Wine For Novices

Can Music Make Your Merlot Taste Better?

"Playing a certain type of music can enhance the way wine tastes, research by psychologists suggests. The Heriot Watt University study found people rated the change in taste by up to 60% depending on the melody heard."

Brain theory

Four types of music were played - Carmina Burana by Orff ("powerful and heavy"), Waltz of the Flowers from The Nutcracker by Tchaikovsky ("subtle and refined"), Just Can't Get Enough by Nouvelle Vague ("zingy and refreshing") and Slow Breakdown by Michael Brook ("mellow and soft")

The white wine was rated 40% more zingy and refreshing when that music was played, but only 26% more mellow and soft when music in that category was heard.

The red was altered 25% by mellow and fresh music, yet 60% by powerful and heavy music.

The results were put down to "cognitive priming theory", where the music sets up the brain to respond to the wine in a certain way.

"Wine manufacturers could recommend that while drinking a certain wine, you should listen to a certain sort of music," Prof North said.

The research was carried out for Chilean winemaker Aurelio Montes, who plays monastic chants to his maturing wines.

Music Recommendations:

Cabernet Sauvignon: All Along The Watchtower (Jimi Hendrix), Honky Tonk Woman (Rolling Stones), Live And Let Die (Paul McCartney and Wings), Won't Get Fooled Again (The Who)

Chardonnay: Atomic (Blondie), Rock DJ (Robbie Williams), What's Love Got To Do With It (Tina Turner), Spinning Around (Kylie Minogue)

Syrah: Nessun Dorma (Puccini), Orinoco Flow (Enya), Chariots Of Fire (Vangelis), Canon (Johann Pachelbel)

Merlot: Sitting On The Dock Of The Bay (Otis Redding), Easy (Lionel Ritchie), Over The Rainbow (Eva Cassidy), Heartbeats (Jose Gonzalez)

Source: Montes Wines

 

Fine & Rare Wine Tasting-May 9-Franklin, TN...

A Fine & Rare Wine Tasting
Friday, May 9
7pm

We will be tasting:

1992 Opus One
1980 Whitehall Lane Cabernet (Alexander Valley)
1990 Whitehall Lane Reserve Cabernet Napa
1990 Silver Oak Alexander Valley
1986 Cain "Five" Napa Red Table Wine
1988 Anselmi Amarone Re Cioto Della Valpolicella
1989 Joseph Phelps Insignia Napa Red Wine
1987 McDowell Syrah Mendocino
1991 Girard Napa Cabernet
1987 Carmenet Sonoma Red Wine

Also featuring gourmet tapas appetizers and a complimentary wine glass.

All proceeds benefit Creative Community, Inc. A 501c3 non-profit Artist Development Center.

$100. per person (RSVP & payment in advance)
Only  25 5 spaces left.

The evening will also feature original watercolors and a wine auction sponsored by Frugal McDoogal
For more Info E-mail me HERE.

For more great posts today on culture and the arts check out Watercooler Wednesday.

Why Not Wine In Tennessee?

Red White and Food is a campaign to allow Tennessee retail food stores the choice of selling wine to their customers.

Right now, 33 states allow wine sales in retail food stores.

Right now, Tennessee retail food stores can sell beer.

Right now, the big question is: Why not wine?

The primary supporter of Red White and Food is the Tennessee Grocers and Convenience Store Association.

They have a GREAT website HERE.

They have started a grassroots campaign and over 1,000 signing up as members of the Red White and Food campaign. If you live in Tennessee--SIGN UP NOW HERE.

They also have a great new blog HERE.

Tennessee is not one of the 33 states that allow wine sales in retail food stores.  It just doesn’t seem to make sense when you consider:

• Tennesseans who choose to drink wine want the convenience of purchasing it at retail food stores.
• Wine sales in retail food stores would benefit consumers by increasing competition.
• Retail food stores are already required by law to check the age of everyone purchasing alcohol and undergo annual training. Read the Responsible Vendor law (PDF).
• Consumers are being denied choice by Tennessee’s powerful liquor lobby that is focused on protecting its monopoly.
• Retail food stores will have the option not to sell wine if that is their choice.
• Wine is rarely a choice of underage drinkers.
• Wine sales in retail food stores are not linked to increased drunk driving.
• Wine and food are a natural combination.

Interesting Wine Facts

-Americans prefer wine to other alcoholic beverages. 39% prefer wine, 36% prefer beer, and 21% prefer spirits.

-All fifty states now have wineries.

-The link between red wine drinking and health has been covered widely in the media.

-The hot grapes for red wine in the world are Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir. For whites, it's Pino Grigio and Sauvignon Blanc.

-Costco in now the largest retailer of wine in the United States, with over $750 million in wine sales.

-A line of inexpensive wines produced by Charles Shaw (aka Two Buck Chuck) sold more than 10 million cases in 2006.

Curbing the Curse

by Dan Perkins WFN Guest Blogger

If you’re reading this blog hoping to gain more wine knowledge and how you might enhance your wine drinking experience let me share this little secret with you: It’s not always about the wine. Much of what you’ll learn and what you’ll gain is in what I refer to as the accessories. These are bits of knowledge and shortcuts to making wine a passion and also making wine accessible to everyday living. Unfortunately, this leads to the “curse.”

What is the curse? Well, remember back when you enjoyed that first glass of Sutter Home White Zinfandel? You really liked it. But later you begin to notice that sugary taste and residual headache and before long you were pining for something a bit drier... then sometime after finding Kendall Jackson Vintner’s Reserve Chardonnay you started to find the wine was a bit flabby with an all too familiar sweetness that caused you to look for a shade of pink in the glass...

So, then you decided a couple of dollars more for a bottle of “nice” chardonnay really wouldn’t make much of an impact on the wallet so you began to regularly purchase Mondavi, Markham or Franciscan... but then white wine just wasn’t cutting it anymore so you decided to make that leap over to the “red” side and before you knew it you were buying wines by the case for four and six hundred dollars a pop! 

Yes, my friends... that is the curse.

Your taste in wine will evolve and as it evolves you’ll notice the differences in why some wines...

What to Bring and What’s the Deal?

by Dan Perkins
(regular guest blogger and gold-medal wine tasting champion)

Every year it’s the same. People come to the house during the holidays and as they pass the threshold of the house I’m told, “We wanted to bring a wine but didn’t want to embarrass ourselves, you know... you being a wine connoisseur and all.” What they’re really trying to say is, “We wanted to bring our cheap wine because we think it’s just fine but we think you won’t like it being a wine snob and all!”

True... but bring a wine anyway.

All kidding aside (but those who know me know wine is not a laughing matter), bringing wine to a host can be an intimidating experience! So, here are a couple things to keep in mind.

First, don’t expect your wine to opened that night! This sometimes bothers guests who shell out a small fortune for a bottle they couldn’t afford to enjoy themselves during the year or when you pull out a bottle of wine you’ve saved for a special occasion. It is proper etiquette to bring a bottle but the purpose is to replace one (or several) the host is opening for your pleasure. Remember the host has planned the menu and hopefully paired the wine accordingly. So for you to demand that amazing Zinfandel you brought over be enjoyed with that delicate halibut with ginger glaze and tropical compote might be a bit too pushy and an invitation to never get another invitation. Finally on this point and I would think this goes without saying but I better not assume, when you say your goodnights... leave that bottle there. Just because your host didn’t open your favorite doesn’t mean you get to take it home.

Second, don’t feel the need to impress the host....

Glasses Can Help You Drink Better

by Dan Perkins (My friend and now to be regular guest blogger)

It happens often, you order a glass of wine with your dinner and the server brings you a glass filled to the brim hoping to keep each precious drop contained within until it finally rests on the table in front of you. You may be thinking, "€œGood, they gave me a full glass of wine!" And I say... "€œBad... bad, bad, bad!"

Several years ago winery tasting rooms were pouring their varietal samples in simple inexpensive 6 ounce glasses. At the same time glass companies began to market their specialty glasses in these same tasting rooms as the wineries began expanding their business into retail sales of accessories such as clothing to help further their brand. These glasses were much larger and elegant than the glasses used at the tasting bar and they packed a hefty punch at the cash register too.

The first time I tasted wine from one of these glasses was at a small boutique winery in Santa Barbara County. The tasting room attendant had just poured their flagship wine in the usual, $.95, mass produced, glass-glass with their logo etched into the bowl. She then said, "€œYou want to try something amazing?" I thought she was going to pull out a special bottle from under the counter (which, if you'€™re on your good behavior... usually happens, but more on that at another time).

Instead she grabbed a Riedel, Bordeaux Vinum glass and poured the same wine in it that was in the glass I was already drinking from. "Side by side, can you tell a difference?" She was smiling with a smug gleam in her eye like she had been keeping a secret... I couldn'€™t believe it! Was I drinking the same wine? I asked to look at the bottle to be sure. Yep, same wine but it was much better in the big glass... That day I plunked down $25 for my first Riedel glass. My wife thought I was crazy, but today we only drink from Riedel and Spiegelau stemware.

What made the difference?

Several years ago, I was fortunate...

Where Did Wine Come From?

First, realize beer came first.  From the dawn of civilization before the end of the last ice age, man was gathering grain and making beer.  When the pyramids were constructed, the workers were given a daily ration of 8 pints of beer.  They loved their work!

The Greeks replaced beer with wine to be the most sophisticated of drinks – a status it enjoys today – but the Syrians discovered wine.  How did the Syrians discover that fermented grape juice was an excellent beverage?  There are several stories.

Tasting Wine At A Restaurant- Part 2

I have asked my California friend Dan Perkins to write a regular guest blog here. He is a champion wine taster and wine connoisseur. He is also a triathelete, mountain climber--you get the picture--a true renaissance man.

Here are his astute comments to my blog of November 24.

"Cork taint or what the big boys call TCA or what the even bigger boys call trichloroanisole is a bacteria that inhabits the wine through varied means; most of which occur through affected corks but can also come from the wineries themselves or the equipment used to bottle the wine. TCA is not harmful and at low levels can be mostly unnoticed. The key is what you pointed out; the "smell."

Cork taint can be detected by a musty, "wet coat" kind of odor. Although the wine is drinkable the taste experience first goes through the nose before the tongue and a tainted wine will taste different.

Because cork taint seems to affect about 5% of all wine distributed this has proven to be a significant loss to wine makers over the years. Lately, new methods such as synthetic corks, Stevin screw caps and (my favorite) the new glass closures have been greatly embraced by the industry but with some reticence from the public.

Another thing for your readers to consider is bottle temperature. I have been to some restaurants where keeping their wines exposed in the dining room, to be used as a decoration, often spoils the taste of the wine. Especially, when they are kept near the kitchen. For optimal flavors, wine should be served between 55 and 65 degrees (lower preferably) for reds and 42-55 for whites, depending on varietal. Bottles kept out and near a kitchen can reach temps over 80 degrees. If this happens the taste will be greatly affected and ruin the purpose of pairing that nice $85 bottle of Petite Sirah with a $42 cut of lamb...

So, even if the wine isn't returnable due to winning the bad-wine lottery it is because the people storing the wine for your enjoyment simply weren't prepared for your impeccable standards! Cheers."

An Italian Wine Tasting

Chris and I hosted an "Intimate Evening" of Wines and Watercolors of Italy to benefit O'More School of fashion and design last evening at our home La Maison du Reves.

We tasted our favorite wines gathered during a recent trip to Italy. The evening featured wines from the  Tuscany, Veneto and Peidmont regions.

We did a blind tasting with 28 in attendance. Most were admitted wine novices. I gave a brief history of Italian wines, discussed the classification system and the specific grape varietals of the night. Here are the results:

#7 La Toppa Vino da Tavola 2007 $9.
#6 Capanna Brunello Montalcino Riserva 1998  $35.
#5 Martinega Nebbiolo Langhe 2005 $12.
#4 La Poderina Brunello Montalcino  2001 $28.
#3 Cantalici Chianti Classico 2003 $18.
#2 Ca' La Bionda Amarone della Valpolicella Classico 2003 $60.
WINNER:  Rietene Tiziano Super Tuscan 2000 $25. 

The highlight of the evening, however, was decidedly French. Our neighbors, Ken & Linda Moore, provided a rare opportunity to taste one of the finest wines in the world. Two splits of 1975 Chateau d' Yquem Sauternes.  It was absolutley the finest wine tasting experience of my life. A multi-sensory explosion. Both bottles were perfectly preserved with a nose that created heavenly thoughts, the taste was velvety and multi-textured with aromatic citrus, hint of nuts and honey. The most pleasing, sensory wine experience I can conjure in my wildest fantasies. "Liquid Gold".

Pictured with Chris and myself is Dr. Mark Hilliard, President of O'More and the visionary that dreamed up this delightful evening. The proceeds will provide a scholarship for a student to study abroad.

More photographs of the evening HERE.