I was surfing the internet looking for blogs and articles that might be of interest to my readers.   I came across a great article by Lisa Mirza Grotts that discusses in detail different wine tasting etiguettes.  She provides suggestions from restruarant wine etiquette, sevring  wine at home, stemware usuage to tasting room etiquette.  My favorite part of her article was the “Golden Rules of Serving Wine“, which will give any reader a head start on doing it right.  You won’t regret reading this!!

One of Lisa’s Golden Rules involve serving your wine at the proper temperature.  Check out my post article that has wine serving temperatures discussed.  She also empahized the proper use of wine stemware.

Author: Ronald Senn, Vice-president, Ideal Wine Coolers, August 2010.

I was browsing through my local paper the other day and came across an article by Jon Rogers.  Jon, of Wines Without the Mystery, is a wine educator and consultant who teaches a wide variety of classes.  The article was entitled: You have no need to fear ‘the cork ritual’.  The article presents some great advice on the presentation and evaluation of the cork in a restaurant.  While his article was extremely informative, the questions that popped into my head were much more basic.  For example, when did cork become the favorite way to plug a wine bottle?  Where does the cork come from that wineries use everyday?  I figured it was time to get back to my research to find some answers. 

Egyptians: The First Cork Users

The Egyptians first used cork as a stopper thousands of years ago.  Later, ancient Greeks and Romans used cork for a variety of uses, including wine stoppers and olive oil.  In the 1600’s, a monk called Dom Perignon was using wooden stoppers wrapped in rags to seal his bottles of wine.  These crude plugs most often just popped out and were ineffective.  He started using cork plugs and successfully stoppered his best wines.  Wine bottling would never be the same, as cork soon became the essential answer to successfully sealing the bottles. 

First Cork Factory Was In Spain

In 1750, the first cork stopper factory opened in Anguine, Spain.  The widespread use of cork ultimately resulted in wine bottles undergoing a transformation from short and fat to tall and slender, because the slender neck was easily sealed with cork plugs.  Spain and Portugal produce over 80 percent to the cork used in the world.  Wine bottle cork comes  from the bark of a Cork Oak Tree.  The bark of trees older than 25 years is carefully stripped from the tree to protect it and perpetuate the life of the tree.  The bark is dried for up to six months then boiled for a few hours and then allowed to dry another 2 to 4 weeks.  

After the final drying process, the bark is carefully cut or molded into the correct sizes.  A washing process follows using chemicals that sanitize the corks from any bacterial growth.  Bacterial growth in the cork would quickly render a wine useless to drink.  New technologies for eliminating cork contamination are also being used such as irradiation.  Corks are then shipped in specially sealed bags to wherever they are needed. The entire cork making process could very well last a year.  

From Tree To Wine Cork May Take A Year

Portugal continues to be the world leader in cork production.  There are over 5 million acres of  cork forest in the world and over thirty percent of that area is in Portugal.  There are three basic sizes of natural cork from the standard size up to the larger champagne cork.  While cork is still the preferred sealer for bottled wine, some wine producers have begun using screw cap sealing systems on their bottles; thereby, throwing out the romance and sophistication of opening a corked bottle of great wine.  Corks can easily be used to re-seal partially used bottles of wine.  Smelling the cork when it is first removed will give you a quick idea of a wine’s quality.  Because of its fire resistance, cork is now also used in rocket technology.  Who knows what other uses may develop from this natural product. 

As I always say, buy the wine you prefer, have a proper wine storage cooler, and serve it at the correct temperature and you will enhance your enjoyment of this unique beverage.  Do not forget, smelling the cork will provide you critical evidence of what your first sip might taste like. 

Author: Ronald Senn, Vice-president, Ideal Wine Coolers, July 2010

What is the best temperature to serve and store your favorite wines?  I have been asked this question many times.  Trying to be responsive to Blog readers and business clients, I embarked on what turned to be a two-day research project.  What I found is hundreds and hundreds of websites that present information on wine storage and serving temperatures.  As you can imagine, the opinions about temperature facts were all over the board.

Keeping your wine at the correct temperature is critical to maximizing its value and taste.  Wines kept at too high of a temperature will age faster than desired.  Wine stored at too cold of a temperature can develop deposits or other sediments in it.  Each type of wine has its own desirable storage temperature range.  Keep in mind the ideal storage temperature is not always the same as the ideal serving temperature.

Some general information was reasonably consistent from one website to another.  The common refrigerator generally operates at 35 degrees F.  The lighter the wine the cooler it should be served.  The warmest you should serve any wine is 60 to 65 degrees F.  Wine should be stored where humidity is about 70 percent.  If you had to pick one temperature to store wine, store it at 55 degrees F.

Based on website research, the following table represents averages of all the information that was found.  This table for obvious reasons cannot be portrayed as the definitive answer to the best temperatures for storing and serving your wine.  It can be used as a guide for your information and use.  With over 1,000 different types and variations, the wine temperatures evaluated were limited to a few varieties that are more common.

No one can tell you the precise storage or serving temperatures of wine.  The biggest variable to consider is what your own personal tastes tell you.  Having a wine refrigerator to better control the temperatures of your stored wine can help you experiment to find just the right temperatures for your tastes.

For more information and temperature management solutions see: idealwinecoolers.com.

Author: Ronald Senn, Vice-president, Ideal Wine Coolers, Jan/2010

Wine is becoming an ever-increasing favorite of many people. With over 1000 different wine varieties, the choices one has seem nearly infinite. Wine tasting parties are very popular and great events to get to know other people. The proper pre-party storage of wine is important to maintain the wine for its maximum enjoyment and that is why an investment in a wine cooler is a good choice. However, the temperature the wine needs to be stored at is not necessarily its proper serving temperature for your party. Additionally, wine stored in your wine refrigerator cannot necessarily be readily viewed by your party guests. Displaying your favorite vintages in a classy wine rack at your party will stimulate conversation about the wines and contribute to your party’s success.

The broad based interest in wine can be a stimulus for an entirely new “Gift Du jour” for your friends and family. Everyone can benefit from changing your thinking about what gift to buy, especially you men like me. You can forget about that gift card from one of the large “box stores”. No more stopping at the supermarket so you can get flowers for your loved one on the way home. You will not have to get your “Uncle Jack” that knitted sweater with reindeer on it. In addition, grandma will not have to eat another box of chocolate that was made six months before it became a gift. It is paramount to get that special gift right this time.

Wine accessories, wine racks, wine furniture and wine coolers will be appreciated and considered great gifts. Wine related products are marketed in a broad array of sizes, colors, prices, etc. making gifts that are easy to match to your favorite person and your budget. They are made in every type of material imaginable- wood, wire, steel, etc.

Key wine accessories that will make excellent gifts are corkscrews, wine thermometers, electric wine serving coolers, butcher board cheese servers and a portable wine cooler that plugs into your car’s electrical system making chilled wine at your picnic or on your boat a reality.

Displaying your favorite wines in a classy and colorful wine rack will make you proud. Wine bottle racks can be found with luxurious metal and wood finishes that are sure to compliment any home’s decor. Wine bottle holders will hold from just a few to several bottles and, by mixing various reds and whites, will make a colorful display. Wine rack furniture is becoming more popular because it can be used for more than a single purpose.

However, the best gift to give someone that loves wine is their first wine cooler refrigerator. These handy appliances will allow that favorite person of yours to get on the move to becoming a “budding” wine connoisseur. If space is a problem for your gift receiver, several countertop wine coolers can be purchased to fit their space. If your favorite person is environmentally sensitive, a thermoelectric wine cooler will help them “go green”. The choices available to match your favorite person’s taste are unlimited.

So, let us all get off the old gift-giving quandary and present our favorite people with the “Gift Du jour” that fits in with the ever-increasing interest in wine. They will enjoy their gifts and will have no need to join the “return” lines at your local box store, see the flowers go “toes up” in a day or worry when the gift card expires.

For more information go to: http://idealwinecoolers.com/page/home/index.html

Author: Ronald Senn, VP Ideal Wine Coolers, October 2009