When Can You Add Ice to Wine?

There’s nothing better than an ice-cold drink on a scorching hot day. With summer just around the corner, the Ideal Wine Company felt inspired to ask; when can you add ice to wine?

Striking a balance

You need to be very careful when you pair something with wine. The wrong match can offset the subtle balance of flavours that characterise this complex drink and ruin your favourite vintage.

Let’s take the popular pairing of wine and cheese as an example. There are certain rules you should follow when pairing wine with cheese if you want to ensure the vintage in question is cast in the best light. One rule, for instance, demands that you contrast salty with sweet; the saltier the cheese, the sweeter the wine needs to be to make a good match.

Follow storage guidelines

We can apply the same logic to pairing ice and wine. You should always think about how a particular match will affect the flavours of the wine, so you should keep in mind when using ice that it melts, watering down the power of your chosen bottle.

Apart from this, we would say that there are some instances where it’s OK to pair ice with wine; where doing so can even enhance the flavour of your drink. Use the Ideal Wine Company’s guidelines for storing wine as a rule of thumb. You’re supposed to chill white and rose, but you should store red somewhere warm. Translation; you can add ice to a white or a rose (especially for a spritzer), but you should never couple it with red, as the result would offend your taste buds.

Social conventions

There’s one final element we need to discuss here; wine snobbery. There are certain social conventions that have developed over time to govern how people drink wine and this has created an elitist attitude towards what is an acceptable match for the world’s oldest tipple. These conventions abhor the pairing of ice with wine.

Personal preference

Ultimately, it’s a matter of preference. If you feel like plonking a few ice cubes into your glass of dry white go ahead. However we would advise you to refrain from pairing ice with reds such as the Chateau Lafite Rothschild 1978. You should also remember that people may look at you a little strangely if you add blocks of frozen water to wine; it’s simply not done. 

Would You Like a Burger with Your Wine?

Two businesses in Cheltenham recently challenged an established myth by holding an event to find the best way to pair burgers and wine. Here at the Ideal Wine Company, we thought it was a fabulous idea!

The rise of the fancy burger bar

You don’t often hear the words ‘”wine” and “burger” in the same sentence. The latter immediately conjures up images of a late night takeaway. The range of fare produced at fast food burger joints doesn’t exactly act as the perfect complement to the types of products you’ll find on the Ideal Wine Company product list.

But the classic American dietary staple has recently been the focus of an image overhaul. Fancy burger bars are careening rapidly into vogue and the patties they create are succulent, flavourful and delicious. As such, people are starting to realise that burgers can be paired with wine, as long as the quality of the burger matches the quality of the wine it’s paired with.

The best burger/wine pairing

Two businesses in Cheltenham decided to capitalise on the trend. The Gloucester Echo reported that fancy burger bar Real Burger and classic wine bar The Grape Escape decided to join together to hold an event to find the best wine/burger pairing in all of Cheltenham.

The event was held on Saturday 6^th June and was a roaring success. Gloucestershire locals were able to choose from the full range of Real Burger’s menu and have their chosen meal delivered to The Grape Escape. When their dish arrived they could choose from the latter’s specially selected wine list, which featured vintages that the owners of both establishments believed would be the perfect complement for a nice, juicy burger.

Get experimental

Here at the Ideal Wine Company we love it when people get experimental with wine. Often it can produce revelations that introduce unlikely yet fabulous new wine pairings to the world.

Why don’t you follow the example of these two Gloucestershire businesses and start experimenting for yourself? We’d suggest you begin by grilling a meaty burger and pairing it with a Gevrey Chambertin Clos St Jacques 2000 from the Ideal Wine Company. 

Alcohol Doesn’t “Necessarily Affect Productivity”

A ground-breaking new study has shown that drinking alcohol doesn’t necessarily stop you from being productive at work. Naturally the minute we heard this news, everybody here at the Ideal Wine Company gave a cheer so loud they probably head us down the street.

Who’s thrown a sickie?

We want to ask you a question and we’d like you to be honest. Have you ever had a few too many glasses of Dom Perignon 2000 on a Wednesday and called in sick the next day?

Trick question! We’ve know you have; we’ve all done it at one point or another. The reason people think that they should throw a sickie after indulging in a few glasses of their favourite tipple the night before is because common sense suggests that they’ll be useless the next day anyway.

Alcohol and productivity

What you’re about to read next will rock your world. A study conducted by scientists at The University of Cambridge and Rand Europe has shown that alcohol doesn’t effect productivity; as long as you get enough sleep.

Cosmopolitan reported that the scientists used the survey data of 21,000 employees gathered from companies that took part in Vitality Health's 'Britain's Healthiest Company' competition. It showed that people are far less productive when they get six or less hours sleep per night than the universally recommended seven-eight hours of sleep.

Remarkably, the study concluded that there was no discernible link between alcohol consumption and employee productivity. However it did find that lack of exercise, money troubles and mental health issues do lead to reduced productivity in the work place.

Life changing news

This news could set you free. Now you have an excuse to crack open that Two Hands Deer in Headlights 2004 you’ve been keeping in the back of the kitchen cupboard the next time you have a particularly hard day at the office. Just make sure you head to bed at a reasonable hour!  The downside? You’ll no longer be able to use “I drank too much last night” as an excuse for underperforming at your desk the next day! 

Wine is Becoming More Popular With Millennials

A recent article on Business Insider pointed out something we’ve known for quite a while here at the Ideal Wine Company; wine is becoming more popular with millennials.

The typical wine drinker

What immediately comes to mind when you picture the typical wine drinker? Is it a sophisticated middle aged professional? That’s the stereotype that has been championed by popular culture for decades.

That’s why a majority of people wouldn’t think of somebody between the ages of 21 and 34; a millennial, when they’re asked to picture the typical wine drinker. The common perception is that younger people, professionals with less income than their older counterparts, prefer cheaper fare such as beer and cider.

Millennials desert beer for wine

Once upon a time this may have been true, but Business Insider recently pointed out that times are changing. Millennials are deserting beer in astonishing numbers in favour of wine and spirits.

The article cited a survey carried out by Budweiser in the US which asked millennials what their favourite alcoholic beverage was to support their case. In 2012, 33.0% said beer, whilst in 2015 this number had dropped to 27.4%. Analysts noted that "overall beer consumption trends remain weak, and it appears millennials are increasingly turning to other alcoholic beverages."

Millennials drink more wine than their parents

But how do we know that its wine they’re turning to instead of beer? We have statistics to support our case! US wine consumption figures show that whilst people over the age of 55 are still the biggest drinkers of wine at 41% of total volume, millennials consume 25.7% of total wine volume in the country. This is double the volume of wine, 13%, consumed by their parents when they were in their twenties or early thirties.

What we also found fascinating is why millennials are turning to wine. Statistics cited by Medic Daily show that 83% of millennial wine drinkers in the States said that they decided to start championing the tipple because of its taste.

Millennials have good taste

If this Business Insider has made anything clear it’s that millennials have good taste. Wine such as the Chateau La Conseillante 2007 from the Ideal Wine Company are rich, complex drinks with a thousand subtle notes, which is why we’re not surprised that they’re becoming more popular with the younger generation. 

University of Burgundy Announces Free Online Wine Course

Have you ever wanted to learn more about your favourite wine? Well now you can, as the Ideal Wine Company has learned that the University of Burgundy has announced that it’s starting an online wine course.

Loving wine is a commitment

There’s no such thing as a ‘fair weather wine lover.’ If you want to call yourself a wine lover you need to commit yourself to learning everything there is to know about your favourite tipple.

But there’s so much to know. If you really want to find out about wine you need to educate yourself about everything from viticulture to tasting techniques to wine etiquette. With such a heavy course load, where do you even start? How about the University of Burgundy?

 The Open Wine University

According to Decanter, the institution of higher learning is launching a free online course called The Open Wine University to teach people about wine making.

The best thing about this is that it won’t cost you a single penny to enrol; it’s free! Furthermore the course will be taught in both French and English and is slated to begin on 21^st May. The course will be taught in a range of formats including online seminars, video-blogs and interactive tastings throughout a five week period.

What’s on the syllabus?

Here at the Ideal Wine Company, we’re sure that the Open Wine University will receive a lot of interest. This is because reports suggest that it will have a diverse syllabus, which was cobbled together by Sandrine Rousseaux and Olivier Jacquet, teachers at the Jules Guyot Wine and Vine Institute.

Together, these experts have compiled an intriguing syllabus that not only provides a thorough education about wine making, but also strives to teach students about Burgundy’s own diverse terroirs. Subjects slated to be included on the course include viticulture, tasting techniques and vinification, the history and cultural importance of wine and understanding terroir.

Find out more about Burgundy wine

If you really love wine, this is the course for you. It will teach you everything you need to know about your favourite tipple, as well as introduce you to one of France’s most famous wine making traditions. If you want to do a little prep before you start the course, why don’t you sample some of Burgundy’s finest wines, which you can buy for very reasonable prices from the Ideal Wine Company!

Can Wine Go Off?

Most food and drink has an expiry date. This may lead you to wonder if wine is the same. That’s the question the Ideal Wine Company is going to tackle right now by asking; can wine go off?

Wine gets better with age

It’s one of those things we hear all the time. A lot of people say that wine gets better with age and they have a point. Although it’s not quite as simple as that.

There is evidence to suggest that some wines get better as they get older. However as we explained when we asked whether wine really gets better with age, it depends on the quality of the vintage. A common table wine from your local supermarket won’t taste better no matter how long you leave it to age. In contrast, a “” from the Ideal Wine Company may appreciate in quality the longer its stored because it’s a superior product.

When will a wine go off?

This would suggest that you can leave a fine wine to age indefinitely and it’ll never go off. This is a false perception. Any wine can go off.

This is because wine isn't immune from the process of oxidisation. This is where a food or drink comes into contact with air and breeds bacteria. If this happens the vintage will go off. We don’t fully know how wine is oxidised however we do know that one way is through its cork.

A cork isn't a full-proof stopping device. It often carries tiny holes and it’s these holes that allow air to come into contact with the liquid and oxidise the wine. This is why it’s vital that if you want to keep a fine vintage for a long period of time you store it lying on its side. This will keep the cork wet and prevent air entering the bottle.

Store your wine properly to prevent it going off

In conclusion, yes wine can go off but it won’t if you store it in the correct way. You should learn how to store your wine if you want to make sure it tastes fantastic when you crack it open. 

How Does Champagne Get its Bubbles?

Everyone knows that Champagne fizzes. It one of the reasons people across the world love it so much. But have you ever stopped to ask why? That’s the question the Ideal Wine Company is about to tackle by asking; how does Champagne get its bubbles?

The Champagne stereotype

There’s one stereotype that has characterised the public’s perception of Champagne for decades, if not centuries. Blame Hollywood. Most people think that when you open a bottle of Krug or Bollinger you need to be careful or you’ll be hit in the face by a pounding column of Champagne as it shoots up out of its glass prison.

Let us clear something up right now. Good Champagne shouldn’t flow up and out of the bottle when you pop open its cork. That’s a myth. The Louis Roederer Cristal 2002 from the Ideal Wine Company, for example, won’t fizz all over your hands the minute you crack it open. 

However Champagne is a bubbly drink; that much is true. Most people like the fact that their expensive bottle of Dom Perignon will jump and dive in the glass as they lift it to their mouth and take a glorious sip. It’s makes people feel sophisticated; like a glitzy A-lister at the OSCARS.

The Champagne carbonation process

What gives the world’s most decadent drink its characteristic pizzazz? Champagne is carbonated during its production process. Champagne houses must adhere to a particular set of rules and regulations, set down by the Le Comité Interprofessionnel du vin de Champagne, the organisation responsible for overseeing the Champagne industry, if they want to lend their products the vaunted label of “Champagne.”

Champagne houses do two things to carbonate their products. First, the grapes that are used for the base wine for Champagne (most are blends) are picked earlier than grapes for standard still wines. This makes the base wine more tart than its traditional counterpart.

This facilitates carbonation at the point where the producer adds sugar and yeast to the wine. They add more sugar and yeast to the base wine than they would normally, and leave it to complete Champagne’s famous double fermentation process. The yeast absorbs the sugar and creates carbon dioxide. However the excess carbon dioxide created by adding more yeast and sugar than normal has nowhere to go, so it pressurises the container and carbonates the wine.

Now you know why your Ideal Wine Company Champagne has bubbles!

There you are. It turns out that the Champagne making process is specifically designed to make it fizzy. Think about that the next time you pop open a bottle of luxury Champagne from the Ideal Wine Company!