What do You Need to Know to Become a Wine Buff?

Wine is a drink that is appreciated all over the world. As such many people out there aspire to become a wine buff, but they don’t know where to start.

At the Ideal Wine Company we’ve established a reputation in the luxury wine trade. We’ve built this reputation by knowing what makes a good luxury wine. We understand that in order to choose the wine that’s right for you, there are some basics you need to know. That’s why we thought we’d share this knowledge with you.

So what do you need to know to become a wine buff? There are a few basics that you need to get comfortable with first, things you might have overlooked before, but that are essentials in sourcing out true quality luxury wines.

Start with the bottle. It may seem redundant, but a bottle will tell you all you need to know about the wine in question. They’ll tell you about the quality, vintage, alcohol content and brand of the wine in question.

Bottles first list the producer, then the variety of wine, then the region it was produced in and grape variety used, then the vintage year and finally the alcohol content. The alcohol content is what many look at, but you should be looking at the vintage year, grape variety and producer to determine the quality of the wine.

Next you need to know about serving temperatures.  Most people know the basics, that white wine is chilled and that red is served at room temperature However to become a wine buff you need to know the specifics.

Red wine should be served at room temperature, around 20 degrees Celsius to 25 degrees Celsius. Rose wine has to be served slightly chilled; the best temperatures for this are between 7 degrees Celsius and 13 degrees Celsius. White wine should be served chilled at around 5 degrees Celsius.

You also need to know about how to serve wine, which glass.  The rules for this vary depending on the wine, but a good rule of thumb is to use larger rimmed glasses for red, as they allow the wine to breathe and slimmer glasses for white. Also always use a flute for champagne.

You also need to know about tasting. To be a good taster first hold the glass by the stem and swill gently, this allows the wine to react with the air and improves the quality. Then lightly sip, swill it around your mouth letting it fall by the sides of your tongue, then spit.

This is only the beginning; wine is a complex field and there’s a lot you need to know to truly become a wine buff. However these hard rules will help you on your way. 

Oregon: An Example of Extreme Weather Patterns on Viticulture?

With a cold snap sweeping the Northern US at the moment Oregon is experiencing temperatures it hasn’t seen in years. What the Ideal Wine Company wants to ask is, will this extreme weather stifle a growing wine industry in the Beaver State?

When we think of American wine making a hundred images flit into our head. A new world of adventurous sun soaked vines lying in the heart of California wine country. This image means that we tend to ignore other wine making ventures in the countries developing industry.

However Oregon itself has a fledgling wine industry, all originally made possible in the Beaver state due to changing weather patterns.

Wines have actually been produced in the region since its pre-statehood days back in 1840 when it was a territory. However its industry only gained significance in the 1960’s, today boasting an international reputation for the excellence of the wines they produce. These typically include Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris, amongst others.

However, as we’ve discussed in an earlier post, changing weather patterns are altering the face of the international wine making industry. Rising rain and heat levels could one day move the industry north of its traditional areas. This has been most prevalent in Europe.

However Oregon hasn’t escaped the wine changing weather. Naturally the cold snap the US is experiencing right now is a part of it. These are winds that have come down from the arctic itself. Such cold temperatures are likely to do some damage to the Oregon wine making industry.

However the Beaver State has already undergone a weather pattern change. In late September of last year, the regions vineyards experienced heavy rainfall. This occurred at the height of the wine grape harvest season.

This caused fear amongst industry experts. It seems that this fear is founded as a report on the final product labeled Oregon wine for that year “definitely not for the faint of heart.” This is a disappointment for what has been an increasingly successful industry over the years.

So what does this mean? Right now, it simply means some re-branding most likely as companies scrabble to sell products with bad reviews. However it could be indicative of a greater shift in the Beaver state that may see it decrease its wine production.

It’s clear that these weather patterns are having an effect on everyone and everything, wine is certainly no different: only time will tell where the Oregon viticulture industry will go from here.

What Are the Best Conditions to Grow Grapes?

At the Ideal Wine Company we recognise that wine as a concept is largely based around grapes. Without the grape vine, wine would never have become the drink that has played a part in every culture throughout human history.

This is why we make sure that the luxury wines that we have for you are based on the most premium grapes the world of viticulture has to offer. If you have a sub-standard grape then it stands to reason that you will have a sub-standard bottle of wine at the end of it.

However in order to have quality grapes, you need to ensure that they are grown in the correct conditions. So this leads us to the question, what are the best conditions to grow grapes in? This is a complex question with no absolute answers; however there are a few conditions that act as constants.

The first is climate. There are certain climates that facilitate effective viticulture. This is why countries such as France, Italy, Spain and Australia have grown to dominate the wine industry. They have the correct climates.

They have the correct environmental temperatures and weather patterns. These are the conditions that aid growth. Generally the grape vine needs between 1300-1500 hours of sunlight during the growing season.

Correlating with this is rainfall. Rainfall provides the water the vine needs to aid growth. Even some hotter climates don’t have the correct type of rainfall to facilitate effective viticulture. The average vine needs an area with around 27 inches of rainfall throughout the year to produce succulent grapes.

Then we have the type of soil. Soil is a surprisingly diverse subject which effects product growth as an entire field. If the soil isn’t correct, the vine won’t have the best start and you’ll be left with a weaker wine. Experts generally, although not in all cases, conclude that sandy loam soil is the ideal soil for viticulture. It drains effectively but also has all the necessary nutrients the vine needs to thrive.

There’s also a case to be made for the style of terrain the grapes of grown on. It is generally held to be a truth of viticulture that slopes make for better vines than flat terrain. This concerns the greater degree of exposure to sunlight a vine will receive on a slope.

At the end of the day viticulture is a complex practice. It needs to be to produce a drink that is effortless in its complexity. However a culture such as this wouldn’t have grown without these basic constants. This is why wine has endured. It’s versatile yet complex

Ideal Wine Company Special Offer: Chateau Ducru Beaucaillou 1982

At the Ideal Wine Company we’ve proven ourselves experts at picking wines. We bring together experience and knowledge to cherry pick wines that’ll sparkle as the jewels of your collection. Picking a good bottle of wine is an arduous task. You’ve got to put the research in. You’ve got to really know the bottle. At the end of the day you have to know what wine collectors want. We’re always looking for ways to enrich the lives of the international wine collecting community. Not only do we spend the time picking out the perfect bottles, we think up ways to get them to you. That’s why every so often there comes along a bottle of wine so superb we have to let you know about it. We have to put it on special offer.

The Ideal Wine Company special offer has two purposes. Firstly it brings stellar vintages to your attention. Secondly it gives you the opportunity to invest in this star bottle for less. We like to help our wine collecting customers any way we can and this is one way in which we do. Every so often there is a bottle so luxurious; we just have to put it on offer. That’s certainly the case this month. This month we have the Chateau Ducru Beaucaillou 1982 on offer exclusively for you.

The Chateau Ducru Beaucaillou 1982 is one of those bottles that doesn’t roll around every day. It’s one of those bottles that when it does come around, you have to grab it with both hands. Why, we hear you ask? Quite simply, it’s quality in a bottle. A classic red originating in the famous vineyards of Bordeaux, it’s the type of red that sits heavy and tempting on the tongue melting in the mouth and sliding down a storm as you taste that first sip. Silky in texture, rich in taste, fruity in composition and subtle in its undertones, its Bordeaux wine at its finest. This is the type of bottle you save for a special occasion. It’s not one to break out for a normal evening. We bring this opportunity of velvety sumptuousness in a bottle to you for a mere £300, a saving on the price it would usually fetch.

The Chateau Ducru Beaucaillou 1982 is heaven in a bottle just waiting to be poured. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to experience it for yourself. 

World’s Oldest Wine Cellar Discovered in Israel

At the Ideal Wine Company we concentrate on providing you with the types of luxury wine you are proud to store in your collection. Wine collecting is hardly a modern practice; it goes back centuries. It goes back to the ancients, to the days of mythology. For those of us in the wine trade, the history of the wine making industry is fascinating; you can use it to chart the history of society, of the human race itself. In this way wine acts as so much more than a drink; it’s a link to our past, our ancestors. That’s why we’re excited by the discovery of what is potentially the world’s oldest wine cellar.

The Mirror Newspaper reported last Saturday (23^rd November) that experts had discovered a wine cellar that is around 4,000 years old in Israel. Tel Kabri, Israel plays host to the fantastic discovery which had 40 amphorae like jars each containing 50 litres of strong sweet wine and the cellar dates back to around 1,700 BC. It was believed to have been produced by the ancient Canaanites, the people who were known to have inhabited Palestine before the Jewish peoples of the Old Testament.

It’s an amazing discovery and it can tell us much about the ancient art of wine making. Already we know that the jars contain wine flavoured with cinnamon, mint, honey and psychotropic resins and this tells us a lot about the culture of the time, however archaeologists were also surprised to discover that the cellar discovered in the ruins of Tel Kabri is not in fact that much different from cellar’s in Israel’s modern day wineries; it suggests a strong tradition that has remained undented by the ravages of time.

In the article Professor Eric Cline, chair of the Department of Classical and Near Eastern Languages and Civilisations at George Washington University, who was involved in the excavation and research on the site, said that researchers have already excavated a three foot long jug they have nicknamed ‘Bessie.’ In further comments he said that “we dug and dug, and all of a sudden, Bessie’s friends started appearing-five, 10, 15, ultimately 40 jars packed in a 15-by-25-foot storage room.” He concluded by saying that “this is a hugely significant discovery - it’s a wine cellar that, to our knowledge, is largely unmatched in age and size.”

For those of us with an interest in wine, like all of you out there, there is so much that this discovery can tell us. We have already discovered the types of ingredients people were using this early and how their wines tasted. We still have to find out their methods and this discovery should yield some fascinating findings yet. What it does already tell us is that wine collecting is a time honoured tradition and it is so much more than a hobby; it’s a cultural link back to our roots as a species and it should be celebrated as such. 

What Makes Fabulous Red Wine?

Here at the Ideal Wine Company we are a fan of all types of wine, from white to red to rose and this week we wanted to shine our spotlight specifically on red. What makes a good red wine? What are the qualities that you should be looking for when picking that perfect bottle? Like with all wines, there’s nothing that you could call absolute definitive; at the end of the day it’s all down to personal preference; not everybody is going to enjoy the same things and cherish the same qualities. However, like with anything else there are some overarching principles that can certainly act to help you on your way in picking the bottle that’s right for you.

Of course, it’s not quite the same for each grape and for each vintage and this is only a starting point but these top tips will at least give you a starting point in what you are looking for in determining which bottle of red is right for you. When it comes to reds, it’s best to remember that they can be overpowering in certain circumstances and it’s best to drink them around the autumn, winter period as they are the perfect drink to keep you warm when there’s a chill. It’s also good to have them with heavier meat based dishes as the characteristics of a good red work perfectly with these types of meals. So what are the characteristics you should be looking for in your Red?

Colour… When it comes to wine the older the vintage the more enjoyable it will be to drink. This is because it has been allowed time to mature. This isn’t a hard and fast rule but when it comes to luxury reds; it’s usually a good one to follow. Colour can be a fantastic method to denote age. With reds, the darker it is, the younger it is.  An older red will be tawnier in colour and this makes it a fantastic drink.

Price… When it comes to red wine, the old adage that you get what you pay for is a great way of determining quality as it’s often true. The more expensive it is, the more time and effort the wine has received from the provider. However it’s also important to note that cheaper reds aren’t always necessarily a bad thing.

Smell… Reds are often varied and rich and this often comes out in the smell of the bottle. If you want a really satisfying red, then you want a drink with a rich fruity smell that knocks you for six and ensnares the senses. Trust your nose; it won’t lead you far wrong.

Reputation… Often you can tell the quality of a truly fantastic red from what other people have already said about it. Red is a wine that draws many experts around the world to its charms and its always a good idea to have a check online as there will be an expert review somewhere you can draw the opinion of in picking your perfect choice. 

ABC: Ideal Wine Company Explores the Concept of Wine Trends

Anyone who’s in the wine game will know that this world of luxury wine can be a fickle one at the best of times. Like most markets, it relies on the mood of the customer and this can mean that a type of wine or particular vintage that was in fashion one moment becomes taboo the next. This means that when it comes to choosing the wine to buy for your collections, it’s best to look at the wines that have stood the test of time; these wines are the ones that have proved enduringly popular, and are likely to stay that way.

At the Ideal Wine Company, we recognize that when it comes to standing the test of time, we need to stock wines that have proved themselves over the years. A top example of this is the Tokaji; the Hungarian wine that is centuries old and has survived political upheaval, a changing social fabric and even a phllyoxera epidemic to become one of the most celebrated wines in our collection. So, what separates a timeless vintage such as the Tokaji from one that ends up simply being consigned to the annals of history, forever branded a wine trend?

For this we have to look at an example, and what better example is there than Chardonnay? Chardonnay became such a popular type of wine, and grew to have such prominence in such a short amount of time, as it was only really a label attached to white wines a few decades ago, that it saw a huge backlash among wine enthusiasts. It was like anything, once it becomes too popular there is a reaction against it. Through this backlash, the phrase ‘Anything But Chardonnay’, often shortened merely among wine drinkers to ABC, came to emphasise the move away from the popular brand of dry white wine. Although the ABC era has seen its heyday among wine enthusiasts, there is still a certain stigma attached to drinking Chardonnay.

So in this case it seems to be a mix of two elements. The first of these is the need for selectiveness and exclusivity amongst the wine community. This is hardly a quality that is unique to wine enthusiasts, it’s something that everyone from music enthusiasts to art dealers possess; they like to set themselves apart from the less knowledgeable public by disdaining the more popular product in favour of the less well known one; which in turn creates the next trend. The other contributing factor has to be the speed of ascent. Chardonnay became so popular, so quickly, that it was the wine world equivalent of an economic bubble. All bubbles burst, and the Chardonnay bubble indeed burst dramatically.

These are the reasons that the Ideal Wine Company tends to stay away from providing vintages that form part of the latest wine trends. We instead offer bottles and vintages that have proved their value and endure. This means that they are sure to add value to your wine collection for years to come.