Pairing Wine with Ham Offers a Host of Possibilities

If you are serving ham for your holiday meal, there is a fundamental question you need to answer before choosing a wine to pair with ham. What type of ham do you have? There’s a plethora of hams … canned, fresh, bone-in, bone out, spiral cut, black forest…and you know what? None of that matters. The only two questions that matter are:

1) Is the ham glazed and therefore has a sweet element to it or is it a cured ham without glaze?
2) Is it a fattier type of ham.

or…Is it both sweeter and fatty? This is the toughest type of ham and wine pairing so we’ll get to that last.

Follow our first food and wine pairing rule for pairing wine with a sweeter ham and to the degree possible, don’t serve a wine that is not as sweet as the ham. For glazed hams, look for wines that have a slightly sweeter element to them. Classic examples would be a slightly fruity Riesling, Gewürztraminer, Malvasia Bianca or one of the myriad types of Muscats that are available. If you insist on pulling out one of those sweeter Roses, this is the time to do it. Whatever wine you choose though, make sure that it still has some acid on the back as the salty nature of ham doesn’t go with an all fruit, no substance style of wine.

Pairing wine with hams that are cured and don’t have glaze are one of the easiest types of wine and meat pairings because they go with so many types of wine. The leaner nature of a cured ham provides a great opportunity to bring out those drier Rieslings. The bigger flavor of the meat pairs beautifully with lighter reds like Pinot Noir but if there is still a little fat in your ham, then even bold red wines like Cabernet Sauvignon are a great choice. Here’s a basic rule of thumb. For very lean hams, look to dry acidic whites like dry Rieslings, or light reds like a Pinot Noir. Cured hams with a little fat go great with Pinot Noir, but if you prefer bigger reds a Cabernet Sauvignon will work. If the ham has a fair amount of fat, go with the big reds like Cabernet Sauvignon, Petite Sirah or Petite Verdot.

We alluded to it earlier in this post but the toughest ham to pair wine with is one that is fatty but has a pronounced sweet element to it. Normally fatty meats call for bigger wines with lots of tannins but the sweeter flavor of the ham will likely make those taste like vinegar in comparison. Your best bet is to go with a crisp white wine with a hint of sweetness, but enough acid to help it stand up to the fattier piece of meat. The best wines for this are Gewürztraminer and Rieslings (are you sensing a pattern with Rieslings and ham?). Just make sure that in addition to the sweet element there is enough acid to stand up to the fat.

If you found this of interest, then check out the next post when we offer up wine pairings with Pork Roast.

Winery-Sage is an online Winery Encyclopedia designed to help you compare wines, wineries, and regions by using a unique database. Cross-reference varietals and the wineries that produce them, as well as discover events sponsored by wineries and associations. We’re not here to sell you anything or pass you off to paid advertisers, just share the love for wine.

Pairing Pork Roast with Wine – There’s Lots of Choices

I love wine with pork roast. It has so many variations that pork and wine pairing offers endless combinations. I don’t know why so many people feel that pork roast is a meat that has to be covered up by a sauce, glaze or fruit compote. It’s fantastic by itself just nicely seasoned. However, if your holiday meal involves a pork roast and you feel obligated to smother it in something, make sure you ignore any wine pairing advice for meat and wine because the sauce will be the predominant flavor and that is the flavor with which to pair your wine. If you need advice on pairing wine with different sauces, check out our food and wine pairing wizard because trying to cover the multitudes of sauces that cooks use to accompany pork would flip this from a short blog post to something the length of War and Peace. For this post, we are only offering advice on pairing wine with pork roasts that do not have a sauce.

To pair wine with pork roast, I break down the meat into three different types. Fattier roasts like pork shoulder, leaner cuts like pork rib roast (basically a bunch of bone-in pork chops left together so it’s a roast with an outer layer of fat) and very lean cuts like tenderloin. By the way, pork shoulders are often called pork butts even though they come from the front part of the animal, not the derriere. There’s a logical reason for this that’s rooted in history but this is a wine blog, not a linguistics one, so I’ll leave it to the reader to learn why. Just don’t be confused if you see pork shoulder and pork butt used interchangeably.

Fattier pork roasts like shoulders are not a tender cut of meat so they require longer, slower cooking which means that fat will permeate the meat. Fattier meats stand up to more tannic wines in general but the milder flavor of a pork roast usually exclude the biggest red wines like Cabernet Sauvignon and Petite Sirah. If you want to serve those big ones, this is you one and only chance with a pork roast but there are better options.  Aside from excluding the big reds, a fattier pork roast probably offers the widest array of wine pairings of any meat. The fat in the meat does well with medium tannin wines like Merlot or Malbec (just don’t get overly fruity versions of either) or lighter reds like Pinot Noir or a lighter Sangiovese. A lot of articles on the internet suggest pork roast with white wines but I would avoid, full, soft white wines like Chardonnay if it is a fattier roast. They just don’t hold up to the fat content of the meat. If you really want to pair a white wine with the pork, look for a crisp, dry Riesling or a Pinot Grigio. The clean acid on the finish of the Riesling will do a nice job cutting through the fat of the pork roast although you won’t get the benefit of having the tannins to help clear pork fat off of your palate.

For leaner pork roasts with just a thin layer of fat on the outside, light red wines and full bodied whites are both great choices. If you are serving a pork roast, this is the type that has the most options. Pinot Noir or Dolcetto are both good choices but this is also your chance to break out your favorite Chardonnay, Pinot Gris or white Rhone blend. If you want to try something a little out of the ordinary, see if you can track down a Fiano, an unusual white Varietal from the Campania region of Italy.

Pork tenderloin is the leanest type of pork. Calling it a roast is probably a stretch because it is grilled as often as roasted, but either way, it’s a succulent and tender piece of meat if it is not overcooked. With only a little fat and subtle natural juices, white wines are the best choice. Virtually any red wine other then very light ones will overpower the meat. If you want a red wine, Pinot Noir will be the best bet out of the more well known wines. My favorite pairing with a nice seasoned pork roast would be a dry Riesling.

We hope our suggestions on wine pairings with pork roast have proved helpful.

Winery-Sage is an online Winery Encyclopedia designed to help you compare wines, wineries, and regions by using a unique database. Cross-reference varietals and the wineries that produce them, as well as discover events sponsored by wineries and associations. We’re not here to sell you anything or pass you off to paid advertisers, just share the love for wine.

Why wine bottle shapes vary is an area of considerable debate among wine historians and a surefire cure for insomnia for most people. My belief is that the shapes go back far enough where there was little or no interplay between the wine making regions so each region developed their own shape. In the middle ages, most people never traveled more than 20 miles from their homes so it’s not surprising that bottle shapes Bordeaux, Burgundy and the Rhone region of France would develop independently given that they are hundreds of miles apart.

Understanding wine bottle shapes means understanding the key parts of a wine bottle.  This graphic, developed by greenhousewinery.com, provides an excellent overview of a wine bottle.

The Main Parts of a Wine BottlePerhaps the most misunderstood portion of the wine bottle is the punt.  Contrary to popular belief, the punt is not a means to rip off the consumer by taking up room in the bottle so that there is less wine.  All “standard” bottles hold 750ml of wine, irrespective of the wine bottle shape or the depth of the punt.  Even wine experts don’t completely agree on the purpose of the wine bottle punt.  There are a plethora of theories as to why the punt is actually in a wine bottle.  Several of the most common beliefs (and plausible – geez, you should see some the of the loony ideas that some people have) are that:

• the punt allows for better stacking of the wine bottles because the top of the lower bottle will nestle into the cavity created by the punt of the upper bottle
• it allows for the “one handed pour” by placing the thumb in the punt and the fingers on top of the bottle.
• the punt somehow “magically”captures sediments that otherwise would cloud the wine in a glass.  You can probably tell how much stock I put in this “magical” theory.

Wine bottle color also plays a role in wine bottles. For the most part, darker bottles better protect the wine from light which can damage it. Red wines almost always used dark green colored bottles because the darker liquid can easily be seen through the dark glass. White wines and most roses however, use clear bottles. The lighter color liquid shows better through clear glass and wine color, particularly with lighter wines, can be an important clue as to how it will taste.

Bordeaux
If there is a classic wine bottle shape used in the U.S., this is it. The Bordeaux shape has straight sides, with shoulders that cut in sharply towards the neck and sit high up on the bottle.

Typical wines that use this bottle shape are Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Malbec, Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc, and Semillon. Bordeaux blends from France or Meritage blends from the U.S. would also use this.

This has become the go to bottle for winemakers who want to standardize on a single wine bottle shape. Most Italian and Spanish wines also use this form factor.

Burgundy
The Burgundy wine bottle shape is quite different than Bordeaux bottles. The Burgundian wine bottle is wider at the base and rather than the abrupt transition from the neck to the shoulders like the Bordeaux shaped wine bottle, there is a gentle transition from wine bottle neck to shoulders and into the body. The lines are very graceful and flowing.

The most common wines found in Burgundy wine bottle shapes are Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.

Rhone
The classic Rhone wine bottle shape is very similar to the Burgundian bottles. In the US, most winemakers standardize on one or the other for their Rhone and Burgundy wines but in France, its a matter of regional pride to make sure that bottles from the Rhone are kept in Rhone style bottles. Rhone shaped wine bottles are often marginally taller than those from Burgundy and have a slightly longer neck. Many wineries in the Rhone region emboss a seal or coat of arms on their bottles that is rarely done in the U.S. due to cost.

Syrah is the most common wine found in this type of bottle but Grenache, Mourvedre, Viognier, Roussanne and Marsanne are also likely candidates to be served in this wine bottle shape.

Champagne
Champagne bottles are similar in shape to those from Burgundy but they are much thicker and heavier and that thick glass serves a very important purpose. Champagne is the one wine on this list that is carbonated and the pressure from that carbonation equates to five times the normal atmospheric pressure. All of that wine and CO2 needs to be contained, hence the thicker glass. FYI, a Champagne cork can travel at close to 30 miles per hour just after it is uncorked if left to fly on its own. One of our favorite bartenders from years past, lost the site in one eye from an unrestrained Champagne cork flying out of the bottle. Be careful! Champagne wine bottles are almost always dark green in color.

By the way, what is the most common grape found in Champagne bottles? Good question. Champagne has an unusual distinction.. and no…it’s not because it has bubbles or has a reputation for giving really nasty hangovers if you drink the cheap stuff. It is one of the very few French wines that is still known in the U.S., by the area from which it originated, not by the grape type that made it. There is no “Champagne” grape. Most Champagne is made from either Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier or Chardonnay wine grapes.

Rhine
Wine bottle shapes from the Rhine region of Germany are usually the tallest of the “standard” shapes found in the U.S..  Elegant and slender, these bottles look great on display but can reek havoc with many U.S. wine racks that are designed with French wine bottles in mind. There is also a very small punt in the bottom of the bottle.

The most common wines found in Rhine shaped wine bottles are Riesling and Gewürztraminer.

Mosel / Alsace
Wine bottle shapes from the Mosel Valley in Germany or the Alsace region of France are very similar to those from the Rhine region of Germany with the main difference being the color of the glass. Mosel and Alsatian wines virtually always come in light green or even clear glass in a few cases.

The most common type of wine found in these types of bottles is Riesling.

Those are the most common wine bottle shapes found in the U.S..  There are others that are very specific for smaller niche wines like the very tall necked Chianti bottles or short and fat port bottles but they are not often seen in mainstream stores or restaurants.

Wine Bottles Shapes and Sizes…The Variations Are Almost Endless

For hundreds of years, wine bottle shapes have stayed the same. Shapes for Bordeaux wine bottles have straight sides. Burgundian wine bottle shapes are wider than Bordeaux bottles and have sloping shoulders. Just to really mess with us, those tricky French made the Rhone style wines come in bottles that are almost Burgundian in shape but are actually just a little thinner and taller. Most new world wineries use the same ones for Burgundy and Rhone but the French bottles are technically different. The Champagne bottle form matches function because there is a “sh**load” of pressure in there. A different shape or thinner glass would likely result in a dangerous incident when it breaks under pressure, causing an explosion complete with shrapnel. Then there is the Champagne cork that’s moving at roughly twice the speed of sound and is guaranteed to take out an eye, hit a guy in the crotch or a woman in the chest – possibly all three at once if you subscribe to the JFK single bullet theory. The proportions and sizes of wine bottle shapes are standard because they work for bottling, they work for serving and they work for storage. Let me reemphasize that last point. The wine bottle shape works for storage. Sure, there are other wine bottle shapes from other regions. Bottles for Rhine wines are taller and thinner for instance but they tend to conform to standards that allow you to store them.

But then along comes …queue the sinister music in the background…”the Marketing Department”. Why? Please…tell me why would you want to change that? Ok, maybe “Why?” isn’t the right question. Maybe, “What the hell are you thinking?”, is the right question. These oh so clever Marketers decide to throw hundreds of years of tradition out of the window and try something new because it will look unique on the shelf. Never mind that the majority of the wines that use them will only be sold at a winery or a few select restaurants so a bottle designed for display is about as useful as a kickstand on a horse. Now, lest you think this is just a rant about how the young wine whippersnappers are throwing out tradition for no reason, think again. There’s a reason to keep uniform shapes in wine bottles – that little thing called storage.

So why is this such a big deal? In theory, Wineries want to sell wine…lots of wine if possible, otherwise why are they in business?  If they tell you it is solely for the love of wine making, keep an eye on that property because it will be up for sale in a year or two, likely at a really good price because it will be in bankruptcy.  Even those that want to stay small, are in business to sell hundreds or thousands of cases of wine. That means that those of us who buy a fair amount of wine, arguably the exact audience that a boutique winery wants, have to store it and that’s the problem. We went to one of our local wineries (which shall remain nameless) and bought a couple bottles of Syrah. The wine was quite good but the bottle had such a fat bottom and narrow top that it could have stayed upright in a 8.0 magnitude earthquake while in a rocking chair on a porch during a hurricane. Silly us…we tried to fit the wine bottle in our standard wine rack.

A Square Peg In A Round Hole?  Nope…Just A Brain Dead Design For A Wine Bottle That Doesn’t Fit In A Wine Rack

Well, that didn’t work out so well. OK, we’ve always got the bulk, triangular shaped holders designed to store 12 bottles. Uh..oh, that’s not any better. Only eight of this wine bottle shape will fit and that extremely fat bottom and exaggerated sloped shoulders makes for a very unstable, slippery wine bottle stack. That’s probably fine near the bottom of the rack, but if it’s four feet up and it decides do it its impression of a six year old on a slip and slide, it will hit the ground hard…really hard…as in bungee jumping without the bungee cord hard.

So…the point of this rather long winded rant is, please take our advice if you are a winemaker. Forget what those creative Marketers say unless you are really trying to make your wine stand out on a shelf with hundreds of other wines. If you are selling your wine primarily at your own winery, stay with more conventional bottles if you want people to buy your wine.

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Winery-Sage is an online Winery Encyclopedia designed to help you compare wines, wineries, and regions by using a unique database. Cross-reference varietals and the wineries that produce them, as well as discover events sponsored by wineries and associations. We’re not here to sell you anything or pass you off to paid advertisers, just share the love for wine. Discover California wines at Winery-Sage.com.

How much wine is in each bottle?

Wine is measured in milliliters. The standard amount of wine in each bottle is 750 milliliters, which is equivalent to 25 fluid ounces.

How many grapes are used to create each bottle?

It takes approximately 2.5 pounds of grapes to make each bottle of wine. Although grapevines vary widely in their ability to produce grapes, an average vine can generate somewhere between 15 and 20 pounds of grapes over a three-year period. This means that a typical grapevine can turn out six to eight bottles of wine in about three years. As grapevines age, they grow significantly longer and wider, producing more grapes and, thus, more wine.

What are the best conditions for growing grapes?

Grapes can grow in a variety of soil types, but the best way to grow healthy vines is by ensuring good drainage, so that the vines do not drown in vineyard puddles. Sunlight falling on the leaves of the vine is necessary for grape production, but the fruit bunches themselves do not require sun exposure. Grapevines need extensive sunshine to yield grapes with enough sugar content for wine production. Potted grapes can be planted at any time of the season, but bare root grapes need to be carefully timed. In order to successfully produce bare root grapes, the vines must be dormant, so most are planted in late autumn.

What conditions can ruin grapevines and productivity?

A number of weather conditions can be detrimental to growing grapes. Winter frosts below zero degrees Fahrenheit can freeze and kill vines, and early spring frosts (once the vine buds have opened) will completely inhibit grape production. Hail can quickly bruise and batter a grapevine, causing the damaged fruit to rot. Drought can prevent grapes from ripening, so most vineyards utilize irrigation systems. Pests such as Phylloxera vastatrix, mites, and caterpillars can destroy grapevines, along with curious rabbits, birds, and deer.

Which countries produce the most wine?

Most wine is produced in Italy, a country that is world-renowned for its roots in winemaking history. Italy is followed closely in production by France and Spain, its nearby neighbors and toughest competitors. The United States, specifically California’s lush Wine Country, comes in fourth place, and Argentina’s specialty wines round out the top five wine manufacturers of the world.

How long does wine need to age for it to be good?

One of the most common misconceptions about wine production is that wine will only improve as it ages. The truth of the matter is that about 90 percent of all wine bottles are intended to be consumed within one year of creation. Only Chateaux of Bordeaux, some of the best California Cabernet Sauvignon varietals, and excellent vintage ports should be aged more than ten years before being enjoyed.

Armed with this important winemaking information, everyone from self-proclaimed wine aficionados to seasoned oenophiles are sure to be the life of the party. All they need is a glass in hand.

Step One: Extracting Flavor

The luscious flavor and aroma must be extracted from the fruit before any other step in the winemaking process. This can be accomplished by chopping, crushing, pressing, boiling, or soaking the grapes. Before taking any of these actions, the fruit must be properly prepared. Sometimes, the grapes are peeled and the seeds are removed, though neither of these actions is essential to the procedure. Before extraction, all grapes with brown spots or signs of mold or rot are rejected from the winemaking process.

Step Two: Additional Ingredients

Once the flavors are extracted, the grape compound must be protected against bacteria, mold, and oxidation to preserve the life and quality of the wine. For example, sulfites are added to protect against bacteria and oxidation. Pectic enzymes are also added to assist in breaking down the cell walls of the grapes, which will in turn make it easier to extract all the flavors and aromas in aged wine. Tannins are a natural compound found in most fruit skins, and they produce the familiar “bite” in wine. Most red wines will have a sufficient amount of tannins naturally, but many white wines actually require more tannins to be added during the winemaking process. Finally, some wines need extra yeast or water to be added to the grape compound, in order to assist in fermentation.

Step Three: Fermentation

Before beginning fermentation, the liquid must be strained from the grape pulp. This liquid is poured into a secondary fermentation vessel, such as a carboy or jug, and then fitted with an airlock in the mouth of the vessel. This is a delicate process, as the wine cannot be exposed to very much oxygen due to potential damage of the final product. Careful funneling the grape pulp reduces the amount of oxygen added to the wine. The fermentation process occurs at 60-65 degrees Fahrenheit and continues for several days, sometimes stretching into weeks, or until the liquid stops bubbling.

Step Four: Racking

As the wine sits during the fermentation process, sediments from the yeast deposit in the bottom of the fermentation vessel. Whenever fresh deposits are visible in the bottom of the vessel, the wine needs to be racked. Racking is a purification process that involves siphoning the wine from the sediments. The wine is then returned to another fermentation vessel, with an airlock placed in the mouth. The racking process can be carefully repeated every few weeks, as this step is only complete when sediment no longer appears at the bottom of the vessel.

Step Five: Bottling the Wine

When the fermentation process is complete, the wine is siphoned into bottles with secure corks. These bottles sit upright for 3-5 days before they are turned on their sides for storage at 55 degrees Fahrenheit. White wine needs to remain in storage for at least six months, while red wine really shouldn’t be sampled until a full year has passed. After the appropriate amount of time in storage has elapsed, the wine is tasted to ensure premium quality. If the sample is satisfactory, the wine is ready to be sold, shipped, and savored by wine lovers everywhere.

Grape wine was initially limited to mountain grapes in China, but new varietals were introduced through contact with the kingdoms of the present-day Middle East. Grape wine was reserved for the most venerated nobles for several thousands of years, while others in the region consumed the more popular rice wine. Grape wine gained prominence among the lower tiers of the upper class around the Song Dynasty.

Beer was the drink of choice throughout Europe, but exports were consumed by those who could afford them. However, wine was a requirement for the Catholics, which led many orders for monks to begin producing their own wine. It was through Catholic explorers that winemaking reached the Americas, while Australia joined the wine trade only in the past few centuries. Regardless of wine’s origins or its prominence, it’s clear that the drink remains a staple throughout the world today.

Red wine headaches. It’s the most common reason I’ve heard for people abstaining from red wine, even though they like it. Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. “The sulfites in red wine give me headaches.”

Ahhh!!! … asoioaweyr923q8htt9q48y9 … That was me banging my head against the keyboard. This is one of the biggest myths about wine and it’s so prevalent that I even started believing it, forgetting everything that I know about wine in the process. So first things first. Let’s debunk the myth that sulfites in red wine cause headaches.

In the United States, the EU, and Australia, the allowable level of sulfites is actually about 25% higher for white wines than red wines. If you get headaches from red wine and not white, it is extremely unlikely that sulfites are the cause. There is no credible medical source that definitively links sulfites in wine to headaches. If you have a problem with sulfites (and that is still a big IF), those found in wine will likely cause respiratory problems, not headaches. If you are a glutton for punishment and want to test your sulfite tolerance, one way is to eat a healthy portion of dried fruit which are high in sulfites and see what happens. Dried fruit have far more sulfites than most wines.  If it turns out that you are sensitive to them, that is a good test.  There are a small number of wineries that use minimal and in some cases, no sulfites in their wines. Most mass produced wines will have significant amounts of sulfites however. Look for smaller boutique wineries, especially those that are Organic. Organic wines in the US cannot have sulfites added to the wine, although remember that there are some naturally occurring sulfites in wine. Other countries allow for some added sulfites often limit the concentration.  However, if you are interested in these types of wines, make sure that you know what you are getting into. Many wineries produce wines with organically grown grapes but don’t actually produce wines organically because they use additives (like sulfites). Be certain that you know what you are actually getting.

With sulfites out of the way as a likely cause of red wine headaches, the medical community seems split over the likely cause of them being tannins, histamines and/or tyramines (OK, science alert warning; if you’re not interested skip the blue part):

1. Tannins occur naturally in the skins and seeds of grapes but are also introduced by oak aging, and are a polyphenolic compound. There are a number of these types of compounds found in red wine so there is no clear understanding which one or ones cause reactions. It’s likely that different people react to different compounds.
2. Histamines, which cause blood vessels to swell, are introduced into wine as part of the fermentation process. They occur in both red and white wine but are roughly 30 times more  prevalent in red wines.
3. Tyramines, which can cause an increase in blood pressure, occur naturally in food when it begins to break down, so consequently, they are in both red and white wine. It’s not hard to follow how this would occur, given that wine for all its appeal, is basically spoiled grapes.

So where does all of this leave us? Science has yet to find the smoking gun for wine headaches and its entirely possible that there will be different causes for different people. So rather than focus on a single remedy, we’ve provided a number of suggestions that we’ve found. HOWEVER … full disclosure time … We are not trained or licensed practitioners of medicine, so this just represents information we’ve found. We suggest you do some additional research prior to trying your own remedy.

Unfortunately, for this article but very fortunately for us, neither Karen or I get wine headaches (at least not while drinking. The occasional bout of self inflicted “bottle flu” has been known to bite us but that really can’t be blamed on an adverse reaction although we’ve both tried). My likely remedy for wine headaches would likely be to drink more wine.

We like the ideas of addressing the problem before it occurs (except of course for preventing a headache by just not drinking which is a classic case of the cure being worse than the ailment). With that in mind, here area number of suggestions we’ve researched.  We’ve left out a few of the more unusual ones that seem “far fetched” and could include breaking the law, practicing voodoo, or sacrificing small farm animals.  If you are going to look into suggestion 1 or 4, or any other potential remedy where you may take even a mild, over the counter medication, we suggest consulting with trained medical personnel first.

1. If it turns out that you are getting histamine headaches, a number of sites suggest taking a non-drowsy, antihistamine tablet prior to drinking red wine. Not hard to see how this might help. Several sufferers of red wine headaches state that after taking them, they didn’t suffer any headache.
2. Drink a couple of glasses of water at least 60 minutes before drinking wine. Insuring you body is well hydrated is the most basic step you can take because many headaches are caused by dehydration. The majority of Americans tend be in a perpetual state of partial dehydration so starting a drinking session without enough water in your system is like trying gain all of your daily food nutrition through rice cakes…not going to work out very well for you.
3. Drink a glass of water with each glass of wine. Why? We’re assuming you read #2 above and understood it. Staying hydrated shouldn’t be a one time act. Keep it up.
4. Aspirin or other mild blood thinners may counter-act some of the effects of tyramines.
5. Try red wines lighter in tannins like Pinot Noir, Tempranillo, Dolcetto or Sangiovese.

If you end up with a head feeling like it’s been used as a base drum in a heavy metal band after drinking wine, hopefully we’ve given you a couple of suggestions that give you a chance of enjoying wine without any of the side effects.

Happy wine-ing!

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We’ve created a visual guide to help you judge whether your French Varietal white wine can be aged. The graph uses bottles of varying length to indicate how long a type of wine can be aged. As with our “Aging Red Wine” post, the Optimal period for aging the wine is listed on or near the label. The ages indicating whether the wine is too young (or Immature) or too old (or Tired) are also indicated near the bottle.

The difference between an age worthy white wine and a red wine is that one of the main ingredients for aging, tannins, are much lower in white wines. Tannins can come from barrels but the skins and seeds of the grapes provide the biggest source. Because white wine is removed from contact with the skins and seeds much sooner than red wines, there is little chance for the tannins to be imparted to the wines. That means white wines will need to rely far more heavily on acid and/or alcohol levels to allow them to reach a ripe and pleasant old age. That being said, aging white wines is still dependent on the same three factors as aging red wines:

• What type of wine is it?
  Is this type of white wine meant to be aged? Few wine enthusiasts know it but one of the most age-worthy wines in the world are dry Rieslings. The higher acid content allows many Rieslings to continue to improve over 15 to 20 years. Many west coast Rieslings are much sweeter, which almost always means less acid. Chardonnays that are aged in new oak will pick up more tannins than other white wines and can also improve for 10 to 15 years. Crisper and fruitier whites will quickly degrade over just a few years.

• How was the wine made?
  This gets back to the sugar vs. acid question. If the white wine was made for mass appeal, it probably had much of the acid removed so it shouldn’t be aged at all. If the wine was made to allow the fruit and the acid to balance, there is a good chance to improve that white wine with age (for at least a couple of years).  If you are going to attempt to age white wine, we recommend drinking on the young side of mature rather than letting it get over the hill.

• What is the ideal storage temperature?
  Aging white wine and aging red wine have one absolute in common; The temperature must be stable. Wide temperature swings will move air in and out of the bottle causing it to oxidize mush more quickly. Lower temperatures like mid 50s to very low 60s are best, but if that is not available, at least find a spot that doesn’t have a lot of temperature fluctuations.

To learn more about each varietal, visit our Varietals page and click through for serving temperature, origins, and more. Whether you prefer light crisp white wines or deep flavors, make sure that you are getting the most from them by storing and aging them correctly.

Cheers from Winery-Sage.com!

In our ageability infographic, the bottle length provides a guide for judging a wine’s age worthiness. The longer the bottle, the longer the wine can age. The numbers on the label indicate the best age to enjoy the wine (Optimal). Anything before then (Immature) and the wine can often appear a little harsh. Anything after (Tired) and the wine is past its prime and will appear at best characterless or at worse, vinegar like.

The general assumption that all red wines can be aged the same is completely wrong. Red wine aging depends on the several factors:

• What type of wine is it?
  Aging Cabernet Sauvignon, which is one of the longest lived wines around, is entirely different than aging Valdigue, a wine which is old and tired after just two years. Aging red wine depends first and foremost on the type of wine.

• How was the wine made?
  The second most important characteristic is how the wine was made. It sounds a ridiculous but in order to age red wine, the wine had to be made to be aged. All Cabernet Sauvingons are not meant to be aged. Most of the mass produced versions are made with less tannins and acid to make them more enjoyable to the masses. Many wines even add chemicals to reduce the acid. Most wines purchased in grocery stores will not age and within several years are well past their prime. A wine must have a good tannic or acid structure and/or a higher alcohol level to benefit from aging.

• What is the ideal storing temperature?
  To age red wine, it must be kept at a reasonably stable temperature. Aging wine at cellar temperature is best, usually 55F to 62F. If that is not available, at least find an area where the temperature is reasonably stable even if it is warmer. Warm temperatures push air into the bottle and cooler temperatures draw it out. If the bottle swings constantly between extremes, the cyclical in-rush of new air will oxidize the wine far sooner than if it was stored correctly.

To learn more about each varietal, visit our Varietals page and click through for serving temperature, origins, and more. Cheers from Winery-Sage.com!