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Beer Wine And Spirits Article:

90+ point rated wines under $20

Food - Wine Pairing Tips For French and Italian Wines

Many people are intimidated by the task of selecting wine in a fine restaurant. This article is intended to provide a simple guide that will enable anyone to feel confident enough to choose a wine that will impress their dinner guests. The focus is on French and Italian wines.

While there are no set rules for pairing wine with food, generally a full-bodied red wine should accompany rich and seasoned food. White wines are better suited for lighter fare.

These are some of my personal favorite wine and food pairings for French and Italian wines:

Beef = Amarone,

Cheese = Beaujolais,

Chicken = Chardonnay,

Cold Meats = Tavel,

Chile = Grumello,

Chinese Food = Soave,

Clams and Oysters = Champagne,

Duck = Pouilly-Fume,

Fish = Muscadet,

Ham = Pinot Grigio,

Lamb = Saint-Emilion,

Ossco Bucco = Barbaresco,

Pate = Saint-Veran,

Pheasant = Vino Nobile di Montepulciano,

Pork = Pouilly-Fuisse,

Red Sauce = Chianti,

White Sauce = Pinot Grigio,

Sauerbraten = Riesling,

Shell Fish = Gavi,

Steak = Gattinara,

Stew = Barolo,

Veal = Soave, and

Venison = Pomerol

In the end, it is really a matter of personal preference and what suits your palate. If your restaurant does not have these particular recommendations in their wine cellar, you can always ask the sommelier to recommend something comparable.

These suggestions should enable you to at least buy or order to the proper wine to accompany dinner. Of course, there is a lot more to know about ordering wine, wine tasting, wine production, and wine conversation.

Please feel free to email me at sales@thewinebook.com with questions on French or Italian wine. You may also visit my website at www.thewinebook.com for more information.

For those interested in learning more, Mr. Cataldo's book, The Wine Book, is the perfect beginners wine guide: short, easy to read, and small enough to take with you. In addition to food wine pairing examples, it includes wine descriptions you can use in conversation or at wine tasting parties, wine tasting tips, and information on Italian and French wine regions and production. The Wine Book is small enough to carry to a restaurant and refer to discreetly.

The Wine Book also includes checklists for tasting notes. This has made it a favorite give-away for wine tastings and events. Fine New Jersey Restaurants, such as Aldo's, The Brickhouse, and Pane and Vino have provided it to their customers for just that purpose.

wine.com

Wine is undoubtedly one of the great national treasures of France, and some of the most expensive in the world, like a vintage Romanee Conti red wine produced in Burgundy can set you back anything upwards of 1,000 for just one bottle.

These days, people have started consuming a lot of wine. The reason is that today, people are aware of the health benefits of drinking wine. A good amount of money is spend on wine consumption. However, the main difficulty most people face after purchasing wine is the storage of wine. People tend to spend a lot of money on purchasing wine but after some time, they feel that they have almost wasted their money. The reason is that the wine does not taste the same after some time. Now, this is because these people do not have any clue about how to store wine properly. Proper wine storage is very important for providing longevity to wine and also to enhance its taste while maintaining the quality.

Back in October of this year the news of an impending hop shortage claimed that prices will skyrocket for their favorite craft brew and that the price of hops in general would rise to all-time highs. If you are a micro/craft brewer perhaps the situation of the world hop market should be taken very seriously. If you are a homebrewer, how will this affect you?

It's been nearly a month and you've waited patiently for your latest batch of homebrewed beer. The time has come and you open a bottle or pull the tap and begin to fill a glass of what you hope will be your next favorite beer (generally speaking my favorite beer is usually the one I'm drinking at the moment). The taste is great but the beer is hazy and not very clear. You know it taste good but it's hard to convince your friends, who are used to buying and drinking sparkling clear beer, that the cloudy haze is alright to drink and really doesn't affect the taste.

Unmalted grains such as corn, rice, rye, oats, barley, and wheat are called adjuncts. They are used in brewing beer and produce beers with added body and a greater brilliancy. Adjuncts also contribute to the flavor of the beer, for example, rice has a very neutral aroma and taste, while corn results in a full flavored beer and wheat adds dryness to beer. Adjuncts also can result in a final product with higher alcohol content without altering the flavor.