Welcome to the continuation
of our wine tasting series. We’re
going to explore the wonderful world of
wine – glass by glass. This series
will assist you in setting up your own
wine tastings. Whether you are a novice
or a seasoned wine aficionado, it’s
not enough to read about this stuff. To
truly appreciate and learn, you have to
get in there in taste. Hey, it’s
hard work, but somebody has to do it!
Albariņo
Barbera
Sangiovese
Pinot Noir
Riesling
Chardonnay
Syrah/Shiraz
and Old World vs. New World
Using Sauvignon Blanc to figure out oak
Originally made in the Douro
region of Portugal, Port is sweet and
fortified (so it’s high in alcohol
– generally around 20%) and one of
the great classic wines.
The first thing to understand
is a little Port style terminology:
Vintages are only "declared"
in exceptional years, so this is the most
highly prized, collected, and pricey Port
wine. They are very sweet, rich, powerful,
and age exceptionally well – 15 years
or more is not uncommon. Aged Vintage
Ports need to be decanted before serving.
An important winemaking difference in
the Vintage Ports, as opposed to Rubies
and Tawnies, is that they are aged in
the bottle rather than in casks. The classic
match is Stilton cheese.
Fruity, red in color, and
rich, Ruby Ports are made from darker,
richer wines (from a blend of vintages)
than the Tawnies. Ruby Ports are generally
aged for about three years in oak casks
before bottling.
this is a top quality
Ruby Port made from a single vintage that
has been aged in oak casks for four to
six years before bottling.
You can find some great values
here. Tawny Ports are soft and smooth,
and are generally made from lighter wines
(from a blend of vintages) than the Ruby
Ports. Tawny Ports are generally aged
for about three years in oak casks before
bottling. Their sweet smoothness make
them work well with chocolate, caramel,
and nutty desserts.
The best Ports have traditionally
come from a handful of Portuguese firms:
Taylor Fladgate, Fonseca, Dow, Warre,
Sandeman, Quinta do Noval, Nieport, Cockburn.
These days, there are some outstanding
Ports coming out of Australia as well.
Producers like d’Arenberg, Chateau
Reynella, Yalumba, and Rosemount are all
reliable choices.
Port is one of the few wines
that make sense to explore in restaurants.
Since they’re often available by
the glass, you can explore the different
types and styles to find your favorite.
Then you’ll know what you want to
buy to drink at home.
Our favorite way to taste
a variety of Ports is to purchase an
array of blue cheeses – Stilton
is a must, and then we tend to pick up
two or three other good quality blues.
Add some crackers (something like Carr’s
Water Crackers is perfect) and start tasting.
Don’t forget to decant the Ports,
as they can throw off quite a bit of sediment
that you won’t want floating around
in all the glasses.
Cheers!
We've found that our guests really enjoy
the opportunity to "grade" the
wines. You can make it as casual or controlled
as you like. We tend to put out a pile
of our
tasting notes sheets and then encourage
our guests to take notes. Somewhere toward
the end of the evening -- or once everyone
has had time to taste the various wines
-- we like to have a little group discussion
of the favorites. It really is a lot of
fun to hear everyone's opinions of the
wines, and there are always some interesting
surprises.
The most important thing
is to have fun with your tasting party.
Branch out to wines that are new to you.
Don't worry about the results -- everyone
will have a great time participating in
the tasting. And be sure to let
us know which wines were the hit at
your party!
For details on our past
tasting party ideas - click
here.
