May 2008 - Pinot Grigio
Riedel Wineglasses: The Science Inside
For many former students, science was a class where it was hard to get excited. All the talk of human cells, the lectures on atoms, and the discovery that a hypothesis is not a huge, plant-eating African mammal was enough to make someone want to stick their head inside a Bunsen burner. While it may have been a boring subject in youth, in adulthood the science of wine is particularly interesting, making even those of us who hated everything from anatomy to zoology willing to raise our test tubes in a toast.
There are many scientific avenues of wine. From climate to fermentation, from the way wine is stored to the way is it sipped, science is behind nearly every aspect of wine, placing an arm around each grape and urging it forward. One aspect of wine where science is particularly interesting is the area of wineglasses, specifically Riedel wineglasses. It was the Riedel Company that first took the wine glass and made it both a form of science and a form of art.
Claus Riedel lived, worked, and invented by the belief that wine can be emphasized by the shape and design of a glass. With this belief, he set out to invent a line of wine glasses that would unite the wine's personality, its aroma, its taste, and its visual appeal. An avid wine drinker only need to drink out of a Riedel wineglass once to discover that Claus succeeded in his pursuit: he successfully designed wine glasses that would accentuate the best parts of the various types of wine. While it's obvious that his conquest was successful, the reasons why it was successful, the reasons why his way of thinking worked, aren't as clear. For these answers, we turn where all things unclear turn: towards science.
As we all know, there are five senses that drive the human perception: sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch. When it comes to wine, the sense of smell is as important as the sense of taste. It is with this sense that Claus Riedel began, beating the competition by a nose and so much more.
The sense of smell and the sense of taste in humans and many mammals go hand in hand, the way we smell dictates how we taste. This is because the sense of smell and the sense of taste both have a role in how the brain perceives flavor. This is why a person's sense of taste is hindered when they are plagued with a stuffy nose. While we have five taste sensations - sweetness, sourness, bitterness, saltiness, and umani (a Japanese word that means "Savory" or "Meaty") - we have roughly a thousand genes geared towards odor perception. Because of this, the aroma of the wine - its intensity and its quality - can change the taste of it.
With this knowledge, Claus Riedel began designing glasses with bowls of different shapes. These shapes sent the wine flowing to the tongue while trapping the wine's aroma in a glass, directing them towards the nose.
Wine begins to evaporate when it is poured, quickly filling the glasses with flavorful levels of aroma. The rate at which aroma fills the glass depends on the density and heaviness of the wine. While the lightest vapors rise to the top, the heavier ones remain at the bottom. With this knowledge, Claus Riedel was able to make wine glasses geared towards the aromas and odors of all the different grapes.
Claus realized that the shape of the glass, while dictating emission of aroma, also dictates how a person positions their head while drinking, ultimately altering the way the wine flows into their mouth. Because drinkers of wine all drink with the goal of not spilling a single drop, they willing alter the position in which they sip. Where wide, open glasses force a drinker to lower their head, narrowly designed glasses force a drinker to tilt their head back. This delivers the wine to different zones of the tongue, resulting in the brain perceiving different flavors. The volume of the glass, the diameter of its rim, the thickness of the crystal, and the finish also all play a role in the roll of the wine onto the tongue.
The rim, in particular, controls the flow of wine, with certain rims possessing an open waterway and others building a bit of a damn. A cut rim, for example, allows the wine to flow onto the tongue in a smooth, consistent manner. A rolled rim, conversely, slows the flow of wine, causing acidity and tartness to be enhanced.
In order for this process to work successfully, Claus also maintained that perfect wine glasses needed to be clear, undecorated, thin-walled, polished, shaped like an egg, and made of crystal. In other words, perfect wineglasses needed to be Riedels.
Thoughts about Pinot Grigio
Riedel Wineglasses: The Science Inside
For many former students, science was a class where it was hard to get excited. All the talk of human cells, the lectures on atoms, and the discovery ...
Click Here to Read More About Wine ...
Pinot Grigio Items For Viewing
Chateau Clinet - Pomerol
"Another extraordinary wine made in a backward vin de garde style, the 1995 Chateau Clinet Pomerol represents the essence of Pomerol. The blackberry, cassis liqueur-like fruit of this French dry red wine is awesome. The color is saturated black/purple, and the wine extremely full-bodied and powerful with layers of glycerin-imbued fruit, massive richness, plenty of licorice, blackberry, and cassis flavors, full body, and a thick, unctuous texture. This is a dense, impressive offering from administrator Jean-Michel Arcaute. This Bordeaux should continue to improve for another 10-25 years. Anticipated maturity: 2006-2025." Great gift! RP - 96 (Subject to Availability) CLI95 CLI95
Price: 273.99 USD
News about Pinot Grigio
What does 'frizzante' mean? (Merced Sun-Star)
Wed, 21 May 2008 02:26:00 PDT
Italian wines are the biggest-selling imported wines in the United States, but just how well does the average wine consumer know them? Probably not much beyond Chianti or pinot grigio.
Romance Novels On Your Cell Phone??
Wed, 21 May 2008 05:24:16 PDT
Color me surprised! Maria and I were surfing the net when we came across an article that said you can now download romance novels on your cell phone. Hello? Can you hear me now? I’m of 2 minds On One Hand: Yeah, I’ve gotten spoiled and I want my information now! If I have to wait more than 4 seconds for an email to download, well, I’m hitting delete. If I have to watch TV with commercials instead of fast forwarding through TiVo, well, I’m changing the channel. If I call a phone number and
Home Brew Discounts Sale
Wed, 21 May 2008 06:27:37 PDT
Buy Home Beer And Wine Making Kits Home beer and wine making online store BrewItYourself are offering a massive 10% discount on every order until 26th May Brew It Yourself are the UK’s most comprehensive home beer and wine making online store. Whether you are a novice and in need of a beer starter or wine starter kit there is a product for you - starting from just £15.00. The best selling home brewing kits are: Woodfordes Wherry Bitter Californian Connoisseur Pinot Grigio Youngs Harvest B
When a review is not a review?
Wed, 21 May 2008 07:33:07 PDT
I’ve been trying to work my way through ‘Perfumes: The Guide’ by Luca Turin and Tania Sanchez. This is happening in fits and starts, because the obvious glee with which the two of them render their opinions is thick enough to slice up like polenta, fry, and serve alongside a wilted spinach salad with heirloom tomatoes and kalamata olives. Don’t forget the cheap battery-acid pinot grigio, by the glass. ‘Schadenfreud, party of two? Your table is ready…’ And it’s not even that I take issue with
Grape Tomato & Mozzarella With Shallot-Citrus Vinaigrette
Wed, 21 May 2008 07:57:28 PDT
A summer must! Sweet grape tomatoes complement the tangy citrus for an unexpected burst of flavor. Top with fresh basil, cilantro or mint and dig in! Ingredients for the vinaigrette: 4 Tbls pink grapefruit juice 1 shallot, thinly sliced 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil fresh ground black pepper to taste 1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes cut in half 1 lb fresh mozzarella cut into small cubes 1 Tbls fresh Thai basil (or Italian basil chopped) To prepare the vinaigrette: marinate the chopp
Ivanpah Valley Airport Can Use A Traditional English Tea Room
Wed, 21 May 2008 08:08:06 PDT
Wednesday, May 21, 2008 Ivanpah Valley Airport Can Use A Traditional English Tea Room By Robert L. Candiotti Last weekend, I traveled to Napa Valley, California, for my niece's wedding and a family reunion. It was an extraordinary time. My last day in the intoxicating Wine Country was spent with an old and cherished friend who I first met at Sonoma State College (now called Sonoma State University) in the 1970s. Sharon lives just outside Calistoga at the Upper Napa Valley. What a nice
Red Wines
Orange Muscat
Wine Tasting,Uk
Labels: Wine Stoppers
