FAQs

Good wine is a wine that has a balance of in alcohol content, structure, flavors, acidity and has a nice finish. It should also be flawless, with no unpleasant smells or appear dull.

• Putting it into a smaller bottle and refrigerating it to protect against oxidation.
• Another way to save that bottle would be by investing in vacuum caps. They prevent oxidation by sucking air from the bottle. This gives the wine a longer life to be enjoyed.

It depends white wines are served chilled while reds are served warmer but also red wines with a light body can be chilled. Below is a guide on the serving temperature of different wines

• Red wines best served between 18-20 ^oC
• White wines are best served between 10-13^o C
• Sparkling wine best served between 7- 10^oC
• Port’s ideal temperature 19^oC
• The different types of sherry and their ideal serving temperatures;
• Manzanilla en Fino served between 8° – 10°C
• Dry amontillado en Oloroso to be 14° – 18°C
• Cream, 13°C
• Pedro Ximénez (PX), 14° – 18°C

Wine has so many health benefits thanks to the compounds such as Polyphenols, Resveratrol and Quercetin found in wine. These compounds improve cardiovascular health. The resveratrol antioxidant can also be found in peanut butter, chocolate, and blueberries.

Drinking a glass of wine can also prevent the risk of stroke since wine is a natural blood thinner and breaks up any blood clots that could lead to stroke.

It all depends on the aging potential of the wine. Generally, red wines have a potential of aging for decades, for instance, the Nebbiolo, Tempranillo, Cabernet Sauvignon can age from 10 to twenty years while some white varieties such as Chardonnay and White Rioja can age for more than ten years. Same way there are wine varieties which do not age like the Zinfandel and Pinot Gris for the reds and whites respectively.

Actually, they do not signify that the bottle is cheap. In fact, it's good for a bottle of wine for the following reasons. First, you don't have to worry about your wine being corked(being contaminated by cork taint) which is the presence of a chemical compound called Trichloroanisole (TCA). This occurs when a natural fungus (which is only sometimes found in cork) is treated with chlorinated phenolic compounds (which are found in products used to sterilize bottles). TCA makes wine taste and smell like a musty basement.

Decanting serves two purposes, separate the wine from any sediment that might have formed after aging and to aerate the wine opening up the aromas and flavors and also soften the tannins making a rather aggressive wine palatable. The sediment in aged red wines is due to the bonding of phenols and tannins over the period the wine has been aged.

Differences in glass design can significantly impact how you experience wine. A wine glass shape and style impact how much air comes in contact with the wine, how much aroma is released and reaches your nose, and especially where the wine first hits your tongue. All these elements ultimately impact the flavor you taste. 

• Best sherry glasses are the thin, transparent ‘copitas’ with long stems and a small opening for the mouth. They direct the aroma to the nose of the drinker ensuring they enjoy even the smallest nuances in their drink

 

• Cabernet Sauvignon glass should be tall and have a wide bowl and a narrow mouth.

The bowl is wide allowing the wine to breathe while the mouth is narrow to capture the aroma

• Pinot Noir the glasses have the widest bowl, shorter stems but the rim is turned out of the glass to direct the aromas and flavors to your nose and mouth
• Chardonnay glasses-have an upright U-shaped bowl, smaller than the Pinot Noir glasses and have a wider opening ensuring you fully enjoy the wines intensity and deliciousness
• Sparkling or Champagne glasses- they are longer and narrower than other white wine glasses to help retain the carbonation of the wine. This shape also allows aromas to flow upward. They should have a wide base to avoid tipping over
• Port glasses- they are smaller and thinner and usually hold between six to twelve ounces of wine. They should not be filled more than halfway

When choosing which meal to pair with a meal it’s important to take note of the structure of the wine, heavy full-bodied wine does not pair well with a light meal. When pairing, the wine should not overpower the flavors in the food.

There are a number of food elements to always consider when deciding which food to pair with a certain meal;

Fat element

Fatty foods like meats and dairy products should be paired with wines that have acid to balance with the fat, cut the steak for instance with tannins and match the meal’s richness with alcohol. That’s why Cabernet-based wines go so well with a prime cut of steak

• Acid element

When pairing acidic meals the trick is to make sure that the wine’s acidity is least perceivable than that of the food

FOOD PAIRING GUIDE

The following is a guide on how to pair the major grape varietals

• SAUVIGNON BLANC

This is a perfect pair for light dishes for its high level of acidity and its herbaceous characteristics often bring out the herbs in a dish.

Cheese: goat cheese, feta

Meat/ poultry: turkey, pork or chicken

Sauces: mainly citrus and any cream sauces

Desserts: lime pie, meringue or sorbet

• CHARDONNAY

Although a full-bodied white it still has great acidity perfect for creamy dishes

Cheese: Stilton or other blue cheeses would go well with an un-oaked Chardonnay

Sauces: pesto or cream sauces

Deserts: vanilla pudding or banana bread

 

• RIESLING

This wine is a perfect food pair as it is a balance of sweetness and acidity.  It balances well with spicy food hence a great accompaniment to spicy dishes such as Thai food.

Cheese: Gouda, Havarti would go perfectly with it

Meat/poultry: Duck, or smoked sausages

Sauces: spicy, chutney

Desserts: caramel sauce or an apple pie

• SYRAH

This is a big wine which has pepper on the finish and a great compliment to herbs as it has enough fruit to balance the spices

Cheese: Roquefort or any other blue veined cheese, cheddar

Sauces: any heavy red sauce or BBQ

Desserts: most coffee- based desserts

• MERLOT

This wine has soft berry flavors and you can also find mint characteristics in it. All these flavors and aromas pair well with any dish containing the same elements

Cheese: Parmesan

Meat /poultry: steak or any grilled meat

Sauces: béarnaise or Bolognese would be great with the merlot

Desserts:  pairing it with a dark chocolate but the wine must be sweeter than the chocolate

• CABERNET SAUVIGNON

The tannins and fruit in the cabernet sauvignon make it a great pair for heavy protein-rich steaks

Cheese: cheddar or gorgonzola

Meat/poultry: all prime cuts, venison, rib eye or beef stew

Sauces: tomato sauce or brown sauce

Desserts: any bittersweet chocolate would be perfect

• PINOT NOIR

Although a light-bodied red it has gone well with some meat dishes

Cheese: brie or goat cheese

Meat/ poultry: chicken, lamb or sausage

Sauces: light-medium red sauces, mushroom sauces

Desserts: white chocolate

 

CHEESE PAIRING GUIDE

Harder types of cheese, that is Cheddar or Parmesan always go well with tannic wines while the creamy cheeses like Brie pair better with more acidic wines like the chardonnay. The salty cheeses pair better with sweet wines

• Blue cheese paired with a Port

Port’s sweetness and thick body perfectly foil the pungent blue cheese like stilton

• Parmesan and Prosecco

The Prosecco’s bubbles cut through parmesan’s saltiness

• Aged gouda and a Cabernet Sauvignon

The full-bodied tannic Cabernet Sauvignon stands up so well to the aged Gouda’s nutty flavors.

Other chesses to consider: cheddar, Danish blue, Roquefort

• Gruyere and a Chardonnay

Other cheeses to pair with chardonnay: Brie, goat cheese, Parmesan and Provolone.

• Dessert wine

Try pairing with Crème Fraiche or Mascarpone

• Gewurztraminer goes well with either, camembert, Boursin, muenster or Chevre
• Cabernet Franc can go well with Blue cheese, cheddar Fontina, Port Salut or even goat cheese.

JUNK FOOD PAIRING GUIDE

• Champagne and French fries

The bubbles and acidity in the champagne goes a long way to cut through the greasy fries

• Cabernet sauvignon and any fast food burger

The cabernet sauvignon is always a good pair with all things grilled by being high in tannins.

 

• Pepperoni pizza and a cabernet sauvignon

A medium,-bodied cabernet sauvignon will help liven the meat and cheese in the pizza

• Popcorn and chardonnay

The chardonnay’s acidity helps provide a balance to the buttery popcorns

• Skittles and Sauvignon Blanc

The flavors in the candy will be perfectly brought out by the zesty citrus of the wine without overpowering the candy.

• Chocolate and Malbec

The Malbec’s jammy flavor with bright cedar flavors go well with the cake

DESSERT PAIRING WITH MADEIRA, MARSALA, ICE WINE, PORT AND OTHER DESSERT WINES

Ice wine is a sweet dessert wine that is best enjoyed with a light, less sweet dessert to fully enjoy it. It can also be an aperitif with rich pâtés.

Oxidation is an enemy of wine, but refrigerating the wine and transferring it into a smaller bottle (where less surface area is exposed to oxygen) might slow down oxidation and ensure you enjoy it for longer.

• Sparkling wines- should be stored with a wine stopper in the refrigerator and lasts between 1-3 days
• Light sweet, sweet white and Rosé Wine-should be corked and can go up to 7days max
• Full-bodied white wine- can last up to 5 days max
• Red wine- depending on the tannins and acidity and how stored they can last up to 5 days
• Fortified wines- they have a longer shelf life because of the brandy added. Can last up to 28days

Wine packed in casks will last longer before they oxidize but they also have a shorter shelf life so it’s not recommended to be stored for long. They can still be enjoyed three weeks to a month after opening.

Only sparkling wines from Champagne, a region in France are called Champagne. Other good sparkling wines include;

• Franciacorta

This bubbly from Italy named after Franciacorta the region where the wine is made uses Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Blancs to make the wine. Its made the same way as the French make the Champagne, Méthode Champenoise or the Traditional method.

• Prosecco

The grape used to make it is the Glera grown in the Veneto and Friuli and has high acidity.

Unlike Champagne, Prosecco is made using a method known as Charmat or Martinotti method where the wine after its first fermentation is transferred into a pressurized tank where it undergoes second fermentation to achieve carbonation.

• Cava

This is a sparkling wine from Spain made with grape like Macabeo, Xarel-lo and Parellada. It undergoes the second fermentation by the méthode champenoise in deep cool underground caves hence the name cava.

• MCC(méthode cap classique)

This is a South African term to indicate that a sparkling wine has been made the same way as a bottle of champagne where the second fermentation takes place in the bottle.

• Crémant" (pronounced "cray-mont")

This was used to designate sparkling wines made by méthode champenoise but outside the region of Champagne. They are not also made with the traditional champagne varieties, for example, Crémant d'Alsace is made from Pinot Blanc, Riesling or Pinot Gris.

• Spumante

This is a sparkling wine made in the Piedmont region of Italy but focused in the towns of Asti and Alba. Its also called Asti or Asti Spumante and is made from the Moscato Bianco grape. The second fermentation is through a tank fermentation by  Charmat method

Wine experts recommend red wine to be served in room temperature but it all depends as the modern houses are warmer than the 14-18^oC  ideal temperature for serving red wine.

Also, some light-bodied red wines like the Pinot Noir, Loire Valley Cabernet Franc, Valpolicella Classico might benefit from chilling for a few minutes before drinking. The tannins in red wine tend to be bitter when the wine is chilled hence the wine won't taste and also chilling slows the wine so one won't experience the full aroma and flavor of the wine.

The compounds in wine responsible for the headaches are tannins, tyramine, and histamine, unlike the misconception that pin the headaches on sulfites. Histamine reactions are caused by lack of an enzyme to metabolize the histamines hence the headaches. The same case happens when one has a deficiency of monoamine oxidase which is the enzyme which breaks down the tyramine.

A standard bottle of wine holds 750mlwhich is approximately six glasses (125 ml per glass) a size that enables two people to enjoy three glasses each.

 A standard bottle of sparkling is approximately 750ml and most standard glasses of wine at a restaurant are about 150 ml which is considered one serving, this would give 5 servings from one bottle. However, some glasses may be smaller each holding about 125ml which would give us 6 servings from the same bottle of champagne.

The number of servings in a bottle of wine depends on the amount in each pour as the glasses vary in size and capacity

Wine can be used to make very refreshing cocktails and even spritzers

Some of the most enjoyed wine cocktails include;

• Mimosa made with a dry sparkling white cava
• Sangria – for best results a dry Spanish red wine like Grenache and Tempranillo is used
• Mulled wine- the perfect wine for this is a rich red like Merlot or California Zinfandel
• Wine spritzer- for a sweeter drink a fruity rosé wine suits well and for a dryer one the Sauvignon Blanc is recommended
• Glamour Girl Martini- Pinot Grigio is mixed with peach and cranberry juice

Actually, no flavors are added when making wines. So many factors from the terroir, the type of grape used, the winemaking process and even if the wine is oaked and how the wine is aged all influence the tastes and flavors a wine gets. For instance, wines aged in oaks acquire the vanilla aroma due to the Vanillin found in oak.

The tannins in red wine bond with and soften the proteins in steak or red meat making biting fat more pleasurable. In contrast, the high content of iron in red wine adds a metallic taste to the fish and at the same time intensifies the fishy aftertaste. Red wines such as Argentinian Malbec are well-suited for pairing with steak due to their higher tannin levels.

The smell of fish comes from low-molecular-weight amines which are alkaline molecules that enter the air in enough concentration to smell. Adding acidic white wine to the fish the amines become ammonium salt which is not as volatile. This reduces the smell and makes the fish taste better and even fresher.

Now onto hangovers; it may surprise you but alcohol is the culprit when it comes to hangovers.

Our bodies produce alcohol in our stomachs but in small quantities that can be processed easily however when alcohol is taken in large quantities, it becomes toxic. Acetaldehyde is a by-product of alcohol oxidation a component that occurs in bread or oxidized drinks. Our livers produce the same substance when it breaks down alcohol ready for processing into some harmless substance like vinegar.

Acetaldehyde is broken down by two enzymes one being cysteine (a sulfur-containing amino acid). Cysteine helps our body to produce a natural antioxidant -glutathione that breaks down the alcohol toxins. Since our bodies can only produce a limited amount at a time the unprocessed alcohol goes around our body giving us headaches, nausea, and vomiting as the body is trying to get rid of the toxins. Women produce less glutathione than men that’s why government recommends that women drink fewer units than men.

Hangover tiredness

Alcohol has a depressive effect on one's neurological system. Our brains produce stimulant glutamate which helps carry information and is important in memory and our wellbeing. Excess or deficit of it is toxic to us. Alcohol tends to inhibit the production of glutamate, and when we stop drinking our is busy trying to compensate and produces more creating a temporary imbalance this has adverse effects of irritability, tiredness, trouble concentrating, stress, etc.

Hangover dehydration

Alcohol inhibits vasopressin a hormone in our brain whose main role is retaining water in our bodies and constricting blood vessels. This results in water being sent directly to the kidneys and bladder without being absorbed in our body hence dehydration. One glass of wine can cause the body to eliminate up to three to four times the same quantity of water. The trick is always to drink plenty of water when drinking alcohol.