The Leader • Saturday, May 18, 2019 • Page 1B
Wine 101: Pour, swish, smell and sip Zarah Parker
2.87 gallons per resident, 772 million gallons consumed
Managing Editor
Wine can be intimidating, especially for the novice, but all it takes is a little knowledge to realize it’s not. “There is a lot of mystique regarding wine and there shouldn’t be,� said Scott Spencer, founder and owner of Houston Wine Merchant, 2646 S. Shepherd Dr. A good wine also isn’t all about the price tag. Many wines that are inexpensive are enjoyable. When looking for a wine, it’s important to pay attention to what’s in the bottle. “Characteristics to look for in a wine are the fruit flavor, the alcohol, the acidity, the complexity and the tannins (astringents),� Spencer said. The more in-balance these characteristics are, the better the wine will be, which will also cause it to be smooth and flavorful. “Like fine food there should be a lot going on, complexity, in the taste, but no one characteristic that is dominating,� Spencer said. Wine drinkers use more than their sense of taste. If possible, watch the wine while it’s being poured. In general, Spencer said wine should be clear and bright. If it’s cloudy or has a lot of particles, that’s a hint the wine might not be optimal. Then swish the wine around in the glass, because this allows more of the aroma to be released. The aroma should be
2.01 gallons per resident, 507 million gallons consumed
2.43 gallons per resident, 478 million gallons consumed 1.31 gallons per resident, 133 million gallons consumed
United States
0.88 gallons per resident, 43 million gallons consumed
0.68 gallons per resident, 27 million gallons consumed Year
CONSUMPTION Source: The Wine Institute
1940 1945 1950 1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2010 2015 Graphic by Martha Buhler
The above graphic illustrates wine consumption in the United States between 1940 and 2015.
fresh and appealing. “Taste the wine, swish it around to cover your entire mouth before swallowing,� said Matt Romans, wine buyer and sommelier for The Classic, 5922 Washington Ave. “Then take a moment to think about what you’ve just tasted. What flavors and textures and feelings stood out to you.� Experiment with different
wines. Pay attention to which wines you like and which ones you don’t. Sometimes a wine will give you a taste you weren’t expecting but is intriguing. To help develop a taste for wine, it helps to taste different ones. The best way to do this is at wine tastings. Some places offer them for free, including Houston Wine Merchant,
which has them every Friday from 5:30–7:30 p.m. and Saturday from 2-4 p.m. Whether at a bar, a store or a wine tasting, it’s important to remember to ask questions. If you’re curious about why the wine you’re drinking tastes the way it does, don’t be afraid to ask. “Wine is very subjective. People taste and like different
things about different wines,� Romans said. “Everyone has their own unique palate. Something I consider to be an amazing wine may not appeal to everyone.� Wine is a lot like food in the respect that there are thousands of different types. But basically, there’s red, white, sparkling, dessert and fortified wine.
“Most wines have little to no sugar, but some of the greatest in the world are sweet dessert wines,� Spencer said. “Fortified wines are dessert wines that are fortified with a little extra alcohol.� Port, Sherry and Madeira are examples of those types of wine. With so many different types of wine, it can get confusing on what kind of wine pairs well with certain foods. Spencer provides a cheat sheet of sorts to follow. Fresh seafood is usually going to pair with white wine, but heavier fish such as salmon and sea bass will go nicely with a lighter red, such as Pinot Noir. Grilled meats will typically pair well with red wine, with the exception of grilled chicken, which goes well with a heavier white, like Chardonnay. Spicy foods, including Cajun or Szechuan Chinese, will pair with something a little sweet, like a Riesling or something a bit spicy, like Gewurztraminer (which means “spicy grape� in German). “Picking a bottle at a store can sometimes feel like a shot in the dark,� Romans said. However, you can still ask someone in the store what they would recommend. There’s also different apps and websites that have rating systems that can help you choose a wine. A tip that Spencer gives when picking a bottle of wine is to smell the cork, if there is one. If it smells musty or like wet cardboard, that is another hint that the wine is not up to par.
Review: Sonoma Wine Bar offers sophistication without stuffiness By Adam Zuvanich azuvanich@theleadernews.com
The lights are dim, the mood is subdued and the jazz music makes for an air of sophistication at Sonoma Wine Bar & Restaurant, which can cater to the finest of tastes while offering worldly flavors. Bubbly from Champagne, France, is available at the Heights location at 801 Studewood St. So are cured meats and exotic cheeses from all over Europe, salmon from the North Atlantic, filet mignon from a Central Texas ranch and a $350 bottle of wine from Italy. But you don’t have to be part of high society to enjoy Sonoma, which won’t break your bank account if you can’t afford the aforementioned offerings. And there’s no pretentiousness in the place, which welcomed a regular guy who walked in wearing blue jeans, boots and a ballcap at about 9 p.m. on a recent Friday night. I’m no wine connoisseur. Never met a bottle I didn’t like, in fact, although I’ve come across several that didn’t fit
Photo by Adam Zuvanich The Bold & Beautiful Reds wine-tasting flight, along with Melkbus cheese and Bresaola, at Sonoma Wine Bar & Restaurant.
within my budget. Luckily for me, and for wine drinkers in the area, Sonoma has something good for everyone and at decent prices, to boot. The restaurant has ambiance and is aesthetically pleasing, with a fireplace in
the dining room, big couches for lounging and modern art decorating the walls. Even the menu, made out of cork, was a nice touch. From that menu I chose one of Sonoma’s wine-tasting flights, which include a trio of 3-ounce pours for $20 or $25. I
Enhance cooking with wine By Zarah Parker zarah@theleadernews.com Adding wine to cooking recipes will enhance the flavor and aroma of food, but getting it right can require some experimentation. “Always remember to burn the alcohol off,� said Dominick Lee, the executive chef at Poitin. “If you don’t you’ll end up with a boozy dish, and you don’t want that unless that’s what you’re going for.� When the alcohol evaporates, only the flavor of the wine remains. Lee said the purpose of cooking with wine isn’t about the alcohol content; it’s about the flavor of the wine elevating your dish. It’s also not meant to completely change the flavor of what you’re cooking; rather it fortifies it. Wine can be compared with any cooking seasoning. Add too little and it’s insignificant. Add too much and it’s overwhelming.
went with the “Bold & Beautiful Reds� because, well, I like my wine red and the bolder, the better. My server said his favorite of the three was a blend from Napa Valley, the NV14 Cain Cuvee. It was my least favorite but still plenty good and mostly smooth, greeting me with peppery spice and leaving me with a slight smokiness. I also enjoyed the 2016 Day El Diablo Vineyard, a Zinfandel from California’s Russian River Valley. It was dry, in a good way, and had balanced flavors with a touch of tartness. The best of my bunch was the 2017 Felino, a Malbec from Argentina that had a soft taste and gave me a sense of warmth from the moment it touched my lips. Berry flavors poked through, and some pepperiness at the end made for a perfect finish. Good wine is best enjoyed with good food, so I felt compelled to see how Sonoma stacked up in that department as well. The kitchen was out of
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3410 Ella Blvd. at 34th St. • (713) 682-4343 Stock photo A variety of wines can be used to cook an array of dishes.
When cooking you should let the wine simmer with the food, or sauce, to let the wine integrate with the food. When picking a wine for cooking, there are a few things to keep in mind. First, it’s usually a good idea to pick out a wine you enjoy. If you don’t like a wine by
itself, you may not like it in your food either. There’s a lot more to wine than grapes. The components in wine will become more intense when cooking. Wine contains sugars, See Cooking, P. 3B
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