Today’s question was sent in from Stephen from the upper west side who asks “Is the climate change going to affect the places where the great wines are grown?”.
Video sum up: Climate change and wine
Probably not in your life time but the climate change will have a big impact on the wine regions. Weather is the determinant factor for the great vintages.
Today’s question was sent in from Matthieu from Mount Kisco who asks “What is the difference between Shiraz and Syrah?”.
Video sum up: Shiraz and Syrah
Actually Syrah and Shiraz are the same grapes. They are refered diffrently either side of the equator:
Syrah North of the equator
Shiraz South of the equator
Syrah is a very important grape in certain parts of the world like Australia or France. It makes a fairly dark, spicy, fragrant wine which can be fairly simple to extraordinary complex and long lived.
Today’s question was sent in from Brad from Australia who asks “How to become a Sommelier?”.
Video sum up: How to become a Sommelier?
A sommelier is that individual in a restaurant who is responsible to work with you on your wine drinking decision for the evening and help you navigate through the wine list.
Cru and Veritas in New York have thousands of wines on their list.
There are two ways to become a Sommelier:
take a course but it takes time and money. You can attain a certain stature that is rare in the world (Master of Wine, Court of Master Sommelier).
you can work at a very good restaurants during your off hours. It will be a good experience to be taste good or great wines and learn from people who know a lot about wine.
Today’s question was sent in from Pierre from Versailles (France) who asks “Can we offer a second chance to corked wines, for cooking or making your own vinegar?”.
Video sum up: Can we offer a second chance to a corked wines?
The answer is NO. Once a wine is corked it is forever gone.
There is nothing you can do about it and with it. Corked wine is a wine which has been contamined by a vegetal component called TCA.
There is a rule with wine in cooking which is: never cook with a wine you would not drink yourself because it will convey negative flavors.
It is the same thing for vinegar. You should not do vinegar with corked wine.
The best wines can be corked even if you store them properly.
A ‘Corked’ wine is a wine that has been bottled with a cork that is contaminated with TCA (2,4,6-Trichloroanisole). TCA contamination usually comes from corks but can also come from barrels, other cooperage or even, apparently, from wood within the cellar including walls or beams. The term ‘corked wine’ is applied to all wines with TCA contamination because corks are the souce of most of the problems. The wine industry estimates that as many as 3% to 7% of all wines have TCA contamination at levels that can be detected by consumers. Because most people are not trained to recognize the smell and taste of TCA, only a very small fraction of these bad bottles are ever returned to stores or sent back at a restaurant.
[...] TCA does not pose a health risk (at least in the levels found in wines). It just imparts the aromas and flavors that are objectionable when found in sufficient quantity. Many wines have levels of TCA that are below the threshold of perception. Wine is not the only place you can find TCA. It is also found in some municipal water supplies as well as in some teas.
Today’s question was sent in from Gordon in Hoboken (New Jersey) who asks “Time in a bottle: When should I drink my wine?”.
Video sum up: When should I drink my wine?
Wine changes year to year, even season to season.
First, when you keep your wines you have to keep an eyes on things. You should keep wine in a dark, cool and free of vibration place.
You first should then understand the types of wine that would improve over time and the types of wine that should be drunk younger.
To do so you have to understand the wine itself, what is the lineage of the wine… by reading tasting notes for example from Robert Parker, Wine Spectator or even on winemaker’s website. They will most often give you an estimation on when you should drink your wine.
At the same time it is equally interesting to drink a wine as it evolves. For example young Bordeaux, they are fresh, tight and it’s very interesting to try to determine how it will evolves.
Finally keep a close eye on your cellar because you don’t want to lose the opportunity to drink a very nice wine at his peak.
Today’s question was sent in from Candida from Queens (New York) who asks “Is there a specific etiquette I should follow when a bottle is brought to my table in a restaurant?”.
Video sum up: Is there a specific etiquette I should follow when a bottle is brought to my table in a restaurant?
The answer is NO.
The etiquette in the process is going to be dictated or presented to you by the restaurant.
Jeremy who has some background in this (server in a 3 stars restaurant in NY) recommands you:
to look at the bottle when the server brought you the bottle (to make sure it is the wine you ordered)
ask the server if you have any question about the price of the bottle
taste the wine if you feel confortable with it when the server asks you or otherwise just say no
Actually you have no other responsabilities except to enjoy the wine and drink it!
Today Jeremy will try with his guest, Mike from Boston, what to answer the question: is a value wine? They will thus judge two Bordeaux Cabernet, one between $10 and $15 and another one between $40 and $50.
