Learn About Wine

When buying wine, it’s best to start with a great retail wine shop like Jerry’s Warehouse Liquors where you’ll find a wide range of wines and informed store employees who will help you make the best selection.  It's best to have a general idea of the food you will be serving since a great pairing of food and wine is key to enhancing the enjoyment of your meal.

You also should have an idea of the number of people you would like to serve.  Usually you'll find wines in 750-milliliter-size bottles.  However, some wines are also available in a larger 1.5-liter size which is ideal when entertaining a group. You may want to sample a wine in a smaller bottle to ensure a good choice before investing in a larger bottle.

While our friendly staff would be happy to help you make a selection, we have compiled a Beginner’s Guide to Wines to help you with the basics of buying and serving wine.

Selecting a Great Wine
Your guide to a good wine selection is all on the label.  The challenge comes in separating the good information from the marketing mumbo jumbo!  Basically, you need to know just four things about your wine in order to make a good selection:  grape variety, region, terroir and vintage.  You can always trust the wine label to provide you with facts about the wine and you should get into the habit of checking the second label on the back of your bottle.  You may be surprised at the richness of the information provided.

• Grape Variety - The grape variety is the best indication of taste.

• Region - Where the wine comes from is the next best indicator. Since European wines don't always state grape varieties the information about regions will help.

• Terroir - This is a fancy description for soil, climate and exposure. These factors can influence the grape style and flavor and ultimately the flavor of the wine.

• Vintage - The word "vintage" is often bandied around to denote something special. It simply refers to wine from a particular year, and not all "vintage" years are good.

Now that you know what information to look for…here are some confusing wine phrases and words that you can dismiss:

• "Supérieur " does not necessarily refer to superior wine. The French term "supérieur" and its Italian equivalent merely indicate that the wine has a slightly higher alcohol content.

• "Grand vin" on Bordeaux labels means that it is the main wine of the winery, rather than a great wine.

• The word "Reserve" is often misleading. In some countries it refers to wines that have been matured in oak for longer than standard wines. In other countries it means nothing.

• Ignore generalizations such as "classic," "limited release," and "special." They are simply marketing phrases used to make the wine seem more unique.

European wines often have descriptive phrases on the bottle.  Unfortunately, since many of us are not fluent in these European languages the descriptions are often ignored.  To help you make the best wine selection possible we have compiled a few of the more common words and their meanings.

Serving a Great Wine
To make the most of a particular wine’s characteristics you should serve wines at temperatures that will heighten their flavors. White and rose wines should be lightly chilled while reds should be served around 65 degrees.  To serve a bottle of wine, just open the bottle and pour.  While much is made of it - most wines don't need to "breathe" before being served.  Fill the wineglasses one-half to two-thirds full so you can capture the wine's aroma as well as its flavor.  Serve smaller portions of appetizer and dessert wines.

The stemware in which you serve your wine can be as varied as the wine itself and has a tremendous impact on your enjoyment of wine. Even unremarkable wines taste more elegant and refined when served in suitable stemware. And the finest wines are all but wasted if you drink them out of coffee mugs. The acquisition of  appropriate stemware is the first step towards making the most of your in-home wine experience.

A good collection of basic stemware includes four glasses: a general-purpose white wine glass, two types of red wine glasses (commonly called Bordeaux and Burgundy) and a champagne flute. The white wine glass is small in order to prevent the rapid warming that would occur in a vessel with more surface area. The Bordeaux glass (which is also appropriate for other hearty red wines, like cabernet and merlot) is larger, which allows for more development of the bouquet. The Burgundy glass is the largest in any stemware collection because Burgundy-type wines (such as pinot noir and other delicate varieties) are so subtle that they need a huge area in which to gather their aromas. Finally, the most notable feature of the champagne flute is that it's tall, to allow for the development of bubbles.

Stemware and Its Uses
Pilsner: Tall and slender with a weighted base, pilsner glasses are traditional for beer, ale, stout, and similar beverages.

General Purpose: This glass is appropriate for red, white, and rose wines when wine is served as a cocktail. It also may be used at an informal table setting.

Champagne Flute: This tall, slender shape conserves the bubbles of champagne and sparkling wines. In recent years, the flute has replaced the wider stem for general-purpose use.

Red Wine: The bowl shape allows red wine to breathe. This shape stem is appropriate for cocktails and for meals. Larger glasses of this shape often are used as festive water goblets.

Martini Glass: Traditionally used only for martinis, this glass shape also works well for specialty drinks, such as margaritas or frozen drinks. It can substitute as a champagne glass.

White Wine: This glass is smaller and narrower than a red wine glass because white wine doesn't require breathing.

Highball or Water Glass: Used for drinks made with mixers (highballs), this glass also is appropriate for nonalcoholic drinks and for water.

Old-Fashioned Glass: This small glass is used for drinks "on the rocks" or for mixed drinks traditionally served in smaller glasses.