Wine

Blender wine

A surprising, but surprisingly effective trick that Gwen recently learned is putting wine in a blender. It has the effect of letting—or rather forcing—the wine to breathe. After about 10 seconds, the wine is noticeably mellower, even on my uneducated palate.

The sight of wine being poured from a blender into a wine glass was sufficiently funny to warrant photographic documentation.

Fine wine with Australian wine index
Wine

The Australian wine index tells that what exactly is a fine wine – it is a nebulous area to provide a definitive assessment on the quality of wine due to varied personal preference. However, a fine wine must meet certain base objective requirements.

Balance in a wine is determined by these key elements:

* Flavour – acidity and sweetness(if present), oak (if present),

* Tannin, and

* Alcohol

Balanced wines bear the greatest potential for cellaring. They will also mix well with food and have a smaller chance of providing fatigue to the palate.

This could be described as the “shape” of the wine or how it feels in your mouth. Wines with a good structure often have a front, mid and back palate that is well defined. The cellaring of fine wine- the Australian wine index: – The cellaring of wines before consumption allows for the complexity of aromas and flavours to emerge and for palate integration. Although many wines are capable of ageing the duration successfully, cellared wines do vary.

This variety also extends to each vintage. When to drink a wine is part of fine wine appreciation and is highly dependent on personal preference. A preference for wines that are fruity with vivid acidity and tannin would lead to a shorter ageing process. The converse would be to age a wine longer for a softer more complex wine. Regular assessment ensures a wine is not overdeveloped.

Ideal cellaring conditions for fine wine includes:

* A constant temperature between 14°C – 16°C / 55°F – 60°F

* A relative humidity between 70-75%

* Dry, dark, odour-free conditions with good ventilation

The Australian wine index garbs the best fine wine of Australia! And tells us why…. The average price of investment quality Australian wine is much lower than that of investment quality Bordeaux wine. For example, one might spend up to S$ 13,500 for a case of vintage 2005 Bordeaux from Chateau LaTour or Chateau Margaux, but the same amount will garner over half a barrel of the Tahbilk 1860 Vines Shiraz, a blue chip wine from Australia.

Australia’s finest glories are the great, classic old vine cuvées of Shiraz and Grenache from South Australia, particularly those from the Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale, and Clare Valley. Cooler years such as 2002 and 2004 have produced more streamlined, restrained wines that may even be mistaken for some of their counterparts produced in the cool micro-climates of Western Europe. Another myth about Australian wines is that they all taste alike.

There are completely different styles of wine made in Barossa as there are in McLaren Vale, Coonawarra, Eden Valley, Heathcote, and the far-flung Western Australian regions of Margaret River or Frank land River. The Australian wine index has as much diversity in wine quality and styles as anywhere in the world…

Tony Matterhorn – Dutty Wine

Wine question by MissEmilie: Wine for a chicken and swiss cheese dish?
I’m not a fan of drinking wine, but I enjoy the flavor it adds to dishes when it is used in the cooking process. I’m planning on making a chicken dish with swiss cheese for dinner tonight and would like to substitute a dry white wine for the water my recipe calls for. Problem is, I have no idea what to look for. I know the general rule is not to cook with a wine you wouldn’t drink. Whats a girl to do if she doesn’t drink wine in the first place?

Wine best answer:

Answer by blffan4
A chardonnay would probably work well with the chicken and cheese. Honestly you probably will do OK with a vouvray as well. If you’re serving wine with the meal – I’d go with a chardonnay for that though it’s hard to go wrong with Reisling as it is a great overall food wine. Best of luck with your dish.