Understanding Wine Dry/Sweet Scale

Would like to know more about wines and which ones are dry versus sweet? Then take a look at Wine Varieties. This will help you understand which wine varieties are what levels of dry or sweet.

First, you need to know that dry for a wine does not mean the opposite of sweet, which is bitter. Dryness in wines is not bitter. It really doesn't mean sour either. It means more lack of sweet.

Lack of sweet tends to bring out more flavors in the wine itself. That kind of explains why so many red varieties of wine are on the dry scale instead of the sweet scale. These are the wines that have the riches flavors. These are also the wines that usually can be aged, which brings out more flavors.

Personally, I am a huge fan of Chardonnay white wine. It's the driest of the whites and has some very rich flavors. Besides understanding the different varieties of wine and their dry to sweet levels, you may also want to learn a bit more about how wine is actually made. This creates its flavors and aromas.

Understanding wines and how to choose wines is important to many of us. Whether it's for your own consumption or you want to take a bottle to a dinner party, you want to choose ones that you will enjoy and your host will appreciate.

Take some time to learn about the wine basics. Then discover which wine varieties you may want to choose.

Hosting a Wine Tasting Party

During the winter months, wine tasting parties can be a fun way to gather with friends. With the big holidays over and the dreary days of winter upon us, a nice theme for a get-together is wine tasting.

You'll want to think about the type of party to have. It can be a specific variety of wines, like only reds, or only whites, or maybe a dessert party for sweeter wines. Will you include a dinner with the wine tasting or just serve appetizers?

If you want to focus on just certain types of wines, you'll want to match your menu to those wines. Wine enhances the flavor of food and vice versa. Typically, white wines work best with lighter fare, such as fish or chicken dishes and salads. Red wines are stronger in flavor so they go better with red meats and heartier foods. Pairing wine and food is simple when you follow some basics.

Then you'll want to brush up on your wine tasting terms. Learning the right terms for what you will be doing with wine tasting will also help you and your guests enjoy the party more.

If you know someone who is especially good at wine tasting, ask them to be the group leader and help teach all the guests how to properly taste wine. If not, learn how wine tasting functions yourself so you can be the group leader.

More than anything, enjoy yourself. The whole idea behind wine is enjoyment, so go ahead and plan a wine tasting party for the shear enjoyment.

Pairing Wine and Cheese

The month of August at All About Wine is all about pairing wine and cheese. Which wines go good with which cheeses? Which cheeses to serve with which wines? What should I know about pairing wine and cheese?

The delectable tastes of great cheese goes wonderfully with the delightful tastes of wine. For all of us, choosing wines is all about our own enjoyment and mating that enjoyment with food is always an additional treat. So All About Wine is sharing that enjoyment with cheeses.

If you think cheese is just about American slices, then you need to start with the primer. Then take your wine and cheese pairings up a notch. Stay tuned to All About Wine for the next regularly scheduled program, a review of a good book to learn lots more.

First and foremost, wine and cheese pairing is all about taste. Go for the wines and cheeses that you enjoy and do some taste testing yourself. Find the combinations that cause you to say "wow."

Educate College Grads About Wine Drinking

As our kids are becoming college graduates, we can use their graduation parties to help them understand about wine drinking and how to properly consume wine. Graduation parties are popular to celebrate the fabulous accomplishment of completing their college degree. So you can this time to present them with good wines and help them understand the art of wine drinking.

Most college graduates are over 21, the legal age for alcoholic beverage drinking in the United States. At their graduation party, instead of allowing them the typical beer options, try offering a few wines and showing them the proper way to taste and enjoy wine.

Providing plenty of food is not unusual. Our friend Mandee, a professional event planner, has come up with some great ideas for foods to serve at a graduation party. The food is light and ready for summer. So the wines should be lighter in body. White wines definitely qualify, but so do roses and some reds.

Merlot and Pinot Noirs are usually the lightest of the reds. Look for young wines that are meant to be consumed with no further aging. Even though boxed wines are not normally considered great wines, they do make good options for serving wine to new wine drinkers. There are many boxed wine options that can be quite good. They are also easy ways to serve wine for parties.

The lighter-bodied wines also work well chilled. Mandee has great ideas for keeping drinks cool at graduation parties. You can use her ideas to chill your wines as well. Match up wine choices with food options for great presentations.

Be sure to brush up on your wine-tasting skills and terms so that you are ready to educate your college grads and their friends in the art of wine tasting. And while you're at, be sure to choose some great wines for yourself to enjoy at the graduation party.

The Value of Using Wine Glass Charms

The next time you have guests over and serve them wine, it's a good idea to use wine glass charms to help identify each guest's glass. Think about the times that you have been at a party, enjoying your wine, but put your glass down somewhere, then can't figure out which is yours anymore? Think about the times, as a hostess, you have been the one to wash wine glasses in the middle of the party because people didn't which one was theirs anymore either?

I got stuck with those problems too often, before I discovered wine glass charms. Of course, I have enough wine glasses for my guests, but not that many extra. So the wine glass charms proved to be a great answer. Each guest had their own charm to identify which glass was theirs. It no longer mattered if they couldn't quite remember where they set their glass down, we could always find it again.

Wine glass charms come in many different styles so you can match them to your party theme, if you want. As an animal lover, I have many sets of charms with different animals on them. Every time I use them for a party, they become something of a party game. We enjoy referring to each other by the animal of their wine glass charm. "I'm the giraffe," or "I'm the Persian Cat," can often be heard at my parties.

When you next need a gift for a wine lover or a hostess gift, wine glass charms make excellent choices. They aren't expensive so you can get several sets that match the personality of the person you are giving the gift to.

So use wine glass charms for your next party and save yourself some hassle. You can find out lots about wine at All About Wine to help you choose, serve and enjoy wine.

All About Wine

Ever wonder what some of the terms associated with wine mean? We have you covered. Ever wonder what are the different types of wines? We have you covered there, too. In fact, we are talking all about wine.

At All About Wine, we are discussing how wine is made in Wine Basics. We are defining the terms used in wine tasting. But, there's much more and much more to come.

You don't have to be a wine snob to enjoy wine. But it does help to understand why people do the things they do with wine. And it's all in plain talk. Helping you understand more about wine will also help you enjoy wine more.

Next up on our list is how to taste wine and why you want to do some of those things that wine snobs do when they drink wine. You'll want to keep an eye out for that!

Get a little background on cork, what it is and why it's used – and not used – for wine bottles. Then what should you do with all of those wine corks? We have you covered there.

Take a tour around All About Wine. See for yourself how you can enjoy wine. Find the right wine glasses, too. And find out why you want the right wine glasses. We do have you covered.