But we have to remember that the flavors that we really distinguish are very few:

• Sweet: we find it on the tip of the tongue
• Acid: on the sides of the tongue
• Salty: on the sides of the tip of the tongue
• Bitter: at the end of the tongue

Lately we talk of a fifth taste: Umami, which is the feeling of pleasure that “forces” you to repeat, like eating a good freshly ham cut by hand, you will not stop!

In the end, as you see, at most we have five flavors to determine if something, in this case a wine, we like. That is why in the wine world, we almost always prefer to talk about the aromas of wine.

The aromas in the wine

The aromas are more determinant and complex than the taste when evaluating a wine. There is a robot in Japan that distinguishes more than 500 aromas in a wine. Sayonara Baby! The human being obviously has much less ability to define the aromas of a wine, and we could consider that if the best wine experts in the world can distinguish 30 different aromas, that is a lot.

Do the test! Think of the last good wine you have taken. How many aromas come to mind that memory? Maybe less than 5 …

The different families of aromas

We can talk about different families of aromas: fruity, floral, vegetable, spicy, balsamic, etc.

All have their meaning and come from something concrete: the grape variety, the barrel, the aging in bottle, the land where the vineyard has been cultivated, type of winemaking, etc.

By way of summary we can indicate that the aromas are included in:

• Primary aromas:

As its name indicates, are the “first” aromas that we find in a wine: floral, vegetable, fruit, mineral and spices. These aromas are contributed by the grape variety used, the vineyard (area and composition), and the climatology.

• Secondary aromas:

Due to the type of winemaking (alcoholic and malolactic fermentation), we find here lactic, amylic or fermentation aromas.

• Tertiary aromas:

The last aromas that we find in a wine are those that are due to the aging in the barrel and its subsequent aging in the bottle. They bring complexity and finesse, and can make the difference between a good wine and an exceptional wine. Here we have balsamic, wood, empireumatic and fruit aromas.

In short, to value a wine well, we want the aromas to be pleasant, of a medium-high intensity and, above all, that invite us to smell and take a sip. If we repeat, then it is good!

Wine Tasting – StateofIsrael

La entrada Do we like the aromas of a wine? se publicó primero en Blog INVINIC.

Let’s learn a little more about Etienne Dumont, and then look at three ways to step up your Champagne game, shall we?

About Etienne Dumont Champagne

If you’re not familiar with it, here’s the deal: Etienne Dumont Champagne is a non-vintage Brut Champagne. It is produced by Maison Burtin in Epernay, a town in Champagne.

Champagnes like this are not intended for the luxury market like Cristal. No, these are more in the style of “own brands” for supermarkets and wine stores. More important than brand recognition is that they have a consistent (good) taste and can be sold at relatively low prices. Etienne Dumont Champagne ticks both boxes.

Tasting Etienne Dumont Champagne

The plus side of sparkling wines like Etienne Dumont is that you know what you’re getting, and the price is usually right. On the downside, that consistent taste is usually on the blander side. It tastes how Champagne “should” taste, rather than reflecting the particular terroir of a Grand Cru Champagne village or a distinctive house style. It doesn’t taste bad – far from it – but it’s not the most exciting thing you’ll ever drink.

• Sight:

  Clean, light gold colour with nice racy bubbles. It looks the part, for sure.

• Smell:

  Citrus fruits dominate, with a little bit of yeast too.

• Taste:

  In the mouth, this is quite round and creamy. You’ve got citrus again, and some bready notes. A textbook Brut Champagne.

There’s nothing wrong with you wanting to buy Etienne Dumont Champagne or other supermarket wines. If that’s your thing, go for it. Some wine snobs may turn their nose up at the idea, but who cares?

What you can do, however, is step your Champagne game up with our three top tips.

3 top tips for enjoying Champagne

Whether you’ve got a bottle of Etienne Dumont or an old vintage of Krug Clos du Mesnil, there are little ways that you can enhance your Champagne experience. You don’t always need to spend a fortune on your Champagne to enjoy it like a king or queen!

1. Temperature is everything

Serving Champagne at the right temperature makes all the difference. Champagne – and most sparkling wines – are at their best when served well chilled, between 6°C and 10°C. This will take your bottle down to around 10°C within half an hour.

2. Sabre your Champagne (it’s classier)

It may seem a little over the top, particularly for an inexpensive bottle like Etienne Dumont Champagne, but sabrage is undeniably a cool-looking way to open your bottle of bubbly. It’s not easy, and it’s very dangerous, but it looks good. Best not to try this at home, though and leave it to a professional.

3. Champagne and food pairing

Pairing sparkling wine and food can be a lot of fun. Far from being just an appetiser, dry Champagne like Etienne Dumont can pair well with a surprisingly wide range of foods. The acidity in the wine is your friend, opening up a lot of possibilities. Perhaps the classic pairing is Champagne and oysters, though virtually any seafood will work well. For us, Champagne and sushi is a seriously underrated pairing!

Do you have any Champagne tips to share with us? Leave a comment below!

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La entrada Etienne Dumont Champagne: 3 top Champagne tips se publicó primero en Blog INVINIC.

Cune Rioja Reserva 2011: The basics

Let’s get a few basic things straight. Cune Rioja Reserva 2011, officially Cune Imperial Rioja Reserva, is the latest Reserva release from Rioja wine produce CVNE. The name CVNE is an acronym for Companía Vitivinícola del Norte de Espana, which is a bit of a mouthful if you don’t speak Spanish fluently. CVNE is more commonly known as Cune, pronounced “kooh-nay”.

The CVNE bodega was established in Haro by two brothers, and to this day remains a family affair. It is owned and managed by the descendants of its founders, Raimundo and Eusebio Real de Asúa. CVNE enjoys a strong reputation as one of the leading Rioja wine brands and produces Rioja wines at all ageing levels. Cune Rioja Reserva 2011 is a part of the esteemed CVNE portfolio and has pride of place as something of a flagship wine.

Cune Rioja Reserva 2011: The winemaking

Cune Rioja Reserva 2011 is a blend of three classic Rioja grape varieties; Tempranillo, Graciano and Mazuelo (also known as Carignan or Cariñena). The grapes were harvested by hand from CVNE’s vineyards in the Rioja Alta region. The 2011 vintage in Rioja was great, and that shows in the wine. Before its release, the wine was matured for two years, in new oak casks produced from a combination of American and French oak. Following its oak ageing, the wine was aged in bottles for a further two years before its release.

Tasting Cune Rioja Reserva 2011

As is always the case with Rioja wines, Cune Rioja Reserva 2011 was released ready to drink. Open a bottle now and you’ll find a red Rioja wine in the prime of its life. You can lay this down for another five years, easily, but when it tastes this good, why wait?

• Sight:

  Visually, Cune Rioja Reserva 2011 has a dark red colour, reminiscent of dark cherries.

• Smell:

  Aromatically, there’s a lot of red and black fruit right away. This gives way to coffee and balsamic notes, with some spice and vanilla on the end as a result of the oak.

• Taste:

  In the mouth, this is smooth and velvety. There’s some fruit, a lot of spice, and a lingering finish. It’s a beautiful Rioja Reserva, no doubt about it.

Alcohol content: 13%

Serve between 14ºC and 18ºC

Optimal consumption period: 2011-2022

We recommend to decant the wine 1 hour before serving

Best served in Tempranillo Glass

Pairing food with Cune Rioja Reserva 2011

Pairing wine and food can be a lot of fun if you don’t take it – or yourself – too seriously.  Try some modern takes on classic food pairings for Rioja Reserva, like:

• Beef:

  Think a dry-aged steak, or even a juicy hamburger and fries!

• Roasts:

  Nothing quite like a Sunday roast – unless, of course, it’s with a quality Rioja Reserva. Roast lamb shank is ideal here.

• Stews:

  It seems that every country and region has its own sort of stew. Try something a little out there like an Irish stew (Guinness, beef and potatoes, basically) or try your own take on Boeuf Bourguignon, cooked and served with Cune Rioja Reserva 2011.

Buy Cune Rioja Reserva 2011 here.

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La entrada The Cune Rioja Reserva 2011 cheat sheet: Tasting and food pairing se publicó primero en Blog INVINIC.

This beginner’s guide will teach you everything you need to know to appreciate Piper-Heidsieck wines. History? Yep. Winemaking? Why not! Wine tasting? You bet. We’ve even got some Piper-Heidsieck Champagne food pairings for you to try.

A brief history of Piper-Heidsieck

Few wine regions on the earth can boast as dramatic and storied a history as Champagne. For centuries, Champagne has been the drink of choice for kings and queens, tsars, presidents and more. There are family affairs to rival Game of Thrones or Downton Abbey. Lest we forget, the Champagne vineyard was also ravaged by war not so long ago. Each of the major Champagne houses has its own storied history, and Piper-Heidsieck is, of course, no exception.

• 1785:

  One Florens-Louis Heidsieck, a German who had discovered Champagne some years earlier, founded the company that would become Piper-Heidsieck Champagne. Originally known as Heidsieck & Cie, the company had the ambition to create a cuvée to impress Marie Antoinette. Whether you consider her a brand ambassador or a very early case of influencer marketing, Marie was enraptured by the wine and Piper-Heidsieck was set for big things.

• 1828:

  Florens-Louis passed away, and his nephew Christian stepped in to continue the family legacy. Christian’s trusted associate and colleague Henri-Guillaume Piper joined him and the two managed to elevate the company’s already sterling reputation, going on to secure numerous lucrative royal warrants.

• 1838:

  Following Christian’s sudden death in 1835, his widow remarried – with Henri-Guillaume Piper, of all people. Their marriage secured the bond between the Heidsieck and Piper families, and hence the name Piper-Heidsieck was born.

• 1885:

  The first Piper-Heidsieck prestige cuvée was created. Its luxurious bottle was handcrafted by the master jeweller to Russian Tsar Alexander III. Since then, Piper-Heidsieck Champagne has shared a bond with fine jewellery.

• 1933:

  A bottle of Piper-Heidsieck became the first Champagne to appear on the big screen, in the Laurel & Hardy movie Sons of the Desert. Hollywood’s love affair with Piper-Heidsieck has never abated, and it has appeared in numerous memorable films since. Marilyn Monroe was a particularly influential fan of the brand. In 1993, Piper-Heidsieck became the official Champagne supplier of the Cannes Film Festival.

• 1942:

  As war raged on throughout Europe, the house and cellars of Piper-Heidsieck were used to conceal weapons for the French resistance, before ultimately becoming occupied by the Germans. The house and its reputation managed to survive the war and thrive from then on.

• 2011:

  Following a period of ownership by luxury goods group Rémy Cointreau, Piper-Heidsieck was bought by the Descours family of the EPI group.

How Piper-Heidsieck Champagne is made

The house of Piper-Heidsieck does not own any vineyards. Its business is to buy grapes from the many Champagne growers in the region and to use these raw materials to vinify, blend, bottle, age and eventually sell world-class sparkling wine.

As with all Champagne, Piper-Heidsieck is produced using the traditional method. Also called the “Champagne method”, this is a lengthy and expensive process involving a second alcoholic fermentation that takes place in the bottle. It is this secondary fermentation that gives Champagne its sparkle. Piper-Heidsieck’s different cuvées will each have slightly different production methods and blends.

Let’s open a bottle and see what the end result tastes like, shall we?

Tasting Piper-Heidsieck Champagne

The Piper-Heidsieck wine range has something for every type of Champagne lover. Perhaps best known is Piper-Heidsieck Cuvée Brut, its non-vintage Brut Champagne. If you really want to get a measure of a Champagne house, try their non-vintage wine. This is the flagship for most producers, and if it’s good (or isn’t), that’ll usually give you an idea about the rest of the range.

• Sight:

  It’s got a light colour with what looks like a million fine, racy bubbles.

• Smell:

  On the nose, it’s got floral aromas, fresh apricot and peach fruits and some bready and yeasty notes.

• Taste:

  In the mouth, this is crisp and refined. The vibrant acidity is refreshing and decidedly more-ish. The finish is long and elegant.

Alcohol content: 12%

Serve between 4ºC and 8ºC

Optimal consumption period: 2017-2018

Best served in Champagne Glass

Food pairing with Piper-Heidsieck Cuvée Brut

The beauty of Champagne is that it’s good anytime, anywhere. Food or no food, Champagne is a versatile drink to match just about any occasion. For this Piper-Heidsieck Champagne, we recommend:

• French-style fruits de la mer:

  If you’ve ever been to a traditional French market, you’ll know this dish. It’s a big platter of the freshest seafood you’ve ever seen. You’ve got oysters, prawns, sea snails, crab and more. All totally fresh and straight out of the sea. The crisp acidity and delicate flavour of the Piper-Heidsieck will go down a treat.

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La entrada The beginner’s guide to Piper-Heidsieck Champagne se publicó primero en Blog INVINIC.

Wine serving temperatures

Putting aside personal preferences for a second, there are recommended temperature ranges for every style of wine. You don’t need to carry a thermometer or anything like it, but familiarising yourself with these will help you know when you might need to make your red wine warmer or cool down your white wine.

• Light or medium-bodied white wine:

  Relatively simple, light whites should be served chilled, between 7-10°C. This is the optimal temperature for most Pinot Grigio, Riesling, New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc and so on.

• Medium to full-bodied white wine:

  More complex whites should be served a little warmer – lightly chilled at between 10-13°C is about right. These wines, like white Burgundy, have a greater depth of aromatic character and flavour that can become masked at too low a temperature.

• Sweet wines:

  Sweet dessert wines like Sauternes should be served well chilled, between 6-8°C.

• Sparkling wines:

  Cava, Champagne, Prosecco and other sparkling wines will taste at their best when well chilled, between 6-10°C.

• Light-bodied red wine:

  Light red wine like red Beaujolais and many Pinot Noir wines can actually be served very lightly chilled, at around 13°C.

• Medium to full-bodied red wine:

  Red Bordeaux, Rioja, Toro and beyond. Fuller-bodied reds should be served at between 15-18°C, traditionally called “room temperature”.

Why would you need to make red wine warmer?

OK, you get it. These are good guidelines, and they make sense. Simpler wines served colder, more complex wines a little warmer. That kind of thing. Why on earth would you need to make red wine warmer than it already is?

It’s all about wine appreciation, really. Let’s say you’re at a wine tasting event. Trade shows, wine fairs and winery tasting rooms should all take temperature seriously, and with good reason: Let’s say you’re visiting Château Mouton Rothschild in Bordeaux: This is one of the world’s finest wines, you’re paying for the privilege, and you’re here to taste. If the wine is served too cold, you won’t be able to truly appreciate just how special it is. You might as well not have come all this way, and you might as well be drinking something a lot cheaper.

The same applies to your wine tasting party at home, so be careful!

How do you make red wine warmer?

Luckily, you can easily overcome the problem of your red wine being too cold. The solution is straightforward, and you don’t need any fancy equipment.

• Top tip: To make your red wine warmer, simply cup the bowl of the glass in your hands. Your body heat will naturally and gently warm up the wine inside.

If you’ve ever wondered why you’re supposed to hold your wine glass by the stem instead of the bowl, this is part of the reason: Most of the time, we don’t want to make our wine warmer, and so we should keep our sweaty palms well away! However, when all else fails and you need to warm up your wine quickly, that’s how you do it!

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Sounds like a lot, right? This is all well and good for sommeliers and the restaurant trade, but what about you and I, the average wine lover? Should we care? Do we really need to keep all these different glass types at home?

Why are there so many different wine glass types?

Wine tasting and enjoying wine are sensory experiences. We see, smell and taste wine, which is where lots of the pleasure comes from. Having a good quality wine glass is key to seeing, smelling and tasting the wine inside properly. However, there’s not one single type of wine, so there’s no single glass type that will suit every situation!

For example, Red Bordeaux and sweet Sauternes are dramatically different styles of wine. They’ve got vastly different colours, aromas and flavours. To truly express both at their best, they should be served in different glass types that best accentuate the wine’s individual characteristics.

For just about every wine, there’s a corresponding wine glass. Top restaurants need to keep a stock of weird and wonderful glassware as a matter of course. They can’t afford not to. When discerning customers order a classic vintage Bordeaux like Château Mouton Rothschild, they’ll expect – and demand – a quality Bordeaux glass. Nothing else will suffice.

Restaurants are one thing. What about just relaxing at home?

How many wine glass types do you need at home?

For the casual wine lover, there’s not so much pressure to stock a wide range of glass types. In the privacy of your own home, you can serve wine just about any way you see fit, and nobody can tell you otherwise. If you really want to get the most out of your wine, though, you might want to keep more than one glass type in the cupboard.

For most of us, wine glass storage space is limited. If you can only keep one type of wine glass, make it something versatile. The Bordeaux style wine glass, or any glass with a large bowl, stem, clear glass and tapered lip is a decent catch-all for most wine styles. It won’t be perfect, but it’ll do.

If you have the storage space or the desire, there are some pretty interesting specialty glasses that you might want to consider, too…

3 wine glass types for the adventurous wine lover

1. Sauternes wine glass

Remember that Sauternes we talked about above? Sure, you could serve a little drop in a big Bordeaux glass, but you’ll enjoy it ten times more from a purpose-made Sauternes glass. These glasses are designed to highlight the wine’s acidity, so the sweetness doesn’t overwhelm!

• The perfect glass:
  

  Riedel Sommeliers Sauternes wine glass

• The perfect wine:
  

  Château Suduiraut 2005

2. Burgundy wine glass

Burgundy can easily rival Bordeaux in terms of quality (and price), though the wines couldn’t be more different. Red Burgundy wine comes from the Pinot Noir grape, is decidedly lighter in body than Bordeaux, and has a totally different range of aromas and flavours. This is also a good bet with the Gamay-based wines of Beaujolais, from the same region.

• The perfect glass:
  

  Stötlze Exquisite Burgundy wine glass

• The perfect wine:
  

  Marcel Lapierre Morgon 2015

3. Cognac glass

Not a wine as such, but wine lovers will find a lot to like in Cognac. Arguably the finest Brandy in the world, Cognac is made from distilled wine grapes, so it has many of the aromatic nuances and complexity you’d expect from a quality wine. It’s a spirit, though, and at 40% alcohol, it would be overpowering in a standard wine glass. Cognac glasses encapsulate the aromatic character while tempering the alcohol burn – a great combination!

• The perfect glass:
  

  Riedel Sommeliers Cognac VSOP

• The perfect Cognac:
  

  Hennessy VS

The last word on glass types

We’ve given you some guidelines, and hints about some interesting glass types to try. Remember, as with all things in wine, don’t worry too much about what others think. As long as you’re happy, do whatever feels right – Coca-Cola in a Cognac glass, Mouton Rothschild in a teacup, whatever!

You might also like our guide on buying wine glasses in bulk.

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La entrada How many wine glass types do you really need? se publicó primero en Blog INVINIC.

If you’re already a Viña Sol fan, you’re in luck: We’ve got three great wines that you’re going to want to try next. First, though, let’s see what all the fuss is about…

Tasting Torres Viña Sol

Viña Sol belongs to the more everyday end of the Torres range, and it provides excellent value for money without much of a fuss. From the Penedès region, it’s a blend of Parellada and white Grenache. Let’s open a bottle and have a taste, shall we?

• Sight:

  In the glass, Viña Sol has a nice colour of bright, pale yellow – paler than you might think by looking at the dark green glass bottle!

• Smell:

  It’s got a very attractive nose with both floral and fruit aromas, with just a hint of exotic fruit at the end. It’s a fun wine to smell!

• Taste:

  Light and refreshing – you could drink this all day. There is wonderful freshness, lightly tingling acidity and a lingering, fruity finish.

• Food pairing:

  Have a bottle of Viña Sol with a seafood risotto – delicious!

You can buy Torres Viña Sol here.

Three more wines to try instead of Torres Viña Sol

Like the sound of Viña Sol? Great. Now’s the time to try something new! We’ve picked out three of our favourite Spanish whites that will appeal to Viña Sol fans based on style, taste or price!

1. Gramona Moustillant Blanc

Another Penedès white at a very accessible price, this one differs from Torres Viña Sol in that it’s 100% Parellada.

• Sight:

  It’s a more strawlike yellow, with glimmering, steely reflections and the slightest effervescence.

• Smell:

  This is highly aromatic, again with dominant notes of fruit and flowers. There’s even a hint of herbaceousness in there, like freshly cut grass. You’ll want to give this a few sniffs to appreciate it all!

• Taste:

  Easy-drinking and light, with a faint hint of tongue-tingling carbonation. Very refreshing and eternally quaffable.

• Food pairing:

  Pair this with a barbequed or grilled piece of fish, and enjoy a taste of Catalan summer no matter what the season!

Buy Gramona Moustillant Blanc right here.

2. Lignum Blanc

From leading producer Albet i Noya, this comes from the same region as Viña Sol but uses different grape varieties. Here, you’ve got the international grapes Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay and local grape Xarel.lo.

• Sight:

  Visually, it’s a pale yet bright straw yellow.

• Smell:

  It shares some of Viña Sol’s fruity and floral aromas, with a decidedly more spicy character. Very attractive.

• Taste:

  Still pleasant, light and fresh. It’s got pretty high acidity, meaning it’ll go great with a lot of food. Speaking of which…

• Food pairing:

  The high acidity here can cut through creamier dishes, so try it with a thick cream of chicken soup or pasta carbonara.

Buy Lignum Blanc here.

3. Espelt Vailet

Spain’s Empordà region is not particularly well known. Located close to the French border, it has historically produced sweet wines, though has recently gained attention for its high quality and excellent value dry white wines, too. Like Torres Viña Sol, Espelt Vailet is produced from a blend featuring white Grenache, though instead of Parellada it is combined with Macabeo. This is a different take, but should appeal to Viña Sol lovers anyway!

• Sight:

  Bright and straw-like colour, with stronger green hints than any of the others we’ve tasted.

• Smell:

  Seriously aromatic, and probably the most complex of the bunch. You’ve got those fruits and flowers, with plenty of exotic spice and creamy vanilla. Very interesting!

• Taste:

  It’s smooth, slightly fuller in body than the others and with great fruit character. Still very refreshing and easy to drink.

• Food pairing:

  Try this with Young Chow fried rice with pieces of seafood, pork and vegetables. Delicious!

Tempted? You can buy Espelt Vailet here.

Thinking of buying some bottles? Sign up for our special offers and receive a €5 discount on your first purchase!

La entrada 3 wines that Torres Viña Sol fans will love se publicó primero en Blog INVINIC.

Wine faults

Wine faults are part and parcel of drinking wine. For the most part, a faulty wine will do no more harm than ruining the enjoyment of a particular bottle. There’s not much you, the wine lover, can do to prevent faults. For the most part, this stuff happens on the microbiological level. Without a PhD in microbiology or oenology, you’re not going to want to know the molecular-level detail of how and why these things happen, either. The best you can do is learn to identify them (in layman’s terms), and act accordingly. Being able to spot these faults will help you when tasting wine in a restaurant, or preparing wine to serve to friends and family.

Cork taint (TCA)

This is the most commonly known wine fault. We’ve all at least heard of a “corked” wine. But how do you know if your wine is corked? Smell – or taste – one and you’ll know all about it. This problem is the result of a fungal reaction, most commonly between the cork and the wine. It has also been known to happen between wine and oak barrel, destroying entire batches of wine. Cork taint in wine is associated with a number of signature aromas, none of which are particularly appealing:

• Wet cardboard
• Musty and mould
• Old mushroom
• Damp basements and cellars
• Dirt and earth

Need we go on? If you’re smelling anything like the above in your wine, there’s a good chance it’s corked! If in doubt, check with a friend or ask for the sommelier’s opinion. Your best course of action here is to either send the wine back or pour it down the sink!

Oxidation

Oxidation occurs when wine comes into contact with air and begins to spoil. A little air contact is good for a wine, which is why oak barrel ageing is so popular, and why we decant wine. Some wines benefit from oxidative ageing, particularly Sherry. For the most part, though, oxidation is not desirable: Too much exposure to air, and the wine is no good. The best way to spot this wine fault is visually. Generally speaking:

• White wines tend to become darker when oxidised. Clear whites can turn to dark gold, amber or brown.
• Red wines tend to lose colour and become brick-red, brown or orange.

Aromas associated with oxidation can be a little like cider or cider vinegar for white wines, while reds may lose their aromas and become dull. In either case, send it back!

Reduction

So too much oxygen is no good, what about the corollary? Not enough oxygen, and your wine suffers from reduction. A reduced wine will tend to give off an unpleasant aroma of burnt sulfur or rotten egg. Sounds awful, right? It’s not pleasant, but reduction is actually fixable in some cases. If you’re determined to drink your reduced wine, try decanting the wine or dropping a piece of copper in there (seriously!).

What other wine faults have you encountered? Do you have any tips or tricks to overcome faults in wine?

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La entrada How to spot 3 common wine faults se publicó primero en Blog INVINIC.

The best wine tasting glasses

Learning to taste wine correctly is very useful for wine professionals and wine lovers alike.

Wine tasting is part art and part science, and one of the most important aspects is the wine glass itself. Tasting from the right sort of glass will allow you to assess the wine’s appearance and aroma, and will heighten the flavours on your palate when you actually take a sip.

The Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET) recommends the ISO glass for its students, though acknowledges that there are many suitable alternatives. All good wine tasting glasses should meet the following criteria:

• The bowl should be round, in order to help swirl the wine in the glass and release the wine’s aromatic character.

• The walls should slope inwards, in order to capture all of that aromatic character and help you to identify what’s in the glass.

The 3 wine tasting glasses any wine lover should own

With the above criteria in mind, we have chosen what we think are the three most important glasses for any serious wine taster’s collection.

1) The Riesling wine tasting glass

For dry white wines and rosé wines, we recommend a Riesling wine tasting glass. Riedel Vinum Riesling will do the job nicely, with its rounded bowl and inward-sloping walls. This one has been specially designed for Riesling, though is versatile enough to handle all white and rosé wines too.

2) The Bordeaux wine tasting glass

The best red wine glass is surely the Bordeaux wine tasting glass. The Bordeaux glass has a classic design that is elegant and hugely practical. Its shape is designed to highlight the best of complex, dry red wines. The glass will minimise the rougher edges that these wines sometimes have, and instead emphasise the fruit aromas.

3) The Stölzle Exquisit Champagne

Tasting sparkling wines can be tricky, though we recommend Stölzle Exquisit Champagne. This design satisfies the criteria of a rounded bowl while sloping inwards at the top, yet is still optimal for keeping sparkling wines fresh like a traditional Champagne flute.

Other considerations beyond wine tasting glasses

Keep in mind that even the best wine tasting glasses will be less effective if you haven’t taken the time to prepare your tasting environment. Other aspects to remember include:

• You should always taste in a well-lit tasting area with plenty of natural light, so that you can observe the wine’s true colour and appearance without it being obscured.

• Your tasting space should be free of any strong odours – and so should you! Your area should have no odours from cooking, smoking or cleaning. You should also ensure that you are not wearing any strong perfumes or aftershaves. Strong odours, whether pleasant or unpleasant, can interfere with the aromas coming from your wine tasting glasses and lead to a poor tasting.

• Keep a notebook and pen (or digital equivalent) to hand, so that you can record your own wine tasting notes as you taste.

What wine tasting glasses do you own? Can you recommend any styles that we have missed?

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Thanks to the subjectivity of it all, it’s virtually impossible to state unequivocally that one wine is objectively better or worse than another. However, there are many factors that affect the quality of a wine, from the vineyard to the winery and how it’s aged, stored and served. Factors such as these have a massive impact on the quality, demand and price of the finished wine. With the caveat of subjectivity in mind, we will now try to answer one of the most difficult questions in all of wine: What is the best red wine in the world?

What is the best red wine in the world

This is an incredibly difficult question to answer, for many reasons.

• Wine is an agricultural product and the character and quality of any given wine will vary from one vintage to another – a wine that is outstanding in this year’s vintage may dip in quality next year due to adverse weather conditions, disease or any amount of other mitigating factors.
• The subjective nature of wine tasting and wine criticism means that even wine experts are often divided when it comes to specific wines. What could be a 100-point wine for one critic may be considerably less for another. Different wine competitions and awards have different criteria and some may simply favour producers that have more money to spend on submitting samples.
• The fact that the best red wines in the world usually require extensive ageing means it’s difficult to judge its potential quality at time of release.
• There’s also the simple fact that most of the top red wines are in profoundly short supply, and command insanely high prices. This means that few people will ever get to taste them, let alone drink them – and what is wine for if not for drinking?

With all of this in mind, the sensible conclusion would be to say that the best red wine in the world is the one that you like the best, that gives you the most pleasure. If that’s not enough, however, and you really want to try some of the wines that are widely considered the best of the best, we’ve put together a list of contenders for you.

Contenders for the best red wine in the world

• Domaine de la Romanée Conti Romanée Conti is often called the best red wine in the world. The estate itself, Domaine de la Romanée Conti, is Burgundy’s best producer, and this is its best wine. You shouldn’t be surprised to hear that the 2001 vintage will set you back almost €15,000 a bottle.
• Château Petrus and Le Pin are the best of Pomerol, arguably the most prestigious region of Bordeaux. These Merlot-dominant reds are made on the best soils in the region in absolutely tiny quantities. Either Petrus 2003 or Le Pin 2006 could make a strong argument to be the best red wine in the world.
• Spanish heavyweights Pingus and Vega Sicilia can certainly lay a claim to the title. These are the top estates from the Ribera del Duero region. Pingus 2012 scored a perfect 100 points from Robert Parker, and Vega Sicilia Unico 2000 was not far behind with 99 points from Guía Proensa.

This is just the tip of the iceberg. The wine world is vast, and there are hundreds – if not thousands – of wines that could claim to be the best red wine in the world. Bordeaux, Burgundy and Ribera del Duero all have many more strong contenders, as do many of the other great wine regions of the world.

What do you think is the best red wine in the world? What makes it the best? We want to hear from you!

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La entrada What is the best red wine in the world? se publicó primero en Blog INVINIC.