Wine, anyone?

Wine Picks

Wine Tips

Dave’s Wine Tips

Tip #1

Ignore wine snobs!  Everyone has a different palette and what is hailed by “experts” may taste like trash leakage to you.  Remember the Leadership Difference motto, “If you like it, drink it.  If you don’t like it, drink it fast!”

Tip #2

Decanting a wine is rarely necessary.  The four reasons to decant are:

1) To remove the sediment in the wine.  Some red wines have the potential to “throw” some solid material as they age.  This is normal.  How do you know if your wine might do this?  Look at the shape of the bottle.  If it has “shoulders” (a more severe angle between the neck and the bottle) then this is a wine bottle that is designed to trap sediment when you slowly pour the wine.  If the bottle has a softer slope (like a Pinot Noir bottle) then it is less likely to throw sediment.  Oh, and there is nothing toxic about the sediment and you accomplish the same thing by standing the bottle upright for an hour and pouring it delicately into each glass.

2) To introduce some space/air to the wine.  This is the famous “breathing” concept.  Think of it this way, the wine has been cooped up in the bottle for a while, and just like when you get out of bed in the morning, it might just want to stretch a bit before getting started.  A little air can allow the wine to expand its flavor and aroma profiles.  Be careful though, for really old wines, the minute they “stretch” they also start to fall apart.  I can relate.

3) To age them faster.  Yep, if you drink a wine too early it may not have fully matured.  Allowing the wine access to air actually accelerates the aging process.  This is the only reason to decant a wine and let it sit in the decanter for an hour or longer.  And this is why decanting fully mature wines can actually be harmful (see reason #2).

4)  Because you spent a heck of a lot of coin for that beautiful Riedel decanter and, by gawd, you are going to show it off.

Reason #4 makes the most sense, most of the time.

Tip #3

Drink French and Italian wines with food; drink domestic and Australian wines alone.  For the most part, the wines of France and Italy (and Spain and Portugal) are made to reflect the land from which the grapes are grown.  This is called “terroir driven”.  It is a combination of things like soil, aspect of land, sunshine, rain, etc.  These wine regions are called “old world” and were designed to pair with the food that is eaten in their culture. 

Domestic wines and those from Australia, New Zealand and, generally, South America are “new world” wines.  These wines are “fruit-driven” and are made to taste like the grapes from which they were made.  They taste best alone.

So, when you are having a glass of wine during happy hour, go new world.  When it is time to eat, choose old world.  And if you are having Mexican, drink beer.

Tip #4

Don’t be intimidated by wine lists at restaurants.  I don’t care how much you know about wine, no one, other than the sommelier of the restaurant (maybe) knows every wine on the list.  So, find out what everyone is going to order, ask what type of wine everyone likes, share this with the sommelier and let him/her choose something.  You can deal with the price issue by pointing to a wine on the menu and saying, “I’m looking for something in this price range.” 

The sommelier lives for these moments and you look a heck of a lot smarter by letting the person who put the list together choose the pairing.

Tip #5

I think you should pair wine with food any darn way you please.  Here are some of my favorite pairings.

Pinot Noir is the most versatile pairing wine.  Red meat, white meat, duck, salmon, tuna…Pinot Noir is the utility infielder of wine.  When in doubt, serve Pinot Noir.

Zinfandel - especially those jammy, berry bombs – is great with game meats like venison, buffalo, elk and ostrich.  It is also a fantastic pizza wine especially if you like sausage or pepperoni on your pie.  And if you think Zinfandel is pink…well, call me for some immediate tutoring.

Those big old California Cabernets are a heck of a lot better with ribeye than they are with filet mignon.  The tannins in the wine, that’s the bitter/astringent taste at the end, match with the fat in the meat.  Since a filet mignon is very lean, the Cab will overwhelm it.  I like a French Red Burgundy (Pinot Noir) or a Spanish Rioja with my filet.

There are some great cheap Italian wines that are absolutely heaven with spaghetti with red sauce.  It ain’t Chianti or Valipocella.  Not Barolo or Barbaresca.  Nope.  A nice Salice Salentino (suh-LEE-chay sal-in-TEE-no).  Costs about $8.  Ask at your wine store.  But don’t drink it without the food (see Tip #3)

In fact, always buy a wine that comes from the same part of the world that the food comes from.

Sauvignon Blanc is a wonderful white wine with food.  The high acidity makes you salivate.

Spicy food, especially Asian, is balanced wonderfully by a nice Riesling.

Argentinean Malbec has a smoky quality that goes well with meat cooked on the outdoor grill using charcoal.

The absolute best wine for white fish of all kinds is Albarino from Spain.

I know it sounds weird, but I like hot dogs with Gewürztraminer…and dill relish.

I love Shiraz with a cheeseburger.

Burritos, enchiladas, tacos, taquitos…Dos Equis.

Tip #6

Okay, so you order a bottle of wine in a nice restaurant.  What is the whole ceremony thing?

First, the server will present you with the bottle to inspect the label.  Do NOT take the bottle, just read the label.  Make sure it is the wine you ordered.  Pay particular attention to the vintage (restaurants often list one vintage, but serve another).  If the vintage is wrong it is probably no big deal – unless you specifically wanted that vintage – but I think you should pleasantly say, “Oh, it’s the 2004”  That’s just me.

Second, the server will open the wine and place the cork in front of you.  Just leave it there.  Sure, you can squeeze the cork to make sure it is not dried out and damaged.  Some folks still insist on smelling the cork – presumably to see if it smells tainted.  Best thing to do, in my opinion, is just leave it be.

Third, the server will pour you a taste.  Remember, see, swirl, smell, sip, say.   Hold the wine up and look at its clarity and color – swirl the wine to open it up – smell the wine by getting your nose into the glass and really getting a nostril full (of smell, not liquid) – taste the wine by getting a nice sip and moving it all around inside your mouth before swallowing – then unless it is flawed, say if it is fine. 

And what is flawed?  The wine tastes like wet cardboard or a dog that just got out of a pond.*  This is usually caused by a bad cork.  Or maybe it tasted more like Port (sweet and kind of nutty).  This indicates either oxidization (oxygen has gotten to the wine) or it is “cooked” meaning the wine was exposed to excess heat.  You will probably know the wine is flawed by the smell even more that the taste.  If you are not sure, ask the server to try it.  Here’s what I say, “You know, my taster may be a little off today but this seems off, can you try it and tell me if it is the wine or my palette.”  Yes, your palette can be off.

But Dave, what if I just don’t like the wine?  Tough.  As long as the wine is not flawed- you ordered it, you drink it.  That’s my opinion.  Consider it a learning experience.

*You don’t have to actually taste either of these things to understand this.

Tip # 7

Most people serve red wines too warm and white wines too cold.  Red wines that are too warm (like room temperature) become more harsh and bitter.  By keeping a red wine around 60 degrees, it keeps the harsh qualities of the alcohol at bay and allows the fruit to come through.  White wines that are too cold become “dumb” and lose most of their flavor.

Here’s a good rule of thumb…take a white wine out of the refrigerator about 30 minutes before you plan to drink it.  Put a red wine IN the refrigerator about 30 minutes before you plan to drink it.  And if you are serving a bad white wine, chill the hell out of it so it won’t taste like anything!

Tip # 8

Sometimes wine tastes better the day after you open them.  If you don’t love a wine immediately, or have some left in the bottle, re-cork the wine and stick it in the refrigerator (yes, even reds).  Try it again tomorrow (let the red wine warm up for 30 minutes or so).  You may be surprised that it is much better.

Also, if you keep the wine refrigerated, you should be able to enjoy it for three days before it starts to go bad.  If you buy one of those handy dandy gas dispensers that they sell at better wine shops, you can probably coax as many as five days out of a bottle.  The gas forms a seal over the wine keeping out the oxygen and slowing the aging process.

Tip # 9

Everyone must experience Sauternes at least once in their life.  Sauternes is a dessert wine made in Bordeaux (Chateau Y’Quem is the most famous maker).  Get this…Sauternes is made from rotten grapes.  Noble rot, they call it and it is spectacular.  It’s expensive, but it’s worth it.  Splurge.  If you can’t find the real thing, look for Dolce by Far Niente.  It is a dessert wine made in the same style but in California.  It’s expensive, too (around $30 a glass) but not quite as much and easier to find than Sauternes.

And if you want a food and beverage experience that is absolutely transcendental, I mean roll your eyes in the back of your head and melt with adoration kind of transcendental, have some froe gras with that Sauternes or Dolce.  OH MY GOD.  Trust me!