Wine Keys and Openers

Pull Corkscrew

This is the oldest style of wine bottle opener around. The style of it makes it look like it was some type of woodworking equipment. In short, you press the point in, screw the handle until it is deep enough. Grip the handle firmly and yank the cork out. The original design is of course very risky to use as it requires a very firm grip on the neck and shoulder of the bottle to be able to physically yank the cork out. These are the kind of screw you find Many times when an amateur tries to use this type of corkscrew they will drop the bottle and make all kinds of mess, especially if it's a bottle of white wine that's been chilled and has condensation on it. Some modifications were made over the years. Springs and levers and more form-fitting grips have helped, but they still tended to rely on physical strength to yank the cork out

Waiter's Wine Key

Give me a lever and a fulcrum and I can move the earth. Just about anyone who has worked in the service industry has used one of these at some point. They start as a sort of swiss army knife of handy bits. There's a blade for removing the foil around the cork. There is, of course, the metal helix on a hinge that screws in. What gives this little tool the nickname Waiter's Friend is not just the portability of the tool, it's that little extra piece of hinged metal which just makes the job so much easier. Once the metal helix is screwed in, you tilt the handle and bend down that metal plate so it presses against the top of the rim of the bottle. Carefully holding all parts in place, raise the open side of the handle levering out the cork. It takes so little effort compared to trying to pull it straight out.  It does take a little getting used to. You need to figure out just how deep to screw it in so that when you pull, the entire cork comes out. Some newer keys have a two-tiered metal plate. This allows the key to pull the cork part way out, and then finish the job with the whole length of the plate. 

Butterfly / Wing Corkscrew

These are the most common wine openers I find in your average home. This is a very novel modification to the standard cork pull. they simply took the standard corkscrew that had a brace on it and added some levers attached to gears so that it pries itself out rather than having to be yanked out. It maximizes efficiency and cuts the amount of force needed in half. simply position the screw at the top of the cork and twist the knob. If you have a firm grip on the base of the corkscrew and the bottle then it should screw in with very little resistance. As you screw the winged levers will raise. When you reach a sufficient depth firmly grasp the levers and press down. the cork will be forced out without much strain. Often times the twisting knob serves a second function of a beer bottle opener.

Rabbit Opener
This is a sexy piece of bar equipment. The advantage of this model is that it twists itself into the cork as you raise the handle. So all you have to do is grip the two ears, lift the lever up, and then pull it back down. When this works, they seem like the smoothest bottle opener I've ever worked with. But these are far more form over function I find. They are sexy and can impress your house guests, but sometimes they just don't work. The worm will slide in but then slide ride out without pulling the cork with it. I find the expense and bulk of this item to be impractical for a bartender though they do look pretty at home

Electric Wine Bottle Opener
I'm seeing more and more of these on the market today. Yet I don't see enough of them used in bars or even households. I think there's always been a certain charm to seeing a bottle opened by hand. While as an employee I like expediency in my work, as a guest I like the little ritual. They operate very much on the same system of the rabbit opener but use a battery to spin and pull the worm helix. Oddly enough, these tend to be cheaper than the rabbit openers. Yet, there's no lifting, twisting or squeezing necessary. I find these work very well for home use. The average battery would not be sustainable for a busy wine bar environment, only being able to open five bottles a day. I like these though, most brands work well and look very sexy sitting on the counter with the other appliances.

Coravin Wine System

These are a fairly new addition to the wine game. They use a small needle inserted through the cork of the wine bottle and a CO2 cartridge or draft pressure system to pressurize the wine bottle and force the wine through the needle. This is great for restaurants that don't want to open a bottle of wine which might not sell and could potentially spoil within days. It's also great for liquor reps. You draw out your glass or sample, remove the needle and the bottle remains sealed and preserved. For a regular consumer who doesn't need to worry about having an open bottle of wine sitting around the house for too long, this is not a necessity. 

"Wine is bottled poetry."
- Robert Louis Stevenson

Photo Credit: Pixabay, wikimedia

Brandy 201: The different styles of Grape Brandy

Brandies come in all shapes and styles. There are all flavors of brandy out there, but the tradition has always been grape brandy. Wine is weak, it goes bad. A true spirit gets rid of the extra water and burns a bit on the way down. I get confused when people say that they don't like brown spirits, but like wine. Brandy is just a more pure wine with a bit less sugar that is usually aged for a bit.

Brandy

Brandy is a very broad term, just like whiskey. Brandy essentially just means any spirit made from distilled fruits, fruit juices, or bits of fruit. Some brandies are simply distilled grape wine. Pomace brandy takes the leftover grape pulp after they make wine, and ferment and distill that. Others will utilize fruits and berries, or a blend thereof. Most brandy you see will be aged distilled grape wine brandy. Not all brandy is graded, but many grape brandies will choose to advertise their age in the form of a grade, such as VS, VSOP, or XO.

Cognac & Armagnac

Cognac and Armagnac are simply varieties of grape brandy from a certain region. Cognac is fairly regulated in that it has to use certain breeds of grapes grown in certain regions of western France. It is twice distilled and aged a minimum of two years in French oak barrels, again with wood only from certain regions. Otherwise, it's not cognac. Cognac is seen by many to be the most premium form of brandy. It does certainly seem to cost the most. If you're a fan of hip-hop music you've probably heard of the four big cognac making families: Courvoisier, Hennessy, Martell, and Remy Martin. These four brands run over 90% of the cognac market. Armagnac is made in southwest France. It tends to use a slightly different blend of grapes and uses column stills rather than the pot stills used in cognac. Armagnac is not dominated by big brands like cognac, but that does mean that most small producers don't have much distribution into other countries.

Pisco 

Pisco is a spirit typically made in parts of Peru and Chile. It is a pomace brandy which means it is made with the recycled pulp of wine grapes. After the majority of the juice is extracted the pulp still has enough sugar to extract and ferment. Pisco is typically clear in color but can occasionally take on a slight gold or amber color. It was developed by the settlers from Spain as a slightly more premium alternative to Orujo, a pomace brandy they would import from the homeland. It bears a flavor and aroma very akin to fresh wine grapes. It's typically completely unaged so it doesn't change do much from the original product. It is, of course, quite a bit stronger, and when you find a smooth one you ought to be careful.

Grappa

Grappa is an Italian style of pomace brandy. After wine production, they take the skins, pulp, seeds, and even stems of the grapes and distill them. Grappa is a protected term similar to cognac. Grappa must be made in Italy, from pomace, and no additional water can be added during fermentation and distillation. This makes for an interesting method of steam distillation to avoid burning the pomace. As with most brandies, it's traditionally served as a digestif, after dinner, sometimes with coffee. It too bears a strong wine aroma and some grappa will even advertize the variety of wine grape they use, such as Grappa Alexander Cabernet.

Special mention to Aguardiente

"Call things by their right names - Glass of brandy and water! That is the current, but not the appropriate name; ask for a glass of liquid fire and distilled damnation."
- Robert Hall

Photo Credit: wikimedia

Brandy 101: What is it?

The word brandy is derived from the Dutch word brandewijn, meaning burnt wine. The vast majority of brandy is made by distilling some form of wine. Through distillation, the water in wine is separated from the alcohol. This creates a much stronger drink than regular wine. Most brandy is aged in wood casks, typically oak, for several years. This turns the clear distillate into a fine brown amber color, just like whiskey.

It's worth mentioning that not all brandy is made solely from grapes. There are plum brandies, pear and apple brandies, peach brandy, prune brandy, and even brandy made from other fruits like the juniper berry. You may have seen things like blackberry or ginger-flavored brandy as well. Typically these are not actually distilled from blackberry or ginger. They take a fairly standard brandy and infuse it with blackberries or just blend it with a liqueur. They are still fine products but often have a great deal more sugar than standard brandies.

Pomace brandy is an interesting regional trend. With pomace brandy it is not just the wine that is used to make the brandy, it is the whole grape. A great deal of pomace brandy actually uses substantially less grape juice. Many cultures will juice the grapes to make wine and then take the residual grape pulp and use that to make their brandy. The pulp still contains enough sugar to yield some alcohol. The brandy that comes from the pulp might not yield the same flavors as the wine but different doesn't mean worse. The skin of the grape does bare flavor just as the juice does. Italian grappa is quite flavorful. It is unaged and it carries a great dry wine aroma without feeling burnt. 

Certain regions have opted to call their style of brandy by a different name. Grape brandy from the Cognac region of France is designated as cognac provided it complies with the regulations of the region. The same is true for Armagnac. There is an Appellation d' Origine contrôlée, which legally declares that nothing can be sold as cognac unless it complies with the standards of the land. It acts almost like a patent or copyright protecting the name of the spirit.

If you've ever bought brandy you probably notice that brands often offer a line of products or various grades. The letters, VS, VSOP, and XO are very common in brandy, cognac, Armagnac, and even some rum and other liquors. VS stands for Very Special. VSOP stands for Very Superior Old and Pale, and XO stands for Extra Old. In order, they reflect how long the brandy is aged, from 2 years to 4 years, to 6 years. As something is aged it takes on more flavors and complexities from the wood. Some Brandies have been aged upwards of 50 years. It does take work to age liquor and prices do go up the higher the grade of brandy. Try it all. Find your sweet spot. 

"An American monkey, after getting drunk on brandy, would never touch it again, and thus is much wiser than most men."
- Charles Darwin

Photo Credit: Needpix, wikimedia

Sparkling wine cocktails

Sparkling wine has been used in cocktails for well over 150 years. The first reference I know of comes from 1862 in the Bon Vivant's Companion. Though sparkling wines are nearly 500 years old, possibly older if you account for the Chinese, they weren't really mixed. Bubbles were and are a sign of freshness and quality. They still are in many countries, especially in Europe. Flat water really doesn't exist for consumption. Everything is bubbly, even the apple juice. Bubbles mean it's clean and healthy. Healthy doesn't mean it's no fun though.

Champagne Cocktail
Sugar cube, bitters, champagne

Place a sugar cube on a cocktail napkin. Soak the cube in bitters until it is fully colored and is spilling over onto the napkin. Place the soaked cube in a champagne flute and fill with Champagne. Garnish with a lemon twist

The champagne cocktail is, of course, following in the tradition of what a cocktail originally was. The original whiskey cocktail was just whiskey, sugar, and bitters. It has since been dubbed the Old Fashioned. But there were a number of cocktails: the brandy cocktail, gin cocktail, and our Champagne cocktail. Fortunately, this cocktail has held the test of time. This cocktail can be made with simple syrup and a few dashes of bitters, but it's not that elegant a presentation. With a nice course cube sitting at the bottom of a cocktail you get the bubbles flowing forth from every bump. The original is also said to include 1/3 oz. of brandy.

French 75
1oz Gin, 1/2oz Simple Syrup, 1/2oz Lemon, 3oz Champagne

Add the first three ingredients to a shaker with ice. Shake until well chilled and strain into a champagne glass. Fill with the remaining champagne. Garnish with a lemon twist.

This drink is named after the famous artillery piece. The cannon was called by some the first piece of modern artillery. It was invented at the end of the 19th century and could fire 15 rounds a minute up to five miles away. The drink was created in 1915 in Paris by the great Harry MacElhone. The drink was said to have such a kick it felt like you'd been hit by a shell from the cannon. Some people equate this to a scaled Tom Collins with the soda substituted for sparkling wine, typically champagne. I find that is a pretty apt description though these days many people use smaller proportions for the first three ingredients allowing the wine to shine through a bit more rather than the lemon and sugar. 

Mimosa
2 1/2 Orange Juice, 2 1/2 Sparkling Wine

Both ingredients should be kept chilled during storage. Simply mix equal parts orange juice and sparkling wine into a champagne flute and serve. Garnish with an optional quarter slice of orange or a strawberry. 

This has become the quintessential brunch drink. Sparkling wine and citrus play very nicely together. orange juice has simply been jazzed up a bit. do be sure not to use a very pulpy orange juice as that can create a very off texture for your guests. This drink is naturally not too strong; it's effectively a half glass of wine. Some people stiffen it up a bit by adding a half show of Cointreau which doesn't dramatically change the flavor but certainly adds a bit more kick. A more common variation is known as the Grand Mimosa. This is a mimosa with a half ounce of Grand Marnier floated on top. The orange flavors go well together, and the french made cognac in the Grand Marnier pairs with a french made sparkling wine, namely Champagne. 

Aperol  Spritz
3 oz. Prosecco, 1 oz. Soda, 1 oz. Aperol

Fill a white wine glass about 3/4 full with ice. Add the ingredients and throw in a slice or two of orange for good measure. 

This is a fun little number and an amazing summertime drink. It's similar to a sparkling sangria with a light bitter note. This is actually one of the only standard recipes I know that uses ice in a wine glass or with wine at all for that matter. This drink can be made with many other liqueurs in place of Aperol, such as St Germain, Hum, Midori, or even an amaretto. I find that Aperol has a light enough flavor to not dominate the drink and let the wine shine just enough. It also has a beautiful color and the orange note just makes it so much more summer.

Special mention to: Kir Royale, Bellini, Death in the Afternoon

Photo Credit: Pikrepo, Wikimedia, pixabay

Glassware: Wine Glasses

This is my first installment in a series I'll be doing on different glassware and their functionality. Not only do different glasses naturally have their unique visual appeal but it's important that people know why these glasses have their shape so when people start creating their own drinks and cocktails they know the best vessel to keep the integrity of the drink intact or at least can understand how the drink might change due to the nature of the glass. 

White wine glasses are the staple that you will find in most restaurants and homes. These are the icons. They are the most common, arguably the most versatile, and best known. These glasses have a slight bowl shape but are generally more straight than a red wine glass. White wine glasses are generally more about the visual appeal of the wine rather than, say, aroma. The slightly straighter walls also seem to help with the wine's "legs" or "tears". When a wine is swirled around a glass some of it clings to the walls of the glass even after the majority of the liquid has settled. The liquid bunches up like beads of sweat and drips down. With practice, by observing these lines you can get an impression of the alcohol and sugar content of the wine before it even touches your lips. 

A red wine glass has a wider body more for the way that it is exposed to the air. The large bowl shape resembles that of a brandy snifter. This allows the wine to breathe or oxidize. You've probably seen wine decanters with an incredibly wide base. The air actually changes the flavor of the wine. If you've ever done a wine tasting or dealt with a wine enthusiast you've probably tasted a glass or wine and then been made to wait a half hour while it breathes and note the differences. Another note about the shape of red wine glasses is the sharp beveling in at the rim of the glass. This is to trap the aroma. an open or flared lip would allow all the aroma to escape out, which can be helpful with stronger alcohols. the inward bowl makes it much easier to smell the wine. White wine being chilled places much less emphasis on aroma.

The champagne coupe has a very long history and these days the style of glass is used for a number of cocktails, often in place of a martini glass. There's a very humorous story of the original shape of the coupe being modeled after Marie Antoinette's breast. This was disproved by some researcher with a bit too much time who estimated that Marie was a large C cup, and a coupe is not a large C. Some said it was Madame de Pompadour. The glass most likely originated in the mid 17th century a century before these women were born, though they were avid champagne drinkers. Aristocracy and royalty were obsessed with champagne; it's fabulous for parties. The glass is ideal for stacking so one can make a champagne tower. 

The champagne flute is very traditional for when you are sipping champagne. The wider bodied coupe was sort of designed to cause the champagne to go flat. Bubbles form on the bottom of a glass. The wider the glass the more bubbles are released. Champagne in a coupe will go flat faster than it would in a flute. Coupes were partly popular at parties because they reduced the amount of belching from the carbonation. These days flutes have really become the norm due to the most consistent nature of the drink as you drink it and the beautiful visual effect of bubbles rising through the tall glass. 

Stemless wine glasses have been on the rise over the last few years. Stems are ideal for keeping wine at the desired temperature. Aside from most red wines, Wine is served chilled and should stay chilled as long as possible. If you're wrapping your warm, meaty hands around the bowl of the glass it's going to heat up a lot more than if you hold it by the stem. It really is a fashion choice, however. The correct way to drink is in whatever way makes you happiest.

"Whenever I get a bottle of wine, I open it up and let it breathe. If it's not breathing I give it mouth to mouth."

Photo Credit: Pxfuel