Wine People
Moms View Message Board: General Discussion: Archive January 2007:
Wine People
I know NOTHING about wines. I'm having a girlfriend party Friday night and thought of having a wine available. I have a bottle of never opened 2001 White Zinfandel in my fridge. I couldn't tell you what I bought it for, but it was at least 4 years ago when I bought it.
Can I use it? Will it be good or do I need to buy a new bottle? I'm clueless.
TIA
You can always open it and try it on Thursday and then put the cork back in if it still tastes good!
I think it would be...but, wine never lasts longer than a month in our house! LOL!
No it won't taste good...white zin doesn't get better with age, it just turns sour.
If you are buying wine for a party, go to target and buy a wine cube, they are all good wines, pick your color, a pink wine is usually a good choice if you don't know (white wine drinkers don't tend to drink red and vice versa, but most will taste a pink). Anyway you can pick up a cube for 10.00, it will keep in the fridge open for a month, so if you have people over for superbowl you can drink it then too.
Thanks for the info. I love white zinfandel and pinot grigio, so I'll replace it with one of those...NEW! No one will drink wine at the Super Bowl. It's just my in-laws and us and they drink beer. Thanks again.
Oooh, I love pinot grigio, Deanna! Have fun with your girlfriends!
Along similar lines, does anyone know if a 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon would still be good? I'd like to open it up this weekend while hubby and I have a night alone but I'm not a red drinker and have no idea how to drink them. Room temperature, right? And aren't you supposed to pour a glass and then let it breathe before drinking? How long am I supposed to let it sit? TIA
Tink, there is no reason it should not be good unless it's been opened.
Open your bottle about 1/2 hour before you want to drink it to let it breathe, you can let it breathe in the bottle or you can decant it if you have a decanter. Also some red wine drinkers do drink it slightly chilled, not as cold as a white. It will have a stronger flavour if you drink it at room temperature, which is fine. Enjoy your evening with your hubby.
Thanks, Heaventree. (It's just too weird to type my own name to you!) I'm trying to expand my horizons so I'm trying out some new food and drink.
Red wine is my thing..LOL. Red wine is best at 68 degrees. For me this means I tend to put a bottle in the fridge for an hour or two, then pull it out, uncork it and drink it about 30 minutes later.
Now if I get a cube, I keep it in the fridge and let it warm up in my glass.
If the 2003 is a reserve wine it will be fine, if it was not, it could go either way. The only way to know is to smell it. Wine should not smell like vinegar. Red wine can smell strong, but not sour.
If you are learning to drink red wine, there are a couple of things to know, first, the glass really does make it taste better. If you don't have red wine glasses (the big bulb type) try to use a cup with a large opening, basically you want your nose in the glass when you drink. This helps you taste it. Second, you don't sip it per say. You taste red wine with back of your tongue, not the front. The front of your tongue is where you taste sweet. So go ahead and take a drink, don't just take a baby sip. There are so many different flavors to red wines. If you find one you like, read the bottle, does it say an oakey flavor, a fruity flavor etc? That will help in buying the next bottle. I don't like oakey wines, but I don't mind a peppery wine, but I like not dry wines. Most companies do a good job of describing their wines. Also each area can have a taste, I like austrailian wines (yellow tail), but Californian wines are yummy too. Texas wines, so far I don't have a great opinion of them!
If you don't like the way a red wine tastes, let it sit in your glass for 30 minutes, swirl it a bit and try again, you can really taste when it has been properly aerated.
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