What to Do with the Cork

What do you do with the cork? Nothing. It used to be that the cork was presented so that you could check the name printed on it, and ensure that the wine in the bottle was the same as the label promised, not a bottle of plonk upon which some fraud slapped a fake label.

That used to happen with enough regularity that people felt it necessary to check the cork, but frauds come in slicker styles than label swaps these days, and IDing the cork probably won’t help.

As the Cork Crumbles

What if the cork is broken or crumbly? A broken cork could have more to do with the person who opened it than with the cork itself; the biggest problem there will be theirs, as it’s tough to extract it once it breaks.

If it does break and a few crumbs of cork fall into the wine, it won’t hurt anything. A quick splash into a glass should get rid of most of the offending pieces, and no off flavors will be transmitted.

If the cork is very wet and crumbly, and the wine isn’t decades old, there may be a problem, as that could be a sign that the fit wasn’t tight and so air may have seeped in. But you can’t know if it adversely affected the wine by looking at or smelling the cork. You have to smell and taste the wine.

The Tasting Pour

Now the waiter will pour a small amount into your glass, and stand back waiting for your response. What will you do? Exactly what you do whenever you taste wine.

• Swirl
• Smell
• Sip

If the wine tastes fine, then nod for the waiter to continue pouring. He’ll move on to the next person and fill the glass a little less than half full, so that there’s room to swirl the wine, and continue like so around the table before coming back to finish filling your glass up.

What happens, though, if the wine tastes bad? It all depends on the definition of bad.

You pay for a glass of wine but what you get is a glass that’s less than half full, What’s the deal? The waiter isn’t trying to rip you off; he’s giving you the room you need to be able to swirl the wine and fully appreciate its scent as well as its taste. In fact, it’s when the wine is poured all the way to the rim that it’s time to get miffed.

Uncategorized Wine Tasting

You’ve ordered the wine. Whew! One big step out of the way. But here the guy comes with the bottle, a corkscrew, and a little plate. What’s all the rigmarole about? Why doesn’t he just pour the wine and let you get on with it?

In many restaurants, that is all that happens, and though it’s less embarrassing, it’s not with your best interests in mind. There is a possibility that the wine will be bad, and the tasting ceremony is your chance to find out and correct the situation.

Some parts of the tasting ceremony are more for show than for use, though, so here’s a primer in What to Do with That Cork, and other ways to handle the tasting ceremony coolly.

What to Expect

You might not feel comfortable when all eyes at the table train on you as the waiter presents you with the wine, but you should be mighty glad you have that chance. The waiter brings the wine to you so you can …

• Make sure it’s the one you ordered.
• Make sure it tastes like it should.

If it’s not the bottle you ordered, or it is but doesn’t taste like it should, this is your chance to reject it and request it be replaced with the correct bottle in good shape. Think about it: The embarrassment the tasting ceremony might cause is nothing compared to what would happen were a bad bottle poured all around.

Sometimes it pays to smell the glasses before the wine is even poured. Soap or damp rag smells can add unpleasant notes to a perfectly good wine.

This moment, however, is not a chance to decide you don’t like what you’ve chosen. Let’s go through the steps so you’ll know exactly what to expect and how to handle it.

Check the Label

The waiter should give you time to check the name, vintage, and any other identifying information on the label to make sure it’s what you ordered. (If he’s really good, he’ll point out all the salient information for you, as it’s sometimes hard to make the details quickly in a dark restaurant.)

Once you’ve determined that it is indeed the wine you ordered, he’ll step back and open the wine. When he’s uncorked it, he’ll put the cork on the table.

Uncategorized Wine Tasting

So while in Dundee, OR I decide to try some of the local cuisine after a day of wine tasting. I asked several people and they all recommended a brand new restaurant called Farm to Fork. It’s near the end of the strip in Dundee on the right hand side (driving north to south). Since everyone recommended it I figured we should at least give it a try. There are only 9 tables in the restaurant which makes it quite quaint.  I tried to find a website, but I don’t think they’ve even set one up yet. Fortunately Farm to Fork is on Yelp. It looks like everyone had the same experience as me… amazing food! And tons of local Portland wine to fully satisfy your pallet. And the prices weren’t that high. It really seemed like a great value. Oh wait.. I just found the website. It’s part of the hotel Inn at Redhills. Just for the food alone I’d recommend staying at this hotel. The chef at Farm to Fork is Paul Bachand and he uses only the finest local ingredients. I started with the Warm Truffled Goat Cheese Tart and follwed it with the Superior Farms Leg of Lamb, which was braised in red wine. Mmmm.. it makes my mouth water just thinking about it now. So if you’re ever in Dundee after a day of wine tasting be sure to checkout this restaurant. You won’t be disappointed!

Cheers,

Wine Club Insider

Uncategorized dundee, fine cuisine, food, local food, portland, Wine Tasting

WCI here, and I’d like to take a small diversion today and talk about some great wines I was able to try this weekend.

I was lucky enough to have some of my dearest friends come into town over the weekend, and so, if I was going to make dinner, I might as well fill the table, so I invited Don Townshend, winemaker, salesman and chief cook and bottle washer for the acclaimed Townshend Cellars in Spokane, Washington, and we had ourselves a party! www.townshendcellar.com is their website, and is worth checking out.

Don is one of the most talented winemakers I’ve met–almost the A.D.D of winemakers, as he makes almost 30 different wines. He’s one of the few winemakers I’ve done a dinner for where I can do an entire 8 - 10 course dinner using only their wines, as he makes everything from a sparkling Huckleberry Brut to several different ports and dessert wines, and everything in-between.

Don and his guest Cathy arrived right on time, and, as is his wont, Don brought a few bottles of some of his best wines to share with us, combined with a couple from my cellar, and let me tell you, folks, what an amazing evening of wines it was!

We started with one of our special champagne cocktails, accompanied by a plate of hummus, crackers and couple of great cheeses; in particular, a two year old, aged cheddar and a lovely smoked Gouda, and then, corkscrew in hand, Don started opening…

First up was his brand new release, entitled “DRG,” for Down River Grill, the restaurant Don crafted the wine for. They are actually having the release party this week, so we got a bit of an early taste. It was quite nice, with tons of fruit, and was a great way to start the evening.

Next up was a salad, with fresh Roma tomatoes, cucumbers, Craisins, fresh sliced pears and a raspberry vinaigrette. We diverged from the list to serve a crisp Riesling, but then, it was time for Big reds!

I’ll be back tomorrow with the tales of a great evening, and about their fun wine club, too!

Until then,

Cheers!

WCI

Dessert Wine, Fine Wine, Red Wine, Riesling, Sparkling Wine, Sweet Wine, USA Wine, Vintage Wine, White Wine, Wine Club, Wine Club Gift, Wine Education, Wine Lovers, Wine Making, Wine Tasting Townshend Cellars, Wine Club, wine dinner, Wine Tasting

WIC here, reliving the glory days–the heady early months of wine club heaven!

So, there I was, mid-nineties, a newly minted wine nut, enjoying my free wine club gift, and boom, I found out that Sterling Wine Cellars had a wine club! (www.SterlingVineyards.com) I didn’t really even know who Sterling was, but I didn’t care. Larry vouched for the quality, and so, with one phone call and a credit card number, I purchased my own wine club membership, bringing me up to two… one free, one I paid for.

Now, when I heard the monthly price, I was a bit aghast, as one month’s worth was more than I had probably spent on wine in my whole life… total. The money wasn’t a huge issue, as I was doing okay, but it did open my eyes a bit. I was up to a whopping $70/month or so… huge money that surely put me in the “Big Leagues” of wine collectors… Ha! Little did I know, but more about that in days to come.

Less than three weeks later, just as Santa was making his way through Napa Valley, my first Sterling shipment arrived, with a bottle of Diamond Mountain Ranch Cabernet, and a bottle of Three Palms Vineyard Cabernet (Yes, I remember these ones!).

Well, I got to taste some “real” wine, and, I have to say, I wasn’t fully prepared for the effects of a huge, new, tannic Napa Cab. I had never even heard of tannins, and there I was with a mouth full! Thank goodness I turned out to be a quick study, and after the initial shock wore off, I began to detect the fruit, and the underlying hint of plum and ginger…

Actually, that’s a complete lie, as I couldn’t taste anything but wine, but what I tasted, I liked, and the romance was on.

Over the next year, I developed a pretty nice collection of Sterling wines, started buying wine at Lorenzo’s, and drank my way through my six months free. When that expired, I somehow saw my way to re-upping my membership for not just six months, but four more years, and, as fate would have it, I found them some new friends…

Join me tomorrow as we continue tripping down the dusty wine roads!

Cheers!

WCI

Fine Wine, USA Wine, Wine Cellar, Wine Club, Wine Club Gift, Wine Education, Wine Tasting developing a wine cellar, wine club gifts, wine clubs, Wine Tasting