Bernard Berlin's World of Wine and Food: More about Bernard Berlin.....

To expand his knowledge of wine he has traveled extensively throughout the wine regions of France and many parts of Spain and the United States studying winemaking techniques. He specializes in multiple areas of wine, and is currently writing freelance articles about wine and restaurants for various publications. He works with restaurants hosting Sommelier Dinners, conducts trainings for restaurant wait-staff, organizes and chairs private as well as professional wine tastings and tasting events. Bernard also provides wine cellar and food pairing consultations for restaurants and wine enthusiasts.

Our Daily Wine

For all of us who enjoy wine on a daily basis with or without food, the influx of a wide variety of boxed wines to choose from is a welcomed sight. More impressive though is the quality of the wine that lies within these boxes. Here are two recommendations that are both very good values for the money and most importantly, good wine!
Washington Hills, Riesling
This is an easy drinking lush Riesling from Washington State. On the nose aromas of fresh cantaloupe titillates our senses, readying the palate for the gentle hints of white peaches and raspberries to come. The wine pairs well with garden greens, tuna salad, grilled skinless/boneless chicken breast and chicken salad. It is also a perfect summertime aperitif with enough flavors to enjoy as a refreshing wine “spritzer”. We purchased a three litre box for about $20.00, which is the equivalent of four bottles for $5.00 a bottle.
Santiago Station, Carmenère from Chili
A great find for red wine lovers. The Carmenère from Santiago Station delights the palate with similar taste sensations found in Merlot: black tea, dark chocolate and cocoa. This wine though is not as acidic as many of the inexpensive Merlots I have tried and has a smooth, clean finish. Pair this with beef, pork, lamb, veal and whole roasted chicken. A three litre box costs about $14.00 in Arizona.

Have some fun with this wine, serve it to some friends in a carafe and let them try to guess the price of wine. The guesstimates will be as surprising as is the quality of the wine itself for only $3.50 a bottle!

Boxed wines are a great way to enjoy wine on a daily basis without breaking the bank. The wine can stay for as long as four weeks or longer without any taste degradation. There are no bottles to dispose of and best of all—there are some very good wines available in boxes.

Vodka Warning

Vodka lovers beware!

Before digging deep into your pockets for an expensive bottle of
“vintage” or “harvest” dated vodka consider this: Unlike wine or whiskey, vodka starts off as nearly 100% alcohol usually distilled from grains, corn, potatoes or other starch/sugar rich pants. Water is then added to make it drinkable. As such,
how in the world can the vintage or harvest dates of whatever is used to distill the vodka from have any relevance to taste or quality of the vodka. The answer is simple, it does not!

There are many factors that go into determining the taste
of vodka, such as whether the vodka is filtered or not and if so how many times does it go through a filtration process.
The purity of the water used can also make a difference. In the end though, the “real” taste of the vodka comes from whatever it is distilled from, rye, wheat, potatoes, corn
etc. My personal preference is potato vodka. The year the potatoes were harvested is too foolish to even consider.

Vodka is a $12 billion industry. As with any consumer product marketing and packaging always plays a significant role in capturing market share for any company. Do not be misled by erroneous information such as “vintage” or “harvest” dating of a product that starts off as nearly 100% alcohol. Trust your
taste and good sense when choosing vodka.

Decanter Madness

This is madness! I recently noticed a decanter for sale in a “big box” wine store labeled “Cabernet/Merlot”. Does this imply that I should use a separate decanter for Pinot Noir, Sangiovese or any other varietal? Or maybe I should have a whole line-up of decanters for each day of the week, one for Monday, Tuesday etc. Of course this is foolish but no less so than a decanter labeled specifically for “Cabernet/Merlot”.

Decanting wine is a quick way to release the aromas and flavors of the wine by suddenly exposing it to a large amount of air. Alternatively one can wait for the wine to slowly “breathe” in the opened bottle for a longer period of time. Both techniques work equally well depending on how much time one has to devote to this process. The “vessel” that is used to “decant” the wine into is of no importance compared to the process itself.

At home, we usually decant our wine into a small earthenware pitcher with a handle when we do not want to wait for the wine to breathe in its opened bottle. This accomplishes the very same results as if we decanted the wine into an expensive glass decanter, plus it is easier to pour from and clean up later.

What is equally troubling about this folly of labeling a decanter with “Cabernet/Merlot” is that box bears the logo and name of the Wine Enthusiast magazine. Certainly people who publish a wine magazine know that there is no need to have a specific decanter for a particular varietal.

Whatever vessel one chooses to decant their wine into, the taste sensations of the wine is determined by the wine, not the decanter!

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