New Free Class: Discover Wine

It's almost the holidays! 
That said, I need all the help I can get with choosing a good bottle of wine ....

Join wine guru Gary Vaynerchuk for a new 55-minute class

 all about wine.

I am NO wine expert by no means ...

I love me some Prosecco, I do like both Red & White wines alike however one thing that I know is that I do choose Red wines with low tannins..

(No headaches)

White wines are tannin-free ...

I don't care to much for taste of Blush wines ...

That is why ....

I have joined this class to better educate myself 

on choosing  the best wines and you can too !!!

Join for free — this week only!

Enroll for Free click here 
Skillshare-Buy Smarter, Taste More: Getting Started with Wine 

Buy Smarter, Taste More: Getting Started with Wine

An Online Skillshare Class by Gary Vaynerchuk

Notes that I took from the class:

Wine Primer

·       Evaluate  the wines by look, smell & taste.

·       Look at the color of the wine in the glass- The color and opacity of a wine gives you many hints as to the style of wine you’re about to enjoy. The color of wine indicates age, grape variety, density of flavor, acidity and more. By comparing the different colors found in various red wines you can learn to identify a wine just by looking at it. The opacity of a wine can tell you what kind of grape was used to make the wine and it can also tell you the age of a wine.

·       Smelling the wine –Swirl the wine in a wine glass of choice to let the oxygen breath and release the acidy and tannins. This is the most crucial and key opponent of evaluating wine. Really get your nose down into the bulb of the glass and really smell. Descriptors range from chocolate, strawberry, cherry and honeysuckle to oakey, smokey, chalk and toasty.

·       Vintage of wine – “Vintage” indicates the year that the grapes are harvested. It is not the year the wine was bottled. For example, if the wine we are drinking was made from grapes grown in the summer of 1995 and picked in the fall of 1995, the wine’s vintage would be 1995.

Tasting Notes and FAQs

·       Wine tasting notes should be the most useful tips to see before you buy a wine.

·       Wine aromas fall under three general categories: PRIMARY AROMAS- such as Raspberry, Plum, Gooseberry, Black Pepper, Tobacco Leaf and Licorice. SECONDARY BOUQUETS- include notes such as Fresh Baked Bread, Lager, Sour Cream, Fresh Butter and Yogurt. TERTIARY BOUQUETS- include Clove, Vanilla, Baking Spices, Hazelnut, Walnut, Dill, Fig, Coconut, Smoke and Almond.

·       Explore your palate-Don’t limit yourself to just RED wines or just WHITE wines.

·       Inexpensive wines are just as good as $ Expensive wines.

·       Rating points- Wine Spectator tasters review wines on the following 100-point scale.

The 100-point scale actually starts at 50 points (and some raters never include wines below 80):

·        50-59 wines are flawed and undrinkable

·        60-69 wines are flawed and not recommended but drinkable

·        70-79 wines are flawed and taste average

·        80-84 wines are ‘above average’ to ‘good’

·        85-90 wines are ‘good’ to ‘very good’

·        90-94 wines are ‘superior’ to ‘exceptional’

·        95-100 wines are benchmark examples or ‘classic’

Sparkling Wine

·       is a wine with significant levels of carbon dioxide in it, making it fizzy.
·       AKA Champagne.. “What is the difference between “Sparkling Wine” and “Champagne”? The easy and short answer is that sparkling wine can only be called Champagne if it comes from the region of Champagne, France, which is just outside of Paris.
·        Small bubbles are a sign of high-quality wine.
·       Pairs great with seafood and salads.  
·       Prosecco is an Italian wine — generally a dry sparkling wine — made from a variety of white grape of the same name.
·       All sparkling wines  is best served chilled.

White Wine

·       a wine whose color can be straw-yellow, yellow-green, or yellow-gold colored.

·       To name a few :Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, Riesling, Moscato, and Sauvignon Blanc.

·       White wines are versatile, and can produce dry, off-dry, sparkling and sweet dessert wines.

·       No tannins.

·       Best served at room temperature.

·       Not necessary to breathe- Just Pop & Pour.

·       Pair better with lighter foods such as green veggies,  and fish.

Major varieties of grapes used to produce white wines include:

·        Chardonnay

·        Chenin Blanc

·        Gewürztraminer

·        Muscat

·        Pinot Grigio

·        Riesling

·        Sauvignon Blanc

·        Semillon

Red Wine

·       A wine made from dark-coloured grape varieties range from intense violet to brick red for mature wines and brown for older red wines.

·       To name a few : Burgundy, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Shiraz, Malbec, Zinfandel.

·       A great dinner wine.

·       Pairs great with variety of meat, poultry, and chocolate.

·       High in tannins.

·       All red wine needs to breathe-recommends 1 hour breathing time.

·       Serve room temperature.

·       Cabernet Sauvignon is the Mother ship of red wines ..BOLD flavors and aromas.( Fruit: black currant, blackberry, black cherry Savory: Black pepper Oak (light):chocolate, vanilla, sweet wood, coconut)

·       Pinot Noir is a highly aromatic, lower tannin wine.

Major varieties of grapes used to produce red wines include:

·        Cabernet Sauvignon

·        Merlot

·        Malbec 

·        Pinot Noir

·        Cabernet Franc

·        Baco Noir

·        Gamay Noir

Shopping

·       Build a relationship with the store wine expert to recommend a wine in comparison to the wine you like.

·       Look at the point score and read description.

·       Do not choose a wine by the pretty labeled bottle it comes in . Marketing will get you to buy that wine.

·       No worries about screw top wine they are just as good as corked wine.

·       Gifting wines choose in the $18-20 range. They are still quality wines.

·       Look for the name of the wine(producer) , the year(Vintage) , where it came from , the grape variety .(FLAVOR)

·       Navigate and choose all different wines & have fun …Not stressful !

Closing

·       Best part of wine is Tasting !!!

·       Share your favorite wines with friends.

·       Keep exploring wines.

·       Reach out to wine experts on You tube & books.

·       Enjoy the journey of Wine tasting .