Even better, I brought in two other experts – wedding planner Linda Alpert of suburban Chicago’s Affairs with Linda, and my old pal Mr. Sommelier, who has been doing this sort of thing even longer than I have been writing about wine. And, yes, that is a nom de plume, since Mr. S. has a day job and his bosses might not appreciate this gig.
Our wedding wine wisdom is after the jump:
We’ve talked about this on the blog, but a regular visitor makes the point dramatically with this picture. When you buy wine, drink it. Almost all of the world's wine is made to drink more or less when you buy it – and not to age.
Sadly, the person who bought these three bottles of 1988 Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais Nouveau didn’t know that. Which is not surprising, since most Americans (thank you, Winestream Media) still think that’s true. But Beaujolais isn’t made to age, and nouveau – made quickly so it can be sold shortly after harvest – is especially not made to age.
Hence 24-year-old bottles of wine that look like this. The wine has evaporated in the bottle and those gross splotches (mold, perhaps?) will not doubt enhance the wine’s current post-vinegar flavor profile.
Thanks to Rich Liebman, who sent the photo and has been a loyal reader since the blog started. Where he found them (and it wasn’t his house) is probably best left unsaid.
The trick, then, is to approach glasses with the same skeptical eye that we approach wine with. Do you need a decent wine glass to get the most out of wine, even if you're drinking $10 bottles? Yep. Do you need to go overboard and spend hundreds of dollars on a glass? Probably not.
After the jump, a few thoughts on buying and using wine glasses:
The Wine Curmudgeon has made a breakthrough in wine scoring systems.
Forget points and stars and thumbs up. Forget controversy. Forget Parker. Never again will we have to argue about whether a 90-point wine is any good.
Welcome to the Cajun wine scoring system, based on years of extensive research eating and drinking in south Louisiana; my tenure
as the sports editor at the Houma, La., Daily Courier; and the wit and wisdom of the inestimable Lynne Kleinpeter, a native of Thiboduax, La., and a descendant of Rousseau's and Boudreaux's.
Why Cajun? Because few cultures understand food and drink as well. It's not about pretension or celebrity chefs, but about the freshest possible ingredients and what tastes good. I've had dinners at someone's home in Acadiana that would put pricey restaurant meals to shame. In addition, it's a culture that has little patience for foolishness, and what's more foolish than the 100-point scoring system?
Plus, Cajuns understand that you don't put tomatoes in gumbo.
After the jump, the Cajun scoring system:
This is an especial problem for beginning wine drinkers, whose lack of experience is compounded by the intimidation factor -- wine can be a scary place for newcomers, who are overwhelmed with labels, names, terms, and the like.
Hence this post, part of my New Year's resolution to write more items for people just getting started with wine. And a big tip of the Wine Curmudgeon's fedora to Dave McIntyre, who has written about some of this and jarred me into action.
After the jump, four easy things anyone can do to boost their wine savvy:
The Wine Curmudgeon has been pondering this for a good while, trying to figure out a way to write about pairings that wouldn't drive new wine drinkers crazy (as part of my resolution to make the blog more accessible to people who are new to wine).
Which led to the thought: Are we putting the cart before the horse? We're telling people to pair certain wines with food under the assumption that the food will taste better. Is there any evidence to support this?
In other words, when I'm drinking an unoaked chardonnay with roast chicken, does the chicken taste better than if I had been pairing it with sweet tea or a soft drink (something I see very often in Dallas, where restaurant diners seem to drink more of the last two than the first). The answer: No one knows for sure. More, after the jump:
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