Wine

I am having a mid day party and plan to serve Pinot Noir. What snacks (not meals) can I serve with this wine?

Yellow cheeses would be wonderful and some fruits with very strong flavors.

I recently bought a relatively inexpensive bottle of Riesling from Cologne. It’s a 2006 bottle from the Mosel area. Unfortunately, it does contain sulfides. How long should I keep it? And while I’m asking, is there any must-haves that I should purchase while I am living in Europe?
As far as must haves, I’m not talking about drugs or other forms of alcohol, just wine. And just so you know, absinthe is legal here, but hash is not. Only in the Netherlands…

General rule for whites is 3 – 5 years. If stored properly you can keep it much longer. My inlaws are from the Mosel and make wine. I’ve had some excellent whites that were 25 plus years. It really depends on white wine and quality you get. If it taste good now go ahead and drink it, when you come back to the states bring a case with you. As far as other must haves -German chocolate, if you’re into the nutcrackers get those, and plum snchapps. ,<spelling

I have never drank merlot, and want to know which is the best. You can also tell me which is the worst. Thank you!

Merlot is a type of Cabernet? lol. Nope, it’s a completely different and separate grape. rofl.

Merlot is a great way to be introduced to wines, but unless you have experience with wines, I wouldn’t recommend spending more than $25 on a bottle of Merlot. If you have drank alot of wine, then investing in a nice French traditional style Merlot could be a great option, as would a winery called Twomey. But, these do not come cheap and if you’ve never had a Merlot, then there’s no reason to waste money on a pricey one.

If you want a simple, middle of the road tasty Merlot, there are tons of them out there. Most Merlots are currently less complex than cabs and are easier on a beginner’s palate. I always recommend Merlots to people who want to start into red wine but don’t want to spend a ton of money at first. A nice Chilean one could be a fabulous choice that won’t break the bank. Concha y Toro and Vina Montes are fairly available and good quality. Both are around or under $20.

I have a bottle of white zinfandel and would like to make a meal to complement it.

You can pair it with quite a few things. I would suggest Grilled Pork Chops ar Grilled Shrimp. You would want to stay away from the heavy meats and red sauces(Tomato) but it would be nice with a baked Brie or something like that. ENJOY !!

We are going to be driving up that way and I would like to stop and visit some wineries/vineyards on the way. Wouldn’t mind to go out of our way a bit if it would be worth the extra trip!

Check out Page Spring Cellars. The owner is Eric Glomski. They’re off I-17 on the way from Phoenix to Flagstaff. Tell Eric Greg from Sacramento sent you and that I’ll see him next January at the convention here.

http://www.pagespringscellars.com/index.php

Check out his website above. I think you will enjoy his winery.

Good luck and good drinking.

I’ve been given a bottle of each, which one should I give away?

Sauvignon Blanc – green skinned grape originally native to the Bordeaux region of France. The name is devised from Sauvage (Wild) and Blanc (White) and refers to it being indigenous to the area without having first been cultivated. It has a crisp and dry taste, and has been variously described as tasting "grassy" and "sweetly tropical". It is a constituent of the famous dessert wines of Sauternes and Barsac. Sauvignon grapes have been exported worldwide and are now grown in New Zealand and California (there are others as well, but the most successful outside of France are these two).

Chenin Blanc, or Pineau de la Loire – Is also a green skinned grape and hails from the Loire valley in france. It’s high acidic content makes it a versatile grape, and can be used in anything from sparkling wines to dessert wines. However, if not cultivated properly it can lead to a bland, tasteless wine. The grape has been exported and is grown all over the world. The grape is referred to as Steen in South Africa.

And I don’t even like wine! So for which one to give away, it would be purely personal. I know my ex-wife preferred Sauvignon, but she was a sour-faced harpy, so you might want to give the Chenin a go.

Good luck!

Is it better to serve chardonnay cold or at room temperature? Does it matter?

It DOES matter. Have it at 45F and it will bring out the best of it, the best smell and taste too. Try some other day having two bottles of the exact same Chardonnay (one at room temperature – 77F – and one at 45F) and you will be able to tell the difference, the warm one will give you more aromas (but kinda funky, like jam or boiled fruit) and it will taste sour, the cold one will expose less aromas, but they more like what the enologist wanted the drinker to feel, most likely vanilla, butter and/or some tropical fruit and the taste will definitively be better. There are some very good instant reading thermometers that can aid you with the temperature issue, but a quick rule is to just put it in the freezer for 30-45 minutes and it’ll be ready to be enjoyed!

PS: While drinking it, keep the bottle in a bucket with ice and water so it doesn’t get warm.

In small-scale winemaking, the wine grapes are crushed by bare feet. Are these feet washed prior to crushing? Do they ever wear shoes or is it always bare feet?

All those people who say that commercial wines are never foot pressed. cannot have never seen D’Arenburg wines from Australia.

Some of their wines have a ‘foot trod’ logo on the bottles –see the Winemaking page on their website, and the info for their d’Arrys Original Grenache says "Gentle handling through the winery includes crushing through the Demoisy crusher, open fermentation with the traditional heading down boards and foot treading followed by basket pressing through the 19th century ‘Coq’ and ‘Bromley & Tregoning’ basket presses and then into almost 18 months barrel maturation in old French and American oak." – See http://www.darenberg.com.au/default2.php

Foot trod grapes are used in Port wines from Portugal and I know some wineries in South Africa that do it.

At Port winery Quinta do Passadouro – ‘The wines will continue to be made completely traditionally, "for as long as we can afford to" says Bohrmann, explaining that labour costs of foot-treading grapes are huge compared to modern presses. But Jorge Borges insists the foot can produce a uniquely soft wine style, with maximum extraction of flavour without breaking the pips and releasing bitter components.’ see http://wine-pages.com/features/passadouro.htm

I am sure they do wash their feet first but I wouldn’t worry about the feet. You shoulld see the state of the grapes, covered in all sorts of detritis. The act of fermenting will purify the juice.

In some places they wear rubber boots.

I want to start my own winery. But i need a license to sell it first.
I want to do it myself without the aid of lawyers.

Since all commercial alcohol production in the U.S. is regulated and licensed by the Federal Alcohol, Tobacco, and Fire Arms Agency as well as the production and sale of any commercial product requires local business licenses, check with both local city hall people and the Federals about requirements for licenses. Only after you get your licenses can you buy proper equipment for large scale production (over the 50 gallon a year exemption for personal consumption and not for sale). I don’t know what you consider small scale production to be, but it probably is more than one barrel a year. Good luck.

Planning a wineries trip to the Okanagans. I realize there are many so which ones are the best ones to visit this time of the year and why?

Thanks!

My partner and I visited the Okanagan a few years ago and toured a good number of the wineries. Here are our favourites:

Mission Hill – the sheer grandeur of the place is astounding. It’s worth it to see just for the amazing buildings and view. Take the tour here as you get to see the mood lit cellar with all the barrels

Quail’s Gate – It’s just a short hop from Mission Hill to Quail’s Gate. The wines are great, especially their late harvest riesling or ice wine.

Gray Monk – the wines are grat here as well and they have an amazing patio to have supper with an incredible view.

Cedar Creek – Greek architecture and also amazing food

Hawthorne Mountain – You drive up a windy mountain road to get to this unassuming place with friendly staff, beautiful views and an interesting ‘dog graveyard’

Nk’Mip – it’s in the far south and the sandy, desert like area is a big departure from most of the other wineries. The native band that runs the winery has done an amazing job with incredible buildings

and…

Summerhill. Because it wouldn’t be a trip to BC and the Okanagan without seeing the wacky guy who built a pyramid without metal to cellar his wines because it helps ‘clarify liquids’. You’ve got to see it to believe it.

Hope that helps!