Between the Vines: One woman's wine-soaked musings

Size and shape do matter: 7 basics to serving wine by Wine Folly (and me)

I came across a Wine Folly piece today titled, 7 Basics to Serving Wine and Glassware. I'll be covering all seven of these basics (and more) during my seminars at this year's Fraser Valley Food Show, Oct. 3 - 5 at Tradex in Abbotsford:

1. A proper glass will make any wine taste better 
   (While a jam jar is functional, shapes and sizes [in wine as in life] do matter.)
2. Wine tastes better served slightly cool 
   (Think about room temperature before the advent of central heating.)
3. Perfect the ritual of opening a bottle of wine 
   (There are some ways that are wrong ... just wrong.)
4. Nearly every red wine tastes better decanted
   (However, pouring wine into and out from a decanter isn't necessarily the same as decanting.)
5. How much wine to pour into the glass 
   (Bigger doesn't mean more. Really.)
6. Holding a wine glass 
   (But what if it's a stemless glass? Glad you asked.)
7. How long does leftover wine keep?
   (What on Earth is leftover wine?)

 

Want to swirl-sniff-sip with me? Choose from five wine-tasting seminars, or make your way to all of them:

1. Sniff, Swirl, Sip: Tasting Wine for Pleasure 
   A fruity, friendly Wine 101 seminar.
2. This Wine, That Cheese 
   Wine lovers taste and learn why some wines work better with some cheeses.
3. Travel the World with Wine 
   Flavours and styles: Wine is a window to the world.
4. The Case for Wine and Sausage 
   Sweet, salty, spicy: Wine loves them all.
5. Breakfast Wine 
   Benedict, bacon, and oatmeal? You bet!

If you like wine and wine stuff, visit Wine Folly for all sorts of information and fun infographics. 

À votre santé!

Copyright © 2014 Kathleen Rake. All rights reserved.

A tasty wine-and-fall flavours infographic from Shari's Berries

Here is a kick-start to pairing those delicious fall flavours with wine, courtesy of Shari's Berries.

I wouldn't have thought to choose an oaked Chardonnay to go with my pecan pie, but that's what's great about the wine world--palates are so different and that means I am always learning something!

What about you? What new wine-and-food combinations have you discovered? Have you tried any of these?

À votre santé!

Copyright © 2014 Kathleen Rake. All rights reserved.

 

For tonight's dinner guests: Côtes du Rhône-Villages Visan 2011 with their boeuf bourguignon

Tonight I will serve boeuf bourguignon (also known as braised beef with red wine) to six people at dinner. This means I require lots of wine: One bottle to try the night before to make sure it's suitable, one bottle to share between the pot and my glass while I'm preparing, and two bottles for the dinner table.

So, what kind of wine?

Traditionally, Burgundy (Pinot Noir) is the wine of choice for boeuf bourguignon. However, I had to consider three things:

1. I never (ever) use a wine in my cooking that I am not willing to sip straight from my own glass, and
2. I like to use the same wine in my pot as in the glasses on the table, and, finally,
3. I am not crazy about pouring a $40+ bottle wine into a pot,

So, my answer this time is a 2011 Visan Côtes du Rhône-Villages: Clos des Miran Cuvée Spéciale, which is a blend of Grenache (63%), Syrah (26%), and Carignan (11%) that rings in at just $15.99 a bottle.

Will I buy this wine again?

Yes.

This wine's QPR sings an excellent tune! It shares lots of fruit, spice, and herbs, plus floral and mineral notes on the nose, with black berries and fruit, herbs, sweet spice, and black pepper on the palate, plus a silky mouthfeel and enough juiciness to make you want to take another sip.

You don't have to decant this wine, but I will just to make it look lovely on the dinner table.

À Votre Santé!

Copyright © 2014 Kathleen Rake. All rights reserved.