Confirming the Wine Status

 I wrote briefly about my FedEx troubles with recent wine delivery. The wine was delayed four days and not stored in good conditions. The condition of the corks seepage concerned me that the wines may have gotten "cooked."

Here is a good description of cooked wine:

If a bottle of wine has been exposed to extremes of heat, the wine might start to expand and leak out of the cork a bit. When you remove the capsule, you might notice a sticky mess. This is evidence your wine may have been exposed to heat, but it doesn't always mean that your wine is toast. A "cooked" wine's flavors will actually taste ... cooked. The fruit flavors might seem stewed, not fresh. There might be baked, burnt or caramel notes. The color may also have changed from deep red to more of a brown or brick tone.  (WineSpectator)

Well, I was concerned. But the only way to know if a wine is cooked is by sight and taste. But what, say, if I didn't want to open the bottle right now. I generally like to keep my bottles for a few weeks/months/years depending on the varietal and vintage. 

So, how to taste and evaluate the wines without opening them? 

The Coravin! 

I have had a Coravin for a few years but use it only infrequently. But, it provided a great way for me to sample the wines and make a determinations to whether they were cooked or not. 

Fortunately, the wines which appeared to have suffered the most were not cooked--by the definition above. They just got too warm and expanded in the bottle. This, of course, will lessen their shelf life, but again I am lucky in that none of the wines in this shipment were destined for long-term lay-down. One of the bottles, a solid CabSauv, was so good that I finished the bottle across three nights without ever removing the cork. 

That is the beauty of the Coravin. Chris and I are on divergent wine tastes at the moment, she likes whites more and I the reds, I will be using my Coravin a bit more because some wines go flat too quickly once oxidized.

I have contacted the winery and advised them of the results of my sampling and that I will not be requesting the replacements they graciously offered.

Ahh, wine. 

Life is too short to drink bad wine!

-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL

Wine Violation -- Cow in the Winery

Wine Violation
Cow in the Tasting Room

Recently, we noticed a wine violation in a tasting room at a winery we were visiting.

It was not a problem with the winery--it was, in fact, a problem with one of the people visiting and tasting the wines being offered.

The violation? A cow!

I guess the bearer of the cow was dreaming of turning milk into wine.

There is a cow purse in the image as well--that technically is not a violation since it is functional.  Bringing a stuffed animal to experience the joys of wine tasting is NOT recommended. It takes up space on the counter which other wine tasters could use and it could lead to a greater wine violation: alcohol abuse, if wine were to be spilled as a result of contact with the cow!

Keep the bovines outside!

-- Bob and Christina Doan, Elkridge, MD

Wine Disaster: Poor Serving Practices

It happens too frequently, people go out for a nice dinner in a restaurant and order a nice wine to compliment the meal and then,  suddenly, everything goes bad when the wine improperly served.

It happened last evening and was reported to Wine 4 Your Life by a loyal reader. 

The restaurant was a popular upscale Asian chain. The wine was a nice Napa Valley, California, Sauvignon Blanc, which is generally a good choice for Asian foods. This particular wine has a suggested retail of $18 and is probably sold for about $40 in the restaurant. 

Wine violations. Actually there were multiple wine violations. 

Wrong Glass for the Wine

Violation number 1. The first violation is pictured. The wine was served in a champagne flute. Believe it or not, glasses make a huge difference in the taste of wines. The proper glasses deliver the aromatics to the nose in a manner which increases the flavor of the wine. This wine should have been served in a generic white wine glass or, even better, a specially designed Sauvignon Blanc glass.

Violation number 2. Even worse than the wrong glass, the wine was served warm. Just below room temperature. White wines like this are best served well chilled. Well chilled means 45-50 degrees Fahrenheit, warmer than a refrigerator but much cooler than the room. Temperature is critical to ensuring that the character of the wine is retained. The wines are made to be served at these temperatures. An easy was to serve white wines is to place them in the refrigerator a couple of hours before the intended serving time and about 20 minutes before serving take them out, put them on the counter, and open them. 

Red wines can be served too warm as well. The optimal temperature for red wines is about 65 degrees, just below normal room temperature. When I have been served red wines that are too warm, I order an ice bucket to cool them down to a more appropriate temperature. 

Violation  number 3. The wine glass was warm, as in just out of the dishwasher. This contributed to rapid heating of the wine taking it out of the the optimal drinking zone. Of course, in this case, the wine was already outside that zone, but the warm glass aggravated the problem.

The real problem presented by poorly  served wines is that most people don't know that the character of the wine changes dramatically. Many people, myself included, order wines at restaurants to check out different vintages and winemakers. Ultimately, the winemaker is the one who suffers from a poorly presented restaurant wine. Their product is deemed defective and sales may be lost and reputations damaged.

Wines need to be served properly to be fully enjoyed.

-- Bob and Christina Doan, Elkridge, MD