The world of wine can be a complicated one. There are so many grapes, regions, and vintners. Keeping it all straight can seem daunting. Perhaps that’s why so many of us settle for drinking wine without really appreciating it.

I have been drinking wine for many years, but have just recently put myself to the task of really understanding it. Through my studies I have come across some simple and illuminating information that has made the world of wine much easier to understand.

Here are my five favorite quick tips for understanding wine:

1. New world wines are named for the grape. Old world wines are named for the region.

This tip was a real eye-opener. The U.S., Australia, New Zealand, Africa, Argentina, and Chile put the name of the grape on the label. Europe names it’s wines after the region. What California calls Chardonnay, France calls white Burgundy. What’s called Syrah in the U.S. is called Rhone in France. And for some reason Australia calls it Shiraz, but it’s all the same grape. Knowing the grapes of the primary regions of Europe makes it much easier to discern information from wine labels.

2. Wines should be matched by weight with foods.

For a quick way to pair food and wine, keep light wines with light food, and heavy wines with heavy food. Common wines listed by body from light to heavy are: Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Beaujolais, Pinot Noir, Merlot, Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon. Common foods from light to heavy are: White Fish, Steak Fish, Chicken, Pork, Beef.

3. Put names to flavors

It’s very easy to sip a wine and decide whether or not you like it. But opinion doesn’t help us understand and remember the wine. Naming what we taste does. The more flavors you can identify in a wine, the better able you are to remember and appreciate it. Keep an arsenal of descriptive words in your lexicon to mentally flip through as you take your first sip. Maybe you taste fruit, but what kind of fruit? Is it strawberry, apple, peach, lime, grapefruit? What about earthy flavors like, dirt, coffee, licorice, smoke? Or maybe you taste spice. Is it vanilla, cinnamon, anise, clove? You can find flavor charts and flavor wheels on line and in many wine books. They’re great to have in front of you as you analyze what you’re tasting.

4. The color of wine tells you something about the age of the wine.

Like the rings of a tree, the color of wine gives away it’s age. A very young red will be a purple-blue red. As it ages it becomes more of an orange red. A well aged wine will start to turn a brown red. Young whites are very light, some even clear. A middle aged white becomes yellowish. An older white turns golden.

5. The shape of the bottle tells you what region the wine is from.

A long-necked bottle is used for the German and Alsatian wines, (Riesling, Gewurztraminer.) A soft-shouldered bottle is use for Burgundy and Rhone wines (Pinot Noir, Syrah, Grenache, Chardonnay, Viognier.) A firm shouldered bottle is used for Bordeaux wines (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec, Cabernet Franc, Sauvignon Blanc.)

The world of wine is complex. That’s what makes it interesting and intimidating. But knowing these few bits of information can really help in shopping for, tasting and appreciating wine.

Expanding my horizons one wine at a time.

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Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Linda_Foxworth
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Okay, I admit it. Despite my attempts at being ever so worldly, I have been known to drink wine out of something so lowly as a plastic cup (desperate situations call for desperate measures, after all). But even in my early wine-loving days I knew certain types of wine called for certain types of glasses, although that knowledge didn’t really go much beyond realizing that there were red wine glasses and white wine glasses. And I certainly didn’t really know why there had to be different glasses for different types of wine. But the experts seem to agree that using the right glass can have a huge effect on the pleasure derived from a wine.

Ready for your basic Wine Glass 101 class? Here we go.

First, when choosing a wine glass, make sure the glass is plain and clear. That means no colored glass and no frosted glass. Why? To allow you to appreciate the wine’s color. Blown glass is generally considered the best; even crystal (unless of the finest quality) can distort the view of the wine.

These days, the big question seems to be, “Stem or no stem?” There are different schools of thought. My husband, who at times is rather like a bull in a china shop, fares rather better with the stemless variety (less likely to tip). Traditionalists argue that stems are a must, to avoid the heat of your hand warming the wine in the glass. But others say that warming is minimal. Many restaurants in Italy serve up their table wine in glass tumblers, in fact, and these are also becoming popular. To stem or not to stem is really up to you!

Since most wine glasses are stemmed, you may as well know that experts agree that the glass should be held by the stem only—whether you’re drinking red or white wine. This not only ensures that your body heat (no matter how minimal) doesn’t warm the wine, but it keeps fingerprints, which disrupt inspection of the wine, off the bowl of the glass. Ideally, glasses should be about the same temperature as the wine you are serving.

The most important elements in choosing the correct wine glass, however, are size and shape. The size should be large enough to allow a generous pour with plenty of room to swirl, which releases the aromas from the wine. The shape of the wine glass dictates how much air comes in contact with the wine (the amount of oxygen the wine is exposed to can considerably affect its taste), as well as how the aroma is directed towards the nose—and even how the wine itself is channeled into the mouth. Wider-mouthed glasses direct the wine toward the back of the tongue, giving more emphasis to the acidity, while those with narrower mouths (and sometimes with a slight outward curve to the edges) channel the wine to the tip of the tongue, which responds to sweetness. Wider bowls are for stronger wines, allowing more space for the wine to breathe, a wider bouquet, and a more pleasurable experience.

Here’s a quick guide to wine glasses:

As any aficionado knows, drinking wine is a truly sensorial experience, utilizing all five senses: sight (assessing the color and clarity), smell (the intense and appealing aromas), touch (when the wine comes into contact with our tongues), taste (the delightful distinction of sweet, acidic, or crisp hitting your tastebuds), and hearing. Your wine glass alone appeals to that auditory sense—when you clink it together with another, enjoying not only the tonality of the glass, but the act of expressing good wishes to others.

Cheers!

Published by Bear Mountain Ranch

You’ll find delectable venison, elk and bison dishes on the menus of the nation’s finest restaurants year round these days. Chefs are preparing game meat in a wide variety of ways, from traditional stews and roasts to more creative and exotic dishes, like elk tartare seasoned with truffle sauce and green bison chili topped with an avocado salsa.

Now, an increasing number of people are incorporating game meat into their home menu-planning—due in no small part to the fact that game meat is so low in fat. Game meat has half the fat, one-third the calories and 15 percent less cholesterol than beef. It is as low in calories as chicken (without the skin) and salmon, while being almost as high, if not higher, in protein. Add to this the fact that farm-raised game meat (like the bison meat sold by Bear Mountain Ranch) does not contain hormones, steroids, or chemicals, and you have a meat for the new millennium.

With the holidays approaching, it’s the perfect time to plan a special meal with game meat as the star attraction. Wonderful recipes abound, and many of them include red wine, whether it be used as a marinade, for braising, or in a sauce. But what wine do you serve with your culinary creation? Many people mistakenly use the rule of thumb that the stronger or more aggressive the food flavors, the more robust the wine needs to be. Surprisingly, this is not necessarily true with game meat. Experts are in general agreement, in fact, that “big” wines can actually overpower the meat, and tend to recommend lighter wines such as Pinot Noir, Chianti, and Beaujolais Village. And don’t just think red—for something like a summer sausage made of game meat, one expert even recommends a polished Italian Prosecco wine that is bubbly and sharp. Although half the fun is in the experimentation, we have some suggestions for you—whether you’re serving up delectable chops from that elk you bagged last hunting season, or some tasty bison shortribs.