Riesling and Pinot Noir Wines Pair with Almost Everything

Which wines have the most perfectly desired balance of acidity and the complexity and freshness of taste to stand up to and compliment almost any food or cuisine?

The honors belong to two favorites of the wine world, Riesling and Pinot Noir.

Riesling is a white grape variety whose vine history traces back to the year 1435. However, there are reportedly other “first plantings”, Wachau Austria in 1232, Rheinhessen and the Alsace region with dates 1402 and 1348 respectively, to name a few.

The brilliant—if occasionally difficult—red grape of Burgundy was named after the noble Pinot family dating back to the Roman era. The history of Pinot Noir shows that Pinot Noir grapes were cultivated in the Burgundy region of France when the Romans invaded Gaul in the first century A.D.

These two wonderful wines derive their characteristics from the climate and soils in which they thrive in. The limestone soils that supply just the required amount of water and the cooler climates along with the drying breezes of the steep hillsides give these wines their sought after complexity and taste.

Riesling wines range from crisp, dry, and citrus to honeysuckle and apricot. Riesling carries more complexity than a Sauvignon Blanc and better acidity than Chardonnay, and can age very well when selected from a good vintage and region. For the driest styles you might want to select a Kabinett Riesling, or for a slightly sweeter choice a Spatlese (SPAYT-lay-sah) or a sweet Auslese (OWS-lay-sah).

The Pinot Noir comes in a wide variety of styles. What you can expect is vivid red spicy berry and cherry scents, with nervy blood orange and pomegranate qualities adding energy. This wine is vivacious and sharply focused; with bright mineral lift to the red currant and bitter cherry flavors that gain depth and sweetness. Pinot Noir offers elegant, delicate and stylish wines of deep complexity dominated by dark fruit flavors and aromas. Our California and Oregon regions supply some of the absolute best offerings.

These two wine choices are naturally very food friendly and pair well with almost everything for your next elegant dinner party or campfire gathering.

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Riesling Wines
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And while you are there, check out our spectacular Wine Club offerings.

High quality, limited production monthly wine club

We urge you to treat yourself to a unique and exciting wine of the month club that is guaranteed to please, so it makes the perfect gift as well.

YourLoveofWine proudly offers Cellars Wine Club for your enjoyment and pleasure. Since 1995, it has made available high quality, limited production wines to its members, and has been featured on NBC.

Now with eight different wine clubs and hundreds of individual wines, the Club has become a leader among all of the wine sites on the internet. Customer feedback ensures the wines featured are exactly what consumers are looking for.

The Wine Club Membership Benefits are many and of the best in wine clubs available.

• Convenient monthly delivery to your home or office.

• Subscription to Cellar’s Notes. Here you will find information on the featured wineries for the month, their wines, tasting notes, food pairings, recipes, and other wine related articles.

• Gift memberships include a custom gift announcement notifying recipients of their membership plus any personal message you would like to add.

• There are no monthly minimums and memberships to any one of our clubs can be cancelled at any time.

• 20% discount on case reorders of featured wines from the Club.

• Exclusive offers and promotions on all wines and products featured.

• Exceptional customer service via phone or email.

Cellars Wine Club Membership offers you many personal Options to choose from such as:

• Gift or Personal Memberships

• Starting Dates

• Payment Methods

• and Wine Color Preference

Visit our Main Website and click on WINE CLUBS, and be sure to watch the video there.

Red Wine Blends – A Primer

Blending usually adds complexity and depth. But, it should be clear on the label that the wine is a blend, and thus a varietal should contain 100% of that variety.

Some of the greatest wines in the world are blends, in particular the red wines of Bordeaux which can contain Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petite Verdot. At one time, Cabernet Sauvignon was considered the best of these and many New World winemakers thought that if the Bordeaux wines were wonderful with 60% Cabernet, then a 100% Cabernet would be even better.

The benefits of blending have not been lost on New World winemakers. The Meritage organization trademarked the name Meritage for US winemakers to use on wines blended from the classic Bordeaux varieties. The name implies Merit and Heritage. The self-styled “Rhone Rangers” are Californian winemakers growing, making and blending wines from the classic Rhone varieties of Syrah, Mourvedre, Viognier, and Moussanne. And, they’re copying the Rhone habit of blending a little white Viognier in the red Syrah.

Of course, we will see to it that your selection is delivered right to your door. When you peruse our Red Wine Blends, click on the “more info” buttons of the individual wines to read helpful descriptions that will assist you in making your Red Wine Blends selections. Enjoy!

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Red Wine Can Slow Aging, Study Finds

According to a study on mice released on 6-4-08, scientists report that the chemical resveratrol, commonly found in red wine, can help to keep heart tissues young, delay aging and accomplish this at lower concentration levels than previously expected. Researchers believe a glass of red wine a day might provide all the resveratrol the heart needs.

Previous studies have reported the amount of resveratrol required to have beneficial effects was equal to what would be found in hundreds of bottles of red wine. Some scientists question the findings maintaining that only high dose supplements of resveratrol potentially provide better results.

A University of Wisconsin-Madison study concluded that low doses of resveratrol added to diets of middle-aged mice helped keep hearts healthy by influencing the genetic levers responsible for aging.

University of Wisconsin-Madison genetics professor and study co-author Tomas Prolla states: “If someone is interested in obtaining the necessary levels of resveratrol through their diets alone, which includes a glass of red wine or two every day, then our conclusions strongly support that this amount of red wine will help prevent the heart from premature aging”.

The study starts with the assumption that resveratrol may work in ways similar to caloric restriction. CR retards many aspects of the aging process in mammals, including age-related mortality, tumor genesis and physiological decline, the study reads.

Visit our extensive Red Wine offerings that we deliver to your door, and be sure to see our truly great Cellars Wine Club offerings as featured on NBC.

Napa Valley Merlot pairs with Macaroni and Cheese

Merlot and homemade macaroni and cheese are a wonderful pairing. This delicious comfort meal can be a simple layering of cooked macaroni, shredded or sliced cheese, and salt and pepper. Don’t hesitate to add your own special touch! It can be made with a white sauce-cheese base, topped with more cheese and buttered crumbs before baking. Jazz it up by adding chopped vegetables, meat, fish or poultry, or your favorite herbs or spices. Macaroni and cheese is a comfort meal that delivers exciting flavors when you pair it with the silky texture of the lush fruit of Napa Valley Merlot.

We can have your selection delivered to your door, and when you visit our site visit the home page and take a look at the terrific wine club offerings that were featured on NBC Television.

2004 Burgess Merlot Napa Valley A very serious Merlot, only grown under ideal conditions. A wonderful accompaniment with food and will continue to develop with cellaring.

2005 Charles Krug Merlot Napa Valley This wine is aged for 17 months in small French oak barrels and expresses wild berry and blueberry aromas, with a touch of roasted pecans. An artful blend of Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Petit Verdot give the wine a chewy texture and an intense yet lengthy finish. Enjoy with dishes such as beef ribs and grilled salmon.

2005 Rombauer Merlot Napa Valley Deliciously rich and concentrated. It has layers of black cherry, plum, clove, and cinnamon in both the aroma and flavor. The wine has a long finish of cherry and plum with a light vanilla note from oak aging. Supple tannins add to the wine’s character.

2005 Stag’s Leap Merlot Napa Valley This wine’s richness and depth of flavor is announced in a bouquet of cherries and blackberry pie interwoven with violets and allspice. In the mouth the layers of flavor unfold both vertically and horizontally, with overtones of toffee and spice playing off the main notes of cherries and cassis as fine tannins carry the flavor array through the velvety finish.

2006 Duckhorn Vineyards Merlot Napa Valley To make a Merlot that could compete with the great Merlot-based wines of the right bank of Bordeaux, we began by sourcing fruit grown primarily in alluvial soils, those with high water drainage and little topsoil. This type of soil produces intense fruit that translates into aromatic and complex wines. Our Napa Valley Merlot is a blend of several individual vineyard lots. Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and occasionally Petit Verdot make up the final blend.

Exceptional Pinot Noir – 2006 Ken Wright Pinot Noir Canary Hill

Oregon wineries are generally small and decentralized within each official wine region of the state. Pinot noir can be rather finicky, achieving success in only a handful of places in the world. Oregon has superb growing conditions. The northwest portion of Oregon is celebrated for its cool-climate grape varieties, including Pinot Gris, Riesling, Chardonnay, and especially Pinot noir, which brings us to tell you about a terrific wine – the 2006 Ken Wright Pinot Noir Canary Hill. Located in rural Carlton, Oregon, Ken Wright Cellars is devoted to showcasing the inherent quality of the region’s Pinot Noir. Rather than stamping wine with a varietal trademark, the 2006 Ken Wright Pinot Noir Canary Hill best expresses the character, aroma, flavor and texture of the location in which it is grown. What you can expect is vivid red spicy berry and cherry scents, with nervy blood orange and pomegranate qualities adding energy. This wine is vivacious and sharply focused, with bright mineral lift to the red currant and bitter cherry flavors that gains depth and sweetness on the long, juicy finish. If you are a fan of Pinot Noir, 2006 Ken Wright Pinot Noir Canary Hill is something you will very much enjoy. Here’s a terrific selection of wine racks to take a look at, as well.

2005 Stephen Vincent Crimson – Competition Winner – Incredible Value

Red wine lovers will enjoy this wonderful find from Stephen Vincent, and we hope you will take the opportunity to experience a truly wonderful wine. With over 40 years of experience in the production of premium and ultra premium wines, and instrumental in the building of many major brands including Robert Mondavi, J.Lohr, Vichon, Tepusquet Vineyard, Louis Roederer, Foppiano, Stephen Zellerbach, and Draper & Esquin, Stephen Vincent has given the wine world the 2005 Stephen Vincent Crimson.

Crimson is a wonderful, very complex wine made in the Rhone style. This very rich wine has beautiful ripe plum and blackberry flavor, accented with hints of toasty French oak, and cassis. Soft tannins round out rich flavors of licorice, blackberries and cinnamon. Crimson has a deep, dark red color with lots of black fruit in the nose. This palate-celebrating wine is a blend of 75% Syrah and 25% Cabernet Sauvignon grapes from the Sonoma and Central Coast growing regions of California.

Food pairing suggestions: Beef, lamb, duck, turkey, and pasta.

The 2007 Crimson is available at YourLoveOfWine wine cellars club and we are confident you will appreciate the 2007 version of this unbelievably value-priced Silver Medal Winner of the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition.

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Food and Wine – Grilling Time

Steaks and burgers on the grill, wonderful tomato salads, and succulent juicy sweet melons and fruits. With all the complimentary wines and so little time, what are we to do?

Let’s grab a favorite Cabernet, Merlot, or Syrah to go with the grilled meats and slowly sip the afternoon or evening away. All of these wines have the texture and body to compliment the juicy burgers and steaks, or grilled meat of any kind.

Let’s not leave out the seafood! Fresh scallops, tuna, lobster and salmon – oh my! Perfect for pairing with Sauvignon Blanc, Rose and Chardonnay.

The perfect wines for summertime’s lighter fare are the sweet wines that compliment well with spicy foods, and the crisp dry varietals that enhance the sweeter food flavors.

When tender fall-off-the-bone ribs are the order of the barbeque day, select the rich blackberry fruit with slight peppery character of California Zinfandel, Barbera, or Shiraz to go with the sweet grilling sauce.

However, for that dry-rubbed rack of ribs, the best of the leaner, spicier reds will send the taste buds soaring. Reach for the Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon, heavier Merlot, Bordeaux, robust Pinot Noir, or Syrah (Shiraz).

Then there are the grilled vegetables and chicken, Yum! The soft refreshing Pinot Noir or Cabernet Franc will cleanse the palate without the heavy weight.

With soooo many wonderful options to select from, the summertime grill season is the perfect time to experience new wines while you enjoy the fruits of your labor with those delicious sips from the vineyards.

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Umami of Wine Tasting

Umami is a Japanese word meaning “savory” or “deliciousness”, and applies to the sensation of “savoriness”, one of the five basic tastes sensed by the human tongue’s specialized receptor cells, specifically the detection of natural amino acid, glutamic acid or glutamates. Umami is often described as the overall reaction or feel of the palate to certain foods and beverages, and is associated with the sense of ripeness and developed flavor of some foods including vegetables (such as ripe tomatoes), meats, cheese and other protein-heavy foods.

In the early 1900s, Japanese Professor Kikunae Ikeda first identified umami and believed it to be one of only two senses, the other being sweetness, which is perceived by the palate as pleasant. The significance of umami in food and wine pairing demonstrates why some wines, especially those that are more complex and mature, are naturally better food compliments. The more umami a food contains, the more it disturbs the wine’s flavor/acidity/fruit balance, and the addition of acidity and salt into the food will correct this imbalance. Once you understand the concept of umami and how it influences the wine tasting experience, you can successfully pair any wine with any food.

For more information on umami and wine tasting:

GO TO ==> http://www.YourLoveOfWine.com/winetasting.php and http://www.YourLoveOfWine.com/howtotastewine.php

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The Proper Wine Etiquette

Examine the label, when the bottle of wine is presented, to be sure the producer and vintage match what you ordered. It may not make any difference to you, but if you wanted to enjoy a wine you have experienced previously and a substitution was made, there will certainly be a difference. You may wish to order another wine in such case. A different vintage could be trivial if it’s a simple Cotes du Rhone, but it could be a significant difference if you were ordering a 2000 Bordeaux and received a 2002 instead.

Temperature

White and rose wines are best slightly chilled, at 50F. Check that temperature is satisfactory. It is better for the wine to be too cold than too warm for either red or white. It isn’t improper wine etiquette to request an ice bucket to chill both whites and reds; so don’t hesitate to do so if that is how you would prefer to enjoy the wine. However, placing the bottle in an ice bucket can compromise your experience; fine white wines will release more texture and bouquet as they warm up in the glass; try it. Drinking a modest wine on a hot day would be the exception. A red wine that is brought to the table slightly chilled would be an indication of good storage; you can always warm up the wine by cupping the glass in your hands and swirling.

Cork

It is proper wine etiquette for the sommelier to present the cork to the person who requested the wine when the bottle of wine is opened. The vintage on the cork should match the vintage on the bottle. A visual inspection of the cork often reveals little, and by sniffing the cork you’re actually smelling the bark of a tree which may be the earthy aromas you are encountering. Many a good bottle of wine has been mistakenly returned because there is mold on the top end of the cork. This has no effect on the wine; it simply means the bottle was aged in the producer’s damp cellar prior to release, which is a good thing.

Swirl & Sniff

Proper wine etiquette procedure dictates that the sommelier will pour a small amount of wine for the person that ordered the wine. The recipient should gently swirl the wine in the glass to release the aroma, give it a sniff, then taste it. If there is an objectionable or unexpected aroma, the sommelier should recommend further aerating the wine in which case the “off odor” will dissipate, or replacing the bottle if called for. Unfortunately, it is sometimes difficult to differentiate between funky aromas that are inherent in certain wines and similar smells that are symptoms of a defect. Proper wine etiquette is to consult with the sommelier. The wine is “corked,” meaning that it has been tainted by a moldy cork, if you smell a moldy aroma reminiscent of a “wet basement”. A corked wine can be overtly stinky or the fruit character is slightly muted; send the bottle back immediately If you perceive this to be the case. If you’re not quite sure, in keeping with proper wine etiquette, politely ask the sommelier for an opinion.

Decanting

There are two reasons to decant a wine: (1) to separate the wine from the sediment in the case of a 20-year-old port or red wine; or (2) decanting and swirling the wine in the glass will do a far better job than opening the wine two hours prior and letting the wine “breathe,” which is not practical in most restaurant settings. White and sparkling wines rarely need extra breathing time. It is not proper etiquette or an acceptable practice to return a wine simply because you do not like it as much as you thought you might. The proper etiquette is to nod, say “thank you,” “it’s fine” or some signal for the sommelier to begin pouring after you have taken a sip. To allow enough space to swirl the wine, wine etiquette dictates that the glass is filled about one third full. Sparkling wines are to be poured along or against the side of the glass to preserve the bubbles.

Wine etiquette may seem unnecessary, but following the proper wine etiquette will enhance the overall wine drinking experience. Wine etiquette and all its subtleties are intended to slow the experience so the wine before you can be fully appreciated and enjoyed.

For the novice and seasoned wine lover, YourLoveOfWine offers 10 Different Wine Clubs and a great selection of Wine Racks.