Caparoso Wines

A vintage wine is one made from grapes that were all, or primarily, grown in a single specified year, and are accordingly dated as such. Variations in a wine’s character from year to year can include subtle differences in color, palate, nose, body and development. Good quality red table wines in particular can improve in flavor with age if properly stored. Consequently, it is not uncommon for wine enthusiasts and traders to save bottles of an especially good vintage wine for future consumption. Most countries allow a vintage wine to include a portion of wine that is not from the labeled vintage.In the United States for a wine to be vintage dated (and labeled with a country of origin or American Viticultural Area (AVA), such as “New Zealand” or “Napa Valley”) it must contain at least 95% of its volume from wines harvested in that year. If a wine is not labeled with a country of origin or AVA, such as “Napa County”, it must contain at least 85% of its volume from wines harvested in that year.

Vintage wines are generally bottled in a single batch so that each bottle will have a similar taste. Climatic factors can have a dramatic impact on the character of a wine to the extent that different vintages from the same vineyard can vary dramatically in flavor and quality. Thus, vintage wines are produced to be individually characteristic of the vintage and to serve as the flagship wines of the producer. Superior vintages, from reputable producers and regions, will often fetch much higher prices than their average vintages. Some vintage wines are only made in better-than-average years.

Non-vintage wines can be blended from more than one vintage for consistency, a process which allows wine makers to keep a reliable market image and also maintain sales even in bad vintage years.

One recent study suggests that for normal drinkers, vintage year may not be as significant to perceived wine quality as currently thought, though wine connoisseurs continue to place a great importance on vintage.

Talking about wine can be like talking a whole new language It can be scary at first, but once you learnt he ropes you can start to become more comfortable

You will be more at ease and gain confidence in yourself and that is when you know that you have truly learned how to talk about wine.

Talking about wine involves knowing about wine. You need to get there are start tasting wine. Try out different wines so you can open yourself up to all the different flavors and types of wines The more experience you have with wine, the easier you find it to describe wine and be able to talk about it in a clear and concise manner.

To begin speaking about wine you need to have an understanding of what words to use. To list a vocabulary for wine talk would take pages and pages. Instead, here are the basics you need to know.

1.Use simple and direct words. Do not try to be creative or over embellish your descriptions of wine. Too much can be a downfall and make people wonder what you are talking about.

2.Do not be too specific. Sometimes being a bit vague is better. One thing to always keep in mind is that everyone tastes things differently, so the less specific you are the more your words will appeal to a wider audience.

3.Use words that are common. Describe wine with terms that everyone can relate to. If you say a wine is ?bold?, for example, people will know what you are talking about. However, if you use some off the wall term to describe a wine then people may have no idea what you are trying to say.

4.Be specific with color. Color is one thing about wine that is understood and it is an important factor. Make sure you are accurate as possible when describing color. Color is used to tell the age of wine and people who know wine know this, so using accurate color descriptions is a must if you want to sound like you know what you are talking about.

These four points are a great starting point when you are just learning how to talk about wine. Following these guidelines will help you to be able to work your way into the wine crowds and start to really build up a good wine vocabulary. You just have to keep at it because the more you talk the better you will get.

Always keep yourself open to advice from others who know wine. Here is a little help to keep in mind - these last few tips will help you on your way to being an expert at talking about wine:

- Learn as much as possible about wine.
- Taste a variety of wines.
- Keep a wine journal to help you develop your wine vocabulary.

And lastly -

- Talk about wine as much as possible!

Soon you will find yourself chatting about wine as if you have been doing it for years.

Types Of Wine

A green skinned variety, which gets its name from the french word: “sauvage” meaning “wild” and “blanc” meaning “white”

Climate dependant - the flavour can range from aggressively grassy to sweet and tropical.

The wine is usually consumed young, as it does not improve with age.

It was one of the first types of wine to be mass produced with a screwcap.

Drink with: fish or cheese

Chardonnay is a green skinned variety of grapes used to make white wine. Believed to originate from Burgundy in Eastern France - but is now grown globally.

Chardonnay creates a “neutral” type of wine, with flavours commonly associated with terrior and oak. Vinified in various different styles - from “flinty” Chablis to rich and buttery Meusaults.

Chardonnay is a vital component of many sparkling white wines globally.

The soft fleshy nature of the grape makes it ideal for blending with sterner, later ripening Cabernet Sauvignon.

More “approachable” and often more affordable also.

Dry, but has a distinct fruit flavour - such as black cherry, strawberry, plum or fig.

The earliest recorded document of Merlot was in the notes of a Bordeaux official in 1784 who labeled wine made from the grape in the Libournais region

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Types of wine

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Its important to cover the basics of wine sometimes, so I thought I would make a list of the main types of wine.

To boil it down very basically there is of course:

• Red Wine
• White Wine
• Champagne / Sparkling White Wine
• Rose

Now for a more detailed list of the different types of wine, starting with red wine:

• Cabernet Sauvignon
• Merlot
• Pinot Noir
• Syrah or Shiraz
• Zinfandel
• Grenache
• Sangiovese
• Gamay
• Nebbiolo
• Barbera
• Tempranillo
• Dolcetto
• Malbec

White wine types:

• Chardonnay
• Sauvignon Blanc
• Riesling
• Chenin Blanc
• Pinot Grigio
• Sémillon
• Gewürztraminer
• Muscat
• Viognier
• Roussanne
• Marsanne
• Albariño
• Pinot Blanc

You can find further info viewing our Types Of Wine Hub page!