New Technology Promises Instant Aging, No Hangover
“Time flies,” as the saying goes. Except when you’re waiting in line at the DMV, on hold with your favorite cable TV provider, and aging wine and spirits.
Well, California-based Cavitation Technologies can’t help you with the first two. But giving wine and hard liquor the benefits of years of patient aging in a couple minutes? They think they’re on to something.
That “something” is a countertop box that resembles a home kitchen coffeemaker, which the company hopes to soon put into production and make available at your local big box retailer. You simply pour the wine/spirits into the machine, click it on, wait a couple minutes and then pour it out.
The idea behind the as-yet-unnamed invention is hydrodynamic cavitation, which is a pair of big, scientific-sounding words that, according to the company, involves using pressure and temperature to affect changes red-white wine, vodka-bourbon-rum-what-have-you at the molecular level, mimicking the process of barrel aging while, not at all incidentally, removing such impurities as methanol and butanol that can cause the dreaded too-much-to-drink hangover.
There does seem to be some confirmation of hydrodynamic cavitation’s promise beyond the company’s claims, as in the past few years a vodka and gin that had undergone the process each won awards at prestigious national wine and spirits competitions.
When this miracle box will be ready for mass marketing and what it will cost are still up in the air. But better booze and no hangover is definitely something worth waiting for.
How to Do a BBQ With Wine Rather than Beer
You’re off to a barbecue, or you’re hosting one, and you’re just not that much of a beer person. There may be a few people coming along with tequila, and you don’t fancy that much either; you’re very much a wine drinker. So, how do you pull this one off?
Why beer is so popular at BBQs
Beer is seen as the ideal drink for barbecues because it’s a good palate cleanser – you can just wash your burger down with a cold bottle of suds, right?
Well, yes, but you can also do that with sparkling wine – this will have exactly the same combo of acidity and bubbles to cut through the grease and spice. Cava is the go-to here, although there’s nothing wrong with a very cold Sauvignon Blanc or a dry Riesling either.
Just serve your wine cold
Yup, even if it’s red. You’re already breaking the rules by bringing wine to a barbecue, so why stop there? Put the bottle in the fridge and ignore the haters. A chilled tannin-rich red can act more like an alcoholic iced-tea when it’s really hot, so just get on with it. You rebel!
You can even serve Port over ice cubes if you’re really out there…
Don’t spend a fortune on your BBQ wine
Barbecues are primarily about the food, so don’t obsess over the wine, just make sure it’s drinkable, chillable and goes well with the food that’ll be served. If all else fails, you can make a sangria – who doesn’t want a sangria on a hot day, especially if you make it extra fruity.
Last-minute tips on pairings
Some wines work best with certain foods (as if you didn’t know that already…). Try a Malbec with burgers, a Zinfandel with sausages and burgers, Cava with chicken, and a Tempranillo with brisket for great results. You can also serve a Pinot Noir or a dry rosé with chicken.
Enjoy flipping!
How to Make Cheap Wine Taste Better
We all love wine, right? Sadly, though, we don’t all have the same budget and we can’t always afford the best – or even the mid-range – so it’s a case of making do with half-decent or even slightly dodgy.
This doesn’t have to be a disaster, though, as even the cheaper wines can be improved before you drink it with an easy trick or two.
For slightly dodgy whites
One thing about white wines is that they’re best served chilled. This can often chill down the aromas so that they’re barely noticeable – you can’t smell much, you can’t taste much. Obviously if you’re going to a wine tasting this will not fly, but if you’re planning to hang out with friends in their backyard, then a high-acid wine like a Pinot Grigio is nigh-on perfect. Just place it on ice and keep it there…
For slightly dodgy reds
Reds are a bit harder to fudge as you don’t chill them to numbness. however, you can decant and aerate them to improve the flavor somewhat.
By decanting the wine you’re letting oxygen in, as well as letting some of the less-pleasant aromas and tastes dissipate. It’s easy to decant a wine, you just need to pour it into a larger vessel – aim for one with a large surface area – more room for the oxygen to absorb into the wine. You can speed up the aeration process a bit by pouring the wine into the decanter from a long way, then shaking it about a bit to mix in air. This means it’ll be ready after 30 minutes or so.
If you’re really in a hurry, then you can try using a blender. Yes, a blender (just don’t tell anyone). If guests are arriving any minute, pour the wine into a clean blender and give it a 30-second whizz before transferring it into a decanter. The whizzing introduces air into the wine much faster than manual shaking. This does work, but don’t admit to doing it, ok?
Bust out the emergency peanuts
If your wine is beyond help, you’ll have to think outside the box. Bring out the salty nuts and chips, as well as the wasabi peas. If your guests’ palates are distracted by salt and spice, they’ll be less able to discern the off notes in the wine.
For real emergencies, just pour the plonk into a sangria or mull it – it adds interest and you can always blame your naff mulling technique…
The Science Behind Tastes and Aromas
One of the funnest (ahem) things about wine is being able to say you can taste burnt rubber, mushrooms and nail varnish in them. No, really. We all start off spotting tastes like jam, blackberries and almonds and end up talking about leather, wet dog and old wood.
The fruit flavors are easy to explain – after all, wine is usually made from fruit… However, once you get further into your wine journey, you’ll start to wonder why you can taste pepper and fungi. These smells and tastes don’t come out of nowhere, and you’re not imagining them – they are a scientific fact. Here’s where they come from.
Volatile acidity
This is down to acetic acid and ethyl acetate and it smells like vinegar, cherry, nail varnish or nail varnish remover; pungent and sharp. It tastes like spice, or sharpness, usually at the finish.
Volatile acidity is referring to the volatility in the wine – its reactivity, which can make it go bad. Acetic acid increases when there’s been too much exposure to oxygen and acetobacter, the bacteria that makes vinegar. At higher concentrations – 1.4g/L in reds and 1.2g/L in whites – it’s a fault and a nail varnish remover smell takes over. At lower levels, it adds a nice fruity punch.
Reduction
Reduction is down to a group of compounds – dimethyl disulfide, dimethyl sulfide, hydrogen sulfide, and ethane thiol. This group smells of truffles, rotten eggs, cooked cabbage, burnt rubber, radishes and mushrooms. Thankfully, at lower levels, it adds a creamy mouthfeel, rather than a taste of rotten egg or scorched tyre!
Some people worry about sulfur in wine because they associate it with sulfites and headaches. Reduction occurs naturally during fermentation and adds complexity and interest to the aromas. It’s caused by a lack of oxygen during fermentation, so a sulfur atom gets roped into bonds, rather than an oxygen one. In small doses, you get the smells listed above, but at higher levels, the smells start to take over – and not in a good way.
These smells should give off after half an hour or so – if they don’t, that’s a problem! Some people say putting a clean coin into the glass or decanter helps – it’s worth a shot.
Brettanomyces
This smell is caused by 4-ethyl phenol and 4-ethyl guaiacol and these two compounds add the smell of cloves, leather, cardamom and even Band-Aids to wine.
Brettanomyces, or Brett to its friends, is a wild-type yeast that produces some interesting and pungent smells. It’s often considered a fault, especially if you can taste Band-Aids, but many people love the spiciness and woodiness that come from lower concentrations. Brett was a lot more common before modern sterilizing procedures and some people will mourn its passing if it ever happens.
Acetaldehyde
This is quite a poisonous compound, but it lends the taste of green apples, bruised apples, jackfruit and even wet paint to wines. It’s tangy and sharp from the mid-palate to the finish.
Acetaldehyde is present in all wines – dry wines tend to have between 30ppm and 80ppm. Sherries rely on acetaldehyde for their particular aromas and they have nearer 300ppm. It can be pleasant, with candied apple at lower levels and almonds at higher concentrations.
Now you know the names behind the smells, you’ll be able to “see” them more.
Pairing Wine with Cheese
At some point on your road to maturity, you’ll have to hold a wine and cheese evening. It’s not an intuitive thing and getting the pairings right can fill you with anxiety. It’s a good job, then, that there are six easy rules to follow to get it just right.
Match the intensity of the cheese and wine
This is the #1 rule, as you don’t want either the wine or the cheese to be overwhelmed by the other. So, if you’re serving a delicate cheese for example, pair it with an equally delicate wine.
Generally, stronger wines - more than 14.5% ABV – are suited to stringer-flavored cheeses and less intense wines – 12% ABV and under – are best with lighter cheese.
Bolder reds work well with aged cheeses
Cheese loses water as it ages, so the flavors intensify and become richer. This makes it ideal for assertive reds as the fat content in the cheese works against (in a good way) the tannins. You need cheeses that have been aged for a year or more – Cheddar, Manchego, Grana Padano and Provolone, for example.
Sweeter wines are a dream with smelly cheeses
Wines like Moscato, Port, Late Harvest and other dessert wines go well with smellier, “higher” cheeses, like blue cheeses. The sweetness reduces the almost-but-not-quite offensive tastes in the cheese and the stinky nature brings out the sweetness of the wine.
The classics, if you’re playing it safe, are Port and Stilton and Sauternes with Roquefort.
You must pair sparkling wines with cream cheeses
On a much lighter note, you’ll find the high acidity and fizz of a sparkling wine the perfect counterpoint to the rich creaminess of a Brie, a Camembert or a Cremont.
Pair up wines and cheeses from the same regions
They’ll have the same terroir, after all! Plus, the locals know what works together and they’ll send their wares out far and wide. There’s Sauvignon Blanc and goat cheese, Garnacha with Manchego – just look around for inspiration.
If you’re stuck, get firm and nutty…
If you have a wine that you’re not sure what to do with, then pair it up with a firm, nutty-flavored cheese. This sort of cheese will have the fat to balance out the tannins in a bold red, and a delicate enough flavour so that it doesn’t overwhelm a delicate white. Try Gouda, Emmental or Gruyère.
Key Moments in US Wine History
The first wine
Wine has been a part of American life since the 16th century when the first European explorers landed. The chances are that the first wine to reach American shores was Sherry, brought along from Spain with Pedro Menéndez de Avilés when he landed in what we now know as Florida in September 1565.
Acte 12 – plant your vines!
America started life as an English colony and England wanted its New World wines, so in 1619, the House of Burgesses passed its Acte 12, which required each male household in Virginia to plant 10 imported vinifera vines so they could make wine. The native grapes, scuppernong and muscadine, weren’t too great for wine.
1779 – the first Californian grapes
California’s first grapes were planted at Mission San Diego de Alcalá by Franciscan missionaries. This first grape, known as the Mission grape, was the main variety used in commercial winemaking in California. In 1833, the first European grapes were planted in Los Angeles, and a few years later, during the Gold Rush, the first vines were planted in Northern California – in Napa and Sonoma.
America saves the day in the 1870s
In the 1870s, European vineyards were hit by an infestation of phylloxera, which could have wiped out the continent’s wine production. Thankfully, a German immigrant in Missouri (of all places) called George Husmann, together with his friends, shipped millions of cuttings back to Europe to replace the vines destroyed by this pest insect.
Prohibition – boo!
The Prohibition period, during which the sale of alcohol was illegal in America, lasted from 1920 to 1933. Thankfully, a few pharmacies sold Ruffino’s Chianti as a stress-reliever…
1976 – American wines get noticed
A real turning point was reached in 1976 when California wines were entered into a blind tasting at that year’s Judgement of Paris. The French judges were really impressed with the Californian wines, including a Chardonnay, which beat the French versions.
1996 – wine brings the world together
An American helped US president Bill Clinton and Russia’s Boris Yeltsin to bond at a summit over the Bosnian Missile Crisis. The atmosphere was tense at first, but several hours later both leaders came out smiling and shaking hands, no doubt helped by the bottles of 1994 Riesling that Clinton brought along.