{"id":14284,"date":"2022-04-14T16:18:19","date_gmt":"2022-04-14T14:18:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vinhood.com\/uncategorized\/le-caratteristiche-del-vino\/"},"modified":"2023-04-26T17:43:45","modified_gmt":"2023-04-26T15:43:45","slug":"le-caratteristiche-del-vino","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vinhood.com\/en\/magazine-en\/le-caratteristiche-del-vino\/","title":{"rendered":"Getting to know wine through our characters"},"content":{"rendered":"

GETTING TO KNOW WINE<\/strong><\/h2>\n

There are many characteristics that define a wine, parameters that allow us to assess its peculiarities and similarities with other products. These features help to match a wine to a dish in the best possible way.\u00a0<\/span>Wines are historically categorised according to different criteria: from the method of vinification to the organoleptic properties: colour, perfume and aroma; other parameters contribute to defining the <\/span>characteristics of a wine: acidity, sweetness, alcohol content, astringency <\/b>and<\/span> body<\/b>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Our friends at Vinhood have chosen to focus their research on wines (and more!) on some of these characteristics, to help you find your way around the immense variety of products that exist. With our #Characters<\/a> we try to advise you on the most suitable wine, starting with your own tastes.<\/span><\/p>\n

Once we have bought a wine or when we find ourselves drinking a glass of a label you are not familiar with, how is it possible to analyse it? Simplifying is always the best solution; we <\/span>base our judgement on what we perceive through our senses<\/b>: touch, taste, smell, sight and hearing. All five, you say? Yes, that’s right: senses that synergistically help us to evaluate and appreciate what we are tasting.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And as with all great passions, training is the key: the more wines you taste, the more notes you take, the more you refine your tasting skills, the better you will be able to compare different bottles, to assess their complexity and the wealth of nuances that each possesses.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"drink\"<\/p>\n

IT TAKES A BEASTLY PHYSIQUE<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Yes, let’s talk about the body…the <\/span>structure<\/b> of a wine. Let’s start with a parameter that is not defined by a scientific and measurable scale, but it is a criterion that allows us to explain the intensity of the tactile perception in the mouth of a wine.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The <\/span>body<\/b> is easily identified by the receptors in our mouths which are able to define the sensations provided by <\/span>all the non-volatile substances dissolved in the wine<\/b> (volatile substances are mainly water and ethanol).<\/span><\/p>\n

One parameter that may help you define the structure of a wine is <\/span>the fixed residue (g\/l)<\/b>, a value that is often stipulated in the specifications for different types of wine. But what is it? It is the mass of all the substances that remain after alcohol, water and other volatile substances have evaporated.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, it is difficult to understand from this figure what we are talking about: to simplify, think of the difference you feel when you sip a tea, which is light and almost insubstantial, or a pear juice, which is dense and full-bodied. The <\/span>difference in fullness in the mouth<\/b> that you feel is the body.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When you sip a <\/span>#Creative<\/b> wine, for example, you will perceive it as very enveloping on the palate: the freshness of a white wine manages to coexist with the structure reminiscent of a red. A bit like a perfect English tea, drunk with whole milk and lots of sugar: a perfect balance of lightness and fullness.<\/span><\/p>\n

Many parameters make a wine more or less full-bodied, including <\/span>tannins<\/b>, which <\/span>increase the structure <\/b>of a wine. This is why we understand why an <\/span>#Sensual<\/b> red wine will seem particularly velvety to you.<\/span><\/p>\n

In addition, <\/span>sugars<\/b> are the cause of a wine’s <\/span>great density<\/b>: think of how soft and syrupy sweet straw wines seem, almost as if you were tasting a glass of full-bodied honey. The feeling of fullness is also helped by the presence of small doses of polyols, such as glycerine. If sweet wine is too much for you, you will certainly be among those who appreciate a complex and intriguing drink, savouring an <\/span>#Profound<\/b>, dry and structured white wine.<\/span><\/p>\n

The passage in <\/span>wood<\/b> is also the best stratagem that a skilled winemaker can favour if he wants to increase the <\/span>feeling of roundness<\/b> in his wine: to understand better, taste a wine <\/span>#Sage<\/b>, structured, dense and astringent.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, not everything favours the body and, on the other hand, not all our recipes require a wine that overpowers the tactile sensations in our mouths: acidity and carbonation lower the structure of a body. For the days when you need to “clean” your mouth and not weigh it down.<\/span><\/p>\n

A SPOONFUL OF SUGAR HELPS THE MEDICINE GO DOWN<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The sweetness of a wine derives from the <\/span>residual sugar (RD)<\/b>, which corresponds to the quantity of sugars (mainly glucose and fructose) that have not undergone alcoholic fermentation. A <\/span>#Lively<\/b> wine, made from aromatic grapes, i.e. those naturally endowed with a higher content of aromas than normal grapes, is very fragrant but above all very sweet.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sweetness is a measurable parameter according to a precise scale: this makes the choice much easier, because the real perception of sweetness is not so easy to distinguish. The sugar content of a wine is strongly influenced by its acidity, the presence or absence of tannins and also by the serving temperature. In fact, the temperature at which the wine is served must be adapted to the type of wine: <\/span>an excessive perception of sweetness makes the wine cloying<\/b>. The best choice, therefore, for tasting dessert wines, ice wines or fortified wines, such as those with an <\/span>#Affectionate<\/b> character, is to serve them chilled or cold.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"passito\"<\/p>\n

Given the great difference between still and sparkling wines, we can easily imagine that the evaluation of sweetness in these wines is different. For <\/span>still wines<\/b>, in fact, this terminology is used:<\/span><\/p>\n