Learning about wine

[mrdutton]

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm................

I thought "legs" was a way of defining the alcohol content of a wine. After the wine is swirled in the glass, look at the way the wine gathers itself on the inside surface of the glass and then flows back down the glass into the bowl. The wine forms little rivulets that are called "legs". The more "legs" there are, the higher the alcohol content of the wine.

I think what Innkeeper is talking about when he says 'legs' is related more along the lines of mouthfeel, body and weight.

Cooking with wine does not, in fact, release all of the alcohol. One way to ensure significant alcohol release would be to heat the wine in a separate pan before adding it to your dish. This will cook off more of the alcohol than if you just added the wine directly to the dish. I read about the approximate percentages of alcohol that are cooked-off, but darned if I can remember the source.

When you first sniff wine you get an immediate sensual blast to the nose that saturates the olfactory glands. Further sniffing without a rest does nothing to enhance the initial "blast". However once your system clears itself, and if the wine is allowed to "steep" for a while, you could notice a different smell to it. This would be due to the oxidation of the wine. The changes can be subtle and they might even pass you by. Or the changes can be more than subtle and you will notice them on your nose and on your palate. You might even notice an improvement in the wine as it opens up while it oxidizes.

Other changes occur as the wine warms. You might have noticed some recent discussion about this. Innkeeper started an excellent thread on the proper temperature for drinking various wines. Lots of good information there and plenty of interesting comments from other members. Take a look at the wine glass. One of the reasons for the stem is to keep the hand away from the bowl. Should you hold the wine at the base of the glass then the thin stem siginificantly reduces the transfer of heat from your hand to the bowl. Should you hold the bowl in your hand, then your 90 some odd degree fingers will transfer heat to the wine and change its character.

Different wines have different aromas. Reds and whites and roses and sparkling wines and Champagnes have different noses. My nose is not yet well trained. I can discern certain fruits but have trouble with others. I can latch onto apples and strawberries and raspberries but I sometimes confuse the dark berries with plums and currants. Citrus is easy but I don't always get lemons or grapefruit, just citrus. Pepper and lead pencil and earth are easy, but I really have trouble describing oak as vanilla. That may be because I am not fond of heavily oaked wines and find them tasting like camp fires - no vanilla there, for sure.

But all that I tell you is my experience and that will certainly be different from yours.



[This message has been edited by mrdutton (edited 06-02-2000).]