Is Your Wine Too Hot, Too Cold or Just Right?

It is said that most American's drink their white wines too cold and their red wines too warm. And I've certainly observed this myself.  Wine flavors can be amazing, but serving a wine too cold or too warm can significantly affect a wine's flavors. While the serving temperature that is just right for you is a matter of individual taste, there are some common rules of thumb.

When it comes to light white wines, sparkling wines and rosé, the common thought is that they should be served in the range of 40 to 50 degrees Fahrenheit (F). A more full-bodied white wine, such as Chardonnay, should be served in the 50 to 60 F range.  And as you can see, these temperatures are well above the typical refrigerator temperature of 34 F.  When a wine is served too cold, the flavors are not allowed to fully come out. So you end up with flat, bland or weak tasting white wines.

A friend of mine recently commented that he had never really liked Chardonnay. He was more of a red wine drinker.  But during a winery visit he had been served a Chardonnay and really liked it.  Not just because it was a nice Chardonnay, but because it was being served well above the refrigerator temperature that he was used to. So at the proper temperature he got to truly experience all the flavors of Chardonnay for the first time.  It was a real eye opener for him.

For red wines, the lighter and fruitier ones can be served in the range of 50 to 60 F with full-bodied reds being in the 60 to 65 F range.  These temperatures are well below 'room temperature.'  Serving a red wine too warm can make it more harsh, exaggerate the tannin and enhance the mouth-feel of the alcohol causing a burning sensation.

If you do have a white wine in the refrigerator, pull it out and let it sit for 30 minutes. And, if you have a bottle of red that's at room temperature, put it in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.  Or better yet, invest in a wine refrigerator that will ensure your wines are stored and served at just the right temperature. Cheers!

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Behind the Cork™ Wine of the Week - Stags' Leap Merlot ($20)

Looking for an attainable, affordable wine?  You've come to the right place. Each week I feature just such a wine that may be great for taking to a party, enjoying with a dinner or just sipping on Wine Wednesday. 

This week's wine is Stags' Leap Merlot. This medium-bodied wine from Napa Valley is an excellent wine at $20. Nice big flavor of berry fruit with soft tannin and a smooth finish. You can't go wrong with a wine from Stags' Leap.

Beyond the 5 S's of Wine Tasting

Drinking wine is a pleasurable experience that is quite simple. And, as winemaker Charles Smith puts it "It's just wine. Drink it." But for many people, wine tasting can be a very intimidating experience. But it shouldn't be.

In the past, I've written about how to visit wineries and how to have a great experience tasting wines. And whether it be at a winery, a restaurant, wine bar, or at home, there are simple things that you can do to enhance the simple enjoyment of a glass of wine.

The Five S's of wine have been written about many times by others but here's a quick review:

1. See - Look at the wine in your glass and note the color and clarity. White wines can range from nearly clear to pale yellow, straw color, or golden. Red wines can be maroon, purple, ruby, garnet, or deep red. Both white and red wines can take on a brown hue with age.  All wines should be free of sediment.
2. Swirl - By swirling the wine within the glass you give it an opportunity to gain further contact with air and release its aromas.  A wine right out of a bottle may need a little exposure to air. This exposure will quickly take away any sharp odors and can help soften or mellow the wine.
3. Sniff - Stick your nose into the wine glass and take a sniff. You can get a very quick idea of what the wine will taste like and you may even detect some of the fruit aromas. Try sniffing with each individual nostril. You may find a real difference. And, by the way, there is no need to sniff the cork from the bottle. A wine server may present it to you, but you only need to take a brief look at it to ensure it doesn't show any obvious signs of leakage.
4. Sip - Take a small sip, drawing in some air as you sip, and let it stay in your mouth for a while. You can even swish it around a bit in your mouth. This will give you an opportunity to really get all the flavors that the wine has to offer.
5. Swallow - By allowing the wine to go through the back of your mouth and down your throat you will finally get the complete wine experience from your mouth and nasal passages.

But, in addition to these classic five S's, there are a few other things that can enhance your enjoyment of wine.  The glass itself is important. It should be clean and clear with a bowl large enough to hold a nice pour of wine (around 5 ounces) and still have plenty of room left. A wine glass should only be filled about one-third of the way. The remaining 'empty' space in the glass is left to capture the wine's aromas.

The wine also needs to be at the right temperature. Reds should not be served room temperature and whites should not come straight out of the kitchen refrigerator. A red should be served at cellar temperature, 58-62 degree F, and a white should be 45-50 degrees F.  These optimal temperatures allow you to best enjoy the wine's full flavors. I recently had a friend tell me he didn't like Chardonnay until a recent visit to a winery. What he learned was that his only experience with Chardonnay was drinking it at refrigerator temperature. When the winery served their Chardonnay at 48-50 F, it was an entirely different and better experience, allowing him to actually taste all the flavors in the wine.

Decanting a red wine can also make a big difference. It doesn't need to be a fancy decanter, just one that can hold an entire bottle of wine and give the wine lots of surface area exposed to air.  Filling a decanter up to the neck does little for the wine so find a vessel that has a broad bottom such that you are only filling it about halfway. Once you've poured the wine into the decanter, pour yourself a sip right away and note the wine's character.  Give it thirty minutes in the decanter and try it again. It should smooth out and soften. You can continue decanting for an hour our two, but beyond that the wine can become over oxidized and start to become a bit stale.

Once again you may be asking yourself "Why bother?"  Well, if you follow these simple steps you'll find that you will quickly start to understand the differences in wines and better determine your real wine preferences.

But, above all else, keep it simple, take wine tasting slowly, and enjoy! Cheers!

What White Wines Should You Try?

When it comes to getting acquainted with wines, it's common to start with white wines. They can be fruity, zesty, refreshing and easy to drink. And, because they are chilled, they are often more approachable when starting to explore wines.

White wines can range from being light, sweet and fruity to bold, rich and creamy.  So, here are four common white wines that span the spectrum.

Starting with the lighter and sweeter end of the spectrum you'll find Riesling (REEZ-ling). With Rieslings you'll find that they can be somewhat sweet or they can be dry. And remember, dry refers to the amount of residual sugar in the wine, not the way it feels in your mouth.  So, a slightly sweet, or 'off-dry' Riesling can have bright flavors of green apple, lime and a hint of honey-like flavor.  And, Riesling has high acidity, which means that it gives you a mouth-watering feel when drinking.

Next along the spectrum would be Pinot Grigio (Pee-noh GREE-gee-oh) or Pinot Gris (Pee-noh GREE), as it's known in France. This light-bodied wine is also zesty and thirst quenching. American Pinot Grigio is typically very fruity with flavors of lemon, melon and peach and tend to be mildly sweet. 

Moving up the spectrum of white wine takes us next to Sauvignon Blanc (so-vin-YAWN-Blonk). Again, this is a light-bodied white wine that's zesty with flavors of grapefruit and honeydew melon. In addition to these fruit flavors, Sauvignon Blanc is described by some as having very subtle 'green' flavors of green pepper and grass. This is a fruit-filled wine that can be slightly sweet.

And finally, at the bold and rich end of the white wine spectrum is Chardonnay (Shar-doe-Nay).  But even within Chardonnays, they can range from light and fruity to rich and creamy.  This comes from the fermentation process. The light and fruity Chardonnays are fermented in stainless steel tanks while the richer Chardonnays are fermented and aged in oak. And, when the oaked Chardonnays go through a second process (malolactic fermentation), the malic acid which is tart and tangy is converted to lactic acid (think milk) that can yield a rich, creamy and buttery Chardonnay.

While all of these white wines should be served chilled, they aren't chilled to refrigerator temperatures.  If you do chill your white wine in the refrigerator, just take them out about 30 minutes before you serve them. Or, if you have a wine refrigerator, store and serve them in the 45 to 55 degree F temperature range for optimum flavor.  The lighter, zestier wines should be the coolest with the oaked Chardonnay on the warmer end of the temperature range.

So, there's a quick run through the spectrum of a few basic white wines.  Next time we'll explore some other white wines that are similar to those discussed here to help expand your white wine drinking options. Until then, cheers!