a hangover that he’ll never forget.

Reason #2:  The freezer is the easiest way to open bottles.  Who needs fancy corkscrew openers when you have a freezer in the house?  Why waste time with annoying corks when you can just throw a bottle into the freezer overnight and let the freezer open it up for you.  All you have to do is place wine in the freezer and forget about it until the next day.  The following morning when you grab for the Eggos you will see that Mr.Freezer has conveniently opened up your bottle of wine for you – how thoughtful!  

And the #1 Best Thing to Love about Frozen White Wine is that it’s a really good sign that your mind is becoming one big bowl of mush that can’t seem to remember something as simple as putting a bottle of wine in the freezer, that an hour ago seemed extremely important.

Alas, if you’ve got a case of the Forgetful Jones, and you freez’em occasionally like I do – just take them out and thaw them on the kitchen counter next to the frozen chicken legs, and they’ll be as good as new in no time flat.  Trust me – I speak from experience!      

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