Tag Archives: red wine

by

Helpful wine terms

I ran across a great listing of descriptive wine terms that I thought would be nice to pass along to those of you who follow my blog.  I’ve had a number of people who ask about how not to look like a neophyte when visiting a winery and I think this listing would be extremely helpful.  Please feel free to use this link, which will open in a separate tab (http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/useful-terms-for-describing wine.html?cid=RSS_DUMMIES2_CONTENT) or allow me to share the information, piece by piece, with you.  The article was written by Ed McCarthy and Mary Ewing-Mulligan but I’m going to add my own commentary as we go.

There are many specific terms that people use to describe wine.  These words are helpful as they evoke tastes, smells, and memories that meant to give you an idea of what you have tasted or are about to taste.  Don’t be afraid to use these words… but don’t feel that you have to use these descriptors exclusively.  Knowing their meanings can help you understand when someone more” technically knowledgeable” describes a wine to you.  Knowing what you like and what appeals to you will help you choose a wine that you will most enjoy.
  • Aroma or bouquet:The smell of a wine — bouquet applies particularly to the aroma of older winesTake a moment to smell the wine.  Hold the glass just under your nose and inhale deeply for a moment.  Your wine guide (a term I like to describe the person walking you through your tasting at a winery) can give you some specific scents that should be prominent.  Many varietals have unique characteristics and you’ll begin to pick up on these with time.
  • Body:The apparent weight of a wine in your mouth (light, medium, or full)With your first sip, hold the wine in your mouth for a moment to discern it’s texture.  It sounds like a weird thing to do, but you don’t need a great deal of knowledge to tell if a wine seems thin, well-balanced, or heavy before you swallow.  It’s still a personal thing… a wine that feels thin or light to you can seem to have more depth to someone else.  Don’t stress over how a wine feels to you.  It’s not wrong, it’s personal.
  • Crisp:A wine with refreshing acidityIn my experience, this term typically refers to a white wine.   If I am looking for a wine that reminds me of a Granny Smith apple, this is the technical term I want to see used in its description.  It’s not going to smell like flowers… it’s not going to have a great deal of sweetness… This is the wine for someone who wants to taste the fruit but not the sweetness in their beverage.
  • Dry:Not sweetI really like this description of “dry” and “Residual Sugar” included in this article (http://www.drvino.com/2008/11/18/winespeak-the-opposite-of-sweet-is-dry/) and find that it’s helpful to note that a wine that’s considered “dry” can taste fairly sweet.  When you visit James River Cellars Winery (www.jamesrivercellars.com) for a wine tasting,  you’ll find that the first five white wines are all considered “dry” but they vary greatly in the impression of sweetness.   Find what amount of sweetness appeals best to you and you’ll be much happier with your wine purchases.
  • Finish:The impression a wine leaves as you swallow itAgain, linger a moment as you swallow a sip of wine to see if the end matches the beginning, in your opinion.  Ultimately, that’s where the most important deciding factor lies… with YOUR opinion.
  • Flavor intensity:How strong or weak a wine’s flavors areThere are times when you want a strong flavored wine to accompany food… and there are times when you want something that comes across a little softer.   The aroma and color of the wine can give you an indicator of how intense the flavor will be, but be sure to always taste the wine.  You might be surprised, especially when sipping wines made by an especially talented winemaker or vintner.
  • Fruity:A wine whose aromas and flavors suggest fruit; doesn’t imply sweetnessThis is a difficult term around which to wrap my head… I’d always thought “fruity” meant “sweet”.  When tasting your wine, search out flavors of specific fruits… green apple, pear, peach, grapefruit, cherry… these can be found in varying degrees in so many wines that it’s worth taking the time to search your memory bank as you sip, smell, and savor.
  • Oaky:A wine that has oak flavors (smoky, toasty)Smoky and toasty flavors in a wine can be a wonderful thing… but if you’re not a fan, it’s going to quickly turn you off from tasting.  James River Cellars offers two different Chardonnays… one fermented in oak and one fermented in stainless steel.  Tasting these two wines, back-to-back, can be one of the most effective ways to showcase how oak can affect this specific grape.
  • Soft:A wine that has a smooth rather than crisp mouthfeelSoft is a descriptor that is another very individualized one, especially when it comes to wine.  What might feel “soft” to me, could be something entirely different to you.

  • Tannic: A red wine that is firm and leaves the mouth feeling dry

    This is the term you’ll use when a red wine leaves you with a pucker feeling in the back of your throat and a dry feeling throughout your mouth.  If you like this residual feeling when drinking a red wine, you’ll want something with strong tannins… if you’re not a fan, you want something that is described as either soft or smooth.

Use these terms as “jumping off points” when it comes to discussing wine with others and use them with confidence.  No one is wrong when describing how a wine feels or tastes to you and no one can tell you how to feel with regards to a wine.  This is one of my favorite points about wine tasting.  The idea is for you to enjoy yourself when drinking wine…. and to drink more wine.

Cheers!

by

Recipe: Pinot Noir and Black Bean Salsa Dressing

I was trying to make my lunch early this morning when I stumbled onto something pretty tasty. I’m generally not a fan of packing my lunch, but it really is the simpler option when I’m working at the winery. Bringing in something to heat in the microwave might seem easier, but since my meal might be interrupted at any moment, I really do like to have something that won’t spoil. A salad or sandwich is fairly quick to throw together before I leave but this time it became inspired.

I decided to put together a salad for today’s lunch. I cut up a head of romaine lettuce, sprinkled some freshly frozen corn kernels around and then spooned in a small amount of taco meat from last night’s dinner. I had pulled out the last of a jar of Spicy Black Bean Salsa that I had left in the fridge, but I didn’t feel inspired to create a multi-ingredient dressing. Instead, I pulled out a bottle of Acrobat Pinot Noir that I had left in the fridge… and that’s when inspiration hit me. What would happen if I added wine to the salsa?

It was nothing short of wonderful. 1/4 jar of the salsa, combined with about the same amount of the red wine and a packet of equal, became a fabulous concoction that was thick, without being too thick… Spicy, but not too spicy… In the language of The Three Bears, I had unwittingly created a dressing that was “just right”.

I would love to say that it was the most amazing thing I’d ever made, but that would certainly be overstating things a bit. It made a unique and “oh, wow” sort of flavor that blended with my salad ingredients beautifully. The lunch that I had grudgingly packed that morning turned into a meal that made me happy….and any meal that can do that for a person is one worth sharing.

Feel free to share my blog with you friends… Maybe my sense of whimsy in using wine for cooking will inspire others to make something new from the mundane. It certainly has livened up many of the meals in our household.

Wishing you all a renewed sense of the unique and the strange…. it can be quite tasty!

20121016-211428.jpg

by

Recipe: Mocha Wine Cupcakes with Nutella Frosting

This is my spin on a recipe that a friend posted recently.  After looking at it closer, I realized that it was a similar version of my favorite chocolate cake recipe (Althouse Chocolate Wedding Cake) that I’ve been using ever since our wedding in 1988.  I adore this recipe.  Since it’s a chocolate cake that uses oil and vinegar instead of milk, butter, and eggs, it’s an easy recipe to have on hand anytime.  I’ve made this in a 9×13, 9″ rounds, 8″ rounds, as well as cupcakes… it freezes beautifully and thaws just as well.  Simply put, this is the one chocolate cake recipe to keep on hand for any occasion.  NOTE: This recipe is a “half recipe”… if you want to make a 9×13 or two rounds, you’ll need to double this recipe.

MOCHA WINE CHOCOLATE CUPCAKE RECIPE:

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups flour

1 cup sugar

2 t baking powder

1/2 t salt

3 T cocoa (Hershey’s cocoa works well)

6 t oil (I use vegetable oil, but have used olive oil)

1 T apple cider vinegar

1 t vanilla

1/2 cup coffee (I used espresso)

1/2 cup red wine (I used a Meritage, dry red)

Directions:

Mix ingredients together, spoon into cupcake tins, and bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes.

NUTELLA FROSTING:

Ingredients:

6 T Nutella

4 cups powdered sugar

1/4 cup milk

1 1/2 t vanilla

Directions:

Mix together, using an electric mixer, until thoroughly smooth.

NOTES:

  • I have each of these ingredients on hand at any given time, so it’s easier than worrying if I have a cake mix in the cupboard.  I might not have all the ingredients for the frosting in my cupboard, but even pre-made frosting tastes pretty darn yummy when paired with this cake.
  • This is my very favorite chocolate cake recipe and I hope that it becomes one of yours as well.
  • The original recipe called for 1 cup of water instead of 1/2 cup coffee and 1/2 cup wine. I have made this recipe with water, with water/wine, with water/coffee, and with coffee/wine. I find that this recipe is pretty forgiving and tastes great in any form. 🙂
Image by

Recipe: Taco Meat

20120819-172531.jpg

Warning…. this is a recipe done entirely using The Force.

Sauté two pounds of ground turkey and a diced onion until browned. Add red wine (I used what I had of a California “Spaghetti Red” on hand but any dry red will do) and enough taco seasoning to cover. Once the liquid is absorbed, the taco meat is ready to use for whatever you want to use.

M and D like to make burritos with it (tortillas, meat, cheese, lettuce) and I like to use mine for a salad (lettuce, meat, cheese, and salsa). E probably would have made this into a massive wrapped burrito using the salsa cheese sauce we still have in the fridge along with rice and beans. It’s a great ingredient to have on hand to make a simple, easy dinner on a lazy Sunday night but it also works well as an ad hoc lunchtime ingredient.

Try it at your house sometime… You might be pleasantly surprised at the results!

by

Recipe: Brownies… with wine

This is probably the single most incredibly easy recipe I could possibly share with you.  Each and every time I mention this in the tasting room, the reaction I get just makes me laugh.  I’m not a scientist and don’t claim to be one, so I have no real clue what it is that wine does to brownies, but let me tell you… they’re incredible.

To make this recipe, you want to find a box of brownie mix.  Not just any brownie mix, but find one that actually calls for the same amount of oil and water in the mix.  Don’t be daunted by the idea that you might not end up using the “name brand”… a generic brand will work just fine.  Keep searching on the back of the box to find one with this ratio.  I have no idea why it’s important, but it is.

Second step?  Replace the water in the recipe with an equal amount of red wine.  Here’s the thing… you can use a dry red wine, like a Cab Franc or a Malbec… you can use something with some Residual Sugar like Hanover Red (from James River Cellars) or Rad Red (from this same winery)… you can use a red Flip Flop wine if that’s what you’ve got on hand.  It’s all up to you.

Next step is to go back to the recipe and continue to follow it through the baking process.  I suggest underbaking these by a little, checking after the first time suggestion on the box.  If a knife, stuck into the middle of the brownies, comes out “mostly clean”, go ahead and take them out of the oven and let them cool.

Once your wine brownies are cool, cut them and enjoy them with your friends and neighbors.  Since the alcohol in the wine is cooked out, these are fine for kids to eat as well… provided they’re allowed to have this kind of chocolate-yummy-goodness.

You’ll probably be asked for the recipe…. feel free to point them toward this blog.  I love sharing my recipes, as you can tell by this blog!