Wine Bars

There are around 100 wine bars in Washington. The majority are in Seattle, Redmond and Bellvue.

So what defines a wine bar as opposed to just a bar? This is open to interpretation, and can include restaurants and wine shops too. Here is our stab at it:

1. If only "Red Wine" and "White Wine" is on the menu, it's not a wine bar.

2. If there are more beer tap handles than wine bottles in view, it's not a wine bar.

3. If the wine is poured from a bottle out back or from a box, it's not a wine bar.

4. If the wine is served in a shot glass, or poured to the brim, it's not a wine bar. It doesn't have to be in a Reidel, but they must have decent stemware.

5. If you ask what their corkage fee is and they give a blank look, it's not a wine bar.

Note: A tasting room is not a wine bar. Tasting rooms focus on selling wine for one winery. Their objective is to get you to try their wine and buy a bottle or case. A wine bar's objective is to get you to buy a glass, try a flight, order food & socialize.

Excerpt from www.gotastewine.com

New study shows Washington wine industry worth $8.6 billion

http://www.tri-cityherald.com/2012/04/24/1915381/wine-state-industry-worth-86-billion.html

Gilles Nicault from LongShadows

Read this interesting blog all the way to the end. The last 2 paragraphs will help us see things differently when we are tasting French, Spanish and Argentina wines.

http://blogs.seattleweekly.com/voracious/2012/04/why_gilles_nicault_of_long_sha.php

Wine Splurge

Keep in mind that what constitutes a value-priced wine versus a splurge is purely subjective. I consider anything at about $15 a bottle and under to be a good everyday wine, between $15 and the high $20s something I might enjoy on a weekly basis, and $30 and up as more of a splurge.

Your definition of splurge may differ, although I think that as you gain more experience tasting wine, your "splurge point" will gradually grow higher as your palate becomes more sophisticated.

- by DAN RADIL a wine enthusiast who lives in Bellingham. Reach him at danthewineguy.com.

Read more: http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2011/02/15/1849799/in-a-mood-to-splurge-sample-these.html#ixzz1Eyz22Ilj

TIP:

Our sensory reactions are affected by the depth of our knowledge. If you want to enjoy your wine more fully, simply learn a bit about it. You won't just think about the wine differently, you will actually taste it differently.

TIP:

When you are presenting wine as a gift, consider enriching the experience for the receiver; perhaps include a card with tasting notes or maybe a recipe with which to pair the wine, or even a favorite quotation. This is a thoughtful way to add to the enjoyment of the gift.

Proper Wine Storage

The two biggest dangers to wine are wide temperature fluctuations and high temperatures for a sustained period of time. For wines that you plan to consume in the next week to the next year, which will probably be most of your wine, a dark, low-vibration closet in a home or apartment with a normal household temperature of 68 to 72 degrees is fine. It’s also wise to store your wine on its side, so that the wine remains in contact with the cork and keeps the cork from drying out. Actually, the color and thickness of the wine bottle itself are inherently a great help in protecting the wine as well.

For your high-end wines that merit bottle aging before consumption, you need to be more concerned about storing your wines in a proper temperature- and humidity-controlled environment. Unless you have hundreds of these elite bottles and can afford to build your own cellar, a refrigerated wine storage unit is probably your best bet. Unlike a standard refrigerator, these units keep wine at an ideal temperature of about 55 degrees and 70 percent humidity, with a minimum of vibration.