How To Choose A Top Quality Wine

Sep 28
17:23

2007

Donald Saunders

Donald Saunders

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Most people enjoy a good wine but with the myriad of wines available nowadaystoday you need to know precisely what you are doing to separate the good from the bad.

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Clearly choosing a specific brand,How To Choose A Top Quality Wine Articles type and year of wine is a question of individual taste. Despite this, putting to one side the question of price, there are several broad guidelines on which there is agreement.

Fortunatey the growth of vineyards throughout the world and of wine-related Internet sites means that purchasing wine is no longer difficult. If you live in Maine or Madrid you can purchase a New Zealand Syrah not stocked by a local merchant as easily as someone living in Hamilton.

Setting to one side questions of pairing wines with food, are you looking for a full red or a light white wine? Many wine drinkers find that Madeira is too heavy while other people believe that a German Riesling is too dry. A lot of easily available wines are meant to be consumed shortly after they are purchased, however wine drinkers who wish to taste the finest wine must be patient. A Cabernet Sauvignon will doubtless be considerably better after it has had time to age.

A Chardonnay from a cool climate, such as those which are produced in Canada, will be of interest to individuals who enjoy a young wine with prominent acidity and also to those people who want to experience it's honey and nut flovor which comes with aging.

Describing wines by their class may also prove useful. Class 1 wines, usually labeled as 'Red Table Wine' or 'Light Wine' have an alcohol content of between 7% and 14% when measured by volume. Class 7 wines, on the other hand, have an alcohol content of at least 15% when calculated by volume. This type of wine has often had Brandy added to then and perhaps flavored with herbs with those having the greatest concentration being considered as 'fortified'.

Look on the label for a statement of the quantity of sulfites contained in a wine. Sulphur is frequently added during bottling to prevent the growth of unwanted organisms, but some vineyards add more than many drinkers would wish. Sulphur dioxide is also occasionally sprayed onto the grapes themselves to reduce pests and can find its way into the skin. A small number of drinkers are sensitive to sulphur and may experience an allergic reaction. Concentrations of lower than 10 parts per million are usually okay for most drinkers.

If you are trying a wine you should cool it to the proper temperature of around 65F (18C) for reds and 52F (11C) for whites and use a thin rimmed glass which is free from dust.

Pour no more than about 1/3 of a glass and lift the glass by the stem so that you don't get fingerprints on the rim and heat the bowl.

Look for a clarity of color by viewing a wine against a white background with a wine such as a Pinot Noir having the lightness of a ruby and a Cabernet Sauvignon being a darker violet color. Those wines which are produced from grapes grown in hot summers and dry falls will be darker in color than those wines made during a cool summer and wet fall.

The final step is to swirl the wine slowly around so that it coats the sides of the glass and let your nose sample its aroma before tasting it.