WINES- FAQs

What is Champaign and what is sparkling wine?
Champagne is a region of France, and only wines which come from this region can properly be called "Champagne". Similar drinks from rest of the world should be called "sparkling wines". Sparkling wine as well as Champaign has high content of carbon dioxide in it. This is the reason why it has bubbles.

What are the wines that go well with ethnic food such as Mexican, Chinese or Indian food?
White Merlot goes quite well with spicy food such as Indian or Chinese. Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon are good match for other ethnic foods as well.

Can you serve Red and white wines during same meal?
Yes. But remember to serve dry wines before sweet wines and White wines before Red wines.

Why is wine fermented in oak barrels?
Oak imparts flavor and tannins to wine and support chemical reaction in a developing wine. Oak is also porous and it lets water and alcohol out and oxygen in.

What are Tannins and why are they important to a wine?
Tannins are a class of chemical compounds found in a number of plants, including tree bark, coffee, tea and grapes. In grapes, the tannins are found in the skins, the seeds and the stems. Wine aged in oak barrels also picks up tannins from the wood.
Tannins are important to wine because they react fairly readily with oxygen and hence they protect the wine against premature oxidation, one of the main sources of wine spoilage. Put another way, tannins are a natural preservative. Because red wines are fermented with the skins and seeds (and, sometimes, with the stems) they are far higher in tannin than white wines. As a direct result, they are capable of surviving longer without deterioration than white wines. In fact, many red wines have such high levels of tannin that they must be aged in order for the tannin levels to moderate.

Is wine good for health?
Consumption of alcohol in moderation is associated with improved life expectancy. In general, moderate drinking has shown to have lower the chances of certain type of cancers and heart disease. In 1992 Harvard researchers included moderate alcohol consumption as one of the "eight proven ways to reduce coronary heart disease risk". However, research has suggested that specifically red wine is the most beneficial to your heart health. The cardio protective effect has been attributed to antioxidants present in the skin and seeds of red grapes. Scientists believe the antioxidants, called flavonoids, reduce the risk of coronary heart disease in three ways:1. By reducing production of low-density lipoprotein
(LDL) cholesterol (also know as the "bad"
cholesterol)
2. By boosting high density lipoprotein (HDL)
cholesterol (the good cholesterol)
3. By reducing blood clotting. Furthermore,
consuming a glass of wine along with a meal may
favorably influence your lipid profiles following
that meal