On Food and Cooking

sparkling wines are best served very cold, around 40ºF/5ºC, in tall, narrow glasses that allow their ...

several useful things. It perforates the skin of the grape, thus allowing it to lose moisture and become conc ...

sherry-producing region of Spain sometime before 1600. Winemakers take advantage of the stability of forti ...

be white or red, is fortified, sometimes sweetened, then artificially heated to a temperature around 120ºF ...

Tawny port, so named for its brown color (the result of precipitation of the red pigments), is typically ba ...

aged in barrel and finally in bottle for anywhere from two to 50 years. Older ports are characterized by th ...

become more concentrated, each is replenished with wine from the next younger cask. The final wine ...

spices, and sometimes sweetened (up to 16% sugar). The French usually extract the flavorings in the wine ...

heavier, more strongly fortified base wines that don’t develop a flor, reach 24% alcohol, and become d ...

sparkling and other white wines, where it can cause a sulfury off-aroma similar to that found in light-struc ...

“Breathing” and Aeration Wines can sometimes be improved just before serving by a period of aeration ...

poured into the glass and as it rests there, and its aroma often evolves noticeably between the first sip and ...

particles, and this causes irreversible changes in flavor. Leftover red wine is best handled by a minimizin ...

wine has one of the most complex flavors of all our foods. Wine connoisseurs have developed an elaborate voca ...

substances that can and do contribute to the flavor of wine (see box, p. 738). Clarity and Color The appear ...

precipitate, leaving more of the brownish tannins visible. The wine develops an amber or tawny tint ...

substance and volume. In strong young red wines, the tannins can be palpable enough that “chewy” seems a ...

Apple Sherries Acetaldehyde Flowers: Violets Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon Ionone Citrus, lavender Muscat Linalool Rose Gew ...

Clove wines guaiacol Tobacco Barrel-aged red wines Ethyl, vinyl guaiacol Earthiness: Mushrooms Botrytized wines Octenol Stone C ...

Cat Sauvignon Blanc Sulfur compounds Solvent: Kerosene Riesling TDN (trimethyldihydronaphthalene) Nail polish remover Ma ...