How to Store and Serve Champagne
March 21, 2011
How long should I keep champagne?
Those of you who have visited the Champagne region will have seen the many miles of underground tunnels carved out of the chalk where there’s high humidity, little light, no disturbance and where the temperature is a constant 100 C all year round; in short, the perfect conditions for storing champagne for many years.
Back home most of us don’t have the same facilities for keeping wine, so the first piece of advice shouldn’t surprise you: don’t keep your champagne too long!
The issue of storing champagne can be quite a complicated question, so for now Iet’s just say that the longer you keep champagne, the greater the chances you’ll be disappointed when you eventually open it, so to be safe don’t keep it more than a few months or a year at most, unless you’ve got a great cellar.
Where to keep champagne
The actual temperature at which you store champagne is less important than the fluctuation in temperature, so keep your champagne in a spot that doesn’t have too much variation in temperature – next to the oven is not a good idea.
Champagne will keep very well for several weeks in the fridge and when you do this you always have a bottle ready to open whenever the opportunity presents itself.
If you’ve got a bottle in the fridge you won’t be tempted to pop a bottle in the freezer to cool down. This is not a great idea; apart from the risk that you’ll forget it, the rapid change in temperature is not good for a wine.
Believe it or there is such a thing as gout de lumiere or taste of light, so store you champagne away from intense lights and be wary of bottles under spot lights in retail stores.
It used to be the case that champagne had to be stored horizontally so that the cork stayed moist and didn’t dry out, thus letting air into the bottle and spoiling the wine. However the quality of the cork has improved in recent years and now it doesn’t matter whether you store the bottle horizontal or vertical.
Serving champagne
All the wonderful imagery surrounding champagne means that it’s the perfect wine for celebrations and this usually means a group of people together and when you’re entertaining friends why not serve champagne from magnums?
You usually get about 6 glasses from a normal bottle and by the time everyone has had a second glass two bottles will soon disappear, so why not start with magnums in the first place?
Magnums not only look impressive and add to the ambiance, but there’s a very important advantage in that they age more slowly than a normal size bottle, so when you buy a magnum the champagne inside is richer and rounder than a standard bottle.
Try it and I’m sure you’ll agree.
A magnum is slightly more expensive than 2 bottles because bottles are made in hundreds of millions and are cheap to produce, whilst magnums are made in far smaller quantities and there are no economies of scale.
It’s not necessary to chill the glasses. If the champagne isn’t cold already a cold glass won’t be enough to cool it down; besides, a frosted glass doesn’t show the colour of the champagne and you can’t see the beautiful bubbles rising up the glass ( this is what is sometimes referred to as the bead ).
Don’t fill the glass more than about 2/3 full. It’s better to top up the glass more frequently. This is especially true in summer when the champagne will have warmed before some people have finished their glass.
Last, never use rinse aid when washing champagne glasses. It leaves a film on the inside of the glass that prevents any bubbles forming. The best way to wash champagne glasses is with very hot water only. Then, just leave them to dry naturally and shine them with a clean cloth if necessary.
If you’d like to know more about champagne, start by watching my fee video which you can find at this link http://www.champagne-video.com/video.html
Or follow my blog at http://www.debateabubble.com and send me your champagne questions.
Jiles Halling is a champagne specialist who has lived in the heart of the Champagne region for many years. Jiles has a wealth of knowledge about champagne and in particular the lesser-known independent grower champagnes.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=J_Halling
What is a Dry White Wine?
March 14, 2011
If you are wondering what a dry white wine is, it’s basically a white wine with less sugar in it. This means that you’ll get a taste that has very little sweetness to it since most of the natural sugar in the wine has been consumed during the fermentation process. You’ll also notice a higher than average alcohol content as opposed to sweet or fruity white wines since the sugar consumed are converted into alcohol during the process.
Dry white wines are usually those wines that have less residual sugar to them or a higher acidity value. A very interesting thing about wine is that there are those wines that taste a lot sweeter than over ones even though they have less residual sugar in them. The level of acidity the wine suppresses the sweetness the wine gives out so a white wine with 15% residual sugar with high acidity can taste less sweet than a wine with 8% sugar to it. Dry white wine is definitely a nice addition to your cooking whenever it calls for something crisp with it.
The Common Dry White Wines
If ever you’re looking for some neat dry wines to use on your cooking, remember that using cooking wine isn’t at all advisable since it will give the end product a very inferior taste. You should never use undrinkable wine on your cooking if you really want the best out of your cooking experience. There are several dry white wines for you to choose from and each of them has their own characteristics and flavors. If ever you’re looking for something that has a crisp, yet citrus flavor, you’d best go for Sauvignon Blanc. It has a bright acidity to it and you’ll be able to recognize traces of fruit, herbs, and minerals as well.
Medium Dry White Wine
Of course, aside from the already mentioned dry white wine, there is also the medium dry white wine where you’ll get only a bit of residual sugar in the mix. A medium dry white wine is definitely a good substitute for the totally dry white wine if you’re looking for something less complex. A very good example would be Riesling, although there are Rieslings that have a good deal of sweetness to them. Riesling is taken from the noblest of grapes and turned into a very light and medium bodied product. Another great medium dry wine would be of course Pinot Gris. Pinot Gris is usually simple and light. You’ll get a crisp feeling from it and it surely goes well with the simple foods. Another medium dry white wine to note is the Gewurztraminer. The grapes are grown in places with cooler climates and the result is a medium dry white wine that has a unique golden taint to it with a very recognizable aroma. You’ll also notice traces of fruity flavors and spices to its taste as well.
Also, don’t forget that champagne is also a type of dry white wine and it’s a great if paired with the right types of food such as seafood and cheese dishes. You’d want to take note of the categories that determine the champagne’s level of sweetness, the sweetest being Doux with 5% or more residual sugar and the driest being Extra Brut with very little traces of sugar and it can go as low as 0.6%.
There are also other types of dry White Wines around and looking for the perfect one that would fit your needs isn’t going to be that hard once you’ve understood the basics of dry white wine. Now that you know what a dry white wine is, you’ll be able to try them out for your cooking and drinking as well.
The Difference Between White Wine Vinegar and White Vinegar
March 7, 2011
A lot of people tend to be confused with these two things especially if they are not at all long time experienced in cooking. The truth is, the difference is pretty basic and once you know the difference, you’ll be able to know when to use white vinegar and white wine vinegar.
The Difference
First off, you’ll have white vinegar. White vinegar is just water with plain acetic acid added to it. White vinegar has a very simple acidic taste to it and nothing more. You can use white vinegar in a number of ways such as cooking, cleaning, meat preservation, baking, and pickling. White wine vinegar however is made from fermentation of white wine. This means that you’ll still get the flavor of the white wine on the vinegar; of course it has its alcohol removed and replaced with acetic acid of the vinegar. White wine vinegar has a very noticeable taste to it considering it contains way less acidity than the white vinegar. You’ll be able to taste a very complex and mellow flavor when it comes to white wine vinegar.
Making Your Own White Wine Vinegar
If you’re looking for a way to make your own white wine vinegar, you’ll be glad to know that you can make this at home. First, you’ll need a place to put your wine until it matures. You’ll need a 1 gallon glass or a ceramic crock with a spigot. The next thing you’ll need to get is an 8 oz. bottle of commercial vinegar mother. This can be purchased on your local liquor store or wine making store. Then you’ll need white wine of course. The first thing you have to do is to pour in 2 cups of white wine to the container together with a cup of water after which, you add the mother vinegar to it. Then all you have to do is to cover the container with cheesecloth and make sure that the cloth is securely tightened with a piece of rubber band. What you’d need to do is to let it sit undisturbed in a warm area of your home for 6 months or so. On the first two weeks though, you should add a total of 2 ½ cups of white wine to the mix. Once the 6 months passed, you should go ahead and taste it and once it tastes like vinegar, you can then store it in jars or bottles and it should last for around 3 months or so and you have your own White Wine vinegar.
White wine vinegar is very different from white vinegar, especially if you already have had years of experience in cooking. Making your own white wine vinegar isn’t at all that difficult to do although you’re going to need a bit of time in order to make one for yourself. White wine vinegar is a very important ingredient to light dishes and it can balance flavors without adding a lot of fat to the dish. You can even use it as a substitute for heavy butter in cream in some dishes as well.