Not that I expect all of you to run home and cook up these recipes, but I thought it would to interest to at least a couple of you. (And you know who you are.) :) -- Jen Hello out there. Since there have been serveral requests as late for "booze" recipes. I dug a few out: CHERRY HARRY - from dear old grandma! 1 lb. fresh bing cherries 2 cups sugar 1 quart whiskey Mix ingredents in a gallon jug & let sit until Christmas or 1 to 1 1/2 months. Pour into bottle(s). KAHLUA - also from grandma! 1/2 cup Freeze Dried Coffee - I've found Maxim works/tastes best 6 cups sugar 6 cups water 2 TBL vanilla 1/2 gallon Vodka - any kind will really do! Simmer ingredients, except Vodka & vanilla, for 3 hours. Make sure the stuff doesn't burn! It tastes NASTY if it does. ;> Let Cool. Then add vanilla & Vodka, let stand overnight at room temperature. Bottle & let stand at least a couple of months; it'll mellow out. Oh, make sure you have plenty of bottles on hand. It makes a bunch! COFFEE LIQUEUR - from Prodigy many years ago 2 cups instant coffee 7 cups sugar 4 cups boiling water 1 quart Vodka 1 vanilla bean Mix coffee powder & sugar in large pot. Pour boiling water over coffee mixture & stir to dissolve. Let cool. Stir in vodka. Drop vanilla bean into 10-12 cup bottle or jug & add mixture. Seal & allow to stand 3-4 weeks. GALLIANO-TYPE LIQUEUR - also from Prodigy many years ago 4 cups sugar 2 cups water 16 ounces 100-proof Vodka 1 1/2 ounce bottle Strega extract dash yellow food coloring Combine water & sugar in saucepan. Bring to boil, reduce heat & simmer about 10 mins. or until syrupy. Cool. Add vodka, Strega extract & food color. Mix well. Store in glass containers or bottles & let stand 30 days before using. With any of the coffee liqueurs, I assume you can substitute decaf. granuals - I remember someone requested decaf. I've never done it though, but I bet it'll taste the same! Have fun! Michelle (MMHANNA@ubvms.cc.buffalo.edu) Hey! All right! Here you go. I kept these things hidden away till you were old enough, mmmm, I guess i could give 'em to you now. This is a collection of some recipes, info. about wines etc. Use them with caution :)) Aruna ============================================================ Title: Kahlua Categories: Beverages, Alcohilic Yield: 1 serving 9 c Water 6 c Sugar 9 T Instant coffee 1 pt Everclear 6 t Vanilla Bring water and sugar to a boil. Remove from heat, and add coffee. Cool Add Everclear and vanilla. =+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Home-made amaretto : AMARETTO LIQUEUR ================== 1 cup granulated sugar 3/4 cup water 2 dried apricot halves 1 Tbsp. almond extract 1/2 cup pure grain alcohol and 1/2 cup water 1 cup brandy 3 drops yellow food coloring 6 drops red food coloring 2 drops blue food coloring 1/2 tsp. glycerin Combine sugar and 3/4 cup water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat and simmer until all sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and cool. In an aging container, combine apricot halves, almond extract, grain alcohol with 1/2 cup water, and brandy. Stir in cooled sugar syrup mixture. Cap and let age for 2 days. Remove apricot halves. (Save apricot halves, as they may be used for cooking). Add food coloring and glycerin. Stir, recap and continue aging for 1 to 2 months. Re-bottle as desired. Liqueur is ready to serve but will continue to improve with additional aging. Variation: For a more prominent 'bitter almond' flavor, add 4 apricot nuts,** split in half, to basic mixture. Leave in for 2 days to 2 weeks depending upon depth of flavor desired. Remove and discard apricot nuts. Continue as directed. **Note: Apricot 'nuts' come from within the apricot pit. You may split pits yourself or obtain them dried at a health food store. -- Subject: Russian Tea Title: CHAI PO-RUSSKI (Russian Tea) Categories: Beverages, Russian Yield: 2 gallons 8 Orange; sliced 6 Lemon; sliced 6 Cinnamon stick, 3" 1 T Cloves, whole 1 qt ;Water 46 oz Pineapple juice 1 1/2 c Sugar 3 qt Tea Combine fruit slices, cinnamon, cloves, and water in a large non- aluminum saucepan; bring to a boil. Boil 5 minutes. Press mixture through a strainer, discarding pulp and spices. Add pineapple juice, sugar, and tea to citrus mixture, stirring well. Serve hot. Subject: Re: Different types of Gin? - Sloe Gin First - find your sloes. They grow on the Blackthorn tree (usually in hedgerows on chalky soil). They are recognisable by their small round dark leaves and truely leathal thorns. The sloes themselves look like small damsons. Then - wait until there has been a good frost before picking the sloes. I don't know why (tradition). Then go home and nurse your scratches by drinking the top quarter of a bottle of plain ordinary gin. Having recovered from the hangover was and prick the sloes with a fork. Push some sloes in the bottle (decant the gin into another container first), it can be a tight fit. When the slows cover the bottom 2 inches (or so) of the bottle stop adding the sloes. Now sloes are incredibly bitter so you are going to need to sweeten the conconction with a lot of sugar. Pour anoug sugar to cover the sloes (and that will be a lot as it will disolve and sink in as you pour). I always add enough so that the surface of sugar looks flat and untainted. Now pour the gin back. Put the cap back on the bottle and give it a good shake. Wait..... Once a week give the bottle a shake.... Around Christmas / New Year it will be ready to drink. Purists filter the resulting crinsom liquour off, but I don't bother. It is wonderful after the turkey on Christmas day (but becareful it has a kick like a mule) 888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888 Title: Irish CreamKeywords: Beverage, Alcohol 1 can Sweetened Condensed Milk 1 pint Half & Half -or- whipping cream 2 Tbl Hersheys Chocolate Syrup 1 tsp Vanilla 3/4 cup Whiskey 1/4 cup Rum 1/4 cup Cream De Cocoa Mix in blender or with wire whip. Refrigerate or freeze. Serve over crushed ice. ************************************************************************* Siobhan's Mom's Irish CremeIngredients: 2 cups scotch, rye, or bourbon (whatever you like best) 1/2 pint heavy cream 4 eggs 14 ounces condensed milk 2 tbsp chocolate syrup 1 tsp vanilla extract 1/2 tsp almond extract 2 tsp instant coffee Directions: Toss all ingredients in a blender, whirr, then enjoy! Also, be sure to keep any leftover beverage in the refrigerator. ****************************************************************************1.5 c. Irish whiskey 1 c. whipping cream 5 c. honey 2 tsp. instant coffee (I use Sanka because I'm sensitive to caffeine) Shake together and store in refrigerator at least one week before drinking, shaking once each day. Will keep up to six weeks. Beware of recipes you may get that contain raw eggs; you can get salmonella poisoning. ****************************************************************************Here's my favorite... B.C.C. (Bailey's Consuption Club) Bailey's Irish Cream 1 cup Canadian Club Whiskey 1/3 cup Bacardi Light 1 can Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk (small can) 1 pint Half and half 2 tsp. Vanilla 1/4 cup Hersheys Chocolate Syrup 1 egg Put all ingredients in a blender, blend and serve! **************************************************************************** Title: Irish Cream Keywords: Beverage, Alcohol 1 can Sweetened Condensed Milk 1 pint Half & Half -or- whipping cream 2 Tbl Hersheys Chocolate Syrup 1 tsp Vanilla 3/4 cup Whiskey 1/4 cup Rum 1/4 cup Cream De Cocoa Mix in blender or with wire whip. Refrigerate or freeze. Serve over crushed ice. =========================================================================== Below is a recipe for Irish Cream I've been working on for a few years. Its as close as I've come so far. Bailey's Irish Cream 1 can sweetened condensed milk 1 3/4 cups Irish Whiskey 4 egg whites 1 cup heavy (whipping) cream 2 Tbsp. chocolate syrup 1 Tbsp. fresh instant coffee 1 tsp. vanilla extract 1/2 tsp. almond extract Place all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth. Bottle and let mellow in refrigerator at least one week before serving. Store in refrigerator for up to one month. I only use 1/2 the alcohol, and I got rave reviews from everyone who had it. I'm not sure how long it will really last; it's long gone in a month :-). =========================================================================== Almost-Bailey's 1 can Eagle Brand Condensed Milk! 1 Tablespoon chocolate extract 1/2 teaspoon coconut extract 3/4 teaspoon vanilla 4 eggs 1 cup Irish Whiskey Mix milk and eggs. Add extracts and vanilla. Mix well. Add whiskey, mix well. Refrigerate. Will keep up to a week in the refrigerator. =========================================================================== BAILEY'S IRISH CREAM =================== 3 eggs 1 teaspoon coconut essence 1and1/2 tablespoons choc. ice-cream topping 1 cup of whiskey (more if desired) 1/2 teaspoon coffee powder Blend all ingredients in ablender for no longer than 2mins. Pour over ice and enjoy straight away. =========================================================================== IRISH CREAM LIQUEUR ==================== 2 eggs 1 1/3 cups evaporated milk 1/2 tsp. chocolate syrup 1 Tbsp. pure vanilla extract 1/3 tsp. lemon extract 1/4 tsp. instant coffee 1/4 cup granulated sugar 1 3/4 cups Irish whiskey Place all ingredients in a blender; blend well. Bottle and let mellow in refrigerator at least one week before serving. this has been found to be best after 1-2 weeks. Store in refrigerator. Liqueur at room temperature by removing form refrigerator 1-2 hours before serving. =========================================================================== Irish Cream Liqueur 2 eggs 2 cups sweetened condensed milk 1 teaspoon chocolate syrup 1 teaspoon instant coffee 2 cups vodka 2 cups heavy cream Beat eggs until thick and lemon colored. Slowly add the rest of the ingredients one at a time, beating well after each addition. Pour mixture into sterilized dark glass bottles and let it rest for one week before drinking. Mixture will keep for up to 3 months in the refrigerator or 1 month on the pantry shelf. =========================================================================== 1 x 400 g can sweetened condensed milk 1 x 375 g can evaporated milk 20 drops of vanilla essence 1 tablespoon of drinking chocolate (not cocoa) 300 mls whiskey 6 eggs. Mix all of the above together really well. Next is to bottle it. It can be drunk after 24 hours. but of course the longer you leave it the better it is. ================================================ Subject: frozen vs. rocks margaritas I know what I like for a margarita on the rocks, 1:1:1 Tequila, Triple Sec, Lime ============================================== I love port too, Try the Smith Woodhouse LBV'82 it's great and drinking NOW! lots of sediment so decanting is recomended. Fruity and full very much like a vintage port it sells for 20$ or so in Alberta. You could also try the Graham's LBV'89 it's great too (I'm drinking some right now)rich and full great with chocolate or Stilton cheese if you've got it. I also had a Fonseca V '85 the other day, it was fantastic. Inky colour and plum notes with a strong finnish drinking now but with a great future(if you could let it rest). ======================================================= Restaurant wine pricing For many years and in many places, the cost of wine has been a standard mark-up of the retail cost, say two to three times retail. But in many cases a restaurant probably isn't paying retail--in fact, the price to them is often less than what it would cost you at the winery. The huge mark-ups paid by the customer are an incredible amount to pay for wine and often means that there is more profit in the wine than in all the other food combined. Certainly if the restaurant can get customers to pay such inflated prices (and perhaps by doing so subsidize their otherwise perhaps fine cuisine), then so be it. But personally I think that it is time to not give in. There are several ways to go about this: --Learn the better buys. For example, where I live, (Red) Zinfandel is not nearly in as much demand as Cabernet Sauvignon. The bargains are better (and I like it anyhow). Lesser known wines may be just as good or better than the more expensive "name" brands. --Some restaurants (as limited by local law) who are not allowed to sell wine may allow you to bring your own. It would be a good idea to ask for details before showing up, however. --Some restaurants (as limited by local law) will allow you to bring your own (even if they have a wine list) and charge you a "corkage" charge for the privilege. If you have some special wines at home, the corkage charge is rarely going to come close to the cost of the same wine, were it on the wine list. Note that it is bad form to bring a wine that is on the wine list. At least one Internet poster claimed that there was not a "single true gourmet restaurant in New York, Boston, or Washington" which allows customers to bring their own wine. While I'm willing to doubt the statement, I know for a fact that this just plain not true in Southern California. In any event, it would be a good idea to ask for details before showing up, however. --Boycott the restaurant (or boycott buying wine in the restaurant). When doing this is probably will have a much better effect if you let the restaurant know what you are doing. Some restauranteurs are truly devoted to a fine evening at prices that are not horrendous mark-ups. The meal may not be inexpensive for fine ingredients are expensive, but the mark-up over cost is certainly not fixed. There is something to be said for the cost of cellaring the wine (and keeping good glassware-- which breaks--to serve it in). Also, local laws may mean that the restaurant isn't necessarily paying anything less than retail. However, there are enough fine restaurants in this world that one should seek out and promote the ones who are willing to present a fine meal without gouging. In so doing, they will do even more business and will "make up," at least to some degree, profits "lost" from not over-charging on the wine. Some will ask: "how much is gouging?" I don't have an answer for that. But I can tell you that one local restauranteur (in one of the best restaurants in California) would rarely add more than a fixed amount (say $8 for the more expensive wines) over what he paid. Not a fixed percentage, merely an amount that was about the same as his corkage fee (and less for the less expensive wines). It seemed fair to me. There are those that like to bring up the mark-up on carbonated beverages (where it is oft stated that the cost of the container is higher than the cost of the liquid itself--and in any event can be measured in pennies). It is said that if you don't complain about that outrageous mark-up you have no right to complain about wine mark-ups. Personally, I won't order carbonated drinks for that reason. In any event, I don't buy the argument, however. $1 is a lot more affordable than $50. While restaurants are in business (and it can be a very risky business) to make money, some restaurants are willing to charge less. There are those who make cogent arguments that high prices for wine are merely the way that a restaurant can stay in business--and they are entitled to make as much as then can. But I am friendly with enough restauranteurs (and good ones, for that matter) who feel that a more reasonably priced wine list is part of the way that they want to do business. For that reason, I spend more in such places overall. I'll usually leave the over- priced places to those who are willing to pay. Supply and demand is controlled by the buyer. A restaurant which puts emphasis on a good and fairly-priced wine list may find that it will attract a great deal more customers. We, the wine-buying public, should seek out such establishments and prove it. One interesting sidelight to this discussion: It has nothing to do with those restaurants who cater to people who have all the money in the world--and act like it. I doubt I would be comfortable in such a place. Well, I know I'm not, having tried a few--and I don't think wanted me there, either. [Reserved. Much longer discussion of restaurant etiquette.] *5.7 GLASSES The size and shape of the glass can contribute to the enjoyment of drinking wine. Whether you need to spend a fortune on your glasses (which I tend to break a lot of when cleaning up) is another story altogether. Generally speaking a glass with a long stem lets you swirl the wine more easily (swirling helps bring out the smells of the wine, which is very important to the tasting process). The long stem also keeps the heat of your hand away from the wine. (Of course, with the way I've been served some wines, you have to grasp the bowl of the glass firmly and often just to warm it up!) In order to capture the scents, its nice to have a glass that is more narrow at the top than the area below (in other words, a large bowl). In this way there is a larger surface area of wine in the bottom and the bouquet of the wine can get trapped by the narrowing of the glass. (Which reminds me how often I have to stop restaurant servers from filling my glass of wine--even in places where there is very nice stemware, many servers just don't know how to pour.) Riedel produces an expensive line of glasses, none of which I own. Supposedly each glass (and there are different shapes for different types of wines) is designed to maximize taste and aroma by delivering the wine to the right part of the mouth, as well as being shaped properly to catch and concentrate the scents of the wine. How you may ask, can this be? In terms of acidity, tannins, fruit flavors, aromatic components, and the like, different types of wine have different palate profiles. These are sensed by different parts of the tongue, nose and throat. Supposedly, wine glasses can be designed to channel the wine as you sip it to the parts of the mouth where you will get the optimal tasting experience. It is said that there is a different place in the mouth for each wine, hence the different shapes for the glasses. This centuries-old concept in wine glass design, but whether you really need five sets of wine glasses (or for some even one set of really expensive glasses) is left to your own sensibilities. A non-statistical, admittedly unscientific sample size of public postings tells me that some swear that these Riedel glasses make a large difference, especially after side-by-side tastings between Riedel and non- Riedel glasses, and others don't. Decide for yourself! The International Standards Organization (ISO) in the United Kingdom sets forth a design for a wine glass which can be inexpensive but very useful. They are smaller and less exciting than the fancy, expensive glasses, but are a lot cheaper to replace when smashed by host, guest or dishwasher. Many people find them to be perfectly adequate, however do admit to liking glasses with somewhat larger bowls. Personally, I like the latter, but haven't found it necessary to get really expensive stemware. Wine drinking is an adventure. Think about it. If you had an especially good wine experience, was it just the wine? Or was it also the events surrounding the drinking of the wine? Two IDENTICAL wines could seem different merely by the activities that surround its consumption. A romantic dinner? While the glass you use may or may not have an impact, I suggest that other peripheral items may be much more significant. Washing glasses somehow has gotten controversial. Seems some people object to the dishwasher. Probably one should merely watch out (whether washing by hand or machine) about using too much soap or detergent which might leave a residue that will affect the wine. Storing glasses is also something to think about. I tend to break them (no, not drunk, just clumsy the next day). The cost of expensive wine glasses is going to add up if you are ungraceful, so there may be the temptation to store them in the cardboard box that they probably came in. If you do this, wash to glasses before use. If the cardboard as gotten at all damp, it may get moldy and contribute off flavors to the glass and to the wine. *5.8 STORING WINE AFTER IT'S OPENED Wine deteriorates in the presence of oxygen. The most practical thing to do is finish the wine. When this isn't sensible, the idea of buying smaller bottles (or taking home unfinished bottles when drunk in a restaurant--you don't HAVE to leave them--though in California, make sure you take it home in the trunk of your car), when available, can be a better solution. You can cook with leftover wine, or even turn it to vinegar (why buy when you can have homemade?). But, there is always the time when you want to try to preserve the quality of the wine for as long as you can. To do this, you want to prevent as much oxygen as you can from getting to it. One of the better ways is to fill the bottle with an inert gas. There are several different systems which do this, but they tend to be relatively to extremely expensive. Nevertheless, for the serious aficionado, this is probably the best solution. Another product, the Vacu-vin (tm) is a small pump device that comes with rubber stoppers and a small hole in the middle of the stopper. The idea is that you can suck a fair amount of air from the bottle, thus reducing the effect of oxygen. Some, but not all, people feel that it might add 2 or 3 days to the life of the bottle. Other cheap and interesting ideas: Get a bunch of glass marbles. Clean them, then put them in the bottle until the liquid is to the top, then cork. Or, just transfer the wine to a smaller bottle. Or both. *5.8.1 FREEZING WINE AFTER IT'S OPENED Initially I wrote "one economical wine lover suggests freezing as a means of longer term storage. I haven't tried this and probably won't; freezing should alter the character of the wine. Cooking with leftovers is probably a better bet." However, there have been a fair number of people who claim positive results with the process--not only with freezing, but even by nuking the wine (gently) in a microwave to thaw it (at least part of the way). These people very happy with the results. A few have noted that in some wines there are radically increased precipitates, mostly potassium tartrate. (Increased precipitates result because the water freezes at higher temperatures, therefore the concentration of alcohol and soluble items--such as potassium tartrate--are higher in the liquid portion [the water turning to ice]. Things which will precipitate out easily, will do so, and probably won't dissolve back into the wine so quickly. Now, one possible effect of this is that a wine will taste less acidic--which may or may not be a desirable effect. Another effect is that the constituents of the wine which make up taste and color can be affected. But then, if it works for you . . . . I think I'll still stand by my original statement that "generally speaking, most stored wine, no matter what you do to it, won't be as good as when you opened it." Nevertheless, those who like the idea of freezing wine seem to think it works better than most of the other storage methods. ---------------- *6. BUYING WINE ---------------- *6.1 WHAT WINE DO I BUY? Nobody can tell you that, since what YOU like is the best test. The more you taste different wines, the more you will come to know what you like, etc. But . . . If you are just starting out, here's some hints that we and others seem to ignore completely a lot of the time: Don't buy too much of a wine you haven't tasted (just because it got a good rating or is something you liked in earlier vintages). Don't buy a bunch of wine that you won't drink until after it goes bad. (I don't want to tell you how much white wine I have aged to extinction from my earlier days in buying wine.) *6.2 WHERE TO BUY WINE Depends on what you're drinking. Fortified wines to be carried and drunk while wrapped in a brown bag can be gotten pretty cheaply at the local market or liquor store. And, in SOME of the United States, wine can only be purchased in state run establishments (often closed on Sundays). If you are drinking a wine that is meant to be drunk young, you can pretty much buy your wine at the best price you can find. When it comes to wines to cellar, more care should be exercised. You want to learn a bit about your wine merchant. Since wines can be stored improperly or may have been subjected to heat and other improper handling, you could find that after keeping an expensive red wine for 10 years, what you have to drink is worthless. Wines can often be purchased at wineries (what an odd place to find wine). The good news here is that you may get wines that are never available anywhere else (you don't mass market 20 cases of wine). The sort of bad news is that you might find that the wine you bought could have been found less expensively elsewhere (though one hopes that the storage conditions at the winery are better?). Wineries will shipp wine, depending on where they are and where you are. Various laws come into play about the shipping of wine from one place to another (though I heard that one wine merchant- -I wasn't told who--merely labels the box "guns" and has no trouble at all; there ARE ways). Some wineries sell virtually all of their wine by mail. (You have to make awfully good wine to get away with that type of business [right, Burt & Ed?]) Other wine merchants (sometimes calling themselves wine "clubs") will ship wine. Several people have positively mentioned the following (but I don' have any independent knowledge and guarantee nothing!): Geerlings & Wade (Boston, Massachusetts, USA) 1-800-782-WINE. *6.3 WHAT'S ITS WORTH? A correspondent sent me this quote: "I think that the best way to learn about wine is to drink the cheapest wine you can find. If you can't find any cheap wine you like, then spend a few more dollars. And then a few more, and more, and more . . . . " Depending on what you can afford to pay for wine, the unfortunate truth is that generally, better wine costs more, however it isn't necessarily true that wine that costs more is better. The real fact is that you shouldn't be swayed by the opinions of others. If you like it, fine, if you don't, don't buy it. If it is inexpensive and suits your taste, great! I once bought a couple of bottles of wine for a couple of dollars each because the name of the winery was the same as the street I lived on. It wasn't wonderful (so far as we remember) and we stuck it away in a closet. Five years later the stuff was absolutely great. For wholesale wine (and other liquor) prices, you might find a copy of "Beverage Media", (from Beverage Media Ltd., 161 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10013) which calls itself "The largest compilation of alcoholic beverage price brand information in America." *6.3.1 OPUS ONE Why does this get asked about so often? Perhaps there is a certain snob appeal in buying/ordering this wine. Recently while dining out I overheard another table (clearly owners of a wine shop) being asked by the restaurant manager whether the establishment should purchase some Opus One. They hemmed and hawed and politely noted that it was a "high end" item and perhaps there were other wines that would be just as good for lesser price. That sums up a lot of what I have heard of this wine, a joint production between Robert Mondavi and the late Baron Philippe de Rothschild of Bordeaux attempting to produce French style wine with California grapes. The consensus of posts we have seen were that Opus One is a generally well made wine that is overpriced but will be reliable to people ordering in restaurants who don't know much about better (or just as good) less expensive wines. I've never tasted it, so try some, if you can (and want to make up your own mind). -------------------- *7. SPECIFIC WINES -------------------- *7.1 GRAPES Before you talk about specific wines, one must talk about grapes. While there are lots of grapes in the world (travel up and down the "Central Valley" of California and see all the "table" grapes), there are a select few which are used for making the best wines. These are known as "noble" grapes. [A note--I know that there are a LOT of grapes missing, especially a lot of French varieties. As I personally learn more, they'll get added.] Here are some: *7.1.1 Red Wine Grapes --Cabernet Sauvignon: One of the components of French Bordeaux, it is also the major (if not sometimes only) grape in the most popularly drunk American red wines in what might be called, for lack of a better term, the "snob appeal" class. (For in fact there is probably more American jug wine that never sees the cabernet grape drunk each year in the United States than all the cabernet sauvignon from all the wineries in the world put together. Prestige and/or quality are not always equal to popularity.) Cabernet sauvignon contains a lot of tannins that lead to the long aged, "better" red wines. Depending on where it is grown it may smell of cassis and black currants or black cherry and red currants. Some people may notice a cigar box smell. Bell peppers, asparagus, and rhubarb are common tasting notes for cabernet produced from grapes that are not quite ripe. A bit of this sort of character is considered, by some, to be pleasing (the wine is called "herbaceous"), too much of this flavor is unappealing--and the wine will be described as "vegetal". Out tasting at a "fancy" winery I tasted a wine that smelled and tasted so overwhelmingly of asparagus (which I don't like) that I couldn't drink anything else the entire day. The winery people admitted that while some people loved that particular wine, others had the same reaction as myself. --Barbera: A major Italian variety with a "tarry" smell and medium body. --Cabernet Franc: Also a component of Bordeaux, a little is often blended with Cabernet Sauvignon to add bouquet. Some don't think much of it when drunk all by itself. --Gamay: Produces a fruity wine such as French Beaujolais. (The California Gamay Beaujolais is not the same grape, but makes a wine that comes close.) --Grenache: Often used to make rose wine, it is a component of French Chateauneuf-du-Pape, Cotes du Rhone and most other appellations from the south of France. There are also many tasty grenache-based wines from Spain (where it is called garnacha) and from California. --Merlot: One of the major components of most French Bordeaux, also with less tannin that makes for a smoother characteristic in the wine. Alone (or practically alone), it makes another of the more popular U.S. wines. Though it is like Cabernet, it is usually "rounder". It is often blended with Cabernet Sauvignon. --Nebbiolo: Can be found in California, but is really a grape of the Piedmont area of Northern Italy. Found in Barbaresco and Barolo wines, which can be aged with great success. --Syrah ("true Syrah") and Petite Sirah are not the same, the former a relative of Durif from the Rhone in France (and a major variety in its own right), the latter a variety grown relatively widely in California and said to be genetically the same as the obscure French Durif variety. Both produce more or less deeply- red-colored, tannic, long lived wines, the latter being a bit more "peppery." You might also see Australian Shiraz, which is the same grape variety as the "true" French syrah, but because of differences in growing conditions between the two countries, much of it ends up tasting more like the California petite sirah, perhaps with more of a chocolate note. --Pinot Noir: The only grape in the famous French Red Burgundy appellations of the Cotes de Beaune, Cotes de Nuit and Cote d'or.. Some U.S. winemakers will make Pinot Noir "in the French style." Or not. Interestingly, they are lighter in color (but not flavor) than Bordeaux/Cabernet. --Zinfandel: Mostly from California, it has a great deal of fruit like characteristics. Some young Zinfandels are also "spicy." Good red Zinfandel is often a bargain in restaurants, being less expensive than other wines, but still very drinkable. (Huge quantities of Zinfandel are made into "White Zin," a sweet, uncomplicated (and usually inexpensive) wine that is favored by people who do not drink much wine. A decent White Zinfandel can make a nice "picnic wine." *7.1.2 White Wine Grapes --Chardonnay: Produces French white Burgundy and perhaps the most popular (once again "snob" class--see cabernet sauvignon, above) wines in the U.S. "Give me a glass of white wine" will probably get you Chardonnay at "better" restaurants. (In fact, a lot of jug wine--which is to say, a vast amount of wine--in the United States is made from what are "lesser" grape varieties like French colombard or sultana.) --Chenin Blanc: The major grape planted in the French Loire valley. In the U.S., often used to make a light, fruity wine. --Gewurztraminer: Some confusion abounds this wine, partly because non-German speaking persons may not order it in a restaurant because they can't pronounce it (there is a pronunciation key elsewhere in this document) and partly because of the way in which parts of the word can be translated. I'm told the German word "wuerz" literally means "spice", but "gewuerz" is better translated as "aromatic" or "fragrant." Wine from this grape has a floral smell and the wine itself is often drunk with spicy foods. Gewurztraminer also makes a good "late harvest" sweet dessert wine. It is more common in Alsace, Italy, and the United States than in Germany and many "experts" say Alsace makes the best. --Riesling: Also, to me, producing a floral smelling sort of wine, it also makes a sort of light, fresh type of wine. Makes a great "late harvest" sweet dessert wine (for which it is especially known in Germany). Another viewpoint, it isn't so much floral as "minerally" with accents of fuel oil--not light and fresh, instead, lots of depth and complexity in something like a good German Riesling Spatlese or Alsatian Grand Cru. --Sauvignon Blanc (sometimes called Fume Blanc, at least in California): In the U.S., makes a crisp, light wine (sometimes with a "grassy" [or herbaceous] characteristic). It is a component (along with Semillon ) of the French dessert wine, Sauternes and the white wines of Bordeaux. --.i.Semillon;. As with many grapes, while grown elsewhere (such as California), Semillon is one of the major varieties grown in Bordeaux. Like Sauvignon Blanc is can often have a grassy (or herbaceous) note, but also may have notes of ripe figs. It may be drunk "dry", or "sweet", and as such, it is a component (along with Sauvignon Blanc ) of the French dessert wine, Sauternes and the white wines of Bordeaux. Because I am neither an expert or a global traveler, nor independently wealthy, you may notice a lack of discussion about other grapes from around the world. I'm always open for opinions, though! Anybody want to tell me a lot of good things about, for example, Germany, Italy, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Spain (these are things people have written to me about) and you name the list of other countries, wines, producers that I've missed! *7.2 WHAT'S IN A NAME? A "variet" is just a grape, and a varietal is a wine made up of 100% of a particular variety of grape. However, United States law allows that a wine may be labeled in the manner of a varietal if it contains 75% of that variety of grape. So, the next time your bottle says Cabernet Sauvignon, check the label. Perhaps your "Cab" also contains something like Merlot, Cabernet Franc or some other grape. (This isn't a bad idea, since you can give a Cabernet a "smoother" quality by blending in "smoother" grapes.) French wines follow labeling rules which are a bit different. A red Burgundy is made of 100% Pinot Noir, grown in the Burgundy area of France. A French Bordeaux is made with different grapes (see the section on "Meritage"), but again is grown in the Bordeaux area of France. So your rule for French wines is that they are known by the geographical area of origin (also known as "appellation"), not by grape. Another example is Chablis (which happens to be an area in Burgundy), which is made of 100% Chardonnay. Also, the vintner must follow certain standards and practices in the production of the wine, set out by the Appellation d'Origine Controlee (A.O.C.). The A.O.C. also sets out standards for the quality of wine which range from Vins Delimites de Qualite Superieure (VDQS--the best quality) to Vins de pays ("county wines") to Vins ordinaires (ordinary wine). The A.O.C. system is used throughout Europe. One note about the A.O.C. Like just about all laws, there are those who must feel that they must be broken. There are the oft repeated rumors that unethical producers will dilute their wine with grapes not in accord with the law. It has been said that much of the impetus to give the southern Rhone communes their own appellations was to put a stop to the practice of illegally blending those wines into Burgundy. The final word, as always, is that vigilance is required on the part of the government and the consumer. So a quick summary of these rules are that United States wines are characterized by what goes into them while French wines are characterized by where the grapes are grown. Winemakers may also put a very specific area from which their grapes are harvested on the label. For example, there are excellent U.S. Pinot Noirs that come from the "Rochiolli vineyard" in Sonoma. A single producer thus might have a line of 4 or 5 Pinot Noirs, perhaps all from Sonoma, but not all from the same vineyard. Often (but NOT always--to each their own), "better" (or at least more expensive) wine comes form a "better" vineyard. In the United States there are places called "Approved Viticultural Areas" or AVA. If 75% of the wine is grown in that AVA the AVA may be placed on the label. Other terms may be placed on the bottle which the winemaker used to denote a "better" wine (perhaps based on the style of production, aging, grapes, etc.). One such term is "reserve." You may feel, however, that a non-reserve wine (usually less expensive) tastes better to YOU than what the winemaker has labeled "reserve." *7.3 MERITAGE French Bordeaux is made from a blend of grapes. It might contain, for example, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Malbec. The amounts differ (for example, in the Bordeaux appellations St. Emilion and Pomeral, Merlot tends to be the dominant grape, while in the Medoc (Paulliac, St. Esteph, Margaux, and St. Julien), Cabernet Sauvignon is dominant. The important point, is that no matter what the grapes, it is a "blend" of grapes, though it might be that something like Merlot or Cabernet Sauvignon will be a very large percentage of the wine. In the United States, a wine cannot be called by it varietal name unless that grape is at least 75% of the wine. As a merchandising tool, a new name has reached the marketplace. Producers in the United States creating blend wines (usually with less than 75% of any particular grape) have agreed to use the term Meritage to designate a high quality wine using Bordeaux style blends of grape varieties. While "Meritage" is a blend that is often used to denote an upscale wine, blends (not labeled Meritage) as such can represent a very good value in the purchase of wine. Look for, example, wines denoted "Table Wine" instead of with any particular grape. *7.4 CHAMPAGNE Champagne is a "sparkling" wine that comes (of course) from the Champagne area of France. Three grapes can be used to make Champagne: Chardonnay, Pinot Meunier and Pinot Noir. It is produced by a technique known as Methode Champenoise. In Methode Champenoise, there is more than one major fermentation (see FERMENTATION in HOW IS WINE MADE). The first fermentation takes 2 to 3 weeks. The wine is then placed in very sturdy bottles (to withstand the internal pressure that will be part of the process) along with sugar and yeast (Liqueur de Tirage). A temporary cap (just like the type you find on a bottle of beer or soda) is placed on the bottle. The sugar and yeast cause a new fermentation to occur. Since fermentation produces carbon dioxide (the same gas that makes the bubbles in your soda), which can't escape from bottle, what you get is carbonated wine. This fermentation also creates new sediment, which must be removed. This is done by placing the wines on their sides on racks at about a 45 degree down facing angle. Then every day the bottles are turned a bit (called "riddling" or "remuage"), and eventually also tilted farther down. After about 6 or 8 weeks, the sediment has now moved to the neck of the bottle, which the vintner then freezes. The bottle is opened and the force of the pressurized wine pushes the frozen sediment out of the bottle (this is called "disgorgement". Since the bottle is now no longer full, wine and sugar (depending on what sweetness desired) is added. The bottle is then given its permanent cork. Some say Champagne does not mature in the bottle, so you needn't bother cellaring it. Others argue that you may enjoy a little aging on some vintage Champagnes. Mostly, I think they're drunk quick. The French discourage (to put it mildly) the use of the word "Champagne" for sparkling wines made (even in the same manner) elsewhere in the world. Also know that not all sparkling wines are made using the Methode Champenoise. For example, instead of carbonating the wine in the bottle and hand turning the bottles every day, you COULD put the wine into huge stainless steel tanks for the second fermentation. This will get you much cheaper carbonated--or sparkling--wine. [reserved: how to open a bottle of Champagne; styles of Champagne, Naturel, Brut, semi-dry (demi-sec), etc.] *7.5 PORT Port is a "fortified wine". Brandy is added to the wine to stop fermentation before the yeasts eat all the grape sugar, thus yielding a sweeter wine, which is also has a higher alcohol content. True Port comes from Portugal (the Duouro region, to be exact). But since winemakers in other countries have taken to producing "Port," Duouro Port makers have started to call THEIR Port, "Porto," or "Oporto" (from the city in Duouro). There are two main categories of Port: *7.5.1 Vintage Port Wineries will decide ("declare") that the harvest in a some particular years (or "vintages") is worthy of producing this port, which is aged for two years in wood from grapes of that harvest year only. It will also continue to mature once bottled. Not only are not all years declared to be vintage years, but not all wineries may decide within a particular year that THEIR wine is a vintage year, and even in a declared year (which may occur two or three times in a decade) perhaps only 10% of the grapes will go into vintage port (with the balance going to wood ports). So in most years there just is no vintage Port at all! Vintage Ports get much better with age. Generally don't drink them before 15 years. Some can keep getting better for a long time after that--even 100 years. Like most good wine, a vintage port shouldn't be left around undrunk once opened. --Single-Quinta Vintage Port:Quinta This is true vintage Port--wine from one harvest year bottled unblended after two years in cask. When a shipper "declares a vintage", the vintage Port from that year usually comes from wines produced by grapes from various vineyards (quintas). It is said that no one vineyard has all the characteristics to make the best vintage Port--it needs to be blended with other vineyards to be the most complete and complex wine. However, sometimes a producer's single best vineyard will yield grapes fine enough to warrant bottling on their own, while the rest of the vineyards that would normally contribute to a vintage Port weren't as successful. The producer may then choose to vinify this wine from that single vineyard, or "quinta". This is called "single- quinta vintage Port" and the quinta name will appear on the label. So, whereas a Port labelled "Graham's 1991 Vintage Porto" is a vintage Port from a declared year, "Graham's Malvedos 1988 Vintage Porto" is a single-quinta vintage Port from the Quinta dos Malvedos, the best vineyard that Graham's owns. The one exception to this nomenclature is the Quinta do Noval, which is actually a producer, not a single quinta. (Noval's best vineyard is called Nacional, and its single-quinta Port is the rarest, most expensive, and reportedly best of all.) *7.5.2 Wood Port Within this category are three sub-categories, based on color: *7.5.2.1 Ruby Port A dark red, somewhat sweet "full-bodied" wine which has probably been aged in wood for several years. *7.5.2.2 Tawny Port Not such a deep color, it is a "smoother," less sweet wine which may have been aged in wood for 20 years. The difference between tawny Port and ruby Port is simply the amount of time that the wine spends in the wood cask before it is blended and bottled. As the wine ages, the ruby-red color of the young wine becomes paler and browner. Top tawny Ports from the best producers are just as complex and fine (and expensive) as vintage Port, though they will have a different character. (If you find something labeled tawny Port which seems inexpensive--or shall we say, "cheap?," you may have found something produced by blending "tawny" Port with "white" Port. Needless to say, you'll tell the difference and Port connoisseurs will tell you that they aren't worthy of the name "Port" at all.) *7.5.2.3 White Port A sweet white wine made from white grapes grown in the Oporto region of Portugal. As with red Port, fermentation is stopped by adding brandy to the partly fermented wine. Not really like the other (red) Ports, which are usually drunk after a meal, this is usually drunk before a meal. Wood Ports will not get any better by cellaring, so you can drink them as you buy. *7.5.3 Decanting Port As you age your good Port it is going to "throw off" a good amount of sediment which is going to end up in your glass if you don't decant. So, get into the habit of decanting. Unless you like to eat sediment, of course. [Reserved: Expanded discussion of Port. I've got forty pages of notes!] I have no knowledge of, but repeat posted information that there is a a quarterly newsletter called Re: Port. P.O. Box 981, Cherry Hill, New Jersey 09003. Said to list availability and best retail prices for vintage port in the U.S. Apparently a sample copy is available. *7.6 DESSERT WINES There are number of different wines which come under this category. Often very sweet, you don't really want to drink a lot of it at one time. For this reason you'll see dessert wines sold in the smaller 375ml bottle (as well as larger bottles). At a recent picnic, the smaller bottle did quite well for eight of us. *7.6.1 Botrytis While the classification of "dessert" wines can include any number of things, this is where we'll deal with those wines that are affected by "the rot." Not just any rot, however, but the "noble rot,"Botrytis cinerea, a mold which causes the vine disease called grey rot. Some years (but not all), when the weather is exactly right, with warm, sunny afternoons and damp, foggy mornings, the mold doesn't rot the fruit, but affects it in a different way. About 90% of the water in the grape disappears and the grapes shrivel up. Since relatively little of the sugar is lost, you get extremely concentrated and sweet grape juice. These grapes can be harvested and treated specially. Noble Botrytis adds a honeyed, aromatic flavor characteristic of its own to the wine. In the end, what you get is a sweet and, when lucky, an incredibly complex and flavorful liquid that, as it ages, turns from pale yellow to dark gold, maturing and concentrating the flavors. The most famous of these wines is the French Sauternes, and the most famous French Sauternes is Chateau d'Yquem. It may take an entire vine to produce one glass of this precious liquid which is barrel aged for 3 1/2 years before bottling. But even then, it should not be drunk for at least 20 years! It merely gets better and better and could be drunk after 100 years. One can go on and on, gushing over this, but there is nothing quite like the myriad of intense flavors that come from an aged bottle of this rich, sweet, complicated wine. Chateau d'Yquem is so good that stands alone, classified "Grand Premier Cru" (first great growth). Other Sauternes will be classified "premier crus" (first growth) and "deuxiemes crus" (second growth). Sauternes are often comprised of 80% Semillon and 20% Sauvigon Blanc. Since what is normally lousy weather contributes to the attack of Botrytis, harvesting grapes can continue past the normal end of season, perhaps into December. Many wineries will produce a "late harvest" wine in the manner of the French Sauternes. So while you will find Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon grapes in Sauternes, you can also find, for example, late harvest Riesling or Gewurztraminer. (I drank a late harvest Chardonnay once. Not great, but interesting. And a good way to get rid of essentially what was "rotten" grapes.) The U.S. wines I have seen do not age nearly as long as Sauternes, but will undergo maturation in the bottle for some time. Other truly great (you decide if they are "better" than Sauternes) sweet dessert wines produced from late-harvest, Botrytis affected grapes include (but certainly aren't necessarily limited to): --German Beerenauslese (BA) and Trockenbeerenauslese (TBA) rieslings from the Mosel-Saar-Ruwer and Rheingau regions. They are made from nobly-rotted riesling grapes. TBA is made from the most highly raisined grapes only and is outrageously sweet. Some say these are every bit as good as any Sauternes (including d'Yquem), and they are a lot rarer, since noble rot strikes Germany far less often than Sauternes. --Sweet wines of the Loire valley in France such as Anjou moulleux, sweet Vouvray, Quarts du Chaume, Rochefort, and Bonnezeaux. These are made from Botrytis-affected chenin blanc grapes. --Wines of the Valpolicella district in Italy. When fermenting raisined grapes fully dry, the result is the very rich-tasting, alcoholic, and long-lasting dry wine, Amarone. If they leave some residual sugar, the wine is called Recioto di Valpolicella. As we will see, you don't necessarily need Botrytis to create a concentrated wine. This can also be done by freezing the grapes or by letting them dry in the sun to some extent. Such wines won't have the Botrytis flavor which itself is a wonderful component of Botrytis affected wines--so long as you don't take it to an extreme, for wines overly affected by Botrytis can taste like show polish in early stages. It could take ten or twenty years to get rid of this problem. *7.6.2 Eiswein a.k.a. Icewine Another popular category of dessert wine is Eiswein (a.k.a. Icewine, although strictly speaking that is, I'm told, a trademark of the Vintners' Quality Association, Ontario, Canada). Eiswein is produced by leaving the grapes on the vine until start to become raisins (see the discussion of sauternes, above) and until they freeze (technically known as "cryoextraction"). Temperatures of -7C (20F) or below are required. The wine is then pressed, and the shards of (water) ice are removed. The combination of extremely overripe grapes with the concentration resulting from removing the excess water produces an extremely sweet, intense, luscious wine. Eiswein was originally developed in Germany in the 18th century, and is now produced in several areas along the northern and southern fringes of the world's wine-producing areas, including northern Germany, the northern United States, and New Zealand. However, the biggest production now comes from Ontario, Canada, where Eiswein has become a dominant part of the wine industry. In Germany and elsewhere, most Eiswein is made from Reisling, and a few other varieties. In Ontario, most is made from Vidal, a thick-skinned hybrid grape well-suited to the purpose. The result is a thick, fruity wine, with flavors ranging from apricot to fruit salad and tropical fruits Ontario Eiswein is typically produced with juice at a level of 45 brix (as compared to 22 brix for a table wine). Often a "second pressing" of icewine grapes, with somewhat lower brix levels, is used to make a "Select Late Harvest" wine. The flavors of these "baby icewines" are similar to icewine, but with lower intensity and much lower prices. Some attempts have been made, in areas not "blessed" with a cold winter, to produce Eiswein artificially, by putting grapes in a freezer. The results are typically described as "good but not great." One reason is that the grapes are usually not left to overripen as much as they are when the "natural" process is used. On the other hand, it is usually a lot cheaper. A particular example of this (so far as the technique, at least) would be "Vin de Glacier" from Bonny Doon in California, literally "Refrigerator Wine" (from a winemaker with a sense of humor). While an "ice wine" produces concentrated flavors, it does not, of course, have any of the flavors due to Botrytis, so it certainly is a different type of product. *7.6.3 Other Sweet Wines There are other ways to get sweet wines: --Add sugar to dry wine. This is the method used to produce the "Sauterne" and "Muscatel" that skid row winos drink. No serious, quality sweet wine is made this way. --Stop the fermentation process before the yeasts have consumed all the grape sugars and produced a dry wine. This can be done in at least two ways: ----Add a big dose of sulfites to anesthesize/kill the yeasts, or centrifuge and sterile filter the wine to remove the yeasts. This gives better results than adding sugar to dry wine, but it doesn't give you the same quality as starting with "Botrytisized" or dried grapes. ----Add brandy to the fermenting grape must. When the alcohol level gets to 18% or more, the yeasts die and you're left with a sweet wine. This is how the fortified sweet wines such as Port, sweet Sherry, Malaga, Madeira, Marsala, and the "vins doux naturels" (naturally sweet wines) of the south of France are made. These are all potentially top-quality wines of great interest and complexity, which in addition to being very sweet have a fiery quality to them due to the added brandy. --------------------- *8. WINES AROUND THE WORLD --------------------- This is a hopeless cause for a Wine FAQ, since you can't win in what you include and don't include. I've gotten a lot of correspondence about the "bias" of the FAQ towards California. Any such partiality is unintentional and is a result of the fact that I know more about California and can use references to California for my examples. And France! Since there are hundreds (thousands?) of books about French wine, it is absurd to try to recreate that information in this FAQ. On the other hand, there are other areas of the world that have thriving wine industries. Some have lots of books written about them, and perhaps some don't. So I'm going to use this space to refer to wine growing areas that (to my limited, inexpert knowledge) have had less attention. All this material has been sent to me from various correspondents and it is important for me to note that I have not verified this material and can't even say that the information has been sent to me from wine growers or promoters who might wish to use this FAQ as a means of advertising. I've tried to eliminate any of that, but who knows! For those areas which are missing, I'm open to anyone who wants to send me more. Thanks to those who already have. *8.1 ARGENTINA Although Argentina is the fifth worldwide wine producer, only a little amount of it is considered high quality. In contrast with Chile, wine producers have historically gone for volume over quality, though from the 1970's one this has begun to change. Some red wines have now been noted for their quality. Wine is grown in Argentina all along the Andes Mountains, which acts as a border between Chile and Argentina. Production is concentrated in the warmer northerly provinces of Mendoza, San Juan, La Rioja, Salta and the cooler southerly provinces of Rio Negro and Neuquen. Many varieties ("cepages") are grown. Predominant red grapes include Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Italian varieties, including Barbera, introduced by Italian monks in the 1700's. Common white grapes include Chardonnay and Chenin Blanc, as well as the local variety of "Torrontes" which is similar to Gewurztraminer. --------------------- *9. FOOD AND WINE --------------------- This subject is enormous. Perhaps as time goes by I'll develop a listing, but we'll start with some basics. Drink red wines with meat, white wines with fish. Wrong! Drink whatever wine you like that YOU think goes with whatever you are eating. There aren't any rules. The fact that there are some combinations that "many" people think best complement food and wine may be a guide, but if YOU don't like it, or you like something else, do it! And red wine goes very well with tuna, thank you. >From a chemical standpoint, what you do when drinking wine can have an enormous impact on what you drink (or whether you should drink at all). Try an experiment. Dissolve 1/8th teaspoon salt in a gallon of water. Do the same with sugar and another gallon of water. Take a sip of one then taste a wine. Try it with the other. You may be very surprised. Your taste buds are extremely sensitive. The addition of food will radically change the way a wine can taste. This is why tasting wine without eating may steer you wrong when it comes to what you really like. *9.1 FOOD COMBINATIONS PEOPLE HAVE LIKED I don't necessarily agree with or have tried the food and wine combinations that are related in this section. In fact, it is such an overwhelming area, I don't even know if it is a good idea to start. But since a FAQ should answer Frequently Asked Questions, here are some of the ones that have come up a lot. *9.1.1 WINE AND CHOCOLATE Some will say this isn't possible. I think they're wrong. You'll find chocolate notes in Cabernet and this can make it a decent match. Also try Merlot or Zinfandel. A correspondent tells me that there is a chocolatier near the Musee D'Orsay in Paris that has a whole sheet of suggestions for wine with chocolate. Some of the best ideas are, he thinks: Vin Jaune, an "incredible, almost sherried wine" from the Jura; Chateau Chalon; fine solera Malaga; or an assertive young white port. *9.1.2 WINE AND DUCK Peking Duck (with sweet sauce): White Hermitage, Pinot Gris, Sancerre or Pouilly Fume Plain Roast Duck: Bordeaux, Cabernet, Australian Chardonnay, California Pinot Noir, Madiran, Cotes de Buzet Misc.: Spanish Rioja, preferably and Reserva or Gran Reserva [RESERVED FOR MORE] -------------------------- *10. LEARNING ABOUT WINE -------------------------- *10.1 HOW TO START OUT: A Personal Experience When I was in college what we drank was jug wine, Sangria, sloe gin fizzes, and the occasional 100% grain alcohol that the pre- med guy would get from the lab. So taste wasn't exactly the idea. For many years, we didn't exactly drink much in the way of any wine at all. Then we were introduced to "good" wine. This wasn't something that you just drank, it was another facet of the meal, food to be enjoyed just like the entree or dessert. About this time a local "fancy" market started doing "winemaker dinners." This being California, there was no lack of some of the best people in the state showing up. The market was trying to get business, so it was inexpensive and the 5-course meals were great. (Thanks, Claudia.) And so was a lot of the wine. While it was interesting to listen to the stories the producers would tell (and try to decipher some of the questions that the knowledgeable folk asked), the most important part was that this was a way to be introduced to a lot of different wines, alone, and with food. Dri, who has the memory between us, could remember what was good, or what she or I liked, and still can to this day. I'm a lot slower and my test (I thought I'd invented it, but then saw it in a magazine--later) was the "GDE" test. Did it "go down easy?" Matching wines was Dri's job and I knew I liked what I drank. I also started to know what I didn't like. Dri and I don't always agree. Neither will you. We bought a few books and started to visit wineries, mostly in California, some in Washington and Oregon. We went on the tours, some of which were big and crowded. As we gathered up our nerve about us, we found that we could make appointments at little wineries which would show just the two of us around (often it would be the owner/winemaker doing the tour), talk to us for hours about their operation and about wine, and let us taste some of the "good stuff." (Word of mouth is always good advertising.) It also turned out that some "big" wineries will do the same, just for the asking. After a while one tour looks like another, but we just like being in the usually cool winery and drinking in the scents of grape and wine and wood that jump out at you--and learning about the winemaker/owners. Even when there is no tour, many small wineries will, on appointment, let you taste. (Please, don't be pushy with them. They're doing you a favor, too. They have a business to run and lives to live. We always ask if they have time and when is best for them!) We didn't try to hit every place on Highway 29 or the Silverado Trail, we slowly picked a few places that we thought had good wine, and went and spent time. And bought some to keep. So now we drink more wine and we're still learning. We found, as most will tell you, that the best way to learn about wine is to drink it. So true. Lectures, books, magazines, this guide, other people, etc., will help you and maybe get you started along the right track. But what they have to say are just clues to the easily solved puzzle of what YOU will like. Two interesting learning tools: restaurants that serve fine wines by the glass or have multi-course fixed price meals serving different wines for each course and wine tastings (often of verticals that will let you see just how a wine ages and when it is young, ready, or too old all at one sitting). Many restaurants have wine tastings as do wine clubs and associations. You can also do your own wine tastings (everybody brings a bottle of something, perhaps all reds, or all one varietal, etc.). Perhaps you host and have the guests chip in on the costs. This way you avoid duplication of bottles. *10.2 HOW TO START OUT: General ideas Read Kevin Zraly's "Windows on the World Wine Course", a very easy to read book with lots of graphics. Take a wine appreciation class. These can usually be found through university extension, junior/community colleges or even large wine shops. All three of these options are available in San Diego. These will introduce you to terminology, basic wine types, how to evaluate wines, etc. Find a tasting group, or a good wine shop that puts on tastings, preferably both. It is prohibitively expensive to taste a lot of wines if you have to buy a full bottle for each wine. Typically, a good wine shop should be able to point you to a few good tasting groups. There's used to be a "Les Amis Du Vin" chapter in most major cities, but I'm told the national organization has disappeared. A new organization called "Wine Lovers International" is trying to incorporate as many of the old Les Amis chapters as it can. If all else fails, get some friends together (who at least enjoy wines--and maybe even if they don't) for wine tastings. It's also not a bad idea to make friends with people who have cellars full of wine (!). Get copies of wine tasting newsletters, and try several wines recommended by each of them to see which ones most closely match your palate, then subscribe to the most appropriate ones. There's a listing of these resources elsewhere in this document. An important thing to do for any person who wants to start drinking better wine, is to find one or two wine merchants that you like, and to become recognized as a loyal customer, even if you don't initially spend a great deal. See which shops have tastings open to their customers. Tell the proprietor about your interests, taste, and budget. Many wine shop owners are enthusiasts who love to help (and talk) about wine. Try the offered wines then decide whether the wine is as the proprietor described it? Is it about what you asked for? If so, go back for more. A good merchant will repay your loyalty (and you'll repay theirs, and so on . . . ) *10.3 INTERNET SOURCES *10.3.1 Usenet Groups --There are currently two Usenet groups: rec.food.drink and alt.food.wine. Availability differs, of course, by site. If you can't get a group, ask your site administrator if he or she will add it. Many people post wine-related information to alt.bacchus. I have refrained from doing so as it is my understanding that the charter for that group is for other purposes. There has been some discussion of creating a group such as rec.food.wine which by virtue of being part of the rec.* hierarchy would be more widely available. To date, this idea has not taken hold. For more information on widely-accepted procedures for creating groups, check news.answers. *10.3.1.1 A Suggestion about Posting to Usenet In many groups, codes have evolved to make skimming the posts more manageable. For example: TN for "tasting notes". Better yet, "TN: '92 Opus One, '91 Caymus Reserve." So long as there is an archive that will sort as well as the one maintained by Grapevine, heading posts in this manner makes it VERY easy to retrieve the information you want. I'd also suggest something like "WN: Sterling, Grgich" for impressions upon visiting wineries. *10.3.2 Listservs --BEER-L: BEER-L@UA1VM.UA.EDU (list); LISTSERV@UA1VM.UA.EDU (listserv). Primarily for discussion of making and tasting of beer, but some HOME-MADE wine talk. --CANWINE: canwine-request@his.com (listserv). Discussion of Canadian wine and the Canadian wine industry. --FOODWINE: FOODWINE@CMUVM.CSV.CMICH.EDU (list); LISTSERV@CMUVM.CSV.CMICH.EDU (listserv) --HOMEBREW%HPFCMR: homebrew%hpfcmr@HPLABS.HP.COM (list); homebrew-request%hpfcmr@HPLABS.HP.COM (listserv). Primarily for discussion of making and tasting of beer, but some HOME-MADE wine talk. --OZWINE: OZWINE@KOALA.CS.COWAN.EDU.AU (list); MAISER@KOALA.CS.COWAN.EDU.AU (listserv). Discussion of Australian and New Zealand wines. --WINE: majordomo@ee.pdx.edu (listserv). General discussion on wines. *10.3.3 Sites, including WWW and Gopher My how the 'net has grown. When I started this document, the Internet (does it really have a capital "I"?) seemed a smaller world of private individuals using educational, corporate and military computers to connect to the world in a community minded way (I'm ignoring the true reasons that gave birth to the Internet, that's another book that's been written already--not by me.) Now I'm not sure whether what I read is truly informational or a blatant act of fiction promulgated overtly or covertly by commercial interests. For that matter, why believe anything *I* say? And even if not fictional, am I getting the *whole* story when the site I visit limits their "information" only to advertisers/supporters of the site? There seems no way to stop the rush to commercialization of the World Wide Web, but I can complain about it, can't I? Some of the sites listed below are commercial, others appear to be private. Once AGAIN, caveat emptor, "Let the buyer beware." This area is probably the one that will go out of date faster than yesterday's news. I can't personally either test for the existence (or continued) existence all of these resources. E- mail me with corrections, if you'd like! Also note that there are others out there who are doing a much better job at this than myself. Most particularly, Dean Tudor; see section 9.3.3.2. *10.3.3.1 Annotated Internet Sites --WWW Glossary of Terms. URL: http://metcon.met.co.nz/nwfc/beard/www/wine_glossary.html --Grapevine has a few reviews, but more importantly, has an archive of rec.food.drink. URL: http://www.terra.net/grapevine/. --WWW Resource Page from Jarrett Paschel. URL: http://augustus.csscr.washington.edu/personal/bigstar- mosaic/wine.html Expects to include tasting notes, touring notes to Washington State wineries and links to other WWW resources on wine. Was the first to place this FAQ on the web. (Thanks, again.) *10.3.3.2 Formatted Internet Sites http://www.interlog.com/eye/Food-drink/Drinks/tudor.htm Dean Tudor has produced the ultimate internet resource list. With his kind permission, I have included a wine subset of his list in the Appendix to this FAQ. *10.4 BOOKS (In alphabetical order; may be paperback. No, I don't have an affiliation with any of these! Books marked with ** are ones which have been recommended by others but have not been seen by me. I provide absolute NO representation about the value, worth or usefulness of any of reference.) --**Adventures on the Wine Route by Kermit Lynch. "Lively, somewhat nonconformist, and passionately devoted to good wine, full of fascinating characters and interesting insights. A great read, even if you aren't particularly interested in wine. Warning: Lynch, while American, does not look kindly on the American emphasis on rating wines and on favoring "big" wines. But even if you don't agree, it's good to hear a different point of view." --**American Wine Society Publications. Source for technical wine publications. Call (716) 225-7613. --**California Wine Atlas by Bob Thompson ??? "Considered by many to be the best reference for California wines." --**THE GAME OF WINE by Forrest Wallace and Gilbert Cross "Charming, witty and full of anecdotes, recipes and advice." Sounds like fun reading about the entire concept of drinking wine, not just another tomb about wine drinking. --**HOW AND WHY TO BUILD A WINE CELLAR, by Richard Gold. --**HOW TO TEST AND IMPROVE YOUR JUDGING ABILITY by ? Marcus. 97 page booklet. Describes common wine flaws. --**Hugh Johnson, Hugh: Several classic and well-regarded works, including the annual Pocket Guide containing varietals, terms, regions, producers and vineyards, vintages, wine and food, etc. One poster did mention about the pocket guide: "not recommended for the extremely myopic." Non-pocket version available at a higher price. "Hugh Johnson's Modern Encyclopedia of Wine" "is a excellent book talking about all wine regions around the world. It is very indepth and well written." Also, "Hugh Johnson's Atlas is a classic, with detailed maps of winemaking areas around the world." --**KELLGREN'S WINE BOOK CATALOG, Specialty Books Company, P.O. Box 616, Croton-On-Hudson, New York, 10520-0616, 1-800-274-4816. Book store or service. Free catalog may be available at the phone number shown. --**MASTERGLASS, Jancis Robinson. [publication info ?] Contains (I'm told) an excellent, unpretentious list of wine terms. --PARKER'S WINE BUYER'S GUIDE, Robert M. Parker, Jr. (Simon and Schuster/Firestone): Notwithstanding negative comments one might hear about "Parker," this is an excellent reference. It lists 7500 wines from around the world and can give you a very good idea of what is good or bad (though, as always, YOU may not agree with the tastes of the author). There is introductory information on, among other things, how to buy and store wine and aging of the wine. There is an overview of wine growing areas, ideas about the quality of the wine in recent years from those areas and commentaries about specific wines. A numerical rating system is used. Over 1000 pages, my latest copy (1993, 3rd edition) was US $21.00. --**SOTHEBY'S WORLD WINE ENCYCLOPEDIA by Tom Stevenson (1988, 480 pages.), US $40, Bulfinch Press, Little Brown & Company; 25 British Pounds, Dorling Kindersley UK. Glossy format with colored pictures. Wine regions, producers, maps, aging, varieties. Comprehensive wine reference. Probably dated if no new publication since 1988. --**THE WINES OF FRANCE by Steven Spurrier, Steven. [Publication data ?]. "Great addition to any library, and his section on the grapes used in wine is excellent, comprehensive and to be trusted." --**UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT DAVIS BOOK CATALOG contains a number of books about wine. --**VINES, GRAPES AND WINES, Jancis Robinson. [publication info ?, Publisher Mitchell Beazly of London, England] "More concentrated information covering all major wine producing countries than anything else I have read." --**VINTAGE TIME CHARTS, Jancis Robinson Descriptions of how long to age particular wines. Described as the "classic" work. --Windows on the World Complete Wine Course by Kevin Zaraly. Sterling Publishing Company. My copy printed 1993, marked at US $22.95. "Helpful for people getting started." --**Wine Appreciation Guild Catalog. Wine Appreciation Guild, 155 Connecticut Street, San Francisco, California 94107. Large selection of books; retail and wholesale orders. Catalog has blurb on each book and therefore is a good reference all by itself. --**The Wine Book by Oz Clark. --**VINES, GRAPES, AND WINES by Jancis Robinson discusses grape varieties worldwide. --**WINE APPRECIATION GUIDE CATALOG 155 Connecticut Street, San Francisco, California 94107. From a correspondent: The catalog lists (and describes) just about every English language book on wine published in the last 30 years. --**WINE SPECTATOR'S ULTIMATE GUIDE TO BUYING WINE, Wine Specta- tor Press, a division of M. Shanken Communications. (212) 684- 4224 or fax (212) 684-5424. US $19.95. --WINE TASTING, Michael Broadbent (Fireside/Simon and Schuster; my copy reprinted 1990, marked at US $10.95). This pocket sized book is very nice, small (with tiny print), yet in-depth. It isn't about particular producers, its about WINE. What it looks, smells and tastes like. How to taste. Color plates to show how wine changes. Nice section on how to put on a serious wine tasting. *10.5 MAGAZINES AND NEWSLETTERS (In alphabetical order. No affiliation with these, either. . . . Same this I said about books goes here, too. Asterisks mean I haven't seen it; reviews collected from various sources. Please let me know about corrections, complaints, changes, errors, etc.! Some publications may provide a free sample.) As with any compilation of this type, many people have many opinions, and the marketplace often works in conjunction with commercial publications, so, as always, Caveat Emptor and let YOUR palate be the guide. --**"Best Bottles Wineletter". Box 21011 Stratford, Ontario Canada N5A 7V4. Written and produced by William Munnelly, who purchases and tastes all the wines reviewed. About 30 to 40 pages double-sided. The focus of the publication is wines around or under $10--the idea being you don't have to pay a fortune for a good bottle of wine. Published every other month, by subscription only. Annual subscription fee is Canadian $40 (including GST). --**"The California Grapevine". 6 issues/yr. Approximately 20 pages per issue, U.S. $30/year. P.O. Box 22152, San Diego, CA 92192, (619) 457-4818. Focus on California wines, particularly Cabernet and Chardonnay. Some coverage of classified Bordeaux. Book reviews by Bob Foster. Articles by Dan Berger. Wines are evaluated by a panel of 10 to 12 on a modified Davis Scale (20 point scale). Due to the large panel size, the wines that are recommended tend to have wide appeal. [Note: Dan Berger is the wine writer for the Los Angeles Times. This household tends to agree with his palate and writings a great deal of the time!] --**"Connoisseur's Guide to California Wine". Monthly, no advertising. Approximately 16 pages per issue, $42/yr. P.O. Box V, Alameda, CA 94501, (510) 865-3150. Focus is strictly on California and U.S. wines. Each issue reviews two to three classes of wine, with 20-40 wines per class. Wines are evaluated by a panel of two on a 5-point scale (0-3 Puffs + Pour it down the drain). Reviewers are said to have "California palates", which means they like big, intense, chewy wines. [Opposing comments welcome!] **"Decanter". Glossy British wine trade publication recommended by some. U.S. $75 to $80 per year. Available at some large bookstores and magazine racks in the U.S. --**"The Fine Wine Review". Approximately 16 pages per issue. U.S. $28.93 per year. 2449 Jackson St., San Francisco, CA 94115- 1324, (415) 922-2755. International in scope, each issue tends to focus on one wine type, for instance, Northern Rhones. An individual reviewer, Claude Kolm, evaluates on a 100 point scale ("objective, no context scale"), and also A/B/C/D/F ("how good the wine is compared to other wines of the same type"). Some feel Mr. Kolm is more reliable than some of the other wine critics. --**"La Revue du Vin de France". 9 issues per year. 70p+8p per issue, 430FF per year. 18-20 rue Guynemer, 92441 Issy les Moulineaux Cedex, France; telephone: 33 1 40 95 86 00; fax: 33 1 40 95 18 81. Mainly French wines. Two special issues per year, one devoted to the new vintage (usually in June), and the last of the year called "les 500" which featuring the 500 best wines tasted during the year. Each issue contains 8 pages of tasting notes called "le cahier de degustation." Also articles about a special regions, a chateaus. Wines are either given a note (out of 10) or evaluated using a 5 stars notation for hard to judge wine. --**"New York Wine Cellar". Tanzer Business Communications, Inc. P.O. Box 392, Prince Station, New York, New York 10012. Interviews, ratings. Bi-monthly US $48; foreign air mail US $60. --**"The Quarterly Review of Wines". 4 issues per year. Approximately 70 pages per issue. U.S. $13.95 per year. P.O. Box 591, Winchester, MA 01890-9988. Glossy magazine. Mostly articles, few reviews. Doesn't give ratings. --**"Underground Wine Journal". Wine Journal Enterprises, 1654 Amberwood Drive, Suite A., South Pasadena, California 91030. (818) 441-6617. U.S. $48/year. International in scope, with good coverage of German and French wines, vertical and horizontal tastings of individual wine producers. Wines are evaluated by two or three reviewers on a modified Davis scale (20 point scale). Some say "very reliable reviews." --**"The Vine". British newsletter by Clive Coats. --"The Wine Advocate". From Robert Parker, Jr., an "independent consumer's guide to fine wines" published 6 times a year. The 1993 Parker's Wine Buyer's Guide says that The Wine Advocate costs $35.00 for delivery in the continental United States, $45.00 in Canada and $65.00 by air-mail delivery anywhere in the world (I'm assuming all prices in $US). For subscriptions or a sample copy write to The Wine Advocate, P.O. Box 311, Monkton, MD 21120, or fax to 410-357-4504. Mr. Parker is said not to be afraid to take a stand on a controversial wine, but some don't agree with his conclusions (why should they, to each their own!). --**".i.Wine Enthusiast Magazine. 6 issues per year. Approximately 52 pages per issue. U.S. $17.70 per year. 800- 356-8466 to subscribe Published by Wine Enthusiast Companies which consists mainly of a wine gadgets store and the magazine. Mostly articles and a few reviews. --**"The Wine News". 6 issues per year, approximately 40 pages per issue. U.S $18 per year. 353 Alcazar Avenue, Suite 101-B Coral Gables, Florida 33134. Includes review magazine "Inside Wine" Said to be similar to "The Wine Spectator" with large format and the same coverage. --"The Wine Spectator": A large, glossy format with lots of pictures. While considered by some "serious" (too serious?) types to be a lot of fluff ("the National Enquirer of wine"), it can be fun to read and is every bit as informative as a handbook at least to someone with little experience, and to the experienced as well. Lots of wine buying guides, reports from vertical tastings, and even restaurant recipes. Some have speculated about the cause and effect of advertising on ratings. 1994--Cover price: Canada $3.95; US $2.95; UK Pounds 2.50. Subscription Price US $40/year, $75/2 years. Call 1-800-752-7799 or send to P.O. Box 50463, Boulder, CO. 80321-0463. **"Wine Tidings. 8 issues per year. Approximately 30 pages per issue. U.S. $35 per year. 5165 Sherbrooke St West, Montreal QC H4A 9Z9. Mostly articles. Some reviewers felt that it was a bit expensive for what you get. *10.6 ELECTRONIC RESOURCES (No affiliation. Asterisks mean I haven't seen it.) --**Microsoft Wine Guide CD-ROM by Oz Clarke, whom many say a lot of good things about.. Reviewd by John Dvorak on C|NET Central as a "buy it." --**Wines of the World: CD-ROM on wine browsing, making wine, wine appreciation. On-line videos of wine regions, wine making processes, etc. Windows and Macintosh. *10.7 COURSES ON WINE --University of California at Davis confers college degrees. --Wine & Spirit Education Trust, Five Kings House, 1 Queen Street Place, London EC4R 1QS, Great Britain. Provides three levels of wine courses, Certificate, Higher Certificate and Diploma (required to become a "Master of Wine"). *14. APPENDIX A. FORMATTED WEB SITES With grateful permission from Dean Tudor, here is his excellent web site list (editted by me to be more specific to wine only-- mostly). For his complete list (which is considered to be the most up-to-date, extensive web list of sites on Wine, Beers and Spirits), check out: WWW: http://www.interlog.com/eye/Food-drink/Drinks/tudor.htm (The list is also posted on a monthly basis to various alcohol- related usenet groups.) AS OF October, 1995

USENET/NETNEWS GROUPS:

ELECTRONIC MAILING LISTS:

GOPHERS URLs:

FTP URLs:

WORLD-WIDE WEB (WWW) URLs: