Wine Tasting Kits and Caboodles
Posted on March 10, 2010
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Wine tasting may seem like something that is on special reserve, geared only for those who are expert wine drinkers. Intent on discovering fruits of a winery’s labor, these connoisseurs set out to serve as judges and juries of the bottled world, as if deciding the fate of a wine that stands trial, accused of being bad. But, however expert-like wine tasting may seem, it’s not just for those who are experts, connoisseurs, or even seasoned drinkers; wine tasting is also for beginners. Even for those of you who view wine as a stranger, too intimidated to approach it in a bar, wine tasting is a necessary and helpful practice.
Wine tasting serves many purposes. First of all, it gives you the ability to find out what kind of wine you truly enjoy, helping you decide what wine you should order at restaurants and store in the cellar. Wine tasting also exposes you to a variety of types, educating you on how to detect differences. Without it, you may have no chance at ever determining one wine from another, ultimately forcing yourself to order the entire wine list instead of just a specific glass or bottle.
While many cities have wine tasting events, with some cities even offering classes on how to properly taste wine, some people, particularly the wine novice, may prefer to lose their wine tasting virginity in a more private venue, such as their own home. For those of you with which this preference fits, a wine tasting kit is a suitable purchase.
Wine Tasting Kits
Wine tasting kits bring the concept of a large wine tasting venue to the comfort of your home, allowing you to enjoy each sip in your favorite chair, perhaps watching Golden Girls in between vintages, nodding in appreciation to both your wine and Sophia’s witty rapport. Because it removes the presence of wine vendors and wine experts from the equation, wine tasting kits provide the ability to taste wine without the fear of doing it incorrectly.
Wine tasting kits can greatly range in price and in what they include. While some come with everything you could possibly need, stopping just short of packaging a vineyard in bubble wrap, others don’t include everything, with some not including the wine. Wine tasting kits that may be geared towards teaching people to learn the differences in smell may include aroma strips, where as those geared towards party games may include a wine trivia book. Similarly, some wine tasting kits are geared for a solo taster, while other wine tasting kits come with six or eight glasses, aimed at those who want to share the wine tasting experience with a few close friends.
Wine tasting kits may also not be exactly what they sound like. Some books that discuss wine tasting call themselves wine tasting kits and course outlines, that provide a lesson plan on tasting, also call themselves wine tasting kits. While these can be just as helpful as the actual wine tasting kit itself, be sure you are purchasing exactly what you seek.
Blind Wine Tasting Kits
Whether it’s romance you’re sharing with another person, or romance you’re sharing with a bottle of wine, love is always blind, with no preconceived notions or stereotypes affecting affection. This idea applies to all sorts of categories of wine, particularly the tasting of it.
Blind wine tasting, while it may sound like a game where you wear a blindfold and pin a wine opener on a bottle of Pinot Noir, is the concept of tasting wine without knowing anything about it: without knowing where it’s from, what year it was made, or what it does for fun. Because people often have previously established judgments, knowing certain things about wine can alter opinions. Blind tasting, however, requires the taster to be as objective as possible, making them as honest as possible in the process. This gives you the greatest chance of finding wine that you truly like.
Blind wine tasting kits are essentially the same as wine tasting kits, only you don’t know what type of wine you are tasting. These kits typically come with bottles encased in cloth, blocking you from viewing the wine’s information. Only after the wine has been tasted and rated, should its identity be revealed.
Virtual Wine Tasting Kits
The virtual world has transcended the categories of virtually every product in existence including wine tasting kits. Virtual wine tasting kits are similar to video lessons or books on tape, only they involve a DVD player or a computer. They are relatively easy to follow. Many come with a few bottles of wine as well as a CD Rom or a DVD where your very own wine connoisseur guides you through the world of wine. The CD Rom or DVD will instruct you how to assess the quality of the wine, determine if it needs to be aged or if it is presently suitable for drinking, and detect certain odors and flavors of the wine.
Wine tasting kits can be both fun and beneficial for any wine drinker. Most are extremely simple to use and easily encourage the culture and art of determining one wine from another: they provide an invaluable wine education. However, because wine tasting does involve alcohol, it’s important not to make portions too big (or use a spittoon). Drinking too much wine can make you drunk, leaving you to have both an affinity for all types of wine and an unyielding desire for bacon.
Jennifer Jordan is the senior editor at http://www.savoreachglass.com. With a vast knowledge of wine etiquette, she writes articles on everything from how to hold a glass of wine to how to hold your hair back after too many glasses. Ultimately, she writes her articles with the intention that readers will remember wine is fun and each glass of anything fun should always be savored.
Author: Jennifer Jordan
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Types of Wine: Pick Your Grape
Posted on March 10, 2010
Filed Under Cooking | Leave a Comment
I will admit that I’m rather picky. I will only eat certain kinds of food, rarely ingesting dishes entitled with words I can’t pronounce or made up of animals I think are cute. And, I will only date certain types of men, limiting myself to those who are good looking, charming, successful, or, at the very least, breathing. But, my pickiness doesn’t stop there. Transcending many categories, I tend to be picky when it comes to everything from what kind of clothes I wear to what kind of soap I use. However, oddly enough, when it comes to wine, my pickiness subsides: I’ve never met a type of wine I didn’t like or wouldn’t drink.
Despite my willingness to form a loving relationship with any type of wine that seeps into my life, you may not be as much as a booze flooze as myself: some of you may prefer certain types over others. Because of this, it’s important to understand the different types of wine that exist: the more aware you are of all the varieties, the more likely you will find a wine you really like.
However, I can’t discuss all the types of wine – listing each vintage and flavor and mentioning every grape under the sun. Doing so would take forever and by the time I finished, I, myself, would start to ferment. But, I can provide an overview to help you, the loyal drinker, find something to quench your thirst, a type of wine you’ll want to invite over to fill your glass at dinner.
Apéritif: Known as appetizer wines, these are the chicken fingers and mozzarella sticks of the wine world. They are flavored wines typically meant to stimulate the appetite before eating a large meal. They can include sherry, and Madeira.
Barley Wine: Though in possession of the word “wine,” Barley Wine isn’t really wine, masquerading as such because of a high alcohol content that reaches up to 12 percent by volume. Made from grain instead of fruit, Barley Wine is simply strong beer, like an ale that regularly works out. While it originated in England, Barley Wine is available world wide. However, when sold in the US, Barley Wines are required to be sold with the label, “barely wine-style ales,” thus avoiding confusion for the wine-seeking consumer.
Cooking Wines: Wine of extremely poor quality is usually labeled “Cooking Wine,” as if being poured into a pan is one step up from being poured down the drain. Typically containing a large amount of salt, Cooking Wine isn’t made to be consumed by itself. Instead, it is meant to be used as a way to enhance a dish, bringing out certain flavors and seasonings.
Country Wine: It may seem like Country Wines are wines in possession of a laidback lifestyle and a southern drawl. But, in actuality, they are simply wines that are made from a fruit other than a grape and supplemented with sugar and honey. However, because the word “wine” legally insinuates a drink made from grapes, Country Wines are often fruit-specific in their definitions. They include types such as “plum wine” and “apple wine.”
Dessert Wines: Known for being served beside a piece of carrot cake or a slice of apple pie, Dessert Wines are wines that range between medium sweet to extremely sweet on the spectrum of sugar. They typically include wines such as Port Wine, Tokay, and Sweet Sherry. Aside from baked goods and fruity creations, dessert wines also go very well with many types of cheese.
Red Wine and White Wine: It may seem like Red Wine and White Wine are always in competition with each other, with bottles of each snapping in unison as the other approaches. But, the truth is that Red Wine and White Wine are so different in flavor, and go best with such different dishes, that the two don’t need to compete. While Red Wines are typically good at enhancing meals made of red meat or tomato sauce, White Wines are typically good at enhancing meals made of white meat or white sauces. They are also different in taste because Red Wines are made with grape skins during the fermentation process, causing them to carry “tannin,” a sensation you get that makes your tongue feel as though liquid is evaporating off of it. White Wines, however, are made without grape skin and never carry “tannin.”
Rose Wine: Rose Wines are also called “Pink Wines” and, because they are often refreshing in mid-summer heat, “Summer Wines.” Like a beverage that can’t quite make up its mind, Rose Wines aren’t really red and aren’t really white. Instead, they possess attributes of both true red wines and true white wines. They are often best served with seafood, salad, cold cuts, and pork.
Rice Wine: Just like Barely Wine, Rice Wine is a bit of an imposter, an ale that wishes it was a wine. Made from rice instead of grapes, Rice Wine possesses a higher alcohol content than most beer and wines combined weighing in between 18 and 25 percent. Rice Wine is known as Sake to the Japanese.
Sparkling Wines: Probably the most famous member of the Sparkling Wine family is Champagne, a drink that routinely fills the glasses at wedding receptions and banquet halls. But, Champagne can’t hog all the sparkling spotlight, Sparkling Wines can be any type of wine infused with Carbon Dioxide. Because Sparkling Wines do not usually pair well with meals, they are best served alone or with appetizers.
Table Wine: Table Wine is wine that is not fortified and not sparkling, making it erroneously seem like the most plain of wines. By technical definition, Table Wines contain at least 7 percent alcohol and no more than 14 percent. While many people equate Table Wine with poor tasting, cheap wine, many Table Wines aren’t cheap, and certainly don’t taste like it either.
Whether your favorite type of wine is Red or you, having misplaced your salt lick, actually do like to consume Cooking Wine, wine has a variety of flavors. This makes it one of the most versatile alcohols, possessing the ability to adapt to everything from cocktail hours to State dinners and enabling you, no matter your type or your level of pickiness, to always find something with which to fill your glass.
Jennifer Jordan is the senior editor at http://www.savoreachglass.com. With a vast knowledge of wine etiquette, she writes articles on everything from how to hold a glass of wine to how to hold your hair back after too many glasses. Ultimately, she writes her articles with the intention that readers will remember wine is fun and each glass of anything fun should always be savored.
Author: Jennifer Jordan
Article Source: EzineArticles.com