Latest news with #wineenthusiasts
Irish Times
3 days ago
- General
- Irish Times
Ten things you need to know about wine
Wine is made by fermenting freshly gathered grapes. It can be red, white, rosé, sparkling or fortified. There are no rights and wrongs. Nobody insists that you like carrots; it's the same with wine. You like what you like . Price is not always an indicator of quality. But if you spend €10-€20 on a bottle, it will probably taste a lot better. Good glasses make a difference. Large tulip-shaped glasses make wine taste better. Temperature matters. Serve a white wine too cold and you lose flavour (about 10 degrees is good). Warm red wine can seem soupy and alcoholic (aim for 18 degrees, cooler than most house temperatures). Learning about wine should be fun and not feel like an exam. Work out what you like and what you don't, and take it from there. Start by trying wines made from the most popular grape varieties and the best-known wine regions. That will give you a good idea of what you like and what you don't. Taking a few notes is a good idea. Matching food and wine can make both taste better, but don't get hung up about it. Not all wine improves with age. Most wine is ready to drink the day you buy it. Wines with screw caps are not inferior. Sometimes they are better than wines with corks.
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Our wine expert reveals the best white wines for summer, from £7
Unconventional though it may sound, I often crave white wines that remind me of a margarita cocktail – vibrant and bracingly fresh, with a stony salinity and citrus zing that conjure the sea. These are the ones I reach for in summer: brilliant as thirst-quenching apéritifs, spot-on with sun, salads, seafood and sunshine, and light enough to enjoy all afternoon. My fresh picks will whisk you from your garden to the ocean.
Times
16-05-2025
- Climate
- Times
The best picnic wines to drink alfresco
The great outdoors, with insects and fluctuating temperatures, rain one minute and brilliant sunshine the next, is no place for fine wine. Whether you are heading to the beach or your back garden, serving anything priced more than £15 a bottle is a complete waste of money. Frankly, most of the time I stick to £10 and below for alfresco bottles, whether it's a swanky picnic or a simple barbecue. That's principally because getting the temperature right with bottles drunk outside is hard. Serve your chosen wine too cold and the fruit and flavour is damped down; too hot, however, and whites and reds will taste flabby and aggressively alcoholic. Stick wines that cost less than £10 in the fridge overnight, wrap them in wet
The Guardian
15-05-2025
- Lifestyle
- The Guardian
Here comes summer: reasons to love riesling
I've been drinking a lot of riesling lately. There is, naturally, quite a bit of variety in a drinks writer's liquid diet, so to have the same thing twice in one week is a sure indication of a fascination developing, or of a habit forming. There's not much psychoanalysis required as to why that might be the case: the sun is out and, by the time this column comes out, it will (hopefully) be here to stay. And, for that, I simply must have a glass of white wine in my hand. The Guardian's journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more. Or maybe I need to dig a bit deeper. Why riesling specifically? I like my riesling how all the other freaks do – namely when it tastes as little like wine as possible. When petrol and wax abound on the nose. And with an acidity that slaps you round the face a little, as well as generous fruit that soothes. Riesling is a wine that feels like a meal. And, just maybe, after a haggard winter marked by comforting reds and weighted blankets, I'm in the mood to be challenged and excited again. It's because of these peculiar, acquired-taste notes that riesling is so often a grape for the wine nerds, yes, but that's also why I'm so pleased it's so easy to pick up in supermarkets and wine shops alike. The kinds of riesling you'll most likely find in the supermarket are German and dry, though there is also plenty to discover from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Alsace. They tend to be labelled by variety only, however, so if you want to be sure of the sweetness levels, make sure you check the label to know what to expect. In the wine classification of prädikatswein, the lightest dry German rieslings are described as kabinett-style: that is, bright and with low residual sugar. These are usually appley, sprightly things that you can drink without overthinking, and are the sort of riesling to serve to someone who needs convincing, or who doesn't think a nose pull of petrol is the most pleasurable thing on Earth. Yet. Moving up the scale, we have spätlese (literally, 'late harvest'), for which the grapes are picked at least a week after the regular harvest, so have more time to ripen and have a higher sugar content. They also tend to be fleshier, and are certainly the least intense of the sweeter rieslings. You may also come across riesling marked auslese, meaning selected harvest wines that can be even riper than spätlese, but not always. Sweeter, off-dry riesling (wherever it's from) is the firm foil to the supposition that sweetness = poor quality. These wines can be intriguing, poised, and the best are kept in check with a fine acidity. Confront yourself. Embrace the sweetness. Dr L Grey Slate Riesling £10 Waitrose, 10.5%. Named after the Mosel's terrain, this is clean, crisp and mineral. Moselland Riesling Spätlese 2023 £11.40 Tanners Wine Merchants, 14%. A little fuller, and made from late-harvested grapes. Like fruit dipped in honey. Tin Shed Wild Bunch Riesling 2023 £24 Good Wine Good People, 12.4%. A great year for Australia's Eden Valley riesling, and this one's bright and vivacious. Mont Gras Handcrafted Bío Bío Riesling 2020 £13.50 The Wine Society, 13%. A Chilean sweet riesling for aromatic dishes.
Daily Mail
10-05-2025
- Lifestyle
- Daily Mail
Our wine expert reveals the best red wines to serve chilled this spring, including a £7 supermarket pick
It's not just light Beaujolais or Pinot Noir wines that benefit from a gentle chill – many reds come alive with a short stint in the fridge. It brightens fruit, lifts floral notes and brings balance. For medium to full-bodied styles give it 20 minutes, double that for lighter reds. As summer nears, freshness is key; cloying reds lose their charm. Be mindful when chilling robust reds with high tannins, as this can accentuate their bitterness. Specially Selected Côtes du Rhône Villages 2023(14%), £7.49, Aldi. Here's a superbly priced Côtes du Rhône Villages, with dark cherry and savoury, meaty notes, all wrapped in an enveloping, smooth texture. A BBQ banger. £7.49 Shop
