Posts Tagged ‘Chardonnay’

Looking to try some brand new cheeses with your wine? Cheese, quality crackers or bread, and a good bottle of wine are always an excellent way to snack. Cheese is great if you just want something simple to eat while you enjoy a glass of wine. Try some of these for a nice change of pace.

Blue Castello is from Denmark, a soft cheese for easy spreading. Pour a glass of Chenin Blanc or Sauvignon Blanc when partaking of this cheese.

Boschetto al Tartufo Bianchetto is certainly a mouthful to say! Though it has a long name, this soft cheese can make for an excellent choice on your palate. Bochetto al Tartufo Bianchetto is straight from Italy and works best with Barolo or Sangiovese.

Bucheron is yet another soft cheese that hails from France. If you manage to get your hands on it, be sure to pick up a bottle of Chardonnay to match, or perhaps a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc.

Cambozola is soft-ripened which can make for some interesting flavors and textures as you eat. Its homeland is Bavaria and works well with Chardonnay.

If you want to drink some Champagne or Gewürztraminer, then by all means look into purchasing some Chevre cheese from France.

Cotija cheese is fun to say and to eat. Coming up from Mexico, this semi-hard cheese is nicely paired with Chardonnay or Riesling.

Crème fraiche isn’t your typical cheese. In fact, it’s often used in or around desserts for a sweet bit of change. Its origins are in France and because of its dessert design, should be treated with dessert wine.

Looking for some more wine and cheese pairings? There are plenty out there. The trick is to know which wine goes with which cheese! Find a location that sells an excellent selection of cheeses and wines, and see if you can bring these pairs together:

Portugal has some tasty cheeses, like Azeito. Snack on slices with a good Muscatel. Or try their Ribafria with a glass of Pannonia Gruener Veltiliner or Sauvignon Blanc.

Great Britain offers up some good blue cheeses such as their Beeleigh Blue with Sauternes, Cabernet, or Merlot, and the Shopshire Blue with Port.

What would a wine and cheese pairing be without more cheese from France? Their semi-hard Ossau Iraty works nicely with Barolo, Merlot, Sauvignon Blanc. The hard Raclette matches with the Beaujolais, and for something soft Pave Affinois pairs up with Sauvignon Blanc or Sancerre.

Looking for something that you’ll have an easier time finding? Provolone cheese can easily team up with a good Chardonnay, Chianti Riserva, or Barolo. Mini Babybel cheese is highly versatile and pairs well with numerous whites. If you’re willing to go out on a limb, Limburger from Belgium skirts wine altogether and instead pairs up with beer!

Belgium sits right next to Germany and France, to large producers of wine. Belgium has plenty of wine to offer as well, even if it is smaller than its neighbors. There are several sub regions within Belgium: Flanders, Hageland, Haspengauw, Haspengouw, and Wallonie.

Within each of those are a few additional sub regions. Each area will make various amounts of wine and spirits. Because Belgium is beside the ocean and in a more northern position than the countries beside it, grapes grown here need to be able to handle chilly weather and a variety of soils.

Grapes used in Belgium vary depending upon the vineyard’s location and the wine the vineyard hopes to make. Primarily, however, Belgium tends to offer mostly white wines, with just over 50% of their production lending to whites. Red is a much smaller percentage, not quite 6%, though Belgium does craft a few sparkling wines as well.

If you travel to Belgium, you may see grapes such as Müller-Thurgau, Monica, Kerner, and Chardonnay, with a few additional grapes used in order to blend certain wines.

See what Belgium has to offer – you’re not likely to be disappointed. And if you tire of wine, don’t worry – Belgium makes a great deal of various spirits that may catch your interest.

It’s that time again! Time for good friends, family, delicious food, and, of course, amazing wine. Whether you have turkey before Thanksgiving or anytime, it’s always a nice treat to have a good bottle of wine to accompany it. But some people wonder – should you treat turkey like chicken and follow the wine guidelines there? Or is there some other concept to follow when it comes to pairing the two?

First, it is always important to remember that in the end you should choose a wine that you want to drink, and/or a wine that your company wishes to drink. Do you prefer red over white, or does it matter? Do you like them dry or nice and sweet? Consider your tastes first, and then take a peek at the guidelines.

If you enjoy white wines, Chardonnay is typically the choice wine when it comes to turkey. You’re bound to already have a favorite, so you can go with that or choose something new for a little holiday variety.

If you like red wine, Pinot Noir is a good wine to match. It won’t overwhelm the food even though its flavor is a little fuller. Turkey tends to be a little more flavorful than chicken, which is why these two work well together.

Don’t be afraid to ask friends for their suggestions as well!

Choosing the right wine for your wedding doesn’t have to be a trying experience. It is a special occasion and you want everything to be perfect, and that can sometimes translate into agonizing over every little thing. Wine shouldn’t be one of them. Instead, when it comes to wine at a wedding, it’s important to know who is going to drink it – and what they like.

Many couples automatically opt for Champagne because of its association with special occasions. But what if your future spouse isn’t fond of Champagne? Instead, look for wines that can help complement your wedding feast. Trust in wines that tend to go over well due to their popularity, such as Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Riesling, or Cabernet Sauvignon.

In addition to serving wine, you may want to consider some cute wedding wine accessories! From heart-shaped foil cutters to beautiful cork stoppers, a little something fancy can make all the difference. You’ll be sure to find plenty of use for them at home once the wedding is over, too!

People who know wine tend to know Chardonnay.  It’s a classic and will be for a long time to come.  Chardonnay comes, at no surprise, from the Chardonnay grape.  These grapes are readily grown all over the world, though its origins are in France.  It’s a favorite dry white wine for multiple occasions that pairs well with a large number of foods.

If there are two things that tend to go together well, it’s the Chardonnay grape and oak barrels.  It can pick up some delicious flavors and aromas when oak barrels are used: tastes such as vanilla and even coconut in some cases.  Some wineries even toast the insides of the barrels to help bring out smoky flavors and add in even more spiciness to make the wine full of dimension every time you taste it.

These grapes enjoy cooler climates and have a relatively low acidity.  Different producers will have varying methods for their Chardonnay grapes depending upon what they want the end result to taste like.  Oak barrels are only one element in the whole process; other producers may use different fermentation methods for richer flavors and buttery tastes.  Whatever you prefer, Chardonnay is a grape to be celebrated.

White wines are not all created equal.  Certain white wines will remain in the cellar for a long time before they peak and are suitable for drinking.  Others peak rather early, making for a tasty bottle without all of the waiting.  So which bottles are ready to go and which ones need some time alone?

Pinot Grigio needs only a year or so before it’s ready to be poured into your glass.  Though it is important to remember that this does not necessarily mean all Pinot Grigio bottles, it does include a large majority of them.

Chardonnays need only a year or two more than Pinot Grigio.  These tend to include the bottles that don’t cost an arm and a leg; if you spot one of those, it may have remained in the cellar a bit longer.

Grüner Veltliner wine takes things up a notch, needing as much as eight years before its release to the public.

Cru Chablis rolls right off the tongue, however, if you want the wine to roll off your tongue, the wait can be as much as a decade.

At the longest timeframe of twenty or potentially even more years is the Auslese Riesling.  They don’t call Riesling one of the noble grapes for nothing!

The Ribera del Guadiana is another large area of Spain that delivers over 10 million liters of wine to people across the globe on a yearly basis.  Taking up 25,000 hectares, there are 75 vineyards that carefully craft and deliver delicious wines that range in both red and white styles.  The ranges, in fact, are quite impressive, and considering what many vineyards are able to do with a handful of different grapes, the scope can be exhilarating.

There are at least 11 different red wines available from this region, such as Bobal, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Garnacha Tinta.  There are even more white wines to choose from, at least 17 varieties for you to make your selection.  These white wines include the popular Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, and Moscatel, to some lesser known varieties that you may have yet to taste, such as Pardina, Malvar, and Cayetana Blanca.  Keep in mind, however, that on occasion one grape may have several different names depending upon your location in Spain, so boosting your knowledge before a tour can go a long way.

Slowly building up your wine-related vocabulary?  It’s a great idea, especially if you aspire to be a well-versed wine taster.  Being able to confidently converse with other people who thoroughly enjoy wine can help you to feel at ease and have a great time.

Buttery – This one may seem self-explanatory, but why would one describe a wine as “buttery” in the first place?  If a wine smells buttery, it is because of the presence of lactic acid.  The acid forms during malolactic fermentation and is most common in Chardonnay.

Clos – Simply a vineyard that is enclosed by a wall.

Fining – This is the process of clarifying wine.  The suspended solids are removed from the liquid before it is bottled.  Fining agents can vary from egg whites to bentonite that attract the solids and enable winemakers to remove them.

Malic acid – This acid occurs naturally in wines and is often reduced through malolactic fermentation.

Vintage – A word you will often hear.  It refers to the grape harvest.  If you see a vintage year on the label of a bottle, then you are drinking a wine made only with grapes harvested during that year.