Ask a Wine Question

What wine with dinner? How long should I age this wine? What’s the best Cabernet? Will my friends notice if I serve a cheap Pinot Grigio?

Your wine question can be answered by Vino Joe, in the privacy of your own email box and nowhere within earshot of the local snob.

Click here to ask your wine question, and Vino Joe will do his best to answer your question as quickly as possible.

Please note, however, that Vino Joe will not answer questions regarding the value of old wines. This is because an old wine’s value is largely based on recent auction pricing and on its storage history. Since Vino Joe does not have the kind of money to buy wines at auction, he doesn’t have a good grasp of the auction market. Plus, he can’t certify that you’ve kept the wine in optimum cellar conditions. So, for questions about old bottles, we suggest that you contact an auction house.

Question:
I'd like to get a phonetic pronunciation for the St Emilion "Faugeres". Thanks.
Answer:
My French is hardly perfect, but it goes something like this: sen - TAY- meel - yon fow-ZHER
Question:
I'm putting together a Spanish Tapas menu for the resturant I work for, just wondering what would be some good Spanish wines to order by the case?
Answer:
First and foremost, you need an Albarino; which is a wonderfully crisp and light white wine that matches with just about everything. Perhaps even better for food --- and tapas in particular --- is Rosado (rose, or, pink wine). Spain makes some of the world's best roses, particularly from the Navarra region. With both the whites and the pinks, get the freshest vintage you can, as these wines tend to fade fast. After that, go with some soft Tempranillo-based wines from different regions. At least one Rioja and one Ribera del Duero are necessary due to their popularity, but also look to lesser-known regions that provide great values, such as Jumilla, La Mancha, Galicia, and Penedes.
Wine Buying
Question:
Hi Joe, I am looking to host my second annual wine fest this fall. Last year my husband and I bought a selection of different wines and just put them out for guests to try on there own. No discussions organized, no score cards, etc. This year I would like to be a bit more organized. I would like to to do organized tastings of different reds (no chianti, just shiraz and cabs, which are our favorites). Could you please suggest a few of each for us to start. We buy all of the wine and food because the wine fest is actaully a small benefit. This year is for Breast Cancer. Please keep price in mind from less expensive to moderately priced. Thank you for your advice.
Answer:
Why don't you get wines from different regions? For example, a Napa Cab, a Cab-heavy Bordeaux, and a Cab from New Zealand. Similarly, you can compare a Crozes-Hermitage from the Rhone, a Syrah from Argentina, and a Shiraz from Australia. This way, people can start to learn about how terroir affects a grape. Let me know if you need more specific recommendations, and of course let us know how the tasting goes!
Question:
I want to give a nice bottle of pinot noir for a present to someone who knows her wine. What are a few options?
Answer:
If you want REAL Pinot Noir, then there's no question: get a red Burgundy. However, the price will likely be in excess of $40, and could be as much as $350. Generally speaking, you'll get what you pay for, so decide how much you want to spend, and find something in your price range. There are good bottles from California and New Zealand starting around $15-20 and going up to $40. If you can find a Burgundy (from France) with a village name on it for less than $40, it is probably a good deal.
Question:
Hello Could you recommend a real fruity red or white wine but not bitter or dry $20 and under Thank you
Answer:
Yellow Tail, any flavor.
Wine Questions
Question:
As a novice wine enthusiast, and having never had a "Hermitage" before, I recently purchased a 1999 Cave de Tain L'Hermitage - Nobles Rives - Selection Alfio Moriconi, for about $30.(by far my most expensive bottle to date.) What would be the best way to enjoy this wine?, (drink now / age longer?, what foods?, decant?, overpriced? ..any info greatly appreciated. Thanks
Answer:
Personally, I've never had the bottle in question. However, 1999 was a superb year for Hermitage, so this wine should be quite enjoyable. You can try it now, or cellar it for a few more years. What to do? When in doubt, take the cork out ... life's too short. I would decant the wine at least an hour or so before drinking, and enjoy it with roast lamb or a plate of expensive, stinky, runny cheeses.
Question:
What are the essentials of a successful winery?
Answer:
Simple question, complex answer. The bottom line is profits, looking at it from the business side of things. Outside of the bottom line, I'd say a successful winery is one that makes the most of its grape supply in turning out bottles of wine that are consistently worth their dollar value. In other words, a person never feels cheated when buying a bottle, yet also never feels like they underpaid.
Question:
While recently dining at what I thought was an upscale Italian restaurant, I witnessed the bartender come out from behind the bar and take a bottle of unfinished wine from a nearby table where the party had just left. He checked to see how much wine was left and then proceeded to re-cork it and place it on a shelf behind the bar with other bottles of wine that were on display. I was a bit horrified. Is this common practice? Tell me this isn't what a restaurant serves when you ask for a glass of "house" wine!
Answer:
If the wine was being poured "by the glass", then this is completely common and a legitimate practice. If not, then it was probably a case of being overly efficient with resources. There's also the possibility that the bottle was special --- for one reason or another --- and the bartender planned to share it with the staff after closing. Unless someone from the original party was drinking the wine straight from the bottle to his/her lips, it isn't too horrific an issue, in my humble opinion.
Question:
I am hoping to host a wine dinner on a regular basis. I am just becoming acquainted with wine pairing and characteristics of various wines. I will be offering a four-course fondue dinner including cheese, salad, entree and dessert. Do you have suggestions of which wines to offer guests? I'm not sure if you need more specific menu information or not. Maybe you could just offer guidelines. Thank you for any help you could provide.
Answer:
Wow! Sounds like a great party. Considering that the base of your meal will be cheese, you can go with pretty much any wine you want, in any price range. I'd suggest doing a BYOBB --- Bring Your Own Best Bottle. Ask each your guests to bring their best bottle of wine, and you can all enjoy, taste, and compare.
Question:
What are the AOC tiers within the Beaujolais from the bottom to the top?
Answer:
Ah, Beaujolais ... one of my favorite wine regions! Here are the crus, south to north: Brouilly, Cote de Brouilly, Regnie, Morgon, Fleurie, Chiroubles, Moulin a Vent, Chenas, Julienas, and Saint Amour.
Question:
When a bottle is empty should it be placed in the wine bucket up the correct way or upside down?
Answer:
I'm not sure it matters ... though you might want to check with a Master Sommelier to get the correct answer. Personally, I'd turn it upside down, so that everyone knows it's empty.
Question:
I have stored some cabernet sauvignon for at least 17 years. I have had the storage at various temperatures-most recently in a very warm environment. Are these wines still drinkable? Are there any physical dangers associated with drinking a old wine that has been stored improperly?
Answer:
There's a really good chance that the wine has been damaged by the changes in temperature. Inconsistency in temperature --- especially drastic changes --- are the bane of a wine's existence. There are no physical dangers in tasting the wine, so open them up and find out how they are.
Question:
I make my own wine but I am new at it. I just noticed on my fourth batch that my corks seem to be going moldy. This batch was a fruit wine. For some reason this time I boiled the corks. I may have read this somewhere or someone may have told me. I don't think I should have done that. Can I re-cork these bottles?
Answer:
I'm not much of a winemaker ... my grandfather did that and I watched and helped out. But I don't remember boiling the corks, so can't comment on whether that's a good idea. However I'm sure you can pull the corks and re-cork. When you say the corks are 'going moldy', do you mean on the tops, outside the bottle, or inside the bottle? If the mold is on the outside of the bottle, that's completely OK and in fact a good thing, as it means you probably have good humidity in your storage area. If the mold is on the cork inside of the bottle, then you might have some problems.
Question:
I have a bottle of Schloss Koblenz 1986..Riesling, Kabinett, Rheinpfalz...safe to drink? Vinegar?
Answer:
If the wine has been kept at optimum conditions --- such as a high-humidity, dark wine cellar kept at a consistent 55 degrees --- it might be OK. However, my guess is that it is closer to vinegar than wine. Open it up and let me know if it was suitable for a wine glass or a salad bowl !
Question:
I have a question on restaurant etiquette. When I order a bottle of wine for my table and we do not finish the bottle, is it in poor taste to take the bottle of wine with me when I leave? I have always just ordered wine by the glass, never the bottle and I am unsure of what to do when there is wine left over.
Answer:
Good question. Generally, people do not take the bottle with them if it is unfinished. However, this may be more for legal reasons than etiquette. In many states in the US, there are open container laws that prohibit an opened (re-corked means open) bottle of alcohol to be carried out of the restaurant. Check your local laws, and if it is OK, then I don't see a problem with taking it with you. Personally, I will offer the rest of an interesting bottle to a member of the wait staff who has shown passion for wine and provided excellent service.
Question:
I was asked to bring wine to a dinner party to go with the dessert (Tiramisu) Any suggestions?
Answer:
Sure, go with either a tawny port ... such as a 10-year or 20-year tawny if you want to spend the money ... or with a dessert wine from Sicily called "Passito di Pantelleria". Let us know which you were able to find and how the match went.
Question:
Can you tell me anything about a bottle of Cakebread Cellars 1982 Cabernet Sauvignon and Stag's Leap White Riesling 1983? I found them in my "wine Cellar" in the basement and am taking them to a wine tasting tonight...I'd like to have something about these wines to share with the other guests.
Answer:
Wow! Those are two fairly old bottles! I apologize for not getting back to you before your tasting, hope it went well. Since I never had either of those wines, my response would have been fairly useless anyway. That said, let me know how they showed at the tasting. Good? Bad? Spoiled? Life changing? Looking forward to hearing your notes, thanks.
Question:
Can you tell me anything about a bottle of Cakebread Cellars 1982 Cabernet Sauvaignon and Stag's Leap White Riesling 1983? I found them in my "wine Cellar" in the basement and am taking them to a wine tasting tonight...I'd like to have something about these wines to share with the other guests.
Answer:
If they were kept in optimum conditions, they might be blockbusters. If not, they're probably good for tossing with salad. Write back and let us know how they held up.
Question:
My aunt is having a fit because I throw out what is left ina bottle of white wine three days after it has been uncorked. Itell her it will give her headaches, doesn't taste good anymore, and is just plain bad. Can you back me up? Thanks.
Answer:
I can back you up ... sort of. It really depends on the wine, how empty the bottle is, how tight the cork is, and whether you put it in the fridge. Cheaper wines (less than $7) probably aren't worth the trouble. However it seems that the more expensive the wine is, the better chance it has of being drinkable for a few days, as long as you recork it tightly and keep it chilled. Even better, move the remains to a smaller bottle, such as a 375ml, as what breaks down the wine is air.

Related Link: Wine Gift Baskets - Impressive wine gift baskets can be found at Gifts-to-Impress.com.

1 comment

Comments feed for this article

September 23, 2005 at 10:55 am

invinoveritas

This is the first time I see this site and I like it very much so I have registered. It is just what I was looking for, good information about wine without fuzz or snobism, even here in Europe otherwise difficult to find. Thanks.

You must be logged in to post a comment.