11/3/08 Monday Email

Welcome to Vine to Wine this is your host Linda Moran and on today's program we are answering a question from the email. A listener asks "When you are told to look at wine before you taste it what is it that you are looking for?" Great question and we'll answer it right after this message. A listener asks what are you looking at, or for, when you examine the wine you are drinking before you taste it. Well first of all, you want to be certain it is clear and brilliant in color with nothing floating in it and no haze or cloudy look at all. In the case of white wine you want to be sure it hasn't started to turn amber or brown, that could indicate to you that it won't taste very fresh. It may be old or have been exposed to too much oxygen. If that is the case the color will be your first clue and the smell will be your nest. In the case of red wine the color can indicate to you at what stage of its life the wine is in. If the hue is rather bluish purple the wine is in a youthful stage of its life. If it has a garnet or ruby hue, it is in a nicely maturing stage in its life. If the wine has amber or brick color, it may be on its way out or have already lost much of its fruit characters. This is a quality that depending upon where it is from and the style it is made in could be a desirable quality or an extremely undesirable characteristic. Either way by looking at a wine you can actually tell a good deal about it. Remember to send your wine questions to Linda at vine to wine dot net and thank you for joining me on today's Vine to Wine.