"Red wine -----Its like your girlfriend and your wife does'nt bother." says Sudhish

We all must have tasted Red wine. There is lots about Red wine you will get on google but what you won't get is Types of Red wine and its pairing with Indian food. Its a general belief that wine is western drink and its paired well with their food.
In in post I will more focus on types of Red wine and their pairing with Indian food.

Syrah (or Shiraz)

(Sah-ra or Shi-raz) Shiraz or syrah are two names for the same variety. Europe vintners only use the name syrah.

Food pairings: Chicket Tikka, Kadhai paneer, meat (steak, beef, stews, etc.)

Typical taste in varietal wine: Aromas and flavours of wild black-fruit (such as blackcurrant), with overtones of black pepper spice and roasting meat. The abundance of fruit sensations is often complemented by warm alcohol and gripping tannins.

Toffee notes if present come not from the fruit but from the wine having rested in oak barrels.

The shiraz variety gives hearty, spicy reds. While shiraz is used to produce many average wines it can produce some of the world's finest, deepest, and darkest reds with intense flavors and excellent longevity.

Merlot

(Mare-lo) Easy to drink. The softness of Merlot has made it an "introducing" wine for new red-wine drinkers.

Food pairings: Roasted Paneer, Paneer Tikka, any tikka dish etc....


Typical taste in varietal wine: typical scents include blackcherry, plums and herbal flavors. The texture is round but a middle palate gap is common. The Merlot type of wine is less tannic (rough) than Cabernet Sauvignon.

Cabernet sauvignon

(Ca-burr-nay so-veen-yaw) Widely accepted as one of the world's best varieties. Cabernet sauvignon is often blended with cabernet franc and merlot. It usually undergoes oak treatment.

Food pairings: best with simply prepared red meat.


Typical taste in varietal wine: full-bodied, but firm and gripping when young. With age, polyphenols polymerize, the grip fades away. The rich currant qualities of the Cabernet Sauvignon wine change to that of pencil box. Bell pepper notes remain.Vanilla notes if present come not from the fruit but from the oak treatment.

Malbec

(Mal-bek)
Food pairings: all types of meat-based meals doesn't go well with Vegterian food.

Typical taste in varietal wine: malbec’s characteristics vary greatly depending on where it is grown and how it is transformed. Generally it produces an easy-drinking style, well colored wine that tastes of plums, berries, and spice.

Malbec is often blended with other varieties such as cabernet franc, cabernet sauvignon, merlot, and petit verdot to make Bordeaux style wines. Malbec and some such blends may present some health benefits.

Pinot noir

(Pee-know na-wahr) One of the noblest red wine grapes. Pinot noir is difficult to grow, rarely blended, with no roughness.

Food pairings: excellent with grilled salmon, chicken, and lamb.

Typical taste in varietal wine: very unlike Cabernet Sauvignon. The structure is delicate and fresh. The tannins are very soft; this is related to the low level of polyphenols. The aromatics are very fruity (cherry, strawberry, plum), often with notes of tea-leaf, damp earth, or worn leather.

Yet pinot noir is very transparent to the place where its is grown. "The staggering range of wines produced makes it impossible and pointless to define which personality is the best expression of the variety", as Craig Camp put it.

Zinfandel

Zinfandel(Zin-fan-dell) Perhaps the world's most versatile wine grape, making everything from blush wine (White Zinfandel), to rich, heavy reds.

Food pairings: very much depends on the freshness/heaviness of the wine; tomato-sauce pastas, pizza, and grilled and barbecued meats.

Typical taste in varietal wine:often a zesty flavor with berry and pepper.

Sangiovese

(San-gee-oh-ve-zee)

Food pairings: a good choice for chinnees cuisines.

Typical taste in varietal wine: the primary style is medium-bodied with fresh berry and plum flavors.

Barbera

(Bar-bear-a) Not as popular as Merlot but with similar attributes.

Food pairings: barbera wines are versatile: they match many dishes, including tomato sauces.

Typical taste in varietal wine: juicy black cherry and plum fruit, a silky texture and excellent acidity. You may wish to read tasting notes of Barberas at La Spinetta.

Happy Reading ,

Sudhish

Types of wine and its paring with Indian Food....

For most people, the world of wine is often seen as mysterious, seductive, esoteric, and yet mostly confusing. Particularly, wine and food pairing is an especially common dilemma. The obscurity of choosing wines that compliment complex foods is even larger of a reservation. India, a country fairly novel to wine drinking, is suddenly witnessing a fanatical growth in people who have started enjoying and experimenting with a glass of wine. With wines being predominantly a discovery of the West; it has not been easy for us Indians to combine them with Indian cuisine. It is only experimentation and self-discovery that will lead to some acceptable answers on, “Which wines qualify with an Indian meal?”

To understand wine and food pairing , lets start understand types of Wine.

Appetizer Wine

As the name suggests, appetizer wines are served as a cocktail or before the meal to sharpen the appetite. These are generally soft, light-bodied wines that are simple and fruity and match up with most hors d'oeuvres.

Examples: Righetti Amarone, Dry Sherry, Saracco Moscato, Chilled Dry White Vermouth

Sparkling Wine / Champagne

Sparkling wine is a wine with significant levels of carbon dioxide in it making it fizzy. The carbon dioxide may result from natural fermentation or as a result of carbon dioxide injection. The classic example of a sparkling wine is Champagne, but many other examples are produced in other countries and regions. The generic Italian term for sparkling wine is Spumante, whereas in Germany it is known as Sekt. In some parts of the world, the words "champagne" or "spumante" are used as a synonym for sparkling wine, although laws in Europe and other countries reserve the word champagne for a specific type from the Champagne region of France.

While the majority of sparkling wines are white or rosé, Australia, Italy and Moldova all have a sizable production of red sparkling wines. In Australia, these sparklers are often made from the Shiraz grape.

Examples: Dry champagne (fruity and sweet), Brut champagne (very dry)

White Wine

These are usually good for beginners as they often tend to like the sweet taste. White wines usually contain less alcohol than most reds. Many wine lovers may not be aware that Germany produces some of the most spectacular white wines in the world.

White wine should be served lightly chilled (around 55 degrees). Once opened, the bottle can be kept in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.

Examples (based on types / names of grapes): Chardonnay [Shar-dun-NAY], Sauvignon Blanc [SOH-veen-yown, blahnk], Chenin Blanc [SHEN-ihn, BLAHN], Riesling [REES-ling].

Red Wine

Red dinner wines are usually dry and rich, sometimes tart, always hearty. The best red wines today are coming from France, Australia, Chile and Italy. Red wine should be served at room temperature (65 degree ideal) and must never be chilled. It is recommended that once you open the bottle, allow it to breathe for 30-60 minutes before serving. And also, once you open the bottle, you should finish it. Normally, a red wine bottle - once opened, doesn't have shelf life of more than 1-2 days.

Examples (based on types / names of grapes): Merlot [Mehr-LOW], Cabernet Franc [Cah-burr-NAY Frahnk], Cabernet Sauvignon [Cah-burr-NAY Sow-vee-NYOH], Barbera [Bar-BEAR-ah], Carmenère [kar-men-nar], Malbec [mahl-BEHK], Pinot Noir [pee-noh NWAHR], Shiraz [SHEAR-oz], Syrah [See-RAH], Barbarossa [Bar-bar-Roh-sa], Pinotage [pee-noh TAHJ].

Shiraz with Dark Chocolates: Enjoy a bite first... then have a sip of Shiraz... followed by another piece of chocolate. Try it... it's awesome!

Desert Wine / Pudding Wine / Ice Wine

Dessert wines are sweet wines typically served with dessert. Despite the name, they are often best appreciated alone, or with fruit or bakery sweets. Heavier and sweeter than dinner wines, these can range from grossly sugary to crisp and refreshing.

Ice wines are very sweet but with lots of balancing acidity. Most wine laws require temperatures below at least −7 °C (19 °F) before the grapes for ice wine can be picked. Due to the low yield from frozen grapes, these are normally expensive. The most famous ice wines are German Eiswein and Canadian ice wine.

White dessert wines are generally served somewhat chilled, but can be easily served too cold. Red dessert wine are served at room temperature or slightly chilled.

Examples of dessert wine: Madeira and Sherry. Port wine is also served as dessert wine.

Port Wine

Port wine (also known as Porto or simply Port) is a Portuguese wine. It is produced from grapes grown and processed in the Douro region in Portugal. The wine produced is then fortified with the addition of a Brandy (distilled grape spirits) in order to stop the fermentation, leaving residual sugar in the wine, and to boost the alcohol content.

It is typically a sweet red wine, but also comes in dry, semi-dry and white varieties. It is often served as a dessert wine.

Wines in the style of port are produced around the world in several countries, but under European Union guidelines, only the product from Portugal may be labeled as Port.

Rosé Wine / Blush Wine

A Rosé (French: rosé, ‘pinkish’) or Blush (in America) wine has some of the color typical of a red wine, but only enough to turn it pink. The pink color can range from a pale orange to a vivid near-purple, depending on the grapes and wine making techniques. Such wines are generally produced from red grapes by quickly removing the skins from the juice after the grapes are pressed. This technique stops the transfer of color from the dark pigments in the grape's skin, and the wine continues its processing as for white wine. Rosé wine can also be produced as a by-product of red wine fermentation using a technique known as Saignée, or bleeding the vats. Rosé wines are more often produced by adding a specific amount of red wine to an already finished white wine. Rosé wine is served chilled like white wine.

Example: Beaujolais Nouveau Nouveau, Zinfandel, Blush, Chablis.

Happy Reading .....Next I will take you the mysterious world of Red Wine and talk abut how can we pair the Wine with Indian!!!

15+1 Quotes about wines

"Wine – Never complain, Never demand ----whether you like it or don’t" - Sudhish Srivastava

"I wonder what the vintners buy one half so precious as the stuff they
sell." - Omar Khayyam

"Wine makes a man more pleased with himself; I do not say it makes him
more pleasing to others." - Samuel Johnson

"Wine can of their wits the wise beguile,
Make the sage frolic, and the serious smile." - Homer, "Odyssey (9th c. B.C.)

"When there is plenty of wine, sorrow and worry take wing."- Ovid, "The Art of Love" (c. A.D. 8)

"Wine is the drink of the gods, milk the drink of babes, tea the drink of women, and water the drink of beasts." - John Stuart Blackie

"If penicillin can cure those that are ill, Spanish sherry can bring the dead back to life." - Sir Alexander Fleming

"Tis pity wine should be so deleterious,
For tea and coffee leave us much more serious." - Lord Byron

"Wine, madam, is God's next best gift to man." - Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary," 1907

"I have enjoyed great health at a great age because everyday since I can remember I have consumed a bottle of wine except when I have not felt well. Then I have consumed two bottles." - A Bishop of Seville

"The soft extractive note of an aged cork being withdrawn has the true sound of a man opening his heart." - William S. Benwell,


"Nothing is so effective in keeping one young and full of lust as a discriminating palate thoroughly satisfied at least once a day."- Angelo Pelligrini

"In Europe we thought of wine as something as healthy and normal as food and also a great giver of happiness and well being and delight. Drinking wine was not a snobbism nor a sign of sophistication nor a cult; it was as natural as eating and to me as necessary." - Ernest Hemingway

"We hear of the conversion of water into wine at the marriage in Cana as of a miracle. But this conversion is, through the goodness of God, made every day before our eyes. Behold the rain which descends from heaven upon our vineyards, and which incorporates itself with the grapes, to be changed into wine; a constant proof that God loves us, and loves to see us happy." - Ben Franklin

"God made only water, but man made wine."- Victor Hugo, "Les Contemplations (1856)

"Wine is a living liquid containing no preservatives. Its life cycle comprises youth, maturity, old age, and death. When not treated with reasonable respect it will sicken and die." - Julia Child

Its all about wines !!! - "If your heart is warm with happiness, you'll need a glass; If sorrow chills your heart, have two!" - Hannu

Introduction to Wine

Intro: Wine has a rich history dating back to around 6000 BC and is thought to have originated in areas now within the borders of Georgia and Iran. It's an alcoholic beverage often made by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast which consume the sugars found in the grapes and convert them into alcohol. There are hundreds of different types of wines from all over the world. The type of grape used in wine-making determines the variety of wine produced. Although 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 (for example, apple wine or elderberry wine) and are generically known as fruit wine or country wine.

Color of wine: The color comes from the skin of the grapes. The juice that comes from nearly every variety of grape when pressed is white or clear. This is true of red grapes as well. The color or pigments of red grapes are found in the skins of the grapes. In order to make a red wine from red grapes, it is necessary to leave the skins in contact with the juice during fermentation. When the skins are placed in the fermenting 'must', the pigments leech out of the skins and color the wine. When red grapes are pressed and the skins are kept out, the color of the wine remains white and is considered a 'blanc de noirs' (a white wine from red grapes).

Alcohol in wine (% by Vol): Alcoholic strength is the ethanol (the main product of fermentation) in wine. It is measured in percentage as opposed to proof, which is how alcohol is measured in hard liquor. In the U.S., if a label simply says “Table Wine” then the alcohol content is between 11% and 14%. In Europe the variance is between 8.5% and 14%. The dessert wine usually contains 14-20% alcohol, and Port wine around 20%.

Vintage Wine: A vintage wine is one made from grapes that were all, or primarily, grown and harvested in a single specified year. Most countries allow a vintage wine to include a portion of wine that is not from the year denoted on the label. For example, in the United States and European Union, the requirement is 85%. The opposite of a vintage wine is a non-vintage wine, which is usually a blend from the produce of two or more years. This is a common practice for wine-makers seeking a consistent style of wine, year on year.
Vintage Port Wine

Dry Wine: Dry wine is the opposite of sweet wine. For cultures where wine is consumed often, dry is the only wine used with meals. Sweet wine is used only as desserts wine. A wine is said to be dry when little or no sugar is left after the fermentation process. It is also said to have "fermented right out".