Why do we enjoy wine?
It all begins with the delightful experience of browsing the shelves, holding the bottle up to the light, reading the inviting label description and then proudly opening our prize acquisition at the dinner table.
But there's a great deal more to enjoying wine than being knowledgeable (and let's be honest, feeling good) about our choice of wine. Research tells us that we drink wine for a multitude of reasons, but mainly for the affect that the wine's alcohol content has on our brains. Now the ancient Romans who, incidentally, were excellent wine makers and aficionados of the grape, didn't need this information as proof of the joys of Bacchus (the god of wine).
But the benefits of wine rise well above the mere intake of alcohol and it would be sacrilege to suggest otherwise. For a start, wine is arguably the best alcoholic beverage for stimulating the senses: its aroma alone provided an unrivalled olfactory sensation. It is important that you take your time to "nose" the wine in your glass, up to three times before tasting. Only then will you enjoy the wine to the full.
So, wine drinkers who know a thing or two about the pleasures of uncorking a promising bottle of wine will also know that it's not all down to the alcohol content. Far from it; or why would low-alcohol or even alcohol-free wines be flying off the shelves in increasing volume?
What's New at Good Glug?
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Undoubtedly, Rioja is the main wine that one thinks of when Spain is mentioned. But, there is so much more to Spanish wine that's definitely worth exploring
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Why let wine breathe? So often, we hear people talking about letting the wine breathe. What are they talking about and does it really make any difference?
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Is Champagne the most famous wine of all? Where it comes from, how it is made and the grape varieties that go into the very best champagnes...