Winston's Wisdoms - A WineEnthusiast.com Blog

Enter the Blitzen Caption Contest, Win a FREE Wine Refrigerator!

Erika S. — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 22:41:50 +0000

The Blitzen Bottle Stopper, our most popular gift from the 2007 holiday season is back, and he has brought 2 friends! These whimsical bottle stoppers are all blitzed out, after having too much fun with wine at their holiday party. Two of the Blitzens have captions, but we’re missing one.

To capture Blitzen in all his essence, we’re asking you, our customers, to tell us what Blitzen On His Back is dreaming about! Between now and December 19th, we’re offering a Free Wine Refrigerator or $50 Gift Certificates to the top entries, selected by our panel of judges. We plan to announce the winner on December 23rd via e-mail.

The contest has already fired up, with over 200 entries so far. Here are some recent submissions, to get the juices flowing!

‘When should I lay down that bottle of wine? *yawn* Right about now sounds good to me’ –Janice S.

Frankly my deer, I don’t give a dram—Jonathan K.

Fine wine now I recline!—Gary P.

I’m spending Christmas right here—Christopher H.

Is that a corkscrew or are you just happy to see me?—Loryn R.

I wonder if I keep drinking will my nose turn red and then I can be the hero and guide the sled.—Robert M.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good nap!—Nicole S.

Odd…I don’t remember being able to fly upside down—Randall B.

The reindeer were nestled snug in their beds, while visions of Merlot grapes danced in their heads—Ruth L.

Give us your best caption idea, here!

Wine Wisdoms #5: The Pivotal Judgment of Paris 1976

Erika S. — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 16:11:41 +0000

The Judgment of Paris was a pivotal moment in the history of California wines. In May 1976, a British wine merchant arranged a blind tasting of French and California wines (Cabernet vs. Classified Bordeaux and Chardonnay vs. top White Burgundies) to be judged by France’s foremost wine industry experts. The results launched California wines onto the world stage as Stag’s Leap Cask 23 was chosen the top red over, Mouton-Rothschild, Haut Brion, Montrose and others and Chateau Montelena Chardonnay was the number one white ahead of Batard-Montrachet, Puligny-Montrachet Les Pucelles, Beaune Clos des Mouches and others. The Judgment of Paris was also the focus of the feature film “Bottle Shock,” which released this Fall.

Read more about California wines at Wine Enthusiast Magazine’s West Coast editor Steve Heimoff’s blog, UnReserved

Wine Wisdoms #4: Oxygen, Your Friend and Enemy

Erika S. — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 19:51:35 +0000

In the world of wine, oxygen is both your friend and your enemy. Wines are decanted or aerated so that friendly oxygen can slip into your wine in small doses. The oxygen, in effect, allows your wine to breathe and release newly developed aromas and flavors.

Oxygen is your enemy when you let an open bottle of wine sit on the counter and heavy doses of oxygen attack the wine, stripping it of its essences. Everything in moderation.

Find oxygen-related tools like decanters, aerators and preservation tools at WineEnthusiast.com.

Wine Wisdoms #3: What is a Meritage?

Josh F. — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 19:39:46 +0000

The term “Meritage” is a combining of the words Medoc and Heritage. It refers to American (mostly California) wines that are a blend of Bordeaux grape varieties, primarily Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc, for red wine. To use the term on a wine label, wineries must license it from the Meritage Association and adhere to guidelines such as: it must be produced in quantities not exceeding 25,000 cases in a vintage and it must be one of the two most expensive wines that a winery produces. Before the term was coined many wineries created their own proprietary names for their meritage style wines and many of those names still remain. Some of the more famous names are; Dominus, Insignia, Opus One, Cask 23, Cain 5, and Rubicon.

Find top Meritage wines at WineExpress.com

Wine Wisdoms #2: How to Cook with Wine

Erika S. — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 16:22:13 +0000

Cook with quality wine. It seems logical that one would use a cheap wine for a recipe- what a waste, right? Not so. Of course you don’t want to use a first growth Bordeaux to make a reduction, but it is never a good idea to use a cheap wine when you cook either. If you don’t want to drink it, why would you want your food to be slowly simmered in it? Go with a decent, mid-range wine. Typically dryer, less aromatic wines are better for cooking. Chardonnay is always a safe bet for white wine because it’s the least aromatic grape and is typically dry. If your recipe calls for red wine, Cabernet is a good choice. When your meal is ready, serve it with a similar wine to what you used in the dish otherwise you risk a clash of flavors. Keep it simple.

For more information on Wine and Food pairing, consult our newly released Wine Enthusiast Wine & Food Pairings Cookbook.

Wine Cellar Design Stories: Problem Solving with Style

John T. — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 17:27:16 +0000

The prospect of starting a new wine cellar design is always an exciting one. Each customer has their own individual needs and taste, and it’s my job to exceed their expectation. Sometimes we need to do a bit of problem solving, like in my project for Mr. Lippert.

Before I could begin on a wine cellar design for Mr. Lippert we had to address a problem: his old cellar had mold. See, Mr. Lippert already had a wine cellar in the room but the previous installer didn’t protect the walls. This caused moisture to build up in the walls, creating a mold problem. What good would a beautiful custom wine cellar be if the room was not built out properly to be a wine cellar? We had to remedy the problem and prep the walls, before doing anything else. This is done by taking the existing walls down, placing vapor barrier (6- mil polyethylene plastic) in between the studs, rigid foam insulation, and covering the interior walls with a moisture-resistant drywall. With the mold issue resolved, we were ready for the fun part!

Mr. Lippert wanted a wine cellar to accommodate approximately 3000 to 4000 bottles. The majority of his storage needs consisted of traditional Bordeaux bottles, some magnums, splits(1/2 size wine bottles), and case storage. As you enter the wine cellar a portion of the exterior walls are glass. I felt this would be a great opportunity to place a focal point of the cellar on the opposing wall. I decided to incorporate an archway on this wall with individual racking to the left and right of the archway. The individual racking also consisted of high reveal displays (this allows full visibility of your finest wines with no obstructions) with L.E.D lighting (light emitting diodes-gives off very low heat and has low voltage) for a nice accent. Below the archway included both diamond bin and diamond cube storage. The diamond racks look great and are excellent for accommodating larger format bottles. I also incorporated double deep (gives you twice the amount of storage of single deep) individual racks with double deep case storage below in order to get Mr. Lippert’s bottle capacity up towards where he wanted it to be.

We put the finishing touches on Mr. Lippert’s wine cellar by customizing a wine storage table in the center of the wine cellar. This table is a great area to open bottles, pour wine, and enjoy company within the cellar! Below the table top is specific storage for cases, double magnums, magnums, and splits.

All racking was completed in top of the line all-heart redwood with a natural finish. The wine cellar is climate controlled by a split wine cooling system (wall mounted evaporator connected to an outdoor condenser for quiet operation.)

To ensure the installation went smoothly we called on our master wine cellar builder-Mr. John Seitz to assemble the custom racking. Needless to say, a job well done.

Good communication is essential when designing a custom wine cellar. By addressing his specific wine cellar needs combined with style and class we created the wine cellar of Mr. Lippert’s dreams.

If you’d like to discover how to build the wine cellar of your dreams, Contact a Wine Enthusiast Cellar Consultant Today for a FREE Wine Storage Consultation - Call 800.377.3330

Wine Wisdoms #1: Burgundy Vs. Bordeaux Blending

Erika S. — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 20:41:25 +0000

Unlike Burgundy where grape varieties are never blended (100% Pinot Noir or 100% Chardonnay), Bordeaux wines are almost always blends. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot are blended in Red Bordeaux, and Sauvignon Blanc and Semillion are blended in White Bordeaux.

Find Bordeaux and Burgundy Glassware at WineEnthusiast.com

Find Top Rated Bordeaux and Burgundy at WineEnthusiast.com/magazine

Announcing: Wine Wisdoms

Erika S. — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 20:40:49 +0000

In an effort to bring you more exciting wine information on a regular basis, we are introducing a new feature here on the Winston’s Wisdoms blog: Wine Wisdoms. Drawing on Wine Enthusiast Companies’ expertise, we will be featuring frequent mini-posts that answer some of our customers’ most common wine questions. Anything from: how to taste wine in a restaurant, useful wine terms, and the various classifications of Bordeaux will be tackled in our Wine Wisdoms. Follow these tips and you’ll be an expert on all things wine, in no time! Stay tuned…

Talking Tannins

Josh F. — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 19:19:38 +0000

Tannins are an often-discussed topic when it comes to wine. You hear about how the bitterness in wine is due to tannins, and how you need to aerate wines to soften the tannins, and how you need to wait ten years for the tannins to subside in some wines. So the question becomes, WHY? Why do wines have tannins? Why do wines need tannins? Aside from the fact that tannins are antioxidants and an important contributor to the health benefits that wine provides, the answer, like the answer to many wine questions is both very simple and very complicated. Let’s take a look.

Tannins are Phenolic compounds that naturally occur in grapes. They probably developed as part of the fruits’ natural defense mechanism. As a fruit is growing, the bitterness makes it less appealing to would-be eaters. As it ripens, the tannins start to subside. Tannins are found in the skins, seeds and stems of grapes. As red wines (and we are talking primarily about reds when we discuss tannins) macerate during fermentation the tannins are absorbed into the wine. If the wine is aged in oak barrels, the oak will also add tannins to the wine.

The bite of tannins contributes to the balance of a wine, where the fruitiness, acidity, alcohol and tannins all play off one another. They also contribute to the mouthfeel and texture of a wine. In terms of taste we can think of tannins as a framework on which the components are built. The bitter backbone is countered by the fruit, livened by the acid and augmented by the alcohol. Without tannins, wine would taste overly juicy, sour and simple, and it would lack textural components. When wine is young the tannins are at their strongest.

There are four things that help eliminate the bitterness of tannins. They are:
•    Fats
•    Proteins
•    Oxygen, and
•    Time

Fats and proteins bond with tannins, lessening their bitterness. That’s one reason meat and cheese are good matches with young, red wine. Oxygen does something similar, bonding with tannins to make them taste less bitter. Aerators and decanters are helpful for this. But time is the most effective way to alleviate the bite of tannins in your wine. Over time, tannins bond together to form larger un-reactive molecules that are still perceptible as mouthfeel but they’re soft and supple, without their bitter bite. That’s why cellaring your wine is the best way to insure that you’ll always enjoy your wines to the fullest.

Care to talk about tannins further? Leave a comment, here!

Built-In or Recessed Wine Cellars: What’s the Difference?

David M. — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 19:24:45 +0000

One of the most common and important questions we are asked is the difference between a recessed and a built-in wine cellar. People want to be sure that the cellar will fit in the space they have allocated for it, but of course it needs to function properly. If a unit is built-in and it’s unable to exhaust the warm air, it may cause excess heat to be trapped behind the unit. If this happens, the unit won’t be able to maintain proper temperature and your wine may be effectively, ruined. Therefore, it is just as important to determine the correct size and features, of your cellar, as it is to decide on the right application. This is where these terms come in handy:
Recessed: A wine cellar that does not fit flush within a space is considered “recessed”. It cannot be flushed because. Depending on which model you choose, each will have requirements to properly breathe and expel warm air. For example, a lot of my clients want to “build in” a Eurocave digital 260. Because this unit is rear venting, it cannot be built-in as it needs space behind it. I recommend that they recess the unit by placing it in a cabinet with enough empty clearance on each side. By providing air circulation on the top, bottom and back, you are allowing the unit to breathe and operate normally. Recessed units are essentially “free-standing” units that are placed inside cabinets with extra space, rather than built into them.

Built-In: Built-In units are built into a cabinet or enclosed space. Built-Ins typically have front venting compressors so they may slide directly into the space without having any clearance around the entire unit. The front exhaust at the bottom is unobstructed. These are flush mounted and are typically seen in kitchens and home bars. Built-Ins can have a more custom look. Many models provide stainless trim around the glass door to match existing appliances. A great example of a built-in would be our Performance 59 wine cellar.

In either case, our wine storage specialists are here to help you make the correct decision for all of your storage needs. If you have any further questions or are ready to make a wine cellar purchase, give us a call at 800.377.3330