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Wine Reviews – Selecting A Fine Wine

Wine Reviews can aid the average wine drinker in choosing a fairly decent brand of wine. Although the selection of a specific year, type and brand of fine wine is very much an individual choice, there are some broad guidelines that many can agreed on within the confines of price.

With the growth of wine-related Web sites, as well as the large number of vineyards around the world, finding a good wine need not be difficult at all. Now you can order fine wines from all parts of the world. A person in Caracas or California can easily order a New Zealand Syrah as easily as someone in Auckland.

Are you looking for a light white or a full body red wine with that gourmet dish? There are those that find a German Riesling wine too dry, while others find Madeira as too heavy. The truth is that most readily available wines were meant to be consumed shortly after they are purchased. If you are a person that desires the taste of the finest wines then you will find that patience really is a virtue. These individuals will find a Cabernet Sauvignon more to their liking then a Pinot Noir.

For those who enjoy a young wine with prominent acidity, then a Chardonnay from a cool climate such as Canada may strike your desire.

Wine Categories

One might find that the various descriptions by class may be helpful in choosing the right wine. Classes of wine include:

• Class 1 wine – these are often labeled as “Red Table Wine” or “Light Wine”. They will usually have alcohol content between 7% and 14% by volume.
• Class 7 wine – these wines will have an alcohol content not less than 15% by volume. This type of wine is usually flavored with herbs and has been compounded with Brandy.
• Fortified wines- these are wines that contain a greater overall concentration.

Amount Of Sulfites Added

Another tip in selecting a good wine is to make sure to look on the label for a declaration of the amount of sulfites. Sulphur is often added in the process of winemaking. It helps to guard against the growth of unwanted organisms. This may be helpful but some will find it intrudes on the taste of the wine, and some wine drinkers will find that they are sensitive to sulfites and may even experience allergic reactions. The recommended concentrations is somewhere below 10 parts per million.

Wine Tasting

Wine tasting is an art within itself. When tasting a wine you want to cool to the proper temperature. This can be somewhere around 65F (18C) for reds and 52F (11C) for whites. You want to use a thin-rimmed glass that is free of dust. Clean the glass by rinsing carefully and then drying with a lint free cloth.

Pour the wine to no more than 1/3 of the glass, and hold it by the stem. You want to keep your fingerprints away from the rim and prevent heating the glass bowl.

When analyzing a fine wine, look for a clear color by viewing the wine against a white background. A Cabernet Sauvignon will be more violet, and a Pinot Noir will display the lightness of a ruby. Grapes grown from a cool summer and rainy fall will be lighter, while those grown in a hot summer climate and dry fall will be darker in color.

Sit back swirl your glass, sniff and enjoy the taste.