8 FAQ about Wine

 

8 FAQ about Wine

 

People’s curiosity has no end and wine is no exception. You might also be one of those who have numerous questions about wine; if so, then this is the place for you. Here, you will find 8 questions about wine and some quick responses to them.

This article covers the following topics:

• The curious case of Julia
• The curious us

1. Is it okay if I refrigerate my wine?
2. Can I put water in my wine?
3. Can I add ice cubes to my wine?
4. Can I ship wine myself?
5. Is brandy a type of wine?
6. Are brandy and cognac the same thing?
7. Is wine the oldest type of alcoholic drink?
8. Are there health benefits to drinking wine?

• Endless questions about wine

• The curious case of Julia

“How do you feel when you drink wine?” asked Julia as she watched the others sipping at their wines. They all looked at her unsurprised and kept sipping their wines. In fact, they had long gotten used to her questions. She was the youngest in the group and she always had the weirdest questions about anything. She was an inhibited girl, fresh from college, and very curious. Part of her curiosity was probably because she never did anything, she had never dated anyone, never been to a club, and had never drunk either. The only entertainment she freely indulged in was getting together with her friends every once in a while; and that was when she wanted the most out of life, but through questions only; and her friends had gotten used to it by now. They sometimes answered her and sometimes just ignored her, but they liked her anyway; she was a sweet girl after all. They had in fact tried their best to involve her in the activities they did but once they had realized she was better off this way, they had stopped trying.

“What does it taste like?” She crossed her legs, leaned on the table putting her elbows on it, and stared at her friends with an enthusiastic smile.

“It tastes good,” said Katie with a kind smile on her face, and then she poured another round for the group. They clinked and started drinking and talking. There went three-four other rounds along with a lot of girlish gossips and the period was marked with Julia’s occasional questions; “is it possible to drink a whole bottle at one go?” “Would you die from drinking?” “Can you put ice in your wine if it’s hot?” and many more. There was no end to her questions.

It was almost midnight and everyone was drunk now. They were still sitting at the table talking. It was the weekend and they didn’t have any intention of leaving the place till tomorrow. The room was actually noisier now and the chatter was at full swing.

“Can I drink some?” it was said in a quiet voice but silenced all the loud chattering. They all turned and looked at Julia in utter surprise.

“Sure honey,” said Katie, the oldest member of the group, after a few moments of silence; she then reached for a bottle. The others were still staring at Julia in a mixture of surprise and amusement as if they didn’t want to miss this opportunity, which would happen once in a lifetime. Katie reached for the bottle and put a glass in front of Julia. She picked up the bottle and tilted it to pour some wine in the glass; there was apparently little left so she tilted it more, but there was still nothing. The bottle was almost upside down now over the glass, but there was not even a drop. She put the bottle down and reached for the other bottle, but that one was empty too. Apparently, there was no wine left!

As if they had lost a lifetime opportunity, everybody in the group sighed and for a moment, all the feeling of drunkenness left them all. Julia was neither excited nor disappointed and she was still staring at the bottle and thinking of a question to ask.

 

• The curious us

Curiosity is an inherent feat of humans; people always have questions; questions about anything, and let’s not forget that had it not been for this curiosity, we wouldn’t have achieved so much since the dawn of time. Apart from the fact that curiosity sometimes kills the cat, it is generally a useful feat. It so happens that people usually have very similar questions about something, hence the Frequently Asked Questions section on many websites for instance.

Since wine is a very popular drink, people have a lot of questions about it too; and more often than not, these questions happen to be very similar at times. So here, we are going to give short answers to some frequently asked questions about wine. Some of these questions have been comprehensively dealt with in some of my previous blogs and if you are interested, you can go back and read them.

 

1. Is it okay if I refrigerate my wine?

Well, the answer is both a yes and a no. It is famously said that wine is best served at room temperature; and room temperature is best defined as 72˚F plus/minus 5 degrees. So you can see that in today’s modern well air-conditioned homes, this is the only temperature you can find. But in case you don’t have air-conditioning in your room or if you are going to have your wine outdoors in hot weather, yes it is okay to refrigerate your wine. Just leave your Pinot Noir in the refrigerator for half an hour and then take it out. But remember! Don’t leave your wine in the fridge for a long period; it will definitely not taste better.

A word of note here though; wines with strong nature are better not to be chilled. Strong wines are the ones with a strong texture, that is, the ones higher in alcohol and tannins. Nik Pegasus Cabernet Sauvignon, for instance, tastes best if drunk at normal temperatures. The reason for this is that the underlying tones in such wines will be undermined when overcooled, and it is highly likely that you will feel a ruined taste on your palate.

However, I have read reports that chilled wine is very popular in some parts of the world. In some Mediterranean tourist resorts, they say, some types of wine are served chilled or even with ice cubes in them. Another instance is Australia; I have heard that more and more people prefer their Syrah to be served chilled at their table.

All in all, the best advice I could give you is ‘don’t chill your wine’. Even if your wine is boiling hot, chances are that the drink has already gone off and there is no use chilling it.

 

2. Can I put water in my wine?

No! No! No! Three NOs in a row; Never ever do that! You might have heard that people add water to their Scotch or Whiskey, but those are Scotch and Whiskey, not wine. There are numerous other spirits that taste better when diluted though, but wine is not one of them for sure. Diluting wine will only ruin its taste and will undermine its underlying tones. Some might want to do it to weaken the alcohol feel on their palate; however, you must remember that unlike other spirits, the alcohol level in a wine is much lower and by diluting it, you not only don’t improve the taste but you fudge the tastes of other notes present in the drink as well.

To clarify the state of affairs a little bit more, let me tell you why water can improve the taste of some other spirits. Due to some chemical reactions, adding water to some spirits might cause the drink to release its aromas more. Adding water will also soften the effect of alcohol on your palate when you drink strong alcoholic drinks.

All in all, do not add water to your wine.

 

3. Can I add ice cubes to my wine?

The answer is still no. First of all, ice is no different than water except that it takes longer to dilute your wine completely. However, you should realize that the more chilled your wine gets; it means more of the ice has melted and diluted your wine. On the other hand, if you are doing it to chill your wine, there are better ways to do it. Leave your bottle in the refrigerator for half an hour and the result will be much more pleasing.

 

4. Can I ship wine myself?

Well, the answer is again no. you can’t ship your wine yourself. The rules regarding wine shipping are very complicated and they only allow certified entities to ship wine; namely wineries, wine stores, online retailers, and so on. So the best way is to ask the place you purchase your wine to also ship it for you.

Still, if you have purchased wine and you are going to have it shipped to another state; remember that there are some states that do not accept spirit shipment from other states.

 

5. Is brandy a type of wine?

Well, yes. Brandy is a type of distilled wine. Brandy is any kind of drink that is distilled from either a base wine or fruit juice. It has higher alcohol levels, ranging from 35 to 60 percent; so it is much stronger than regular wine.

 

6. Are brandy and cognac the same thing?

Yes, it is true. Cognac is a type of distilled drink made in the Cognac region of France; and in fact, it is the most famous type of brandy. However, both brandy and cognac have come to be used as a generic name for all distilled drinks in many parts of the world. For instance, many regions of the world have their own brandy or cognac.

 

7. Is wine the oldest type of alcoholic drink?

Yes, it is. Wine pots have been found in excavations of a seven thousand-year-old city. All ancient civilizations had some kind of a fermented drink. Those drinks are in fact ancestors of our modern wine. People in China, Persia, Greece, and Egypt all drank some kind of wine. In fact, there have been different types of fermented drinks throughout history. For instance, people in Mongolia drank, and even drink today, kumis, which is a drink made from fermented horse milk. Kumis is also drunk in some parts of Kazakhstan.

 

8. Are there health benefits to drinking wine?

In fact, there are plenty. Research has indicated that a glass or two of wine every night could help your heart function better. There are also antioxidants in wine that have their own benefits for the immune system and the body’s general health. However, it is highly recommended that you drink in moderation so that you can enjoy the health benefits of the drink.

 

• Endless questions about wine

There are numerous other questions regarding wine as well, which I will deal with later. The answers to the questions here were brief so as to function as a quick response to your questions. There are other blogs on nikpegasus.com that have covered some of these questions in detail. Going back and reading them could help you get a more detailed response.