Learn — wine

"Are any of the wines dry?" "Yes. Literally every single one on the list." This guest-interaction is my biggest pet peeve in all of my years of working the restaurant floor. NOBODY understands what it means for a wine to be considered dry (or sweet). Which is completely fine. There's countless fundamental things in other industries that I am out to lunch about.  I think the most common misconception in wine is when folks confuse fruitiness for sweetness. A wine may smell sweet because it's so fruity, but in fac,t not have any sugar in it at all. Most people played "slap...

   What are tannins? Tannins = Natural polyphenols derived from plants, seeds, bark, wood, leaves, and fruit skins. Polyphenols = complex bonds of oxygen and hydrogen. Idk. Science, man. Essentially, tannins are microscopic solid pieces of plants... They feel astringent and grippy on the palate, particularly on your gums, inside of your cheeks, and tongue. Tannins taste bitter, but think good bitter, like dark chocolate or espresso. So if a wine (particularly red wine) tastes bitter, feels grippy in your mouth, and is drying out your palate, odds are that the wine is high in tannins. If you cannot pinpoint what...

Wine geeks are always talking about oak barrels (French? American? Slavonian?), stainless steel tanks, cement eggs, clay amphorae, and other vessels that only dorks care about. But how does this make a difference in the wine that's in your glass?  Stainless Steel vs Oak vs Concrete & Clay Oak (especially new oak) and stainless steel are on opposite sides of the spectrum, while concrete and clay offer a happy medium... Stainless Steel Helps preserve freshness and acidity (this is why it's so popular for crisp white and rose production) Provides neutral vinification environment, so (unlike new oak) there's no external aromas/flavors...

Acidity in Wine If you remember from back when we talked about why some wines age like George Clooney, and others not so much, acidity is one of the 5 components that make up a wine's structure. Think of structure as the foundation or backbone of the wine. Without solid foundation, nothing can be great. I like to think of the structure as the building itself, and then the aromas and flavors as the furniture and decor.  The 5 components of structure are: Fruit: red fruit, black fruit, exotic/tropical fruit, etc.   Sugar Acidity Alcohol Tannin When these 5 things are balanced in perfect harmony, we're...