Growing Grapes and Tasting Wines

First, I'd like to start of with a grape tutorial so you can impress your friends with the following facts...

Grapes happen to be the oldest and most widely grown horticultural crop, with first signs of plantation dating back 7,500 years. Today, there are more than 20,000,000 acres of the crop across the globe.

Did you know red grapes need a longer growing season than white grapes, which is why red grapes are grown in warmer climates such as California, Spain, Italy and Portugal. The amount of sugar grapes produce is dependent on their sun exposure; too much sun will result in too much sugar, and vice versa.

Last week, we had our first sensory session where we learned how to taste wine. Here are a few things I took away from the experience:

1. Myth: Crackers do not in fact cleanse your palette. On the contrary, they impair your ability to perceive astringency which is a chemical induced texture that creates a dry taste on the tip of your tongue. The best palette cleanser is actually water, or nothing at all. Crackers are really just for show.

2. When pairing food with food or food with wine, sweet should come before sour/bitter. If reversed, overall taste can be suppressed because of confused taste buds. For example, you wouldn't serve grapefruit before cinnamon rolls - the sweetness of the cinnamon rolls would be suppressed.

3. When drinking wine, the cause of saliva stimulation comes from the sourness of the wine.

What was the last meal you served with wine? And what kind of wine was it? Share your suggestions!

Saludos!