Each of us is evolving in our personal cultural experience. Perhaps you too have come to the place where you’re ready to experience more adventure as a connoisseur. There is culture in wine. It can be found in the ritual of drinking it, appreciating the craft of the winemaker, and in the wine’s stimulation to our taste buds. And now, let us pursue the pure taste enjoyment of wine.
When we drink wine, our taste buds are stimulated in a unique way and the alcohol has a calming effect on the brain. Human taste has four components: sweetness, saltiness, acidity and bitterness. The acidity and sweetness in wine are the two factors that balance together to produce a pleasant sensation on our sense of taste. We taste the acidity with the middle of the tongue and sweetness with the tip of the tongue.
Wines with excessive acidity taste harsh, those with insufficient acidity taste uninteresting and their flavor does not linger in the mouth long enough. Tannins contribute to the relationship of bitterness on the tongue. If you’ve ever chewed into grape seeds, then you’ve tasted the dry bitterness of tannin. Wine with too much tannin is unpleasantly bitter. The right level of tannin has an effect of bringing all the flavors together with a good “grip” in the mouth. The various fruit-like flavors detectable in wine contribute nuances to the sweetness we taste. It’s fun trying to detect different fruit characteristics, such as berries, plums, apples, pears…
Our other senses are involved as well. Our sight enjoys the color and our sense of smell enjoys the fragrances. Much of a wine’s character is revealed only through the aroma it exudes. This adds richly to the dimensions found in wine.
Wine shopping can be really tricky and quite challenging especially for people who aren’t normally wine drinkers. The easy part of wine shopping is that there are a lot of wine store merchants out there. The complicated part is choosing which one to buy from the numerous wine selections out there: sparkling wines, wedding wines, shiraz wine, kosher wines, napa wines, sauvignon blanc wines, etc. Before you buy wine though, it’s important to understand the basic things about wine.
Wine is an alcoholic beverage, typically made of fermented grape juice. The natural chemical balance of grapes is such that they can ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes or other nutrients. Wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast consumes the sugars found in the grapes and converts them into alcohol. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are used depending on the type of wine being produced.
Other fruits such as apples and berries can also be fermented; the resultant wines are normally named after the fruit from which they are produced and are generically known as fruit wine or wine country. Wines must be slightly aged to be drinkable.
Importance of Wine Preservation
Wine preservation is important for achieving quality wines otherwise known as fine wines. Wine that isn’t preserved properly will result in oxidation damage. Oxidation damage degrades the wine by causing the aroma, flavor, and color to change. Wine preservation products are intended to reduce the amount of air that comes into contact with wine to prevent or slow down oxidation. Two methods of wine preservation: low cost wine preservation and high cost wine preservation.
Low Cost Wine Preservation
Wine Preservation 1: Rebottling $0
Instead of purchasing wine preservation systems, some people transfer the leftover wine into smaller bottles and then put a stopper in the bottle. This wine preservation method is said to extend the life of the bottle for a couple of days.
Wine Preservation 2: Marbles ~$1 or less
Instead of rebottling, some people opt to purchase marbles to fill up the unfinished bottle before putting a stopper in the bottle neck. This wine preservation method is said to extend the life of the bottle for a couple of days.
Wine Preservation 3: Spray ~$10
This wine preservation system uses 100% non-toxic inert gas to remove oxygen from the opened bottle. This wine preservation method is said to extend the life of the bottle for up to a week.
Wine Preservation 4: Vacuum Pump ~$15 – $40
Vacuum pumps are designed to pump out the air from an open bottle. They are portable and usually fit any size or type of wine bottle. This wine preservation method is said to extend the life of the bottle for up to five days.
High Cost Wine Preservation
Wine Preservation 1: Argon Gas ~$70
Argon gas systems are designed to prevent the air from touching the wine. They are portable. This wine preservation method is said to extend the life of the bottle for days-weeks.
Wine Preservation 2: Inert Gas ~$110
This wine preservation system is popular amongst restaurants that serve wine by the glass. Inert gas is used to displace oxygen. The inert gas tanks are good for 20 bottles of wine and will need to be replaced. This wine preservation method is said to extend the life of the bottle for a week or so.
Wine Preservation 3: Preserve & Serve Systems ~$600 – $900
These wine preservation systems allow you to preserve and serve three-five bottles at a time. They are compact, do not require electricity, and fit most standard size bottles. This wine preservation method is said to extend the life of the bottles for weeks.
Wine Preservation 4: Preserve & Chill Systems ~$400
This wine preservation system allows you to preserve and chill two bottles at a time. This wine preservation method is said to extend the life of the bottles for up to 10 days.
Wine Storage: A Key to Wine Preservation
In wine preservation, a proper wine storage comes in utmost important. This is where wine cellars come into play. Wine cellars are wine storage rooms for wines in bottles or barrels. There are three areas of concern in active wine cellars: light, humidity and temperature. Wine cellars must be dark because ultraviolet (UV) light will damage wine by causing the degradation of otherwise stable organic compounds found in wine. The ideal wine storage temperature is 55° to 60°F. Humidity in wine cellars on the other hand is only a concern due to the use of traditional cork seals.
