Gift A Bottle, Get A Bottle (for FREE)!

Do you have friends who would love a nice bottle of wine FOR FREE? If so, this week is your chance to shine – gift them a bottle for free (and get a free one yourself)!

FirstCrush Presents - 

Gift A Bottle, Get A Bottle Week! 

(redeemable in NY only; expires midnight Saturday, June 30th)

How It Works:

1. Sign up/Sign in at www.firstcrushwines.com

2. Click on the “Invite A Friend, Get An Extra Bottle” link on top righthand corner and find your unique referral URL in the popup box (e.g. http://www.firstcrushwines.com/i/lRHkJfJw)

3. Encourage your friend to sign up via your unique URL (via good ol’ emails, Facebook, and/or Twitter)!

• Suggested blurb: “I want to send you a free bottle of wine from FirstCrush as a gift for subscribing as my friend! You’ll receive a free bottle of wine specifically curated to your personal taste preference (and I will too!) Claim one today at <insert your unique URL>! Through learning your tastes, FirstCrush makes sure you love every bottle, every time. Offer expires on Saturday so ACT NOW!“

4. Share the FirstCrush wine goodness with as many friends as possible – the more you share, the more good wines your friends (and you) can enjoy free of charge!*

Act soon and get your friends some free wines personalized to their tastes from FirstCrush!

*To redeem the free bottle(s), you need to first become a FirstCrush subscriber. The bottles will be added to your next shipment unless otherwise notified. Don’t worry, you can cancel the subscription anytime!

Wine and glass: wine etiquette

Now that you’ve got your glasses (wine and glass part 1) and your bottle (wine and glass part 2), let’s pop some corks!  Since you already have the perfect setup from which to enjoy your wine, here are some basic etiquette points of tasting in polite company.  Salud!

Do

Share your opinion, and learn from those of others.  This is a beverage, there are really no absolutes, rights, or wrongs.  There is something you can learn from everyone.

Be generous, and humble.  Bring or order something you think is delicious, and hope others will think so also.  If the conversation drifts towards the wine, entertain it, if not, enjoy that too.

Have fun!  Once again, just fermented grape juice.  Don’t take it too seriously.

Don’t

Wear scents, smoke, or show up with pungent substances.. If you can smell it in the air, others will smell it in the wine.  Respect the tasting airspace.

Brush your teeth first.. Or really eat anything super strong and lingering.  You won’t be able to taste anything, and it just won’t be as enjoyable for you.

Show off.  Loud slurping noises? Gross and unnecessary.  You can list all 9 Beaujolais crus?  Spectac, no one cares.

Opening the bottle

It doesn’t really matter what you use to open the bottle, as long as you’re comfortable with your tool of choice.  I like a double hinged “wine key”  If it says “Waiter’s Friend” on the package, it’s not, and you shouldn’t buy it because it will break corks… Just remember to cut the foil below the 2nd lip so it doesn’t pick up aluminum residue as it pours, and try not to make a mess of it.  If you accidentally break the cork, don’t sweat it, just go back in and give it another shot (it’s all in the wrist).  If it goes totally south you can always just filter the wine through a fine mesh strainer or coffee filter.

Seeing, tasting, smelling

I like to tell people that if you are tasting critically you should use all your senses to gather information, starting at the top of your head moving down.  You should skip the ears though, as if the wine is talking to you, you might have bigger problems.

So first the visual, tip the glass and look down through the wine as you hold it over a white surface.  You are looking for things such as color, intensity, rim/core variation (the difference in color and intensity between the center and edges).  These are clues as to how much extraction the grapes received at the winery, how long the wine has aged, and even what type of grape the wine is comprised of.  Are there bubbles?  Sediment?  Haziness?  All good clues as to what you might be about to experience.

So now we’re going to smell.  First sniff it flat, then give it a swirl – just enough to coat the sides of the glass – and sniff again.  Big difference huh?  Both sensory perceptions will tell you something about what’s going on in your glass.  Incidentally, when you swirl it’s nice if you can hold the glass in your hand rather than scraping it along the table.  It takes a bit of practice to do well but it’s another etiquette point.  When you’re sniffing, take note of the intensity and of course what types of aromas you’re sensing.  In general, more stewed or dry fruits are signs of aged wines, and vanilla, dill and baking spices are signs of oak.  If the nose is dominated by earthy smells, chances are it’s from the old world (France, Italy, Spain, Germany, Portugal) while if it’s Fruit dominant it’s probably from the New World (Everywhere else).  If you smell strong Vinegary odors, or those of Moldy Basement, Wet Dog, or Damp Cardboard the wine is probably flawed and you should send it back if you’re in a restaurant or return it to the store from whence you purchased.  If it’s a question though, it’s probably fine… These odors will be strong and dominating and you will know it when you smell it.  Trust your instinct.

Then let’s taste!  Look for sugar, the lingering sensation on the tip of your tongue kind of like if you drank apple juice.  Just don’t confuse such a sensation with the flavor of apple, which your brain might associate with sweetness even if there is none present in the wine itself.  Tannin (Red wine or Rose only) is a sort of a grippy sensation best felt between your tongue and the roof of your mouth.  One person said it was if the wine was turning your mouth skin into grape skin – which is in fact exactly what is happening.  So now when you swallow, feel a little burn as it goes down… or a lot?  That’s your alcohol measure.  The sensation is called chemestheis, and it’s your body’s physiological reaction to alcohol.  It’s the same slight irritation caused by hot peppers.

And then there’s the acid test:  This one is important because it will tell you how food friendly the wine is.  Low acid?  You’re going to want to keep it away from anything rich, fatty, and of course acidic.  The higher the acidity the better it will pair with bigger foods.  Similarly, keep a higher acid wine away from fish, salads, and things that have a lot of subtlety but without a pronounced flavor.  So here’s the test – Take a sip, swish it all around your mouth so your palate is evenly coated, and now swallow.  Wait 5 seconds.  Feel that rush of saliva?  That’s your acid measure   Try and remember it for next time, or even write down your perception, so that you can compare it to the next wine you drink!

So that’s what I’m off to do…  I hope you enjoyed my 3 part introductory glass series.  For next week we’re going to change directions a bit and talk about some actual wine.

Until Then,
Brian Aderer

brian@aderer.com

Loving Glass: Part II, Bottles!

About the bottles

Wine bottles come in many shapes and sizes, what do they all mean? Some of the bottle types have practical reasons behind them, others are trademarks of specific regions, and still others are simply at the whim of the producers In today’s labyrinthine wine market, it can be sometimes difficult to figure out the lineage of the bottle you’re drinking out of, however there area few basic bottle types that can help you figure out what might be inside.

Photo Courtesy of Douglas Green’s Blog, http://www.douglasgreen.wordpress.com

• Bottle A is a Bordeaux bottle, and therefore will contain Bordeaux varietals (Cabarnet, Merlot, Cab Franc) even if the wine doesn’t come from Bordeaux. The high, steep shoulders are supposed to help catch sediment from a well-aged wine.
• B is a Burgundy bottle and therefore will house Pinot Noir or Chardonnay.
• C is for Champagne, or any sparkler really… It is sturdy and has a well formed “punt” (indent in the bottom) to prevent the bottle from exploding under the increased pressure of the sparkling wine.
• D is a flute d’Alsace, or “Hoch” and is the legally mandated shape for any wine produced in Alsace. It is also popular for Gewurtztraminer, Pinot Gris, and Riesling, all hallmark varietals in Alsace. Lastly we have a fortified wine bottle. Variations on this shape are used to house Port, Madeira, and Sherry. The undulating neck and high shoulders are supposed to be a device to catch extra sediment thrown by a bottle of vintage port.

So now you know what’s (likely) in that mystery bottle that’s appeared on your kitchen table! Time to pop the cork, or lack thereof…

About the closure
All of us have been in a restaurant and enjoyed the ritualistic presentation of the bottle, cutting of the foil, and then the few practiced motions with which a waiter opens the bottle, presents a cork, and pours a taste. Modern CW holds that this ritual is the bulk of the allure of having a natural cork closure. So which closure is the best? Well that depends on your purpose.

• For high quality wines meant to age longer than say, 5 years, a natural cork closure is the only way to go.. They still provide the best conditions under which to age wine, however only approximately 1% of bottles produced are intended to age this long. Vinophiles theorize that there is actually a micro-exchange of oxygen that takes place between the pores of the cork and the walls of the bottle and that this oxygen transfer allows the wine to age slowly and gracefully. There is no question that there is something about a natural cork that permits for better aging conditions, and that this justifies the higher cost, use of a finite natural resource, and chance of cork failure or taint for the few bottles that will improve with such treatment.
• However, as much as 90% of all wine produced worldwide is consumed before its first birthday. For these bottles, it is more than fine to have an artificial closure, such as a screw top. Screw tops work great for keeping young, fruity wine fresh and ready for early drinking. They are in fact the only bottle closure type permitted for New Zealand wines.
• Other corks types such as plastic or composite corks (look like particle board) are less advantageous. They aren’t as effective as screw tops and risk putting the wine in contact with plastic and glue compounds. Their main advantage is that you still get the panache of the bottle opening ceremony!

Incidentally, you may have seen wine in a box, bag, or even a keg. These are all viable solutions and none is inherently better than another. If a wine is intended for aging, then a glass bottle will be important to keep it stable over years or even decades. Otherwise a box with a food safe neutral lining should do just fine. It’s also way better for the environment, cheaper to make and transport (much lighter) and less prone to breakage. Unfortunately, parts of the the market is simply not ready to drink their $20 wines out of big kid juice boxes…
There has also been a movement to put wines in kegs, which are really catching on in some restaurants in major cities. It’s a great way to cut down on transport and bottling costs and save the environment as most keg systems are reusable and/or recyclable. It also makes the wine readily available for mass consumption. Initial pricing models have the wine coming in at the cost to a restaurant as low as $1 per glass… savings which they will hopefully pass along to consumers. Another potential advantage is that the keg can be fed with pressurized argon or nitrogen, both of which are neutral gasses. This prevents the wine from coming into contact with harmful oxygen which is why you can’t keep a bottle open on your counter for longer than a few days. My nitrogen gas replacement system at home ( http://www.winekeeper.com ) has kept bottles fresh for over a week… that is, if I didn’t finish the bottle before then… !

Until Next Week…
Brian Aderer
brian@aderer.com

Beta site live!

It’s been another busy week here at FirstCrush. Most of the time and effort of the team has been spent on getting our beta site up and running. Many many thanks to our development team for working with us through the night to fix bugs! Check it out (and sign up) at http://www.firstcrushwines.com

Meanwhile, we’ve also been working hard to put together our exclusive beta launch party that will be held at New York Vintners on Friday June 29th. We will be pouring a series of amazing wines that our curators have loved and raffling off a magnum bottle of 2005 Haut-Bailly Pessac-Leognan ($200 value)! We have a limited number of spots so if you’re in town, get your tickets today!

Finally, Mike has been working hard to put together our packaging for the first shipment! It’s a fun week filled with stamps, stickers, tissue paper, boxes, and more. It promises to be a beautiful package!

Loving Glass Part I: wine glasses

            This week we’re going to be talking about the intimate relationship between wine and glass.  Seems trivial, no?  Wine and glass are as close a marriage as wine and food.  Wine is stored and transported in glass bottles, served in glass vessels, and sometimes even vinified (made into wine) in glass lined tanks.  Hence, any given wine will have more contact with glass than any other material in its entire life. 

Do wine glasses matter?

            Firstly, let’s focus on what you, as a FirstCrush wine drinker, encounter most: wine glasses!  Wine glasses, of course, come in all shapes and sizes… and that’s where it gets interesting.  So first you’re going to ask, does the glass really make a difference?  Absolutely!  If a wine were poured into two distinctly different glasses and blind tasted side by side, the average person would be unlikely to identify both glasses as containing the same wine.  This phenomenon is borne out time and time again at professional tastings, and has to do with the physics of how the wine reacts to the air and then interacts with your olfactory and gustatory organs… If you doubt me, try it out! 

What sorts of glasses do you need?

            In any wine glass, you should look for an oval shaped bowl with a noticeably tapered rim to catch the escaping aromatics and focus them to your nose.  I would typically avoid stemless glasses for whites as your hand will warm the wine as you drink, and I also like to store my glasses hanging upside down by the base to avoid trapping stale air or collecting dust. A “coppa di vino” is another type of wine glass that has an almost triangular shape to the bowl and little or no taper to the rim.  Very interesting look but because of this bowl shape, too much of the vaporized aromas escape and you tend to lose a substantial amount of the wine’s overall sensation.  Remember, most of the specific flavors are actually perceived by your nose, not your mouth.  Also, if you’re serious about tasting wine don’t buy colored or even textured glasses… They only prevent you from seeing what’s going on inside the glass, which can be really fascinating!

            For most people, it is suitable to have a set of whites, a set of reds, and set of champagne flutes.  White glasses are smaller in order to keep the wine cooler and focus the limited aromatics from a cold glass all towards your nose.  For a red you’re looking for a larger bowl to allow the complex aromatics to waft up, and also to help aerate the wine as you drink.  Champagne flutes are important to focus the trajectory of the bubbles (and also to look tres elegant!). But of course there are so many types of there!

(courtesy of Riedel, check out their cool wine glass chooser at http://www.wineglassguide.com/)

            The next step after this would be to expand to two types of red glasses, a Cabernet/Syrah stem and a Burgundy bulb.  Cabernet/Syrah glasses look like a large, upright white wine glass, they have an oval shaped bowl and a gentle taper.  They direct the wine towards the back of your palate where you can appreciate the fullness of the flavor and tannin.  They are suitable for all full bodied reds, and should be your red wine glass of choice if you only buy one type.  The Burgundy bulb will have a wide, flat bowl with a lightly tapered opening in order to appreciate more delicate, complex flavors and aromatics of lighter reds such as Pinot noir or Gamay, and even a nice rich Chardonnay or White Burgundy! 

Beyond the normal

            It’s also possible to explore a bit: I prefer my Chardonnays served in Burgundy glasses as I find I get a lot more of the floral expression this way, and also they warm the wine a bit which I find quite appealing, especially if the Chardonnay is of some quality.  You should experiment to see which wines you prefer in which glasses.  Other wines you might try in a “Burg” (as it’s often called for short) are Nebbiolo (Barolo, Barbaresco), Lighter Southern Rhone Blends and Italian Dolcetto d’Alba.  Conversely, some American Pinot Noirs are so stout that I might upgrade them to a Cabernet glass, and a crisp, unoaked Chardonnay such as Kim Crawford from New Zealand might be better served in a small white wine glass.  The question is one of preference.

What kind of material?

            When you buy your wine glasses you will be faced with a daunting array of prices.  I personally keep a set of Riedel Crystal (White, Burgundy, Cabernet, Champagne) and then a few basic all-purpose glasses (not too big, not too small, but don’t forget the tapered rim!) for everyday use.  So why spend the extra money on some good crystal?  Well, it’s just a treat to drink out of.  You can feel its delicacy and thinness and I find that just the sensation of the crystal really enhances the occasion of a special bottle of wine.  Also, wine experts swear that crystal has a micro texture that actually provides more surface from which the wine can vaporize, and therefore enhances the aromatics.   You be the judge.  My Riedel Wine Series glasses are a basic high quality, machine blown crystal and run around $30 for a two glass set on Amazon.  Other lines and manufacturers can vary slightly lower and far higher in price.

            If you do spring for crystal however, be advised that the thinness makes them VERY delicate, so for most homes they are unsuitable as the only glass type…  You will find it financially advantageous to keep a basic set of plain glass around for not-so-special bottles.  You also need to wash them carefully to avoid breaking them: the dishwasher is a no-no, hot water and a little soap is your best bet.  You will do well also to buy a microfiber polishing cloth (approx. $10) to keep them pristine.  To polish, push one side of the cloth into the bowl and wrap the other around the outside, and then support the glass from both sides with both your hands as you gently work the cloth around the glass.  Even too much friction can break the delicate crystal.  Try to avoid the temptation to hold the glass by the base and turn it, this can lead to a snapped stem.  With practice, you will be able to do this efficiently and without breaking anything, but at first be very gentle and go slowly.  The right cloth will help a lot too, Riedel makes one that is excellent. 

            Now that you have purchased the perfect glasses, let us tell you why your wine comes in specific bottles in our next installment: stay tuned!

Cheers!

Brian Aderer (brian@aderer.com)

FirstCrush at DreamIt

It’s week 2 at DreamIt for FirstCrush, and we’re settling in quite nicely! With 15 startups in the same room, it’s always buzzing with activity and the wireless is (barely) holding it together. We’ve had a productive two weeks, from finishing up our website to launching media promotions to signing up advisors to tasting wines to designing our packaging. We’re working hard towards our first shipment!

Here’s us @ our table!

From left to right: Yue (co-founder), Melody (co-founder), and Mike (our awesome intern!)

The Rise of Independence in Wine Selection

Guest post by Dano Qualls of WineRising.com 

When your friends came over for dinner and a movie Friday night, did you rate the meal on a 100-point scale? Was the movie a 98 or an 82? How about the company—did they earn a quality score? We don’t rate any part of our lives like this, so why do Americans give so much weight to the scores of wine critics? Fortunately for all of us, the power of wine critics is on the decline.

The famous wine critic Robert Parker has changed the way the world makes and buys wine for the last 30 years. If a wine is big, jammy, and intense, it will receive a higher score and can charge a higher price. If a wine is creative or stays true to the local tradition, it risks being unsellable. Many wineries and wine shops revolve around the scores of critics like Robert Parker, and push customers to do the same.

The times, however, they are a-changing. Small, knowledgeable, passionate bottle shops around the country are ridding themselves of pre-made tasting notes, mass-market display material, and the homogenous wines they come with. Wine shops are hand-writing notes written by the staff, arranging the wines by weight rather than by region, and removing any references to critics’ scores.

One factor that allows these shops to shed the shackles mass-opinion wine is the rise in education among wine consumers. People are trading in their Chardonnay for Albariño and Gewürztraminer, their Cabernet for Petite Sirah and Mourvèdre. We are embracing what wine is all about—good times, new experiences, and personal favorites.

FirstCrush is here to help adventurous wine drinkers learn more about why you like the wines that YOU like, and ship them directly to you each month. At FirstCrush, our goal is to simplify the world of wine for you, show you wines you’ll love, and help you confidently articulate you own wine preferences over time. Sign up at FirstCrush today to start getting wines selected just FOR YOU!