Last Minute Gift Ideas: Basic Guide to Wine

Well, hello there!

I've been busy but I've still managed to drink many a delicious glass of wine.  My shipment from the Tasting Room, so far, has been wonderful.  Reviews to come...

While I pull those together, here's a last minute gift idea for the wine lover in your life: a "Basic Guide to Wine" poster from Wine Folly:

Explore the framework of modern wine service and tasting techniques on this illuminating poster print. This guide relates common themes in a simple modern design such as wine calories, alcohol level, wine color, aroma and decoding a wine label. 

This poster works well framed in a position where you can look at it closely; perhaps in your kitchen, office or next to your growing wine collection.

Do want!

Wine News: Brace Yourself - A Wine Shortage is Coming

The Atlantic published a piece describing a "fast-approaching" wine shortage:

At the current pace, a global shortage of wine is fast approaching. “Data suggests there may be insufficient supply to meet demand in coming years, as current vintages are released,” the report says. 

The problem is something of a two-headed monster. 

On the One Hand… 

Global wine consumption has been on the rise almost without interruption (save for a short stint between 2008 and 2009) since the late 1990s. 

The US and China, in particular, have been drinking more. The US, which guzzles roughly 12% of the world’s wine, has seen its per capita consumption double since the start of the century. And China, which is now the world’s fifth largest import market, has doubled its consumption not once, but twice in the past five years. 

On the Other… 

World production hasn’t managed to keep pace. Outputs have steadily declined in a number of the world’s most prosperous regions. Overall, global production has been on a downward trend ever since the early 2000s, when there were still massive excesses. Peak wine, the report holds, isn’t merely upon us; it already happened—back in 2004.

The article points that a decrease in production from the France, Italy, and Spain, the world's three largest producers of wine, is contributing to the shortage. But, this sounds like a great opportunity for emerging wine markets. Either way, I'd better start hoarding.

That Time I Joined an Online Wine Club - Step 1: What's My Wine Profile?

You guys -- I finally did it.  I joined a wine club.

Even before I started this blog, I would look longingly at the advertisements for the New York Times Wine Club and consider having the wine come to me.  Of course, as a young professional, I haven't quite reached the income level that would allow me to afford the NYT wine club and pay for wine that I may or may not like.  

But, thanks to The Frisky, I learned about The Tasting Room by Lot18, an online wine club that promises to tailor your wine shipments to your palate.  And, again, thanks to The Frisky, I signed up to receive an introductory wine tasting kit at the discounted price of $6.95, instead of the usual $9.95.  

About a week after signing up, my tasting kit arrived.  It included two whites, four reds, and a few materials to help guide the tasting process.

After logging into the Tasting Room's website, I was treated to a short, two-minute video about how to best taste the wine.  Then, I got to rate each of the wines included in my kit.

To be completely honest, I wasn't in love with the two whites I received -- a 2011 sauvignon blanc from Ten Sisters and a chardonnay from Loophole.  (There is a very slim chance that I would drink those bottles again.)  I rated the sauvignon higher, but there wasn't much of a difference.  I was more excited about the reds, which included a pinot noir, a cabernet sauvignon, a bordeaux, and a malbec.   

Following the tasting, the website created my wine profile.  When it comes to white wine, I'm a "Devil-May-Care" consumer who enjoys crisp and refreshing whites -- your rieslings and your pinot grigios. As for red, I like wines with bold, fruity flavors. (Both of these assessments happen to be true, but I would like to get out of my comfort zone.) 

With my wine profile established, the Tasting Room will send a shipment of twelve, full-sized bottles of wine at a price of $84.49 -- just about $7 per bottle.  AMAZING!  After that, I should receive shipments roughly every three months at a price of $150, which seems like a steal.

So far, I'm impressed with the process.  I didn't wait long for my kit, and the website is very easy to use. I'm not sure how long I'll be a member, though.  Part of me is afraid that my apartment is going to become overrun with wine because I won't drink it fast enough (which isn't the worst fate).  Of course, this probably means that I'll be hosting a lot more social gatherings and will always have a ready-to-go host/hostess gift.

More to come once my next shipment arrives!

Appreciating a Fine Bottle of Wine Can Be Learned

I caught this on The Awl, where it was given the title, "I'm Not Drunk, I'm Educating My Palate!"
Aren't we all?

From the Wall Street Journal:

Professional wine tasters are trained to notice the different flavors that tannins, sugars, acids and various processes give to a particular wine, and to put words to them. But tasters' physiology is basically the same as everyone else's. "It's not as though they were born with more receptors or grew more over time. They simply developed an ability to notice small differences," says Dr. Beauchamp. "With experience, some people can become more attuned to certain smells and tastes, which may lead them to like particular wines more, but their chemistry doesn't change; it's a cognitive effect."

Wine News: B&H, Home of the Original Kitten Wine

Now Fluffy can enjoy wine too!  The Japanese company, B&H, has created a "wine" for cats.  From Kotaku:

And no, Nyan Nyan Nouveau doesn't have any alcohol in it—much like Japanese "kid's beer" doesn't contain any actual booze. As noted on Sankei Biz, the drink does contain juice made from Cabernet grapes, Vitamin C as well as catnip for a beverage that supposedly tastes like red wine. 

B&H Lifes decided to develop the drink for those wanting to celebrate birthdays or Christmas with their beloved cats.

Cheers, kitty!

Wine News: The World's Most Expensive Bottle of Wine

Have $195,000 to spare?  Château Margaux has produced a 12-liter bottle that sold for that much. And, here I was getting excited about springing for wines that cost more than $15.

(via Slate)

2011 Lion's Crest Syrah

It's been a mostly quiet, rainy weekend in DC -- perfect for canning caramel apple butter from the Edible DIY cookbook, finishing up Chimamanda Adichie's Americanah (which I LOVED!), cooking delicious meals, and cracking open a bottle of red wine.

I ordered this bottle earlier this year with my deal from Wine Insiders, and I was inspired to open it tonight to pair with a recipe for ratatouille pasta.  The deep red reminds me of cherries and plums, two notes that I tasted immediately.  It's smooth and doesn't have a biting after taste.  The wine didn't exactly pair with the ratatouille pasta, but I can imagine this would go well with something meatier.

I would definitely buy this one again!

Do Want: Major Scale Musical Wine Glasses

So, you guys, my birthday is in May, but Christmas is coming and I would really like Santa to bring me a set of wine glasses on which to play music.  If I practice enough, I could play Vivaldi's "Spring" just like the person in the video.

 

Study: Wine Drinkers Don't Know How Much They Consume

Well, this explains why so many of my tasting pours are really aggressive.

Researchers from Iowa State and Cornell have found that people who drink wine often don't know how much they're consuming.

The Des Moines Register reports:

The study, published in Substance Use and Misuse, found that participants poured 12 percent more wine into a wide glass than a narrow glass. They also poured 12 percent more wine into a glass they were holding, versus one placed on a table. Color contrast affected pours, too. Participants over-poured white wine into a clear glass by 10 percent. There was less over-pouring when the wine was red. 

Even after participants were informed of their habits, they still over-poured, Smarandescu said.

(h/t The Frisky)

Vino Tech: Second Glass Wine Decider

On the heels of my post about DC Wine Riot, let's explore Second Glass Wine app a bit more.  I thought the app was very helpful to easily track and rate the wines sampled at the event.  However, since the app currently doesn't allow users to track wines consumed elsewhere, the best way to get use out of the app between events is the Wine Decider.

You start with four questions:

1. Who are you with?
2. What are you doing?
3. Price?
4. Style?

After selecting responses from the provided list, the app recommends a wine to fit the mood with notes describing the taste, tips for purchasing, and (sometimes) a cool story.  

This is what I started with:

And the recommendation:

The good: It's very easy to use. I think I had the most fun playing with different combinations and reading the stories attached.  

The bad: I obviously haven't used the app frequently enough to know, but it appears that there's a one-to-one match for scenario and wine recommendation (that is, saying that you want a red in the $20-35 range to have during a dinner with your parents will always yield a Portuguese port).

The meh: If this app updates, it would be fantastic to have more variety in recommendations.