Re: How does wine mature?

[Guest guest]

On Wed, 15 Jun 2005 20:05:34 -0700 (PDT)

Alka Gaur <alkagaur@...> wrote:

> Hi friends!

>

> I have a question-- can anybody reply?

>

> How does wine mature and how does its flavour improve

> after a long period? Which wine is the best?

>

>

> Thanks

>

> alka

>

You know not what you ask <weg>.

That subject is wide and deep. I would suggest a very good place to

start is the book _Wine For Dummies_ . You can find it online at

half.com or at the library. The author and her hubby do an

excellent job and its great for novices and experts alike. Very

approachable (thats a pun which you will get once you read the book) fun

and easy to read. You will understand MUCHO when done.

As to part of your question. Some wines are crafted for aging and some

are ready to drink now. Very few beginners are interested in wines that

require a couple of years or more of aging before popping open, nor have

they developed a palate that allows them to taste a young wine and know

that it will be good a few years down the line.

There is no " best " wine. There are so many good wines today coming from

all over the world that it can be quite dizzying. Some of the best wines

*in the world* are made right here in my own backyard in the state of

Washington.

Your best bet is to find a store nearby with a knowledgeable wine

buyer/steward/sommelier and tell them you are just getting started and

ask for some recommendations.

What first got me going was a friend of mine who let me taste a $250

bottle of wine. Right up until that first sip I was thinking " who in

their right mind would ever spend that kind of money for wine?! " After

that sip it was like tasting heaven in a glass and forever cured me of

the idea that all wine is basically the same. I couldn't believe how

good it was. Prior to that epiphany I thought Boones Farm was fun to

drink, LOL!

A fun exercise, especially for someone just starting, is to gather

several friends, purchase 4 inexpensive bottles of wine of the same

grape and vintage (spend no more than $10 - $12 per person) and then

taste test them. Even inexperienced or totally new wine

drinkers will be able to distinguish good wine from bad or okay when

done in that fashion. And further, whether the wines are good or not,

you will be able to distinguish the differences between the individual

wines, which is the important thing in developing a palate.

The usual tack of buying an occasional bottle here or there is not

sufficient to develop a palate and accounts for many of the people who

wonder what the fuss over wine is all about.

On the other hand, if you ever get a chance to taste a truly great

bottle of wine, it won't matter your experience, it will knock your

socks off regardless.

Hope this helps,

" We are in the end talking about groups supporting

the only thing that the state does: namely roughing

people up through violence and threats of violence.

That's what every line of every regulation comes

down to. That's the meaning of every tax. That's

the whole upshot of every tariff, expenditure,

prohibition, and bomb. It all amounts to increased

use of violence in society. Strip away the banners,

songs, uniforms, and speeches: that's all that the

state really is. "

Lew Rockwell

[Guest guest]

>A fun exercise, especially for someone just starting, is to gather

>several friends, purchase 4 inexpensive bottles of wine of the same

>grape and vintage (spend no more than $10 - $12 per person) and then

>taste test them.

And you can even do this for FREE in a lot of parts of

the country. Around here they have wine tastings all over,

esp. at the wineries. We used to pack a picnic lunch and go

from winery to winery, tasting as we went! Some wine shops

have " tasting parties " too. (we are in Seattle, more or less,

but I suspect this is true all over).

Tasting parties at home are really fun too. We would hide

the labels and just have the bottes numbered, and everyone

had to write down their impressions of each wine and vote

on them.

Heidi Jean