Tag Archives: Sipp Tips

The DEFs of Wine Tasting

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On our last article we talked about the most basic notions in wine and food pairing: complementarity and contrast, and we promised we’ll continue with the actual characteristics of wines that bind or divide the match: acidity, sweetness, bitterness and the alcohol level.

Acidity is a key factor in pairing wines and food, because on a physiological level it affects our ability to perceive flavours. Remember that acidic wines tend to go great with acidic foods (for example, those where lemon or vinegar is used) or with fatty, oily, salty or rich dishes, but they’re very unlikely to go well with creamy sauces.

Sweetness is the combined result of the initial fruits’ sugar and the fermentation process. The general rule is that the wine should be sweeter than the dessert it accompanies, and yes, sweet wines are usually associated with desserts. But they can also go well with foods that have a certain sweetness (for example a sweet sauce), they balance spiciness and they can also contrast with certain salty foods.

Bitterness is linked to tannins, caused when the skins, seeds and stems of the grapes enter the wine creation process. Bitter wines are a wonderful match for foods rich in protein (meats, especially red, fatty or not) and they really help cleanse the palate. Fish oils, spicy foods and sweet dishes should not be your first options when you’re considering tannins, and also keep in mind that bitterness in foods and bitterness in wines combine.

Alcohol is linked to the wine’s weight and body, in the sense that the less alcohol, the less weight a wine has and that means less texture and density. Usually, wines with higher alcohol levels are good matches for salty and spicy dishes.

But there are other factors to consider and the most important one is probably your own taste. Since we all have different perceptions over reality (taste included), we’re all likely to make (at least) slightly different choices when it comes to wine and food pairing. And then there are those matches so famous that they’ve almost become clichés – for example, Chablis and oysters. Basically, the choice is yours and you should feel free to experiment over time.  While you’re exploring, try to taste the wine and the food separately, think about each part’s specific flavours and characteristics and only then taste them both and try to figure out what works and what doesn’t.

 

 

The ABCs of Wine Pairing

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In the last couple of years I’ve heard quite often that the old rule of thumb of pairing red meats with red wines and white wines with white meats is no longer fashionable. And even though the pairing rules have changed over time, it’s not something that is based on random trends. The goal of pairing wines and dishes is to maximize your experience with both of them, and that’s why it’s important to consider aspects such as: acidity, sweetness, bitterness or weight.

But where did all this begin? Well, just as for everything that lasts in time, it started with a basic need. The truth is that way back in the past, when mankind had very limited ways of filtering water, wine was simply the cleaner alternative, so it became naturally associated with food. And some of the ”classic” associations derived from the correlation of wine produced in the region and that region’s specific diet. For example, lamb was a very frequent dish in Europe in the past, including in regions like Bordeaux, Greece, Rioja, Rhone and Provence, and that’s the main reason why red wines produced in those regions are still paired with lamb.

However, not all of these matches have been kept as such. Today, specialists consider an array of more refined criteria and base their decisions on the complementarity or contrast between certain characteristics of the wine and the dish. In other words, a wine and a dish make a good match only if they share a trait (for example, the subtle note of a certain spice in a wine and the presence of that spice in the dish), or if they are complete opposites, in order for each to emphasize the other.

So what characteristics are taken into account? Since we are all very different and we perceive reality in different ways it wouldn’t be fair to consider those traits that are very subjective to the sensory glands of the taste buds. Wine is not made exclusively for sommeliers and the rest of us could simply not be able to perceive a subtle note of pineapple or melon in a wine. However, we can all perceive basic tastes: sourness (correlated with the wine’s acidity), sweetness (derived from the residual sugar in the fruit and the fermentation process) and bitterness (a consequence of tannins). Also, we can all perceive hotness with ease, and this sensation in the back of our mouths is the ultimate judge when it comes to the wine’s body.

These are the most basic notions you need in order to start concluding what goes with what when it comes to wine and dishes. Keep an eye out for our next article, because we’ll be getting into more details about wine pairing.

Storing Wine – Things to Remember

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This is a common question, but thankfully one that has a logical answer.  What most people tend to forget is that wine is a living, constantly evolving, organism.  Think of it like an Olympic athlete, once it reaches its peak of physical fitness, how well it maintains that level determines its career.  Any injury it gains along the way (no matter how minor) might cause repercussions further down the line, or end the career entirely.  The best way to look at how to avoid problems is to assess what the elements are that cause them, so here are my three easy steps for how to kill a wine:

1.  Leave a bottle in the kitchen, by the oven.  Although storing a wine in an environment that is too hot or too cold will cause harm, it is a frequently changing temperature that will really do the trick.  Usually this will cause maderization (the wine smells and tastes like Madeira, but is more vinegary and unpleasant), also the cork will be pushed out of the top of the bottle and may cause some wine to bleed out.

2.  Slot the bottle into the port of your subwoofer, or in front of your biggest loudspeaker, ensuring that you maintain a constant output of loud music at all times.  Vibrations will damage a wine over time; any big shocks or jolts to the bottle will also cause harm.  If you look at the history of wines imported to the UK, before rubber tyres and good suspension were invented, the three major regions were Bordeaux, Porto (for Port) and Jerez (for Sherry).  Merchants at the time argued that the wines were actually improved by the gentle movements of the ships over the waves.

3.  Leave the bottle by a south-facing window.  Other options include in a greenhouse, or on the parcel-shelf of a car on a hot day.  UV will also damage a wine, which is why most top-end wines will have very dark UV resistant bottles.  It is also the function of the orange cellophane that Cristal Champagne is wrapped in.

My best advice for those without a cellar is usually to store wine in the cupboard under the stairs; it is generally the most stable in temperature, quiet and dark.  A north facing room with no windows will often do the trick too.

Sipp Tips: Decanting

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For many of us, Christmas is a time to pull your best wines out of the cellar and share them with the family around the dinner table. If you have been saving a particular bottle for a while, or spent a bit extra for something special, you want to make sure you are enjoying the wine at its best. So the question is posed: To decant or not to decant?

There are two main reasons to decant a wine. Firstly, an aged wine may have thrown a hefty level of sediment in the bottle that needs to be removed before the wine is poured. This will often occur in vintage ports, or unfiltered red wines that have been cellared for 10+ years. The sediment is quite bitter, so there is nothing more embarrassing than pouring a glass of lumpy wine for your guests.

A young wine may also need decanting to allow the wine to “breathe”. Allowing oxygen to get to the wine can help to remove any sulphurous quality that you might find in a young white, or to open up the flavours of a young red.

The decision on whether to decant or not varies from wine to wine. Hold your aged wines up to the light to see if it has thrown a deposit. If it has, slowly and steadily pour the wine into a decanter, holding the neck of the bottle over a source of light, such as a lamp or candle. This allows you to the sediment as it edges towards the top of the bottle. Once the sediment reaches the neck, stop pouring. Any wine left in the bottle will make a great addition to gravies or sauces.

Use a source of light to see when the sediment reaches the neck.

A wine that seems closed or overly tannic simply needs to be poured into a decanter and allowed some time to rest and breathe (usually no more than an hour or two). This will take the bite off the wine and allow complex flavours to develop. Be careful when giving older wines to breathe; a wine such as an aged fine Burgundy may lose its flavour if over-oxidised.

Wine can be decanted into any container; you don’t necessarily need a lavish crystal decanter. Use a wide based container for wines that need to breathe, or a narrow container with a lid for the wines that don’t. Some people choose to use a filter to extract every last drop of wine from a bottle, but this process can sometimes extract flavours and character from the wine. If you wish to do this, only filter the wine left over after completing the process above.

For those who are a feeling a bit adventurous, there is the emerging trend of Hyper-Decanting – the practice of giving a wine a whirl in the blender. Some see this as wine sacrilege, while others swear by the process for getting the best out of their young reds. Either way, it is sure to generate plenty of conversation around the dinner table this Christmas!