How to pick cheeses for a pairing and tasting

There are about 8 billion websites with helpful tips and tricks and lists for pairing cheeses with wines. And there are also about 300 different types of cheese at your average grocery store.

It doesn't matter if you're starting with the wines or starting with the cheeses, but pick a starting point. Let's start with cheeses in this example.

You love brie, goat cheese, gruyere, sharp cheddar, and bleu cheese. Great! Start Googling! (Hellovino.com is a great site to find quick pairing recommendations.)

Brie is a great mild, soft cheese that pairs beautifully with whites like Chardonnay. It's also quite heavenly with a sparkling wine, so start your tasting out with a nice semi-secco sparkling.

Goat cheese (one of my favorite cheeses in the world!) is another good pairing with a Chardonnay and a sparkling. Set it out with the Brie and start your tasting with those.

Put the gruyere nearby and pair it with the Chardonnay. Later, it will also go perfectly with a Pinot Noir.

Sharp Cheddar is fabulous with a crisp Sauvignon Blanc, but since you've clearly got cheeses that go best with a Chardonnay, you might hold the cheddar back to pair with a bold Cabernet Sauvignon.

Bleu cheese is a very powerful cheese. Never start with it first, or you'll ruin your tastebuds for the night! Also never pair it with whites. I have a little poem I like to use to remember that - Bleu and white, Not Right! Bleu and red, Well fed! Save that bleu cheese for your Cabernet Sauvignon.

So now you know that you want to get a nice sparkling semi-secco, a Chardonnay, a Pinot Noir, and a Cabernet Sauvignon for your tasting when you started with cheese. Does the process make sense?

If we do our shopping in the reverse order and we know what wines we want, then just find the most common denominator cheese to pair. Think soft creamy cheeses with the whites, and big, bold cheeses with the bolder reds. 

Happy sipping.... Stems up!

Visit my Traveling Vineyard site at http://www.travelingvineyard.com/guide/morethanatasting to browse our great selection of offerings, start an exciting new career, or contact me to book a tasting in your home and try before you buy!

4 Traveling Vineyard Tips for the Maid of Honor

1)      Host a wine tasting bridal shower

Start the bride-to-be and her partner off on the road of life together fully stocked! By hosting a FREE Traveling Vineyard tasting, you not only have a fantastic bridal shower theme, but you simply the gift-giving. One case of wine is 12 bottles. If each shower guest pitches in for a bottle, you can send the happy couple on their way with a case to fill their wine rack!

2)    Wine accessories

In addition to the wines, pick up some helpful accessories to round out the bride and groom's collection. Items like an accessory package including a bottle opener, decanter, and foil cutter is a great gift!

3)      Purchase some bubbly for the wedding party

Celebrate the day with sparkling wine to serve at the reception!

4)      Give the gift of wine club!

Make every other month a celebration with a subscription to our Wine Club. 4 bottle or 6 bottles (you choose all reds, all whites, or a mix of both), the happy couple can enjoy new boutique global wines every month. Wine club is month-to-month with no contracts or cancellation penalties. Buy it for 3 months, 6 months, 12 months, or any time frame in between!

Visit my Traveling Vineyard site at http://www.travelingvineyard.com/guide/morethanatasting to browse our great selection of holiday offerings, or contact me to book a tasting in your home and try before you buy!

Sangiovese: The Blood of Jove

If you're asked to name bold Italian red wines, you probably think of the ones you've heard of like Chianti, Sangiovese, and you might even say Tignanello. But did you know that a Chianti and a Tignanello are actually blends? And both count on the Sangiovese grape to bring the flavor.

The Sangiovese grape is believed to have first been fermented into wine by the Romans. The name comes from the Latin phrase "the blood of Jove," a reference to the Roman god Jupiter.

In the 18th century, the Sangiovese grape (along with Malvasia and Trebbiano) were the most planted grapes in the region.

In the 1970s, winemakers added complexity and innovation by blending with non-Italian grapes like Cabernet Sauvignon and created a new breed of wines called a Super-Tuscan.

Sangiovese grows in warm climates (but not too warm), and takes longer to ripen than some other grapes. Harvest generally takes place after September 27th, and most of the time does not take place until October.

Sangiovese is difficult to make into drinkable wine on its own. It takes a talented winemaker to treat the grapes to the proper amount of oak and spices to round out the tannins and add body. Sangiovese can be a good "sponge" when treated with the right flavors and can develop a beautiful wine with notes of strawberry, vanilla, and spice.

Pairings with food:  classic Italian dishes like tomato-based pasta dishes and pizzas.
Pairing with cheese: try it with Asiago, Parmesan, Mozzerrella, and Fontina

Visit my Traveling Vineyard site at http://www.travelingvineyard.com/guide/morethanatasting to browse our great selection of offerings, start an exciting new career, or contact me to book a tasting in your home and try before you buy!

My favorite wine of all: Sauvignon Blanc

Just right for summer, spring, and okay I'll admit it, I drink it in the fall and winter, too... Sauvignon blanc is a crisp, dry, and refreshing white wine.

You can find great Sauvignon blancs from France, Chile, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Washington, and California, and depending on the climate where the grapes are grown, the flavor can be grassy or more tropical.

Wine hunting tip: California Sauvignon blancs may be labeled Fume Blanc instead!

Pairings with food: fish, sushi, shellfish, poultry dishes
Pairings with cheese: Chevre, Monterrey Jack, Havarti

Rarely would you age a Sauvignon blanc - they are best enjoyed young, so grab it, throw it in the fridge for about 2 hours, and enjoy it at about 50 degrees.

Visit my Traveling Vineyard site at http://www.travelingvineyard.com/guide/morethanatasting to browse our great selection of offerings, start an exciting new career, or contact me to book a tasting in your home and try before you buy!

Room temperature is not what you think!

We Americans have been fooled for too long! We're told to serve our red wines "at room temperature," but we live in homes with heaters and air conditioners, meaning that most of us keeping our homes around 70-77 degrees. Did you know that the proper "room temperature" for most red wines is actually 65 degrees F?

So when you hear "room temperature," think of a drafty old castle cellar at 65 degrees. Because THAT'S what they mean!

Some other proper temperature guidelines:

65 Degrees for "big" reds (45 minutes in the fridge):

• Cabernet Sauvignon
• Zinfandel
• Shiraz/Syrah
• Burgandy
• Barolo

60 Degrees for lighter, fruitier reds (1.5 hours in the fridge):

• Pinot Noir
• Dolcetto
• Chianti
• Valpolicella
• Rioja

55-60 Degrees for bold whites (1.5-2 hours in the fridge):

• White Burgundy
• Chardonnay
• Rieslings

50 Degrees for light, crisp whites (2 hours in the fridge):

• Pinot Gris
• Sauvignon Blanc
• Vintage Champagnes and sparkling wines
• Ice wines

45 Degrees for very few wines (2.5 hours in the fridge):

• Vinho Verde
• Non-vintage sparkling wines
• All lower quality sweet wines and rosés

Visit my Traveling Vineyard site at http://www.travelingvineyard.com/guide/morethanatasting to browse our great selection of offerings, start an exciting new career, or contact me to book a tasting in your home and try before you buy!

Que Syrah, Syrah!

It was a Rosemount Granache Shiraz that was my first wine love. Before that, I'd never really looked for a bottle of wine each time I went grocery shopping. Then, one day, my grocery store stopped

carrying it! The nerve!! So I had to branch out. To find new wines to love. To try new flavors. So I suppose it was a blessing in disguise!

But Shiraz (or Syrah) is still one of my all-time favorite wines. Syrah is not as popular as other wines, only being the 7th most-grown grape in the world. DNA testing in 1998 revealed Syrah to be descended from France. A migration of the plant to Australia and South Africa gave birth to the name Shiraz (there's a much longer story there, but it's not that interesting).

What you do need to know is that Syrah and Shiraz are pretty much the same grape, but they are NOT the same grape as a Petit Sirah.

Like any grape, the terroir will change the flavors you experience. However, most Shiraz/Syrahs are going to be very deep red, have higher alcohol content than Pinot Noirs (as most are grown in warmer climates, leading to higher sugar content, which in turn produces higher alcohol content). Typical notes/aromas are blackberries, pepper, chocolate, and espresso. (French Syrahs are more on the black pepper scale, while Australian Shiraz may be more blackberry-esque). Depending on the terrior, you might get some flavors like leather, truffle, or even violets.

Want to pair your Syrah with cheese? Try an awesome cheddar, an edam, or some gouda.

Want to pair your Syrah with food? Go for strong flavors with your pairing - try a nice lamb chop, some lobster paella, or even a smoky-spiced t-bone steak.

Visit my Traveling Vineyard site at http://www.travelingvineyard.com/guide/morethanatasting to browse our great selection of offerings, start an exciting new career, or contact me to book a tasting in your home and try before you buy!

Cabernet Sauvignon: the grape from God

"God made Cabernet Sauvignon whereas the devil made Pinot Noir."- Andre Tchelistcheff

Cabernet Sauvignon is one of the most-grown grapes in the world (just behind Merlot). It is easy to grow, easy to maintain, resistant to rot and insects, and easy to blend with. It is the red-headed Miss Congeniality of grapes.

The grape is a rather new variety, only born in the 17th century out of a chance crossing between Sauvignon blanc and Cabernet Franc.

While they can be grown successfully in a variety of climates, Cabernet Sauvignon does love the warmer weather. This adds more sugar to the grapes and produces wines higher in alcohol content than Pinot Noirs.

Do you like green bell peppers? Then you are probably a fan of Cabernet Sauvignons. Pyrazine compounds are prevalent in young Cab grapes and the flavor intensity grows if the grapes are harvested too early. This is not considered in a flaw in the grape, but does add a distinctive flavor to some Cabs that are not pleasing to everyone. The California wine region of Monterrey is noted as having produced very vegetal wines, leading some of their Cabs to be referred to as "Monterrey Veggies".

During fermentation and/or aging, Cabs love oak. Many get aged in oak barrels, and some get oak added in their steel tanks. Either way, an important characteristic of many Cabernet Sauvignon  is the tannic oak flavors, as well as the vanilla and spice imparted by some oaks. Cab grapes are high in tannins already, and aging in oak barrels helps mellow or smooth out the tannic acid. Cabs age gracefully, softening the tannins even more the longer they are aged.

Looking to pair a great Cabernet Sauvignon with cheese? Try a nice cheddar, a fresh mozzarella, or a brie

How about a meal? Avoid spicy foods with a Cab. The spice will enhance the bitterness of a Cab and not soothe the burn. However, milder spices like black pepper go well, so pair your Cab with a beautifully grilled or smoked steak, or a pepper-crusted ahi tuna.

Stems up!

Liz

Visit my Traveling Vineyard site at http://www.travelingvineyard.com/guide/morethanatasting to browse our great selection of offerings, start an exciting new career, or contact me to book a tasting in your home and try before you buy!

Oh Pinot (Noir)!

Maya: You know, can I ask you a personal question, Miles?

Miles Raymond: Sure.

Maya: Why are you so in to Pinot?

Miles Raymond: [laughs softly]

Maya: I mean, it's like a thing with you.

Miles Raymond: [continues laughing softly]

Miles Raymond: Uh, I don't know, I don't know. Um, it's a hard grape to grow, as you know. Right? It's uh, it's thin-skinned, temperamental, ripens early. It's, you know, it's not a survivor like Cabernet, which can just grow anywhere and uh, thrive even when it's neglected. No, Pinot needs constant care and attention. You know? And in fact it can only grow in these really specific, little, tucked away corners of the world. And, and only the most patient and nurturing of growers can do it, really. Only somebody who really takes the time to understand Pinot's potential can then coax it into its fullest expression. Then, I mean, oh its flavors, they're just the most haunting and brilliant and thrilling and subtle and... ancient on the planet.

It was the movie Sideways (quoted above) that launched Pinot Noir to the height of fame that it enjoys today. Its name is derived from the French words meaning pine and black, due to the grapes being of the black grape variety, and the grape cluster shape being like a pinecone. 

It is this distinctive pinecone shape and tight clustering of the grapes that makes Pinot Noir so difficult to cultivate. Because of the tight bunches, it is prone to many different types of diseases, fungi, and molds. The vine is also susceptible to mildews and other rot diseases. The finicky nature of the vine and the grapes led one famous winemaker to state that "God made Cabernet Sauvignon whereas the devil made Pinot Noir.

Pinot Noir grapes are mostly grown in cooler regions, most notably Burgandy, France, though it is also quite successful in Oregon, California, Australia, South Africa, and New Zealand. The Pinot Noir grape is the primary grape used in Champagne, France for their famous sparkling wines. 

As they are grown in cooler climates, Pinot Noirs tend to have lower sugar content, thus producing lower alcohol content. Most Pinot Noirs have around 12% alcohol (compared to an average 13.5% for a red table wine, and 15% for an Amarone).

Want to pair with cheese? Try it with a creamy bleu or brie, a crisp parmesan, or a lovely gouda.

Want to pair with food? It's a match made in heaven with shellfish dishes like Paella, a great dijon mustard chicken dish, a luscious veal parmesan, or a buttery filet mignon.

Pinot Noirs are favored by novices and expert alike because they are light, low in alcohol, and have so much variety based on where they are grown. A glass of Pinot Noir is always a great adventure!


Stems up!
Liz

Visit my Traveling Vineyard site at http://www.travelingvineyard.com/guide/morethanatasting to browse our great selection of offerings, start an exciting new career, or contact me to book a tasting in your home and try before you buy!

5 Tasting Theme Ideas for your Traveling Vineyard Tasting Experience

1)      Wine and chocolate pairing

White, milk, dark, spicy chili chocolate, hazelnut, caramel, orange chocolate…I bet you never realized there were so many types of chocolates you could try out with your wines!

2)      Wine and Girl Scout Cookie pairing

We’ll try a Thin Mint with a nice Syrah and a Trefoil with a buttery Chardonnay and a Tagalong with a Pinot Noir… and we’ll just keep trying them all night long!

3)      Couples tasting

Picture this: you’re at a fancy restaurant with your loved one and you’re discussing splitting a bottle of wine. But you’re not sure if your tastebuds actually agree on the bold red or the crisp white. With a couples tasting, we can put together a scorecard to find the wine varietal that brings you both together. Don’t puzzle over the wine list ever again!

4)      Gift tasting (Stock the Cellar!)

Whether its a bridal shower, a birthday party, or just someone you love, you can throw them a “stock the cellar” party! Each guest can pitch in for a bottle or two, and before you know it, your guest of honor will have a case of wine to stock their cellar or fill their rack!

5)      Corporate hospitality

Got a teambuilding event or client hospitality evening on the horizon? A wine tasting is a super-fun way to pass the time, share some laughs, and get to know your guests. You can even ask your wine guide to skip the marketing part by pre-ordering a case of a variety of wines (or personalized labels with your business card) and let your guests leave with a party favor!

Visit my Traveling Vineyard site at http://www.travelingvineyard.com/guide/morethanatasting to browse our great selection of offerings, start an exciting new career, or contact me to book a tasting in your home and try before you buy!

Featured Wine Tasting Theme: Wine and Chocolate

Still trying to figure out the perfect Valentine's Day activity?

Let a professional wine educator take you on a tour of wine and chocolate pairings! And share the fun with other couples so they're not caught up the same dilemma on Valentine's Day!

I'll recommend an array of chocolates, and the wine ships right to your door. Then we'll spend the evening exploring the tastes and flavors of heaven!

Wine Tasting: $29.95 + Shipping (total is under $50)
Chocolates: Spend what you wish - as little as $10 up to $50 on some great varieties to add to your tasting

Let's be realistic... how else are you going to get out of Valentine's Day for less than $100? :-)

Ready to dip into your wine cabinet and venture out on your own? Try some of these pairings:

• White chocolate with Sherry or Orange Muscat
• Milk chocolate with Pinot Noir or Merlot. Also try it with a Riesling or a sparkling wine.
• Dark chocolate with Cabernet Sauvignon or Zinfandel

Visit my Traveling Vineyard site at http://www.travelingvineyard.com/guide/morethanatasting to browse our great selection of offerings, start an exciting new career, or contact me to book a tasting in your home and try before you buy!

Featured Wine Tasting: Girl Scout Cookie Pairing with Wines!

It's cookie time!! January 15th is official cookie kick-off day in my neck of the woods, and February 8th is National Girl Scout Cookie Day!

So if you have a little girl in your life who is peddling those delicious, addictive, adorable Girl Scout Cookies, put in your order and host a wine tasting!

We have a wonderful selection of tasting samplers and can come up with a really fun cookie and wine menu for you. And we can experiment and come up with our crowd favorites, too!

Ready to explore with what's in your wine cabinet?

• Try some Thin Mints with a nice Syrah. 
• Or some Trefoils with a fresh Sauvignon Blanc. 
• Try Savannah Smiles with a cool Reisling. 
• Put a Pinot Noir with a Thank U Berry Much. 
• Port + Samoa = Yum! Or try your Samoas with a Savignon Blanc.
• Give a Tagalong a shot with a Merlot or a Chardonnay.

Check out this great blog post from Wine Club Reviews and Ratings. Also this go-to guide from Unleash your Inner Foodie. And finally a great slideshow from The Huffington Post.

Visit my Traveling Vineyard site at http://www.travelingvineyard.com/guide/morethanatasting to browse our great selection of offerings, start an exciting new career, or contact me to book a tasting in your home and try before you buy!

Salud! And a few more of my favorite toasts

Cheers!

Salud!

Bottoms up!

Those are just a few of the common clicking phrases before enjoying a nice glass of wine. Ad you raise your glass this evening with friends and family, I thought I'd throw a few more your way:

Stems up! (refers to the stem on the wine glass - similar to Bottoms up!)

Skol! (the Swedish version of Salud!)

Prost! (German version of Salud)

If you feel that you must embellish with words, try some of these:

To wine-those plump grapes' immortal juice
That does this happiness produce.

To grape expectations.

It is well to remember that there are five reasons for drinking: the arrival of a friend; one's present or future thirst; the excellence of the wine; or any other reason.
-- Latin saying

“My grandmother is eighty and still doesn't need glasses. Drinks right out of the bottle.”
- Henny Youngman

To alcohol: the cause of, and solution to all the world's problems.

Here's to the floor, who will hold you when no one else will.

Beer is made by men. Wine by God. - Martin Luther


Visit my Traveling Vineyard site at http://www.travelingvineyard.com/guide/morethanatasting to browse our great selection of offerings, start an exciting new career, or contact me to book a tasting in your home and try before you buy!

5 Awesome DIY Wine Tasting Themes

1)      Single winery

Pick your favorite winery (Rosemount? Robert Mondavi? Duckhorn? Cakebread? Yellow Tail?) and try a variety of their wines.

2)      Single grape varietal

Try 6 different Cabernet Sauvignons from around the world. Or 5 worldly Syrahs and Shirazs and see which ones you like the best!

3)      Specific price range

Have everyone bring a wine that cost less than $8. Or have everyone bring a $25 bottle. Set your price and find a favorite!

4)      Specified region

Go for all French wines. Or all wines from Napa Valley. Or try just Spanish reds. Enjoy!

5)      Same wine, different years

Harder than all of the other tasting themes, this one requires that you find a wine from each year. Think you can find a Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon from the same winery from 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012? The hunt might be more fun than the tasting! Good luck!


Visit my Traveling Vineyard site at http://www.travelingvineyard.com/guide/morethanatasting to browse our great selection of offerings, start an exciting new career, or contact me to book a tasting in your home and try before you buy!

Featured Wine Tasting Theme: Couples Tasting

Valentine's Day is merely a month away and you might be planning a night out with your loved one. Ever have trouble agreeing on a bottle of wine to split?

Before you spend big money on a bottle you don't BOTH love, set up a couples tasting party!

Let a professional wine educator guide you through an array of fine wines so you can find a wine style that you both enjoy. And share the fun with other couples so they're not caught up the same dilemma on Valentine's Day!

Visit my Traveling Vineyard site at http://www.travelingvineyard.com/guide/morethanatasting to browse our great selection of offerings, start an exciting new career, or contact me to book a tasting in your home and try before you buy!

The 5 S’s of Wine Tasting

1) See

Like a diamond, we’re looking at color and clarity when we look at our wines. You can tell a lot from the color. Tilt the wine in your glass to a 45 degree angle. If you are peering at a light yellow, almost sunshiny white, it’s probably a Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc. If it’s more of a buttery, even brownish yellow, it could be a very oaky Chardonnay. It’s it a purple-y red wine, it’s likely Merlot, and if it’s a bright classic red, you might have a beautiful blend in your glass. 

Now, you probably know what wine you just poured, so you don’t need to see the color of it to know what you’re about to drink. But clarity is an important reason to really “see” your wine. Notice that tiny clear ring where the wine touches the glass? That’s called the lens. You want to make sure that is crystal clear. With the exception of really aged reds, a clear lens is important to the quality of a wine. If you see a murky lens or no lens at all, taste with caution. It might have gone bad.

2) Swirl

More than just something to do to keep you from making eye contact with other people at a party, swirling the wine in your glass actually aerates the wine. You’re letting more wine touch oxygen which dissipates the alcohol smell and enhances the flavor of the wine. The technical term for this is “volatizing the esters.”

3) Smell

Now that your esters are volatized, get your nose in there and give it a good sniff. No REALLY breathe in the aromas, the bouquet, the nose of the wine. 80% of taste is smell, so this process allows you prepare your tastebuds for the delicious flavors that are about to pour across them.

4) Sip

Okay, you’ve been patient enough. Sip that wine! Swishing it around in  your mouth just a little allows the wine to touch all the parts of your tongue. No. You don’t have to do this. But it is kinda fun to try.

5) Savor

I like this 5^th one… it really means drink more!

Shall I add a 6^th S? Salud!!

Visit my Traveling Vineyard site at http://www.travelingvineyard.com/guide/morethanatasting to browse our great selection of offerings, start an exciting new career, or contact me to book a tasting in your home and try before you buy!

Got a new year's resolution to find a new job?

Join my team!

Traveling Vineyard is the most amazing job you could ever imagine! Learn to be a wine educator and
offer in-home tastings. Simply offering two tastings a week can earn you up to $1000 a month!

Launch your career and take advantage of our business-building kit, which includes all the tools you need to succeed. You'll get wine notes, wine tasting glasses, marketing materials, and credits for 2 tasting sets to run your first two events.

Start exploring on our website, then give me a shout. I'll give you all the details and help you launch your wine career!

Liz

Visit my Traveling Vineyard site at http://www.travelingvineyard.com/guide/morethanatasting to browse our great selection of offerings, start an exciting new career, or contact me to book a tasting in your home and try before you buy!

5 Reasons to Become a Wine Guide with Traveling Vineyard

1)      You love drinking wine

Seriously. Not exactly a high barrier to entry here.

2)      Earning money (and free wine) sounds good

In my first 45 days as a wine consultant, I had offered 4 tastings, earned a commission check of over $250, and received over $500 in free wine!

3)      You need an escape (either weekly or for a week!)

If you need a hobby to get you out of the house a night or two each week (or maybe just once a month!), offering wine tastings is amazing – it’s like getting paid to go to happy hour! Want a different kind of escape? How about a free vacation? Travleing Vineyard offers qualified consultants an all-expense-paid incentive trip… and you can even earn a spot for your significant other to join you!

4)      You want to change lives

Everybody has their “why.” Whether it’s to supplement their income, pay for college, have a legal reason to make that trip to Napa tax-deductible, or just getting a 20% discount on all of their wine purchases, by building a team of wine consultants, you are touching the lives of great people. You can be the reason they succeed and help them live their “why”

5)      You want to change your life

Live your own “Why”. Make money. Set your own schedule. Work from home. Supplement your income. Quit that other job. Escape from everyday life. Whatever the reason, Traveling Vineyard can change your life. 

Intrigued? 
Visit my Traveling Vineyard site at http://www.travelingvineyard.com/guide/morethanatasting to browse our great selection of offerings, explore a rewarding career, or contact me to book a tasting in your home and try before you buy!

6 Tips for Preparing your Sparkling Wine

1)      Know what you’re buying

Sparkling wines range from sweet to dry. When you buy a bottle, make sure you understand the flavor differences of a brut, extra-dry, demi-secco, and doux, and purchase according to your taste preferences.

2)      Get the right foods (sweet, salty, spicy)

Strawberries, caviar, spicy eggrolls, and creamy chocolate lava cake: these are just a few options that pair amazingly well with different types of sparkling wines. Here are some fun pairings to try:

• Brut with vegetable tempura or triple cream brie or potato chips
• Extra-Dry with beignets or spicy shrimp
• Demi-Sec with bleu cheese or prosciutto and melon or foie gras
• Doux with strawberries and dark chocolate

3)      Get the temperature right

Sparklings should be served super-cold. Right out of the refrigerator at about 45 degrees is the ideal temperature. Keep it in a bucket of ice if you plan to consume it over time.

4)      Pick your glass

The classic flat champagne glass allows the bubbles to tickle your nose (and is rumored to have been shaped on the breast of Marie Antoinette!). But if you prefer to watch the bubbles be beautiful strings of bubbles, go for a champagne flute (the tall, skinny tulip-shaped glass). Of course, if you have neither, do what the professional wine reviewers do and drink it from a regular old wine glass.

5)      Know how to open the bottle

Oh, the pomp and circumstance of opening a bottle of bubbly!

First, the foil. You’ll find 4 or 5 little sideways folds. Unfold them. If there is no sticker holding it down, you can easily slide the foil covering off the top at this point (if there is a sticker, you might need to use a fingernail to cut the foil.

Next, the cage. Keep a hand on the top of the cork as you untwist the cage. If the pressure is too great, that cork will shoot right out! Remove the cage from the bottle.

Now for the big event: If you’re celebrating, you probably want to hear it go POP! But if you’re just drinking it, it’s actually preferable to the wine that you merely hear a light hiss (also known as an angel’s kiss!). To get the cork out, hold the cork with one hand, and the bottle with the other. Twist the BOTTLE, not the cork. As soon as you feel the cork moving, Push it back in toward the bottle with reverse pressure, only letting it creep out of the bottle ever-so-slowly. Whether it pops or kisses, you can now pour!

6)      Got leftovers? (Tip: try not to...)

If you have one of those lovely champagne savers, go for it. It will preserve the fizz a little bit. If you don’t, never fear! You actually don’t need to cover your sparkling wine at all. Just sit it straight in the fridge. You can cork it with a stopper, or just put some cling wrap and a rubber band over it. It may go flat, but the wine will not go bad for 3-5 days. Old wives tales suggest that you can also drop a silver spoon (stem into the bottle) into the top to keep those bubbles bubbling for another day, but food scientists have proven this to be bogus.  

Stems up!

Liz

Visit my Traveling Vineyard site at http://www.travelingvineyard.com/guide/morethanatasting to browse our great selection of holiday offerings, or contact me to book a tasting in your home and try before you buy!