Hello all! I'm a Scotch and Kentucky Bourbon drinker and have never
really paid much attention to wine. Actually, only took a few sips of wine
and that's all. But I have decided to try out wine seriously.

Anyway, a few questions: how is wine supposed to be drunk? room
temperature only or can you also drink it cool? A relative of mine likes to
keep a bottle of wine in the fridge to drink with supper in the summer when
it's hot. I bought a bottle of cabernet sauvignon last night and drunk a
glass warm. Then tonight I drunk a glass at dinner time after keeping the
bottle in the fridge. It tasted pretty good cool, especially since it's
getting very warm and humid here in the mid-west.

I'm just wondering, if you buy a nice bottle of wine, will you drink it
right out of the bottle and room temperature or would you drink it cool?

Also, does wine get matured in casks like whisky? If so, then how long?
With Scotch/whisky, they sit in casks for five, twelve, eighteen, etc... or
more years.

Is wine more or less considered food or a drink? I know it's a drink,
but it seems like wine is just as big a part of a meal as the actual food
itself.

Do you drink wine because it tastes good? Or do you drink because it
makes your food taste better? Or both?

Does wine go bad? Even after it's bottled, does it age any?

I know there are lots of wine choices out there. That's why I bought a
wine buying guide book. But if I asked you to name me three or four bottles
of red wine that I can find at a typical small/medium liquor store, that is
considered good and offers a range of flavors/character, what would you
name? Something to get me started.

Anyway, I'm reading my little wine book and am starting to understand
some of this wine stuff - cabernet sauvignon, chardonnay, and merlot are
grapes. I thought they were wine companies or something lol.

Much thanks!

"Von Fourche" > wrote in message
hlink.net...
>
>
> Hello all! I'm a Scotch and Kentucky Bourbon drinker and have never
> really paid much attention to wine. Actually, only took a few sips of
wine
> and that's all. But I have decided to try out wine seriously.
>
> Anyway, a few questions: how is wine supposed to be drunk? room
> temperature only or can you also drink it cool?
[snip]
> I'm just wondering, if you buy a nice bottle of wine, will you drink
it
> right out of the bottle and room temperature or would you drink it cool?

That depends on whether it's red or white, and also on the temperature of
the room in question.

Assuming a 72°F room, I'd probably put a red into the 'fridge for 10 minutes
or so before serving. If it's a white I'd probably make that 30 minutes.
If it's Champagne, several hours to indefinitely.

> Also, does wine get matured in casks like whisky? If so, then how
long?
> With Scotch/whisky, they sit in casks for five, twelve, eighteen, etc...
or
> more years.

Wines get between a few months to as much as 4 years in barrel. Average for
a red wine is about 2 years. Average for whites is probably 8 months or so.
Many wines are not barrel aged at all - especially white wines and rosés.

> Is wine more or less considered food or a drink? I know it's a drink,
> but it seems like wine is just as big a part of a meal as the actual food
> itself.

Wine is food. The alcohol is a side benefit. :^)

> Do you drink wine because it tastes good? Or do you drink because it
> makes your food taste better? Or both?

Both, preferrably - but if I'm not eating at the time then I'm drinking it
because it tastes good.

> Does wine go bad? Even after it's bottled, does it age any?

It definitely ages in the bottle. Reds take a lot longer to reach maturity
in the bottle. At some point however, they all age too much and sort of
fall apart in the bottle. They don't necessarily turn to vinegar, but they
no longer taste as good as they once did. At no point do wines spoil in
such a way that they become unsafe to consume. They just get to not tasting
too good anymore.

> I know there are lots of wine choices out there. That's why I bought
a
> wine buying guide book. But if I asked you to name me three or four
bottles
> of red wine that I can find at a typical small/medium liquor store, that
is
> considered good and offers a range of flavors/character, what would you
> name? Something to get me started.

30+ years ago I started with Beaulieu Vineyards wines. They are widely
available in the USA and still good to excellent wines, and reasonably
priced.

> Anyway, I'm reading my little wine book and am starting to understand
> some of this wine stuff - cabernet sauvignon, chardonnay, and merlot are
> grapes. I thought they were wine companies or something lol.
>
> Much thanks!

There's a lot to learn, but there's no hurry. Enjoy!

Tom S

"Von Fourche" > skrev i melding
hlink.net...
>
>
> Hello all! I'm a Scotch and Kentucky Bourbon drinker and have never
> really paid much attention to wine. Actually, only took a few sips of
wine
> and that's all. But I have decided to try out wine seriously.
>
> Anyway, a few questions: how is wine supposed to be drunk? room
> temperature only or can you also drink it cool? A relative of mine likes
to
> keep a bottle of wine in the fridge to drink with supper in the summer
when
> it's hot. I bought a bottle of cabernet sauvignon last night and drunk a
> glass warm. Then tonight I drunk a glass at dinner time after keeping the
> bottle in the fridge. It tasted pretty good cool, especially since it's
> getting very warm and humid here in the mid-west.
>
Hi and welcome
Firstly, you probably know that liquor doesn't develop further after
bottling. Wine is different, most is meant for immediate or short term
consumption - a rather small percentage benefit from anything from 1 year to
10-20 or more years maturation in bottle.
Drinking temperature customarily ranges from 45 to 60 for whites, 55 to 66
for reds - the sweeter or the simpler wines mostly at the cold side of the
scale.
But don't worry - you'll find out with time.
Anders

> Hello all! I'm a Scotch and Kentucky Bourbon drinker and have never
> really paid much attention to wine. Actually, only took a few sips of
wine
> and that's all. But I have decided to try out wine seriously.

Welcome to a new world! I've been exploring wine for a few years now and not
only is it great to drink and to eat with, but its a never-ending
journey/hobby. I hope you enjoy yours!

> Anyway, a few questions: how is wine supposed to be drunk? room
> temperature only or can you also drink it cool?

As has been mentioned by others, it does depend on the wine. In general,
white is drunk chilled and red around or just below room temperature. I'm
not sure about drinking white warm, but red can certainly be chilled. In
fact some Pinot Noirs are quite delicious if you chill them a bit. In
general, you can drink red wine chilled, I know some people who like it this
way, but what it does is suppress some of the complexity/subtlety in the
wine which I think most people in this forum would agree is the whole
purpose of discovering red wine in the 1st place!

Personally I'm quite seasonal with my wine. In winter I'll predominantly
drink red wine - it warms from the inside and in white I'll start pulling
our some nice cold Sauvingnon Blanc's and enjoy them outside in the
sunshine. When doing the big food and wine thing I will often have a
Champaigne to kick things off with, a starter that goes well with a good
white wine and then a main course that suits a strong red. If I'm feeling
really decadent I'll also throw in a desert wine (generally made from white
grapes - think port, but white) to top things off. For me, that's the pefect
meal to share with friends.

> Also, does wine get matured in casks like whisky? If so, then how
long?
> With Scotch/whisky, they sit in casks for five, twelve, eighteen, etc...
or
> more years.

The more experienced members of the forum would know more about this than I
do. But you will generally find anything from 3 months to a year in barrel
in either oak (french/american) or stainless steel. To explore this I would
recommend buying two Chardonnay's... some South African Chardonnays are
heavily (overly so in my opinion) oaked and you can really taste it on the
wine. So see if you can find a good wine merchant and ask for a heavily
oaked Chard and one that hasn't got any (or very little) oak on it. You will
immediately notice the difference and then you can try and pick it up in its
more subtle forms in other styles of wine.

> Is wine more or less considered food or a drink? I know it's a drink,
> but it seems like wine is just as big a part of a meal as the actual food
> itself.

For me it's both. There are certainly food and wine pairings that are very
complimentary - I'm slowly starting to discover what works with what - it
can take some time! But you can certainly enjoy it just by itself.

> Does wine go bad? Even after it's bottled, does it age any?

Oh yes! Some wines can age 2-5 years, some 5-10. Some of the
"uber-wine-dudes" in this forum post tasting notes from like 1968 or even
earlier - they just make me seeth with jealousy! There is a style of wine
called "new world" wine which South Africa and Australia are big producers
of. Basically these wines are designed to be full and fruity and drunk
young, wheras some of the old world French wine is actually designed to be
drunk many years after bottling. Once again, this takes time and experience
(and knowledge from others) to determine.

One of the less pleasant experiences in wine is something called a "corked"
wine, which is essentially off by the time you open it very young (like you
bought it from a fresh vintage, say 2004, took it home, opened it and it
smelled of manky vinegar or mould) general you can send these back to your
merchant. This is one of the reasons why plastic cork or even screw-top
bottles are appearing on the market. I used to turn my nose up at these, but
have actually discovered some delightful bottles of wine bottled as such.

> I know there are lots of wine choices out there. That's why I bought
a
> wine buying guide book. But if I asked you to name me three or four
bottles
> of red wine that I can find at a typical small/medium liquor store, that
is
> considered good and offers a range of flavors/character, what would you
> name? Something to get me started.

I'm note sure where you live, here in London you can find an Australian
brand of wine called "Penfolds". They make wine from £5 up to £150. Their
cheaper wines are generally good value and acceptable to the tastes of
newcomers to wine. What I would do if I were you is go to a good wine
merchant where they are happy to assist you and try out a few different
styles of wine. Perhaps try a Cabernet Sauvignon, a Merlot and a Pinot Noir
in around the same price range. Maybe even throw a Shiraz /Syrah (my
favourite) into that. I would get two of each to reduce the possibility of
an unusual wine, and give them a bash - see what you like/dislike about them
and go from there.

Good luck and enjoy your experience!
Michael