Your Wine Pick

Wine Basics- When researching wine you will often be overwhelmed with information that is not really relevant to a casual wine drinker or to someone who just wants to be able to pick a good wine when your out to dinner. So below is a list of important facts that will get you by when out for a casual glass of wine.

1. Red or White- When choosing a glass of wine you should take a moment and considered what wine would best suit your needs (Are you pairing with food or just having a glass while watching Tv)

2. Varietal (Type of wine)- Now that you know the why its time to figure out what your drinking (This is all subjective to who you are and what you would like to drink. No one can tell you what you like.) But just so we can move on lets just pick  a Tempranillo since it is generally known for its ruby-red in colour, with aromas and flavors of berries, plum, tobacco, vanilla, leather,  herb, ect…

3. Buying a bottle- Ok so we know the Why and the What all that is left is to grab and bottle and go home, but what bottle?….. This is often the time when people just walk away and decide to drink water, but picking a bottle is actually easier than it looks you just have to take a couple of steps.

• First look for the region that you prefer (Ca, Wa, Or, Ny, Spain, South Africa, France, Italy, Ect…). This is important because each region will have different characteristics (aromas and flavors). Once you have tasted enough wine from many different regions you will figure out what you prefer the best.
• Second you want to look for a producer that you like (this will be a little difficult at first but the more you try the easier it gets).
• Last step would be to read the back label. Reading the back label can give you an idea of the wine characteristics. Its is imported to remember that every person is going to taste different flavors wine tasting a wine so don’t count on tasting exactly what on the bottle.   

Acidity- is used on labels to give the total acid content of the wine. Think of acidity as the prickly sensation on the sides of your tongue when drinking wine.

Alcohol- is very important to the final product from the grape itself. It effects how you feel after drinking it and also it affect the taste, texture, and structure of the wine.

Balance- is the harmony between two or more of the wine’s components.

Balance is very important; without a good balance the wine can be overwhelming with or very dull to the nose and palate.

Body- is a way of describing the weight of the wine while in your mouth. The best way to determine the body of a wine is to judge the weight and texture of the wine. A mid body will feel a little heavier than water, full body would feel almost like the weight of milk- heavy and kind of thick, or a wine could be considered light which would feel lighter than water.

Some other words you will hear when referring to the body is:

• Light- Elegant, Settle, Refreshing
• Mid- Velvety, Supple, Moderate
• Full- Powerful, Robust, Masculine, Rich, Meaty

Complexity- is the effect of how the various components of the wine come together. It would be the opposite of a simple, straightforward wine that leaves you wishing for more.

Finish- is the wine’s aftertaste, some say the longer the flavor lasts after you swallow, the better quality the wine.

Legs- are the lines of wine that run down the inside of a glass after the wine swirled. Some people like to say legs are clues to how much alcohol or residual sugar the wine contains. Legs really do not have any to do with wine tasting and you will find that people will point out the legs just to try to sound intelligent.

Tannins-come from the skins, seeds, and stems of the grapes. Tannins are usually found in red wine. Tannins taste bitter and can make your palate feel dry depending on the amount of tannin in the wine.

Texture – is the way a wine feels while in the mouth. You might hear some say “This wine is has a silky texture.”

Fruit-forward- describes wines that are dominated by the flavors of fruit, weather this be in the nose or on the palate.

Jammy- describes a wines that taste like its made of very ripe berries.

Oaky – describes the aroma and taste of oak in wines. This also could come off as a vanilla flavor that comes from aging in oak barrels.