More On Wine - Does Glass Shape Really Matter?

In our further exploration of wine, tonight we will be testing if the varietal-specific shape of the wine glass really makes a difference or not. I have long been intrigued by the many shapes that Riedel produces that are specific to a particular grape. I have always had two type for wine glasses and that is it - one for whites, another - for reds. Well, and then flutes for Champagne and other sparkling wines, but those are much different and I won't concern about them here.

Finally I took a plunge and bought a tasting set from Riedel (click here) - five varietal-specific glasses on a budget. These are from the "O" series, which is their collection of stemware without stems! I do love stems on my wine glasses, but at $50 for one tasting set, it is a bargain and a good way to discover whether grape-specific glasses really enhance the wine or it is just an elaborate marketing campaign to get people to spend more on fancy stemware.

Food&Wine Wine Club Dinner and Some Wine Basics

Tonight we did another wine club dinner - next of the wines was a full-bodied red from Mendocino County, CA, and suggested pairing is pasta with meat sauce. Specific recipe provided is orecchiette with sausage and cherry tomatoes (click here for recipe on F&W website) - a super easy and fast dinner dish (less than 20 mins!). Because this particular dish is so simple, even though I will go over it later, I would like to first share with you our tools and methods to enjoy wine.

Wine is a complicated drink, and proper ways to consume and enjoy it are a matter of taste. However, there are certain guidelines coming from sommeliers that are supposed to enhance the experience. Of course, most of us do not have the skill of a sommelier and won't be able to tell terroir of a wine down to a mile, just as an example, or recognize that a certain wine is better when drank one degree warmer or colder. But in general, we do know some guidelines and we do accept and follow them, for example most of us drink white wine chilled and red wine at room temperature, and we let the wine "breathe" a bit before consuming it. Over time we have acquired some wine accessoires that are helpful in getting our wines to the right state for consumption.