retirado daqui:

COOPERATIVA RIBADOURO - SENDIM

Notícia n. 1929
quarta-feira, 28 de Novembro de 2012

Que vinhos para combinar com bacalhau?

 

Dizem que há mil e uma formas de confecionar bacalhau. Poderá ser exagero, mas é consensual que o “fiel amigo” é escolha de eleição nas nossas mesas. Na hora de escolher o vinho, as opções variam consoante a confeção. Uma das iguarias mais consensuais, não só em Portugal como também, por exemplo, no Brasil, é o bacalhau. O “fiel amigo”, que há muito adotamos e transformamos num dos símbolos representativos da nossa gastronomia, é seguramente objeto das maiores façanhas culinárias. Um tema que origina discussão prende-se com o melhor vinho para harmonizar com bacalhau. Diz-se que é o tinto. Aliás, quando se procura um prato de peixe para harmonizar com determinado vinho tinto, o bacalhau surge imediata e quase incontestavelmente no topo das opções. Mas será mesmo assim?

Bacalhau cozido

O prato de bacalhau por excelência na época natalícia, onde a pureza de sabor é mais salvaguardada. Menos poderoso em termos de sabor, mas com alguma dificuldade na abordagem ao vinho, pois também é mais sensível aos elementos estruturais dos vinhos, especialmente aos taninos. Devem-se procurar sabores suaves e muita frescura. Os vinhos com bom índice glicérico (suavidade do álcool) e um toque de doçura serão os mais interessantes. Algo como Chardonnay, Antão Vaz, Alvarinho ou Encruzado, de preferência sem madeira ou pouco marcados pelo estágio, são algumas das opções. Os tintos terão um perfil de sabor menos condizente com o bacalhau cozido. Se a opção for essa deverão ter taninos macios, doçura de fruta… mas muita atenção com o sal, pois o traço amargo e vegetal dos tintos tem que ser muito ponderado. Atenção ainda à guarnição, pois também esta confeção acentua os teores mais amargos, especialmente de alguns vegetais.

 

Mas o “Ribeira do Corso” branco, da Cooperativa Ribadouro de Sendim é o ideal para este prato tão caracteristico da ceia de Consoada!

Grapes harvest 2012

NEW! Lhéngua Mirandesa I.P. 2011 white wine

This year Cooperative Agricola Ribadouro launched one more NEW wine of

 Lhéngua Mirandesa I.P. 2011 white wine, that won a Medal of Merit in Trás-os-Montes Regional Contest.

 

 

Try it!

NEW! Ribeira do Corso 2010 Reserva red wine

Cooperative Agricola Ribadouro lauched a NEW wine of Ribeira do Corso 2010 Reserva red wine.

Ribeira do Corso - a new taste of quality wine. Try it!

Lagarada Tradicional

The Cooperative Agricola Ribadouro together with the Municipal of Miranda do Douro, with support from other public and private institutions will organize the Traditional grapes harvest on 5^th of October 2012, reviving memories and traditions of the past.

Come and spend a different day, full of fun and memories!
Price per person (maximum 40 people): € 25.00 (includes sending a bottle of wine)
For more information (accommodation, participation) use the email: vindimatradicional@gmail.com)

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A Cooperativa Agrícola do Ribadouro e a Câmara Municipal de Miranda do Douro, juntamente com o apoio de outras instituições públicas e privadas irão realizar no próximo dia 5 de Outubro de 2012 uma Lagarada Tradicional, reavivando memórias e tradições associadas a esta época há muito esquecidas.

Programa

08h00 – Encontro dos vindimadores na Cooperativa Agrícola Ribadouro

08h15 – Mata-Bicho de Vindima

08h30 – Saída dos vindimadores e dos animais de carga em direcção à vinha do Rosal, conduzidos ao som de gaita-de-folese música tradicional

09h15 – Início da Vindima

11h00 – Termino da Vindima com início da recolha das uvas e transporte para o lagar

12h00 – Chegada com as uvas ao lagar tradicional no Curral del Tio Pino

12h30 – Merenda à moda antiga

15h00 – Tertúlia de Vindima – Relembrar de Histórias e Tradições Ancestrais

16h30 – A Pisa e a Fermentação do Vinho – Noções Básicas

17h30 – Início da Pisa a pé

19h00 – Jantar de Vindima com apresentação do Ribeira do Corso Reserva Tinto 2010

20h30 – Inicio da Prensagem das Uvas no Lagar de Varas

23h00 – Final da jornada

Venha passar um dia diferente, divertido e cheio de recordações!

Preço por pessoa (limite máximo 40 pessoas): 25,00€ (inclui o envio posterior de uma garrafa do vinho produzido)

Para mais informações (alojamento, participação) utilize o email: vindimatradicional@gmail.com)

What is table wine?

How much do you know about Portuguese table wines? If you’re like the majority of the wine drinking population, you know very little, but Portugal has some of the most underrated, affordable table wines in the world. They range from robust plumy reds from the Alentejo to bright light whites of the Minho, and smooth full bodied whites from Lagos to fine delicate reds from Braganca. Although less frequent, Portuguese table wines can also be single-varietal wines of Tempranillo (Argonez in Portuguese), Syrah and Alvarinho to complex field blends made with several different varieties all grown haphazardly amongst one another and blended at harvest. Portuguese field blends derive from some of their 230+ different native grape varietals such as, alfrocheiro preto, baga and periquita, as well as more international varieties like merlot, syrah and chardonnay.

Historically, Portugal is a bit of a paradox in that it is an isolated seafaring nation both geographically and politically (look on any weather channel in Spain and you’ll notice a large gray blob on the western half of the peninsula). If it wasn’t for our Guinness drinking and fish and chip eating neighbors to the north, England, Portuguese wine may still be circulating internally among local watering holes. It all began with the oldest diplomatic alliance in the world called, The Treaty of Windsor, in 1386, sealing Portugal and England’s lifelong alliance through the marriage of King John I of Portugal with  Philippa of Lancaster.

In the 17th century, when England went to war with France, they naturally looked towards Portuguese wine, settling along the coast of Porto and establishing wine houses. In 1703, the Methuen Treaty was signed between both Portugal and England, formally declaring tariffs for Portuguese wines, a treaty which gave distinct advantages to both countries.

Climate for vines

Temperature 

Local temperature is probably the most important climatic aspect. While many viticulture areas tend to be near moderating bodies of water, some continental climates are also suited to fine wine production. Largely because of this climactic variable, the length of the growing season varies in different regions.

UC Davis Heat Summation Scale

The UC Davis heat summation scale measures the temperature of a vineyard in degree days. It suggests growing certain varietals in five different climates, but these are only recommendations. Successful growers delve much deeper into the details of the microclimate before they decide to plant grapes and produce wine.

Sun Exposure

Red and white grapes that enjoy a lot of sun exposure tend to make fuller bodied wines.
Wine grapes need at least 1,400 hours of annual sunlight during the growing season to ripen properly. This is also increases the temp, causing grapes to mature increasing the quality of the wine.

Fog Exposure

Fog exposure is one of many factors that influence the temp of a vineyard. It will moderate extremes, cooling warm days and warming cold nights and mornings. It is also responsible for botrytis cinerea, or “noble rot.” This aspect of climate plays a very important role in the finished wine.

Wind Exposure

While some wind exposure is considered a good thing, excessive amounts can stop the metabolic process of grapevines and produce unfinished wines. Like other climactic variables, it has a moderating effect on extreme climates. Some growers have machines in their vineyards to warm vines on cold, spring mornings.

Rainfall

The amount of rainfall wine region receives has a large impact on the type and quality of the grapes and wine produced. An excessively wet summer can induce harmful mildew in a vineyard. Additionally, precipitation shortly before harvest may dilute sugar levels and adversely affect the finished wine, thus the climate must be right. However, vines need no less than 22 annual inches of precipitation to survive. As usual, balance is critical.

Humidity

Too much humidity in the vineyard encourages mildew and disease. But, like other climatic variables, humidity is responsible for botrytis cinerea. Wines made with grapes affected by “noble rot” are extremely sweet and have a luscious feel on the palate.

The vineyard climate has a very important role on wine grapes and the finished wine. There are many aspects of climate, and learning about how they affect wine will give you insight into why certain areas are better than other for wine grape growing.

Red or White wine?

Some studies have found no discernible difference between the health benefits of drinking white wine versus red. Besides the chemicals that are unique to wine, alcohol itself can be a powerful and beneficial compound (in moderation, of course); it increases the absorption of other antioxidants, boosts the level of good (LDL) cholesterol, thins the blood to prevent heart clots, and promotes relaxation, which can help avert stress-induced illnesses. Since white and red wines contain similar levels of alcohol, in this respect, they have the same positive effects on the body.

Resveratrol is produced on grape skins to protect against fungal infection, so the way the grape is grown is more indicative of its body-boosting power than the color of the wine is. The amount of antioxidants found in wine varies depending on the grape varietal, the growing region, the climate of the area, the composition of the soil, how the wine was filtered and processed, and whether or not it was stored in oak. A red wine produced by a region hostile to resveratrol production can be less potent than a white wine produced from grapes grown in more favorable regions. The Grenache grape is known for producing some of the greatest amounts of resveratrol of any varietal.

While most studies look at the composition of red wine versus white wine, some researchers have focused on studying the drinkers themselves. Although we tend to think that red wine is what protects the body, it may actually be that red-wine drinkers are already healthier and therefore less likely to develop those chronic diseases in the first place. Studies show that regular drinkers of red wine are less likely to smoke than white-wine drinkers, and more likely to eat a Mediterranean-style diet low in saturated fats.

Words to describe a wine

Acidic is a wine with too much acid. Wines contain acids, which vary in concentration.

Ageworthy is a term applied to wines which will benefit from further maturation in the bottle. Typical examples are either young reds with powerful tannins or very sweet young whites. Acidity can also be a factor.

Aggresive would be a wine acidic enough to make your gums tingle or with tannins in excess, so much that it would make the back of your throat feel dry.

Ample would describe a wine that feels full and generous in your mouth.

Aromatic will be applied to a wine with plenty more of perfumed, fruity scents -which normally you can appreciate before actually tasting the wine- than average. Grape varieties source of aromatic wines include Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Gewurztraminer, and the sweet Muscat.

Astringent refers to the rough, rasping feel some wines have, usually caused by tannins, acid or both. The sensation of a dry mouth is strong - tannins produce this, a strong black tea would leave a similar sensation. High tannin content produces dry, puckering effect.

Balanced - same as rounded - said of a wine it means all its elements are in perfect harmony and none stands out. Which elements? We are talking of the relative degree of acidity, alcohol, fruity quality, tannins, sugar, extract, and other characterisics.

Bitter means harsh, unpleasant taste –perceived at the back of the tongue- typically caused by an excess of tannins in the wine. Not a trait to covet, with the exception of some red Italian wines, where some bitterness is a highly sought-after characteristic.

Body refers, talking about wine, to the feeling in the mouth, this weighty feeling is influenced by the alcohol and extracts contained in the wine. Wines are considered light, medium, or full-bodied.

A wine has bouquet if it is complex of aromas, usually from aging.

Buttery is a smell and taste that comes often to wines matured in oak barrels.

Bright could be applied to a wine with vivid color or intense aromas and flavors.

When a wine is described as cedary it has flavors or aromas that remind of the smell of cedar wood.

Character in a wine, as it would be in people, means personality, substance and integrity.

When a wine has strong flavor and plenty of tannin, but not that much that can be named as aggresive, you can call it chewy.

Clean is said of a wine with no faults regarding aroma or flavor.

Complex is a wine with many kinds of aromas and flavors –think of several fruity flavors, and hints of other traits such as vanilla or other spices- and many layers of flavor, as soon as you decipher one flavor, you discover a new sensation. Good wines are usually complex; great wines even more so. Complexity develops typically through aging, this maturing process lets more flavors to come out.

Concentrated implies an intense taste and powerful feeling. That would be a wine with plenty of tannin, sugar, flavor and color.

Corked is spoiled wine, smelling of cork, usually from cracked or seeping cork allowing introduction of air or fungi.

Deep indicates a serious wine in which flavor seems to develope in many levels - doesn't this remind of complexity? - and where different hints of flavor, or aroma, surface at various stages of the tasting. Deep usually goes hand in hand with complex, subtle and rich.

Dry, definitely not sweet, not at all. The wine does not have sugar or any sweetness that can be appreciated. Some dry wines with very ripe, fruity flavors or new oak flavors occasionally look like sweet. Some red wines that have spent too long in barrel or bottle, therefore losing their fruity flavor, are "dried-out." Driest of Champagnes: brut.

Ribeira do Corso DOC 2010

 

Ribeira do Corso DOC 2010 red wine

won a Medal of Merit in the National Contest  of 2012

Awards of 2012:

On 25^th of June 2012, was held in the Vinhais III Contest Bottled Wines of Trás-os-Montes organized by the Wine Commission Regional Trás-os-Montes. 26 producers were participated in this Contest with 71 DOC wines "Trás-os-Montes" and IG "Transmontano".

Lhéngua Mirandesa IG 2011 white wine produced by Cooperativa Agricola Ribadouro won a Medal of Merit.

Ribeira do Corso DOC 2009  white wine produced by Cooperativa Agricola Ribadouro won a Medal of Merit.

Ribeira do Corso DOC 2010  red wine won a Medal of Merit in the National Contest of 2012

Medal of Merit of the National Contest



Awards of 2011:



Ribeira do Corso DOC 2009 white wine won a Silver Medal in International Arribes Contest

Ribeira do CorsoRESERVA 2006 red wine won a Medal of Merit in National Contest

Silver medal of Arribes International Contest

Medal of Merit of the National Contest

Awards of 2010:

Ribeira do Corso DOC 2004 red wine won a Silver Medal in National Contest

Ribeira do Corso DOC 2004 white wine won a Gold Medal in Regional Trás-os-Montes Contest

Lhéngua Mirandesa IGP 2008 white wine won a Silver Medal in Regional Trás-os-Montes Contest

Silver medal of National Contest

Gold Medal of Trás-os-Montes Regional Contest

Silver medal of Trás-os-Montes regional Contest

Silver medal of Trás-os-Montes regional Contest

Awards of 2008:

Ribeira do Corso DOC 2004 white wine won a Bronze Medal in Trás-os-Montes Regional Contest

Ribeira do Corso RESERVA 2007 white wine won Bronze Medal in Trás-os-Montes Regional Contest

 

Ribeira do Corso DOC 2004 red wine won a Silver Medal in Trás-os-Montes Regional Contest

 

Ribeira do Corso RESERVA 2006 red wine won a Silver Medal in Trás-os-Montes Regional Contest

Lhéngua Mirandesa IGP 2003 red wine won a Silver Medal in Trás-os-Montes Regional Contest

Silver Medal of Trás-os-Montes Regional Contest

Silver Medal of Trás-os-Montes Regional Contest

Ribeira do Corso DOC 2009

On 25^th  of June 2012, was held in the Vinhais III Contest Bottled Wines of Trás-os-Montes organized by the Wine Commission Regional Trás-os-Montes. 26 producers were participated in this Contest with 71 DOC wines "Trás-os-Montes" and IG "Transmontano".

Ribeira do Corso DOC 2009 white wine produced by Cooperativa Agricola Ribadouro won a Medal of Merit.

Classification of wine by quality

At the highest end, rare, super-premium wines are amongst the most expensive of all foodstuffs, and outstanding vintages from the best vineyards may sell for thousands of dollars per bottle. Red wines, at least partly because of their ability to form more complex subtleties, are typically more expensive. Some of the most expensive come from Bordeaux and Burgundy. However, some white dessert wines like German trockenbeerenauslese or French Sauternes for example, cost hundreds of euros for a half bottle. Such premium wines are often at their best years or even decades after bottling. On the other hand, they may spoil after such long storage periods, unbeknownst to the drinker about to open the bottle. Part of the expense associated with high-end wine comes from the number of bottles which must be discarded in order to produce a drinkable wine. Restaurants will often charge between two and five times the price of what a wine merchant may ask for an exceptional vintage. This is for a reason: diners will often return wines that have spoilt and not bear the expense. For restaurateurs, serving old vintages is a risk that is compensated through elevated prices. Some high-end wines are Veblen goods.

Exclusive wines come from all the best winemaking regions of the world. Secondary markets for these wines have consequently developed, as well as specialised facilities for post-purchase storage for people who either collect or "invest" in wine. The most common wines purchased for investment are Bordeaux and Port. The importance of the secondary wine market has led the rise of so-called "supercritics", most notably Robert M. Parker, Jr. The shift towards a perceived single-scale of wine analysis (the 100-point scale, or similar) has caused some traditionalists to claim that this process encourages a reduction in variety, as winemakers world-wide try to produce the allegedly single style of wine that will find favour with Mr. Parker and the many consumers who are influenced by his evaluations. The rise, in the late 90's, of wines produced by the garagistes in Bourdeaux, and the heavily tannic, highly fruit-driven wines of the New World, especially in California, Australia and New Zealand, all selling for prices above that of the First Growths appear to reflect the influence of Parker and changing wine tastes.

Investment in fine wine has attracted a number of fraudsters who play on fine wine's exclusive image and their clients' ignorance of this sector of the wine market. Wine fraud scams often work by charging excessively high prices for the wine, while representing that it is a sound investment unaffected by economic cycles. Like any investment, proper research is essential before investing. False labeling is another dishonest practice commonly used.

Some wines, produced to mark significant events in a country or region, can also become collectible because of labelling design. An example is the Mildara Rhine Riesling produced in 1973 to mark the opening of the Sydney Opera House. Instead of labels, the bottles (red, as well as white) had printing in gold on them, as seen in the illustration.

Most expensive wines

There's more to wine  than two-dollar Night Train. In the mid-'80s, billionaire Malcolm Forbes paid approximately $155,000 at auction for a bottle of wine. The bottle, which was believed to have come from Thomas Jefferson's own collection and dated back to 1787, was then put on display under strong lights and at the wrong angle. These conditions eventually made the cork fall into the bottle, and the wine lost its value and was thrown away.

Yes, it's true that you don't have to pay a fortune for a bottle of wine, but keep in mind that you usually get what you pay for. If you really want to impress that special lady, show her your cellar of fine wines -- or at least display your knowledge of them. Read on to discover the ten most expensive wines available on the market. Note that all prices are in US dollars and were evaluated on the basis of a 750 ml bottle from a retailer.

Number 10

Chteau Lafite Rothschild Pauillac 1996 - app. $287

Talk about being at the right place at the right time. In the mid-18th century, a French politician was about to be shipped off overseas, but not before visiting a physician. The doctor prescribed him some Lafite wine as a tonic. This politician enjoyed it so much that he offered some bottles to King Louis XV, and before long this wine became the star of Versailles and was dubbed "the King's wine." Remarkably dark, it sports mineral aromas of mint and black currant. Flavorful, its texture is silky and lingers in the mouth.

Number 9

Chteau Margaux 1995 - app. $402

Its color is almost black, yet it couldn't taste farther from ink. Containing passionate fragrances of blackberry and cassis, this smooth and racy vintage is powerful but still manages to be compact in its fruit structure. This vineyard goes back a thousand years and it has definitely mastered the art. The 1995 vintage recalls the 1986 for its complexity but it's also a good reminder of the 1990 for its elegance. The 1994 version is also quite expensive.

Portuguese wine classification

Quality Categories:

Denominação de Origem Controlada (DOC) This is the top tier. Equivalent French AOC, Italian DOC and Spanish DO. It has expanded considerably in recent years as newer regions make the grade up from IPR, with defined geographical limits, maximum yields, recommended and permitted grape varieties and minimum alcohol levels. Sometimes there are minimum ageing requirements as well.

Indicação de Província Regulamentada (IPR) Intermediate category of regions. Serving its five – year probationary period before it is acceptance (or rejection) by the authorities. Most have now been promoted DOC. Only 4 of them remain: Lafões, and the Azores IPRs of Biscoitos, Pico and Graciosa.

Vinho de Qualidade Produzido em Região Determinada (VQPRD); Labels very occasionally still use this group term for DOCs and IPRs. You are more likely to meet the sweet and sparkling version: Vinho Licoroso de Qualidade Produzido em Região Determinada (VLQPRD); Quality sweet fortified wines. Vinho Espumante de Qualidade Produzido em Região Determinada (VEQPRD); Quality sparkling wines. Vinho Frisante de Qualidade Produzido em Região Determinada (VFQPRD); Quality semi-sparkling wines.

Vinho Regional (VR); Middle tier of the wine hierarchy, roughly equivalent to French vin de pays. This is an increasingly important category, particularly in the south where wines are often made from grapes grown over a wide area. The regulations are less stringent than for DOCs, allowing greater flexibility in choice of grape variety, vinification and ageing. Many producers choose to make VR rather than DOC because of this flexibility, using grapes or methods not traditional in their area, and sometimes, they feel, thereby maximising their area’s potential. Some label their wines as VR even though they obey the local rules.

Vinho de Mesa; the most basic and undistinguished category, table wine, is commercially important as so much off-dry to medium-dry rosé is exported under this label. One of Portugal’s best red wines, Dado, is a Vinho de Mesa, unclassified because it’s a cross-dresser, a blend of Dão and Douro.

How to drink wine?

Prepare your wine so that it is at the proper temperature for drinking. There are varying opinions as to what that temperature is for drinking wine, but here's a good rule of thumb: If it's white, chill it in the fridge for at least an hour before serving, but if it's red, serve it at room temperature (unless the temperature of the room is above 21 degrees - in that case, chill it slightly, and invest in an air conditioner).

Make sure that, along with your bottle of choice, you also have a decent corkscrew-corks can be stubborn. And remember, if you're removing the foil seal from a particularly old bottle of wine, it's a good idea to wipe off the top of the bottle to remove any lead residue.

Inspect the cork for any mold or discoloration. If you find any, just make sure it doesn't continue down into the bottle - if it appears to stop at the top, simply wipe it off and proceed.

Once you have removed the cork from the bottle, sniff it. Yes, I'm serious, and no, this step won't invoke that fuzzy, lightheaded feeling - you're smelling the cork to detect any unpleasant aromas that may indicate spoilage.

If your drink of choice contains any sediment, you'll need to decant it. In English, this simply means to pour it into another container through cheesecloth, wire mesh, or coffee filters to remove the offending grit.

Pour yourself a healthy glass and let it stand or "breathe" for a moment, to allow the complexity of the flavors to come through. Depending on what you're drinking, you may want to let it breathe for a bit longer--try an hour for young reds, and 2-3 hours for old, fine reds.

Deeply inhale the scent of your wine, as a good portion of what we perceive as "taste" for drinking wine is really determined by smell.

Take a sip and hold it in your mouth for a moment, noticing the different flavors you detect.

This is the best of the wine tasting tips... Drink up!

Is old wine safe to drink?

The simple answer is drink it. People have bottles of wine that have been saved since the 1920s or even before that, that they treasure and drink on special occasions. Wine is an alcohol. The alcohol keeps bacteria and other nasty things from growing in it. You are generally safe in drinking it.

A separate question is will you enjoy drinking the wine. Only certain wines were meant to age. Most wines are not meant to age. If you have a "touristy bottle" like a Chianti-in-a-basket or a Portuguese-wine-in-a-basket, those were never sold because they were tasty in the first place. They were sold as decorations, really. White Zinfandels were meant to be drunk immediately, not even aged for more than a year. There is a gigantic percentage of wine bottles that go old in a year or two, never mind decades.

Even for wines that were meant to age - say fine Burgundies or Bordeaux wine - they only age well when stored properly. They need to be at an even, cool temperature. They need to be on their side, so the cork doesn't dry out and let in air. They need to be kept away from sunlight. You could have the most perfect bottle of wine for aging and still have it taste awful because of bad storage conditions.

Still, even if the wine was ruined, it won't kill you. It'll just taste like vinegar.

Open the bottle. Even if it's not tasty, it's still an adventure to taste a wine from that era.

Aromas and flavors of wine

When a wine drinker raises a glass of wine, he or she often stops to swirl the wine, and then breathe in deeply of its aroma. Often this tells far more about a wine than an actual taste of it. Why is that?

The tongue can only really taste four flavors - salty, sour, sweet, and bitter. There is also a fifth flavor that some can taste, "umami", which is related to MSG. However, all of the delicate shades of a wine - pepper, violet, mint, cantelope - can't be deduced with a tongue. Those all come from your nose, which is why wines don't taste as good when you have a cold or allergy. Your nose is the key to truly tasting a wine well.

When you swirl wine in a glass, you are stirring the wine molecules up in the air, so when you then inhale, you inhale as many as possible into your nose. Those wine molecules go streaming past the cilia that exist to block dirt and dust, and settle into matching molecules in the olfactory bulb, based on each particular smell. The two olfactory membranes, about stamp-sized, are just under the bridge of the nose.

This is how you smell cinnamon and licorice, chocolate and vanilla. It's not that someone dropped a chocolate chip into your wine - it's that a certain group of chemicals in the wine is identical to that in a chocolate chip.

Most humans can smell up to 10 000 smells, but as we age, our sense of smell deteriorates. Other things, such as smoking, can also harm the olfactory bulb sensors.

The seven main types of smells a nose keys on are:

• Camphor
• Musk
• Floral
• Peppermint
• Etheral
• Pungent
• Putrid
  
  So grab a glass of wine, give it a swirl, and give the old nose a workout. You might be surprised to see what it can detect in that regular glass of red wine.

Wine openers

It is important that one should know that how to open a bottle of wine without hurting your hand with the corkscrew or drowning anyone in the fluid.

The first step in opening the wine bottle is to screw off the cap with the help of the corkscrew then lobbing it to the trash. . In ancient times the metal wrapping was made with the lead. Once when they found that lead kill man it has been switched to other alloys and later to aluminum or plastic.

Whatever it may be you have to decapitate it. To decapitate it one can use a sharp knife, bottle openers or special bottle foil cutter. With the help of knife the metal can be sliced below the protrusion which is at the top of the bottle neck. After removing the metal make sure that there is no metal left at the lip of the bottle. This is very important since when the metal touches the metal when you are pouring the wine in a glass the combination of wine and metal will oxidize the fluid.

To remove the cork there are currently many different models to be purchased. The three major devices since long time are the wing lever, the waiters pull and the dishonest butler. The bottle openers used mainly to open a wine bottle is still the waiters pull.

Next to these models, there are nowadays many more comfortable and luxurious models, which can remove the cork in no time.

Wine labels

Wine labels are the important source to know more about the wine. The wine labels tell the consumers the wine type and its origin. Wine label is the only resource with which the consumer can evaluate the wine before purchasing them. Information like type of wine, country of origin, quality, alcoholic content, producer, bottler, and importer are the main things that have to be included in the wine labels.

Judging a wine by its label

Most of the wine lovers choose their wine by seeing the labels. The way of looking at the label may vary from one person to another for example the novices are attracted by the artistic labels and the snobs are insisted by the famous names in the label. Whatever it may be the wine label reveals the most important thing about the wine - The Flavor.

Required information

The European Union's wine authorities want more information that specifies the quality of wine should be printed on the label.

US law requirements on the wine labels are:

• Brand name
• Type of wine
• Bottled information
• Alcohol by volume 
• Net contents

Wine misconceptions

Since there is no single media that educate the people about the wine and with the increased consumption some unusual folklore have crept in.The following 5 misconceptions about wine give some more insights about the true reasons:

1) Wines with screw caps are cheap wines:

The reason for the usage of screw caps instead of cork is only to prevent the famous cork taint in wine. By using screw caps this wine failure can be excluded and less wine has to be wasted due to the cork taint (wine for about 500 Million Euro per year). Furthermore during fermentation of wine, a great number or flavor compounds, among those also very volatile flavors, which make the wine appear very fruity. Screw caps can conserve these volatile flavors a few months longer in the bottle.

2) Sweetness and Fruitiness are the same:

Sweetness is perceived on the tongue and is one of the five basic tastes located on our tongue. In contrast fruitiness consists of many volatile and fruity flavor compounds, which are perceived via the nose and the palate (retro-nasal). Therefore both in their quality and in the area of perception both descriptions can be clearly distinguished.

3) Due to the sulfur content in red wine I get a headache:

This is only partly true. A higher sulfur content in wine can cause a headache for very sensitive persons, which are only a very small percentage of persons. Sulfur rather leads to some stomach pain, as the sulfuric acid is split up in its parts due to the acid milieu in the stomach. The more likely reason for the headache (apart from the alcohol) is histamine.

It increases the blood circulation, comparable with a swelling after an insect bite. Histamine is an undesirable side-product of the biological acid decomposition and can be found in Chardonnay and in general red wines. Already small amounts of histamine (5-8 milligram) can cause reactions.

4) Cheap wines should be used for cooking:

That would be a great mistake. Always choose a wine for cooking, which you also would drink. Cheap wines can even waste a dish instead of enriching it.

5) With cheese red wine matches best:

Red wine matches very good with some cheeses, but for many cheeses also semi-dry aromatic white wines combine as least as good as red wines. Quite often it is even easier to find a well matching white wine rather than a red wine.