As demonstrated by gymnasts and football players, perfect balance can be totally awesome. Balance is also, by the way, one of the hallmarks of a truly great wine. To earn the description “balanced,” the acid, alcohol, tannin level and fruit all have to be in equilibrium. How can you tell if the wine from your favorite Wine of the Month Club is truly in balance? It will taste seem less, with no one element more pronounced than the others. How does one actually describe a well-balanced wine? Ironically, it is nearly impossible to describe it without using the term “well balanced!”
WHITE WINE HONESTLY LIFTS OUR SPIRITS . . .
As in, “A little wine makes everyone feel better;” or as in, “I just spilled red wine on the white carpet, but I’m not worried about that stain.” Nothing eradicates red wine stains better than white wine, according to the author of Natural Stain Removal Secrets, Deborah Martin. She recommends immediately blotting the area, then pouring white wine onto the red stain, and covering the whole spot with salt. Allow the salt to absorb both wines, then shake off (or vacuum up) the salt and blot with club soda. Repeat if necessary. A full glass of wine in hand makes clean-up much easier!
ARE RED AND WHITE WINES TRULY EQUAL?
According to a joint Iowa Sate University and Cornell University study, a bottle of white wine that is equal in size to a bottle of red will fill fewer glasses. True! But why? Because the clear white wine gives the illusion that there is less in the glass, so those serving continue to pour more. How much more? A whopping 9.2 percent! I had no clue college studies could be so much fun.
CAN A WINE GLASS EVER BE ANYTHING ELSE?
Never. Though the human eye cannot see them, even the finest wine glasses have tiny holes in the glass where flavors and smells (especially dairy) become forever trapped. Serve only wine in your goblets, never food, in spite of how elegant your pears á la mode may look; or, keep a second set for food only.
