Wine Buying Tips, Atlanta Buying Wine for Home

You are having some Atlanta area friends over for dinner and you know they like wine. You want to make a good impression on your Atlanta friends but you have no clue how to buy wine or where in Atlanta you should shop for the right wine. Which bottle do you pick? What will they like? Does it matter what I serve? What do names like Chardonnay, Chianti, and Zinfandel mean? This is called a wine emergency. Fear not!

The Atlanta area is not well known for having lots of wine experts like maybe Chicago, New York, or even Miami. Most Atlanta wine stores fail miserably in supporting their clients with a well-trained knowledgeable staff. Even if they do, the staff will only want to discuss high-end wines. Sherlock’s believes that every wine purchaser should have access to the staff and the knowledge they need in selecting the proper wine. We have written this guide to simplify the world of wine and help Atlanta wine buyers get a head-start and find just the right bottle!

Wines from the Old World (Europe) and the New World (everywhere else) have a system for naming and classifying wines. Old World wines are usually named for their place of origin (like Chianti and Chablis). These areas have been producing wine for hundreds of years, and they know exactly which grapes and styles work best in those regions. In the New World, wines are named for the predominant grape used in the winemaking process (like Merlot and Chardonnay). Certainly there are exceptions to these rules, but understanding the basic nature of wine names will help make all the selections easier to grasp.

American and especially Atlanta wine drinkers do love Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, and Merlot, but those are not the only options if you want to please your guests. You can look like an Atlanta wine expert with your selections (without actually being a wine expert). Here are some “under-the-radar” wines that are sure to delight:

1. Cotes du Rhone Red. Hailing from southeast France, this red wine is a blend of Grenache, Syrah, and Mourvedre grapes. It’s soft and dry with aromas of cherry and spice. Generally available for $ 10-$ 20 in most wine stores, Cotes du Rhone is easy to like and great with foods like lamb, roast chicken, or pork. 2. Pinot Gris from Oregon. Pinot Gris is the same grape as Pinot Grigio, but grown in Oregon, the grape offers more exciting tastes. Though it’s a dry white, you will find fruit-basket smells like honeydew melon and citrus with a hint of flowers. If you are serving a full-flavored fish like salmon, this style of wine will sing. Usually sold for $ 12-$ 20. 3. Valpolicella Ripasso. A sumptuous red wine produced near Verona in Italy, it is created using a somewhat complicated process. Don’t worry about the “how”; all you need to know is the resulting wine is delicious, and even your most “wine geek” friends/family will ooh and ah upon tasting. Silky textured and chock full of tangy cherry, berry, and plum flavors, try this wine if you’re serving Italian sausage pasta or veal parmesan. Sells from $ 15-$ 30.

How to find the right wine for a meal is probably the most challenging aspect of selecting wine for most Atlanta area people. You may have heard the adage “red wine with meat, white wine with fish,” and there is definitely some validity to this statement. But finding the right complement for a meal requires more insight. There is an art to pairing wines with foods (hence why sommeliers in restaurants undergo years of training), but it doesn’t have to be that difficult. Here are some handy tips:

1. Power to Power. If your meal is a hearty meat like grilled ribeye or pot roast, select a powerful red to accompany. Good examples would be Cabernet Sauvignon, Bordeaux, or Shiraz/Syrah (they’re the same grape, just called differently depending where it’s from). If you are serving, for example, veal cutlets or another more delicate meat dish, try a less-powerful but no-less-flavorful red like Pinot Noir, Grenache, or Barbera. 2. Spice needs Spice. For heavily-herbed foods like rosemary baked chicken or eggplant parmesan, choose a wine with its own spice, like Zinfandel, Chianti, or Gewurtztraminer (white wine that is hard to say but easy to love). If your dish leans toward the “heat” side of spice, like curry chicken or jambalaya, a good idea is a fruitier, softer, possibly sweeter wine like Riesling, Beaujolais, and Chenin Blanc. 3. Match the Texture. Texture is an important component in wine pairing. You will want a wine that has a similar feel to the dish. For example, cream-sauce pasta like Alfredo screams for a buttery Chardonnay. By the same token, grilled shrimp over mixed greens requires a lighter touch like Sauvignon Blanc, Albarino from Spain, or Pinot Grigio.

The world of wine is extremely varied and admittedly complex, but it does offer a lifetime’s worth of discovery and pleasure if you try it. Don’t fret over an “Atlanta wine emergency” because there is no hard and fast rule about what your Atlanta friends and family will love and what wine will pair perfectly with a meal. Use the tips above to make a more educated decision, but the real fun is in experimenting. Also, don’t hesitate to ask your local wine merchant. Chances are your Atlanta area guests will love what you pick.

Visit http://www.Sherlocks.com for more valuable information on wine selections and purchasing tips for Atlanta.

If you enjoy purchasing wine on a somewhat regular basis, you should also consider the benefits of coolers. Wine is becoming a very popular drink of choice in many situations. The beverage can be served when entertaining guests, or when having a normal dinner with your family. Bottle chillers help you serve the drink at the right temperature so that everyone can enjoy it. It is true that you can store your bottles in a regular cooler, but the size of the bottles may make them difficult to store, especially if you have several bottles.

There is also the option of storing your drinks in the refrigerator. However, the fridge subtly vibrates as it runs. This movement could cause the sediments within the drink to shift around. Home coolers will prevent this alteration and keep your wine tasting good and fresh. Most people who use the refrigerator for storage only put it inside it when they are expecting the need for it. However, chillers can help you store all of your wine while keeping it cold for unexpected uses.

When shopping for wine coolers, there are many different brands, types, styles to choose from. You may want to purchase a cooler based on the number of bottles you wish to keep cool at one time. Home coolers typically offer storage for six bottles, though you can find some that are slightly larger to hold more. This option allows you to keep most of your best wines ready to be sipped when you want them. This also frees up space in your kitchen fridge so that you can store food and other beverages in there.

Most wine chillers come with the feature of adjusting the temperature. This allows you to keep your bottles at the exact temperature that you like to drink it. The better coolers also come with a function to control the humidity inside. This will prevent mildew or mold from accumulating on the bottles when they have been in the fridge for an extended period of time. You may also want to opt for a glass paned front so that you can show off your collection of wine while it is being kept cool.

As you can see, these coolers are a sound investment if you are an avid wine drinker. This is especially true if you like to keep a collection of red and white wines in your home. You do not have to store them in room temperature until you decide to pop one in the fridge to get it ready for drinking. With chillers, you can keep your favorite brands cool and ready to drink. This is especially beneficial if you have unexpected guests that arrive and want to have a small drink with you while they are visiting.

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