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United Package
Liquors University: Learn how to use your favorite
drinks |
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Beer and
Food Combination Tips |
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1. Think of Ale as Red Wine and Lager
as White Wine |
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In other words,
when red meat or any dish that you would normally pair with
red wine is on the menu, select an ale to serve with it.
Conversely, if the main course is fish or poultry, try a
lager. |
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2. Hoppiness in Beer = Acidity in Wine |
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Anytime that you
would seek a wine with high acidity -- such as with spicy or
oily food -- choose a beer with significant hoppiness, or
bitterness. The more acidic you would want the wine, the
hoppier you will want the beer. |
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3. Complement or Contrast |
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Try to match
foods to beer with complementary characters, such as a
robust stew with a full-bodied ale. Or try a contrasting
flavor, such as a crisp, refreshing lager with a heavy cream
soup. |
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4. Keep the Beer Sweeter than the
Dessert |
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Nothing kills the
flavor of a beer like the overpowering sweetness of a
dessert, so try to keep the sugar contents of both beer and
dessert balanced. (Exceptions to this rule can be made for
chocolate, which pairs well even with dry stout.)
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Wine Glossary |
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Acidification: The
addition of acid (usually tartaric) during fermentation,
frequently necessary in hot climates where grapes tend to
over ripen and become deficient in acidity, thereby losing
freshness.
Acidity: The acids in a
wine (principally tartaric, malic, citric and lactic)
provide liveliness, longevity and balance.
Barrique: The standard
Bordeaux barrel, holding 225 liters or the equivalent of
about 300 bottles of wine.
Blanc de Blanc: "White
of Whites", meaning a white wine made of white grapes, such
as Champagne made of Chardonnay.
Blanc de Noirs: White
wine made of red or black grapes, where the juice is
squeezed from the grapes and fermented without skin contact.
These wines can have a pale pink hue.
Botrytis Cinerea: Called
the "Noble Rot". A beneficial and often highly desirable
mold or fungus that attacks grapes under certain climatic
conditions and causes them to shrivel, deeply concentrating
the flavors, sugar, and acid.
Brettanomyces: A wild
yeast strain that occurs naturally in wineries and
vineyards. Low levels of infection can add complexity to a
wine. High levels are perceived by most as a fault.
Brut: A general term
used to designate a relatively dry-finished Champagne or
sparkling wine, often the driest wine made by the producer.
Carbonic Maceration: A
form of anaerobic fermentation, practiced extensively in
Beaujolais that produces a bright, fruity style of wine.
CÈpage: The finished
blend, e.g. Cabernet/Merlot; Syrah/Grenache.
Chaptalization: The
addition of sugar during fermentation to increase a wine's
alcoholic strength.
CuvÈe: A blend or
special lot of wine.
Demi-Sec: In the
language of Champagne, a term relating to sweetness;
although demi-sec means half-dry, demi-sec sparkling wines
are usually slightly sweet to medium sweet.
Dry: Opposite of sweet;
having no perceptible taste of sugar.
Ester: Volatile flavor
compound naturally created in fermentation. Often fruity,
flowery, or spicy.
Extra Dry: A common
Champagne term not to be taken literally. Most "extra-dry"
Champagnes are sweet. 
Fermentation: The
conversion of grape juice into wine through the action of
yeasts present in the juice, or added to the juice, which
turn sugar into alcohol. This alcoholic fermentation is also
known as primary fermentation.
Fining: A method of
clarifying wine by pouring a coagulant (such as egg whites)
on top and letting it settle to the bottom. In general, a
fining agent is allowed to fall through the wine, while in
filtration; the wine is passed through a filter.
Fortify: To raise the
alcohol content of a wine by the addition of brandy or
neutral spirits.
Lees: Solid residue
(mostly dead yeast cells) and grape pulp, pips, and skins,
(known as gross lees) that remains in the cask after the
wine has finished fermentation. Many white wines and some
reds are kept on their lees for a period of time to protect
them from oxidation, enrich their textures, and add
complexity.
Malolactic Fermentation:
A secondary fermentation in which the more tart malic acid
is converted into softer lactic acid and carbon dioxide.
Malolactic fermentation, which generally follows the
alcoholic fermentation, is nearly always carried out in red
wines. Some producers of white wines encourage malolactic
fermentation, while others, especially those in hot regions
that produce grapes with low levels of acidity, avoid it in
order to retain the wine's freshness.
MÈthode Champenoise: The
process whereby wine undergoes a secondary fermentation
inside the bottle, creating bubbles.
Must: Grape juice not
yet fermented or in the process of being fermented into
wine.
Nouveau: A style of
light, fruity, youthful red wine bottled and sold as soon as
possible. Applies mostly to Beaujolais.
Oaky: Smell or taste of
the oak cask in which the wine was vinified and/or aged; oak
notes can include such elements as vanilla, clove, cinnamon,
cedar, smoke, toast, bourbon, and coffee.
Rack: To transfer wine
from one vessel to another, leaving the sediment behind.
Reduced/Reductive:
Essentially the opposite of oxidized or oxidative. Instead
of forming bonds with oxygen, aromatic compounds in the
maturing wine form bonds with hydrogen and sulfur. This
generally occurs during barrel or tank ageing.
Solera: A system used in
the fractional blending of wines of various ages in order to
achieve a consistent product. Most widely found in Jerez
(Sherry).
Sulfur: The most common
disinfectant and preservative for wine. Most winemakers feel
that it is nearly impossible to produce stable wine without
judicious use of sulfur products at one or more stages of
vinification.
Tannin: A bitter,
mouth-drying substance found in the skins, stalks and pips
of the grapes--as well as in wood barrels. Tannin acts as a
preservative and is thus an important component if the wine
is to be aged over a long period. Tannins are frequently
harsh in a young wine, but gradually soften or dissipate as
the wine ages in the bottle.
Volatile Acidity (VA):
Vinegar. In very small quantities this can add a refreshing
zing to a wine. In excessive amounts it is perceived as a
fault.
Yeast: The various
microorganisms that cause fermentation. Wild yeasts are
naturally present on grape skins, but cultivated yeasts are
generally used to control fermentation more carefully.
Balance: The relative
proportions of fruit, acid and sugar (if any) in a wine. May
also include alcohol.
Corked, Corky:
Contaminated by a tainted cork, which gives the wine a
musty, wet cardboard smell.
Filtration: A method of
clarifying and stabilizing wine to give it a pleasingly
lucid color and to remove yeasts, bacteria or other solid
matter that might otherwise spoil the wine after it has been
bottled. Excessive filtration, like excessive fining, can
strip a wine of aroma, body, texture and length. |
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Italian Wine Guide |
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Italian
Wine Laws |
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Italian
Wine Terminology |
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Italian Wine Naming |
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