Timeless. Romantic. Elegant. Wine jellies give your dinner parties a very chic touch even though they’re absolutely easy to make. Your basic ingredients are really just sugar and leftover wine, but serve them in glasses, and you have a five-star restaurant quality dessert.

Red Wine Jelly

This recipe from Food.com gives you the rustic wine jelly without the drama, a pure unadulterated dessert for those who love the classic. It yields 6 to 8 ounces of the sweet jelly without requiring you to put much effort into the preparation.

Ingredients:

Materials:

Directions:

1. Combine the wine and sugar in the saucepan over medium heat.
2. Stir them together until the sugar melts completely.
3. Remove the mixture from the heat.
4. Pour the pectin, and mix well.
5. Take off any foam that forms on top of the mixture.
6. When it’s clear, with no more foam, pour the mixture into the jars.
7. Seal the jars, and let them cool.
8. Refrigerate the jelly before serving.

White Wine Jelly

A contemporary take on the wine jelly, Good Food Channel gives us a vanilla-infused creation that does not shy away from giving off subtle but amazingly combined flavors that play in your tastebuds.

Ingredients:

Materials:

Directions:

1. In a shallow bowl, soften the gelatine leaves by soaking them in cold water for 5 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, combine the white wine, water, sugar and vanilla pod into the saucepan.
3. Stir the mixture constantly while bringing it to a boil.
4. As soon as the first bubble appears, draw off the heat.
5. Squeeze out the excess water from the gelatine leaves, and add them into the wine mixture.
6. Keep stirring until all the ingredients have completely dissolved.
17. Pour the jelly into a mold or glass containers, and refrigerate them for several hours before serving.

The post How to Make Red and White Wine Jellies appeared first on .

#7: Hitler loved his wine sweet, sugary sweet

A spoonful of sugar makes Adolf Hitler’s wine go down. Hitler has been known to put 7 teaspoons of sugar into his tea. So, it stands to reason why he would also pour the sweet condiment into his wine. Accordingly, aside from finding those drinks to be too bitter, Hitler had a very sweet tooth. He had a habit of ordering desserts and various other chocolate treats from his chef even right up the end of his rule.

#6: Pharaohs didn’t like drinking reds

So red really wasn’t their cup of tea. Pharaohs in ancient Egypt didn’t love the idea of drinking red wine simply because of its color. Its resemblance to blood and their superstitious beliefs gave the red wine a nasty reputation. They believed that reds came from the blood of those who were killed by their gods during battles. Their blood were said to have seeped into the earth and into the grapes from where the wines were made from.

#5: Hosting ancient Greek parties meant being a food taster

Ancient Greeks loved their wine. They even have a god for it. But, many parties that served wine called for the host to drink the first cup. He needed to demonstrate that the drinks were didn’t have poison in them.

#4: BV’s founder came to America not for wine, but for gold

BV or Beaulieu Vineyard, a famous vineyard stationed in California, was founded by Georges de Latour and his wife. Accordingly, the French man originally came to America to find gold. When he ran out of luck, he and his wife built the winery instead.

#3: Edgar Allan Poe published a story about a murderous wine aficionado in 1846

The Cask of Amontillado is a short story published by Edgar Allan Poe in the 1846 issue of Godey’s Lady’s Book. The story tells how a wine enthusiast executed his sinister plot to take revenge on a friend whom he claimed has hurt him many times.

#2: Instead of Charlemagne, it was his wife, who may have invented the Corton-Charlemagne

Corton-Charlemagne, the famous French white wine, supposedly came into existence when Charlemagne’s wife complained how red wine stained and dirtied his beard. She made him plant grapes that would not produce red wines. So, the emperor ordered his subjects to plant white grapes instead.

#1: Abe Lincoln had a license to sell booze

Before he became the 16th president of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, got a liquor license in New Salem, Illinois. He legally sold wine, rum, brandy and other kinds of alcohol in his small general store.

The post 7 Surprising Historical Facts about Wine appeared first on .

If it’s your first time planning a wine tasting party, then you’ve come to the right place. We’ve gathered all the necessary things you have to remember in setting up the event. All you have to do is read through our guide to get things ready.

Pick out wines with a set criteria

Of course, start with your wine selection. What are your preferences? How many do you want to showcase? Do you want the party to exclusively have reds, whites or both? These are only some of the important questions you’ll have to consider heavily.

But before everything else, start with a theme. What kind of theme do you want to have? Do you want your guests to drink wines from a single region? Or something more adventurous like a blind tasting of a single wine from different makers? You can also exclusively have French or Italian wines. Whatever the case, a theme unifies your party’s elements, and gives you a clear direction. If you want more themes. You can look them up online.

Next, choose about 5 to 6 wines based on your theme. If you have more than that, you might overwhelm your guests. If you have less than that, you might end the party too soon.

If you’re leaning towards having both reds and whites. It’s actually okay. But, you have to remember to serve them from light-bodied to full. You also have to chill the reds before serving them. Ice in wine is definitely something you want to stay out of.

Go over the basics

Ultimately, you have to decide how many people are going to attend your party. Having a lot of people over is for experienced hosts. But, note that keeping the guest list to a minimum makes the event more intimate because it encourages more interaction. You can have 5 of your closest friends over. We also suggest inviting not more than 10 people.

You also have to decide if you’re going to hold a blind tasting event where you keep the wines’ labels hidden or keep the party classic by giving out each bottles’ info. Both options are fun, but blind tasting is for hosts with a little bit of experience even though they’re more exciting. Both options need studying though.

Check the party kit, twice

Wine tastings aren’t your run-of-the-mill parties. They need specific tools and kits to make them successful. Always check what you have twice because you’ll never know when you might need another glass or even an extra napkin.

Here’s a checklist of the things you need for your party:

1. wine (have at least 2 bottles for each kind of wine, depending on your guest list)
2. non-tinted glassware (to be on the safe side, have twice as many as the number of guests that you expect to have)
3. bread or water crackers (to cleanse palates)
4. a spittoon for each guest (for obvious reasons, we prefer that each guest needs one)
5. water
6. wine openers
7. napkins
8. placemats
9. polishing cloths
10. decanters
11. pens
12. papers or copies of a points chart (for notes and scoring)
13. wine bags (if you prefer blind tasting)
14. print outs about the wine being served (this one is optional)

Don’t complicate the food

Remember, the wines are the heroes of the party, not the food. The food, their sidekicks, should only compliment their strengths and other qualities. Choose appetizers that are easy to prepare and eat. They don’t have to be expensive horderves from multiple starred restaurants. Don’t strain yourself making them either. All you really need (the basics) are just bread, chocolate, meats like Prosciutto, fruits like grapes and apple pieces and different kinds of sliced cheeses. You can even go rustic and lay them out on a table and just let your guests pick out what they want.

Additionally, pair wines and food that are essentially the same. Choose highly acidic wines for acidic food and cheese from the same region where the wine comes from. The tendency is, makers of that region will have perfected their cheese that go with their wine. They know more than anyone else what goes with their wine.

Mix in your own style

Every party must radiate its host’s own style. Put in some signature pieces that point to your personality and taste. These not only add flare to your event; they make it extra memorable too. You can also add some DIY wine-inspired pieces in your set-up.

Build your way up: from light to full-bodied wine

If it’s your first time hosting, don’t just serve wine randomly. You want to start soft and end with a high note. That is, begin with subtle and delicate wines, the light bodied ones and progress your way up to full-bodied bottles, the ones that have strong flavor and are high in alcohol. Specifically, you can start with a Riesling to a Sauvignon Blanc and end with a Zinfandel.

Don’t be in a hurry

Lastly, there’s no fast-track when it comes to wine tasting. Each bottle must be enjoyed to the fullest; plus, there are a bunch of wine enthusiasts out there who take a long while to look at each glass and to analyze each sip. So, stagger the service to let your guests enjoy their wine more, and to judge the pairings that you’ve suggested.

The post A Beginner’s Guide to Hosting a Wine Tasting Party appeared first on .

This condiment is usually expensive, but it’s really surprisingly easy to make. Using your leftovers and a bit of time, you can have your very own wine vinegar without breaking your budget.

Ingredients:
leftover wines
mother of vinegar

Materials:
empty jar
towel
thick rubber band or string
sealable bottle/s

Directions:

1. Collect leftover wines into the empty jar. Some people prefer to make vinegar with only one kind of wine. But, vinegar made from several kinds of wines is just as good. After all, what you’re doing here is breathing new life into the liqueur that you don’t want to drink anymore.

2. Mix in a “mother”. When the jar gets to 60 to 70% full, add in the “mother”. The mother is the source of the acetic bacteria that develops when you’re fermenting the wine. It’s the substance that turns the alcoholic drink into acetic acid. One popular mother you can use is apple cider that has the label “with mother” in it.

3. Stir the concoction vigorously. You want to mix the ingredients together well enough to evenly spread the mother throughout the jar. But more importantly, stirring the mixture forcefully aerates it. This air helps the mother because it consumes the sulfur dioxide in the wines that prevents the acetic bacteria from growing. Some makers transfer the wine-vinegar mixture from one bottle to another using a funnel to get the air in. Whichever method you choose, the aim to aerate is still the same.

4. Cover the jar’s mouth with a clean towel, and secure it with a rubber band. The towel protects the jar from dirt and dust that can get inside while still letting the air in. Make sure the rubber band is big enough to snuggly fit into the jar’s mouth. And if you don’t have a rubber band, a string will do.

5. Let the jar sit in a dark corner at room temperature. Direct sunlight ruins the preservative qualities of the vinegar, but it’s stable at room temperature.

6. Stir the wine vinegar regularly, every day. You want to open up the jar and keep stirring the wine vinegar every day. Keep an eye out for a thin film to appear on the surface. This means you can start tasting it if it’s fermented enough.

7. Start tasting the vinegar after a month. After 30 days, for every time you finish stirring the concoction, taste it. Note that sometimes, it won’t take 30 days because the fermentation process varies. DO NOT dip a spoon that has just touched your mouth into the wine vinegar. When you want to taste it, grab a small ladle, and dip it into the jar. Get a small amount of the vinegar into it, and pour it into a saucer. This way, you’re not contaminating the vinegar with bacteria from your mouth.

8. When you finally get to taste the flavor that you like, transfer the wine vinegar into a resealable bottle. Move it into an airtight bottle. You want to stop it from being exposed to the air, but it has to continue to ferment without spoiling. You can now store this anywhere in your kitchen, but you still have to keep it away from the sunlight.

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Regular fridge or wine fridge, there’s a difference

First thing’s first. Let’s make this clear. There’s a huge difference between your kitchen fridge and a wine fridge. Wine fridges are appliances made specifically to store wines at their required temperature and humidity. A regular refrigerator doesn’t have a uniform temperature inside because you keep opening it up to get other food items. Those food can also contaminate your wine, especially when a bottle’s already been opened. Also, a wine fridge doesn’t vibrate compared to the regular refrigerator. Aside from being a little too noisy at night, fridge vibration accelerates a bottle’s aging process and causes other negative effects to its overall taste.

Humidity is key

The relative humidity should be kept from 60 to 80% because if it’s too high, mold and mildew pop up. And if it’s too low, it damages a bottle’s cork. Cork is made from a tree’s bark, and yes, it does degrade over time because when it’s exposed to air, it loses its moisture. But sooner or later, when the cork dries out too much, it shrinks and cracks. This leaves the wine inside exposed to oxidize and to eventually spoil. Don’t worry though, your wine doesn’t get ruined overnight, so go ahead and check your unit’s settings. It’s a good thing that modern wine fridges are built specifically to keep humidity under control.

Work with the vent

Examine where the fridge’s ventilation is placed. Is it on the front or back? Getting this little nugget of wisdom is important because it can make or break location decisions. Wine fridges have vents that suck in air from the room and spew out hot air. They need breathing room to work at maximum efficiency. You have to know where they’re located, so you won’t be putting your unit in a place where the vent is smothered in its own warm air. For example, under-the-counter fridges are front-vented fridges because its vent forces out hot air out in an open space under your counter. It also needs 4-6 inches of space if it’s backed up into a surface. So, consider your vents when finding a good place for your unit – which brings us to our next tip…

Set up a good location

Saying that you need a good place to put your wine fridge is a total understatement. Setting up a spot where your unit can thrive takes a lot of thinking and some foresight. Aside from its vent, you have to consider temperature in the room and the appliances in it. Your fridge must have a big enough place to expel hot air and take in cooler air freely, so don’t confine it inside a cabinet or a closet. Do not place your unit in your garage. The garage’s temperature goes up and down too fast and too easily making your unit’s cooler work double time, shortening its lifespan. The same thing happens if you place your wine fridge near dishwashers, driers, other fridges, ovens and even washing machines. These appliances can get hot affecting the cooler.

Hide it from the sun

Literally. The amount of sunlight that hits the room damages your wine. The heat and the UV rays degrade it and age it prematurely. So, pick out a darker area, preferably a place where there’s no window nearby. Don’t worry about turning the lights off your fridge though, those are specially designed to be wine-friendly.

Temperature matters

As we’ve mentioned (possibly several times, but we lost count), temperature can affect your bottles greatly. Too much heat spoils wine. It also ‘cooks’ it making it develop odd flavors you wouldn’t want to taste. Meanwhile, a steep drop in temperature causes it to freeze as well. This makes it expand, cracking the cork and the bottle leaving it exposed and be oxidized.

Some fridges are built with two separate zones. This is great for reds and whites that have different temperature requirements. You might want to set 50°F for white wine and about 58°F for its red counterpart. Other bottles need have to be stored at different temperatures. You can read about them online.

Don’t overload your unit

If you’re not that much of a collector, then it’s fine. But, if you’re planning to accumulate a lot of bottles and cram them into your fridge, then stop right there! Overloaded units can have temperature control malfunctions which might cause wine spoilage and a shorter lifespan for the fridge itself. Most fridges are made for 750 mL wines in the Bordeaux style. If you’re planning to expand your collection, buy a unit with a large capacity, and fill it up later on.

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The best wine parties aren’t just remembered for their food or their wine. While picking the right kind of Pinot Noir matters, your party’s atmosphere is equally as important. Setting the party with great appetizers, decorations and small attention grabbers gives it the right mood that signals your guests to loosen up and just have fun. If you agree with us, then you’ll want to read these 7 clever ways you can upscale your wine tasting party into something your friends and family will absolutely remember.

Red Wine Lollipop

Candy is dandy, but liquor is quicker! ~ Willy Wonka

But why not have both? A cute table decoration or a sugary thank-you token you can give to your guests, this crimson wine candy is just adorable. It’s inexpensive and simple to make, but it can also pull-off an elegant look with the right wrappings and ribbons. You can get the recipe at Sprinkle Bakes. Enjoy!

Cheese and Nut Board

So much to do, so little time? Just go rustic and au natural. Belly Full suggests pouring Gouda, cheddar, hazelnuts almonds, and a whole lot of everything else into a wooden board, and just letting your guests decide on their pairings for themselves. It’s not complicated and it’s fun. What more do you need?

Chalkboard Wine Glasses

If you want your wine glasses to be a little more on the unique side, then this tutorial from Cambria is your best bet. Show off your creativity, and make the party more exciting by customizing each glass with a guest’s name. This is so much better than the usual table card.

Wine Cork Place Card Holders

Those corks you’ve been saving can be made into many amazing creations (which you can see here). This DIY from Stylish Spoon not only recycles old corks, it celebrates your party’s theme while injecting a fun creative side to it. The cork labels can hold anything from your guests name to the kind of wine you’re serving.

Mason Jar Cheese Tasting Tray

Got too many mason jars? Fill them with different kinds of cheeses. This idea from Do More For Less breathes new life into your used jars. It’s uber simple to set up, and it makes a great addition to any party. To add some quirk to the cheese jars, serve them on a shiny gold platter to complement the cheeses’ bright yellow hues.

Festive Frozen Grape Skewers

We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again. The best fruit that goes with wine is the fruit that makes it. One Handed Cooks gives us a refreshing but deceptively effortless appetizer slash wine pair that melts in your mouth, literally.

Tuscan wine bottle centerpiece

Last and certainly not the least, what’s a better centerpiece for a wine party than wine bottles themselves? Upcycled wine bottle projects can save you a ton of money (you can read more about them here). This simple, easy 5-minute fix, from Diocese of Lansing brightens up your table while keeping the rustic chic theme prominent.

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The Secret of Santa Vittoria

Let’s start with this 1969 film by United Artists. It has a great story from a best-selling novel by Robert Crichton. It tells the compelling tale of the citizens of the Italian winemaking town of Santa Vittoria and their efforts to hide a million bottles of delicious wine and to outwit the Nazi troops occupying their town.

The film scored 7.5/10 on IMDb, and it was nominated in the Academy Awards for Best Film Editing and Best Musical Score. It was nominated again for an Eddie award for Best Edited Feature Film.

Corked

Who doesn’t love a hilarious mockumentary? This one from Brian A. Hoffman and 28 Entertainment stars arrogant but different would-be connoisseurs from Northern California who try to win over a celebrity wine critic and to ultimately get their wine to the Golden Harvest Gala. We follow their outrageous journey as they find ways to push their wines into the lime light.

The movie has 3 stars from Rotten Tomatoes’ audience reviews and a fair 6.8/10 score from IMDb.

Mondovino

Know more about what you’re drinking.

Literally translated from Italian as ‘World of Wine’, this bottle-loving documentary by American filmmaker, Jonathan Nossiter shows the different effects of globalization on the world’s wine regions. It heavily differentiates the giant conglomerate winemakers of today and the small wineries who have made wine for generations with their traditional ways.

The documentary has a high score of 3/4 from Roger Ebert and a 70% positive rating by film critics on Rotten Tomatoes.

SOMM

Most people have no idea what a Sommelier is. They are trained professionals who specialize in wine services and food pairings. This film is a story of four sommeliers to attempt to pass one of the most difficult exams ever made, the Master Sommelier exam. Trying to beat the test with one of the lowest passing rates in the world, the four candidates do whatever it takes to get their titles.

Aside from a Rotten Tomatoes rating of 77% fresh, the film was also named Best Documentary Feature at the 2013 San Luis Obispo Film Festival.

Red Obsession

Love red wine? This Australian documentary, narrated by Russell Crowe, gives us a glimpse of the world’s obsession for reds. It’s a feature of an incredible journey from the classic Bordeaux to China, an unlikely country that’s gaining higher and higher demands for red wine, forcing traditional buyers out of the game.

The documentary has been rated with a 3.7/5 on Apple’s iTunes, a whopping 86% score in Rotten Tomatoes and two awards from the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts which are Best Feature Length Documentary and Best Direction in a Documentary.

A Tale of Autumn

Conte d’automne is a renowned French movie and the last installment of Eric Rohmer’s tetralogy, Tales of the Four Seasons (Contes des quatre saisons). It’s a witty and romantic story of a widowed winemaker and the two men she meets through her friends’ matchmaking efforts, one being a funny newspaper ad for a new husband.

The movie received two awards, the Golden Osella for Best Screenplay at the Venice Film Festival and a Best Foreign Language Film by the National Society of Film Critics. It also has enormous scores from film review websites, 94% from Rotten Tomatoes and a perfect 4/4 on Roger Ebert.

Sideways

Lastly, we have one of the best comedy-drama you’ll ever watch. From Rex Pickett’s novel, it’s a loving tale of two middle-aged men, a depressed teacher and failed writer and an old actor who is way beyond his prime with their unforgettable trip to the winemaking region of Santa Barbara County, meeting its people and falling in love.

The movie got an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay and a nomination for Best Picture. It’s also marked as 96% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes with a perfect score of 4/4 from Roger Ebert.

The post 7 Renowned Wine Themed Movies with Good Ratings appeared first on .

Kir Royale

Go for this classic French sparkling drink. The recipe usually calls for white wine and blackcurrant liqueur, but this one is made from luxurious champagne and Crème de cassis. It’s very sweet scent of berries is absolutely something you have to experience for yourself.

From Laylita

Hat Trick

The Hat Trick is a little bold, daring for the right reasons. It has Aperol, orange bitters and an amontillado Sherry, combining flavors you might not have thought of to work to form a brilliant beverage.

From Food & Wine

Classic White Wine Spritzer

Or, you could go for the opposite, a drink that does away from all the drama, no complex tastes and intricate concoctions that cost so much prep time… just an example of how wine can just be simple and blissful.

From All Recipes

White Wine Mojito

Not feeling the minimalist style but still want a good white wine combo? Make a Mojito! Add some mint leaves, agave and lime wedges to your spritzer to spice it up.

From Turnip the Oven

Starry Night

Dark is now a happy color. The Starry Night is mixed from Sutter Home White Zinfandel, blue curacao and raspberry vodka. Its flavors are very explosive, but it’s the distinct azure hue that makes it one-of-a-kind.

From Sutter Home

Watermelon-Moscato Slush

Cocktail slushies are wonderful for summer parties at the beach. This one has diced watermelons, freshly squeezed lemon juice and a crisp but slightly sweet Moscato –ingredients that make this a definite must-try.

From The Kitchen is My Playground

Hawaiian Sunset

Summer soirees are absolutely better with a little aloha spirit. This wonderful amber drink is made from Moscato, pineapples and cream soda. The rich and tangy tropical flavor of pineapple really gives you something to dance about!

From Sutter Home

Peach & Honey Sangria Slushies

Another slushy drink for your hot summer parties is this peach and honey sangria. The slushie is dominated by frozen peaches, brought to life by white wine and peach and orange liqueurs. It also has orange juice to give it the seamless marriage of zest, tang and sugar.

From Snappy Gourmet

Black Rose

The romantically named libation is made from chilled dry rosé wine, a dash of refreshing lemon juice and riveting vodka. The combination is prefect for any party. Add blackberries for garnish, and you’ll have a glass you’ll take with you everywhere.

From Chowhound

Campari-Fennel Aperitif

The extra sparkling wine from the kitchen, the one you had from last night’s dinner, makes an excellent drink when mixed with Campari and fennels. The aromatic herb-infused concoction might just be the right pick-me-up for your busy day.

From Food & Wine

The post Wine Cocktail Recipes You Should Try for Your Next Party appeared first on .

In front of a seemingly endless array of choices, being able to purchase a great bottle of wine needs a little bit of groundwork and a lot of wit. You have to know what you’re getting into in order to produce satisfying results. And when you do get to pull it off, that bottle of wine not only enhances the food you’ve prepared, the experience gives you confidence that you can pick a bottle with your money’s worth. So, here are 6 of the best practical tips we can give you get that bottle home.

Do your homework

Before heading out to find the wine of your choice, hone in to what kind you want to have. Buying it depends on the event and food you’re having. Purchasing for a party is different from having to restock your wine fridge with something you’d enjoy by yourself.

Read about your choices. Most wines are labelled by the region they’re produced in. Explore regional products and compare their ratings and reviews because some winemakers from lesser known regions produce incredible wine. Get to know the words (which are featured on this article here) that wine tasters use to describe certain tastes, smells, sensations to better understand those reviews.

Don’t be embarrassed to take out your phone, a magazine or a brochure to look up bottles you’re curious about. There are plenty of resources you can count on when it comes to wine.

Think about the food

As we talked about earlier, the kind of wine you want to drink depends heavily on the food you’re going to eat.

The rule of thumb is that the best combination comes out when the food brings out the best of what the wine has to offer. Stay away from wines with high Tannin, bitter wines, when you’re going to eat equally bitter food like mustard greens and brussels sprouts. Instead, wines like that are amazing with fatty and salty food.

Wines should also be sweeter than any dish being served, even with dessert. This is to stop you from feeling more of the tannin when you eat food that has more sugar in it. Similarly, wine should also have more acidity to avoid an untoned taste.

So, for specific recommendations? If the dish is spicy, get a soft and fruity red wine. For meats, barbecue goes great with New World whites for their full-bodied attributes. In contrast, Old World wine is better with mushrooms and earthy roots. Chicken tastes heavenly with New Zealand Pinot Noir while lamb can be paired with Rioja. Sauvignon Blanc is popular with seafood, but only Loire Valley goes with mussels. And if you’re going for oriental food, choose Riesling for its sweet and zesty style.

Check the price

After you’ve considered your wine choices, check their prices. Remember that expensive wines aren’t always what they appear to be. They can be marketed in ingenious ways, but may carry a value that doesn’t justify how much they cost.

Set the 2008 Didier Dagueneau Silex aside, and look at other labels carefully. It may appear chic or may spell out words you can’t ever hope to say correctly, but that doesn’t tell you much about the wine itself. Avoid trying to find something that bears the name of a famous region. Producers raise their bottles’ prices even with just a pinch of notoriety. In fact, famous vineyards can have mediocre tasting wine cost more than excellent ones from unfamiliar producers. So, find similar bottles that are made from unknown regions. You’ll get roughly the same kind of wine for the fraction of the price, like how a Roederer Estate Brut can be more cost friendly than a Dom Perignon or how a Martin Codax Albariño can stand in for expensive Chardonnay.

Consider bottle sizes

For most people, size matters; weight still has a firm position when it comes to prominence and quality.

A wine bottle that holds 1.5 liters of wine is called a Magnum. Multiply that by two, and you have a Double Magnum. There’s also a Jeroboam that’s equivalent to 6 standard 750 ml. wines and an Imperial which has a 6-liter capacity – that’s two Double Magnums.

Now, this is where it gets a little tricky. A lot of enthusiasts would argue that big bottled wines are nasty frat boy party style drinks that are mass produced and sold in very cheap prices. But in reality, it all depends on the winemaker. Sensible liquor stores with an acceptable assortment will actually provide you with Magnums that taste better compared to their smaller counterparts. And there is an equally sensible explanation for this.

Wine ages better and slower inside Magnums and its kin because it’s less exposed to oxygen. In retrospect, the proportion of exposed wine to unexposed wine dwindles down when a bottle gets larger, the more help the wine gets in slowly developing its taste and character. A decent Magnum is actually safe bet for parties.

So, if you’re planning to give out wine as a gift, go for bigger bottles. Awe your recipient with something big and fancy like a 2007 Mount Eden Estate Chardonnay Magnum, a Cruz Mountain or a 2007 Sori Paitin Barbaresco Magnum from Italy. Most gifts to social gatherings are superficial. They’re meant to be appreciated right after being received. And what’s better than getting a grand reaction to a huge bottle of wine?

Make friendly connections

When it comes to buying just about anything, it’s best to befriend salespeople or better yet, the owner of a store. These are people who know what they’re doing, and most of the time, they work there because they’re passionate about what they do.

Ask for recommendations. They know what’s in the stuff they’re selling to customers, so it only makes sense to ask them which wine would work best for you. Also, make return trips to talk about your last purchase. The feedback can help the store in dealing with other customers as well as determining what really fits your taste.

Look for flaws

Lastly, look at this at a new angle. Instead of focusing on what you want your wine to be, look for traits that you don’t want it to have.

If a sweet wine like Riesling is what you’re look for, then concentrate on tasting the elements of a wine other than being sweet. Seek out the dryness, intensity of the alcohol, the flavor etc. – traits that give it ‘fault’. This way, you won’t be measuring a botte just by one criteria only. And, when you’ve finally sampled a glass that doesn’t have glaring ‘faults’, then you’ve pretty much have the perfect wine that suits your taste.

Aside from your own preferences, there are faults that experts and enthusiasts have agreed on to be total turn-offs. These are some of them:

Sulphur Compounds. Try to sniff out the wine’s aroma. Odor that’s somehow the same as rotten eggs means it has Hydrogen Sulphide. This means that the grapes used in the production have low nitrogen content making the yeast secret foul odors.

Meanwhile, wine with high Ethyl Mercaptan has a very strong skunk-like stink that’s oftentimes combined with a whiff of cabbages, coffee and even garlic. Shake the glass gently to try to aerate the wine to reduce the smell. You can also cover the glass with your palm and shake it. Needless to say, if the odors don’t dissipate that bottle is done for.

Tainted Cork. Officially, this is caused by TCA (2,4,6-Trichloroanisole), a chemical from real cork that’s transferred itself into the wine during production. It totally ruins it. Aside from a musty moldy stench, the wine also loses its fruity flavor. There’s no way of fixing this, so you’re better off buying a new bottle.

Oxidized Wine. Finally, when wine doesn’t look like that way it should be – white becomes cloudy brownish while red will have a brown-orange color – it may be oxidized. What happens is that the wine gets exposed to too much oxygen leaving it contaminated. This is also unfixable.

So, knowing how to tell if a bottle is what it’s supposed to be is important. It not only saves you from buying the wrong wine, it spares you from wasting your money and the embarrassment of having to give something nasty as a gift.

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Sweet and Dry

These refer to the residual sugar in wine. Dry wine basically means it isn’t sweet because it lacks residual sugar, and sweet wine is the opposite of this. Notable sweet wines include Riesling and Moscato while Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay are popular selections for dry wines.

Fruity

Fruity is a flavor element. It’s important to know that if a wine has a ‘fruity’ taste, it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s sweet. It could just be tangy, zesty or has the aftertaste of cherry. Rieslings are famous for having a fruity flavor, but the 2008 Heartland Stickleback Red and the 2009 Matua Valley Marlborough Pinot Noir are bottles you can buy under a strict budget.

Jammy

Jammy wines are wines that combine sweetness with a somewhat cooked fruity taste, reminiscent of actual jams that you use for sandwiches or pies. Popular jammy wines are Zinfandels.

Acidity

Acidity is be described as the crisp but sour or tart taste of wine. All wines have some natural acidity to them, but those that are more acidic work incredibly well with rich food.

Tannin

Tannin is what causes the bitter and dry sensation you get on your palate when you drink wine. “Tannic” or “Tannin Profile” is generally used when looking for great red wine. Remember that the less tannin it has, the smoother it is.

Minerality

This term is a bit complicated to talk about, but it’s the literal earthy taste and/or scent of the wine that doesn’t resemble any kind of fruit, herb or spice. But it does remind you of rocks, soil or cement. Baumard Savennières are known to have high minerality.

Finish

The finish is the aftertaste that stays in your mouth after you drink wine. Many experts and enthusiast say that a wine’s finish tells you how good the drink actually is.

Bouquet

This is the scent of a wine after it has been fermented inside an oak barrel or a bottle. It’s the indication that a wine has matured over the years (because a bouquet takes years to develop).

Oak

Oak is used to give flavor, color, texture and Tannin to wine. It’s utilized in different ways. Wine may be stored in huge oak barrels during fermentation or floating oak chips may be poured into the wine during production. Whatever the case, oak impacts a wine’s taste greatly.

Body

The Body is the overall fullness of the wine, this includes its sweetness, acidity, bitterness etc. – generally, how you feel about the wine as a whole. Full bodied-wines are strong and are high in alcohol while light-bodied wines are subtle and delicate with less alcohol.

Blend

A Blend is a wine that’s used with more than one type of grapes. Practically a lot of wines are blends now. They’re not in any way inferior to single-grape wines either.

Region and Label

These two words are related. In fact, wines are labelled according to the region they’re produced in, not the grape variety used to make them. However, newer and younger winemakers have broken this unofficial rule and started labelling their bottles with unconventional names.

Vintage

This word has two meanings. First, Vintage is popularly a wine that’s been aged for years. Basically, its “old” wine. Another thing that vintage refers to is the year when the grapes were grown, harvested and made into wine. This year, the vintage, is printed on bottles.

Old World

Old World is a wine that exclusively comes from Europe. It can also mean that a wine has lower alcohol content, has obvious minerality and higher acidity. Coteaux des Girarmes and the 2009 Chateau Siaurac are some great old world wines.

New World

This is a wine that’s from everywhere else except Europe. It also means that a wine belongs to a class that has more fruity attributes. If you’re new to this group of wines, you might want to start with a 2005 Coyam Emiliana, a 2006 Masi Tupungato Passo Doble or a 2006 Poco Mas Carmenere.

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