Quiz - How Well Do You Know Your White Wine?

Selector recently had the pleasure of catching up with Sebastian Crowther, Master Sommelier with Sydney’s Rockpool group. Sebastian’s love of wine grew from a realisation that it was a topic that offers so much to explore. As he explains,  " I was just so oblivious to how big and how interesting the world of wine was and I think it was that moment of realisation that wow, there’s so much more to this than what I actually know.” Today, having attained the title of Master Sommelier, his love of wine extends to the origins, people, stories and passion that are poured into every bottle and he loves communicating that message to his restaurant guests and presenting them with beautifully complementary food and wine matches. “Food and wine matching is something that we have a focus on,” he says, “We look at the protein, we also look at the sauces that are accompanying it, whether they’re salty, sweet or have heavy umami characteristics, we try to find wines that complement these and really integrate into the flavours that the dishes have.” Of course, a wine is only as good as the glass that it’s served in and Sebastian believes he’s discovered the best. “I must admit, I’m a self-confessed Riedel glassware freak, not only in the way they enhance the aroma and flavours of the wine, but also this beautiful tactile feel that they give.” About Riedel For 250 years, the Riedel name has stood for the high art of glassmaking.  However it was Claus Riedel’s 1950s discovery that the shape of your glass impacts the aroma, flavour, and overall profile of wine, which revolutionized the industry.  His masterpiece series “Sommeliers was the first ever stemware line to provide wine drinkers with an instrument designed to enhance the enjoyment of wine.  His creation of ‘wine friendly’ stemware led to the production of varietal-specific glassware by his son Georg, 10th generation.  Working with experienced tasters and winemakers, he designed his ground-break Vinum series through sensory workshops, whereby the glass’ bowl shape is determined only by sensory perception, rather than on a drawing board. Maximilian Riedel, 11th generation, now sits at the helm of the company after taking over from his father in 2014.  His introduction of the O Series, varietal-specific wine tumblers, as well as his imaginative series of snake decanters, continue to drive the company forward.  Maximilian further strengthened Riedel’s commitment to the hospitality industry with the introduction of the Riedel Restaurant lines.  The Restaurant series allows on-premise access to the Riedel portfolio and “Grape Varietal Specific” philosophy, at a lower cost and with greater durability. Visit Riedel for more details. Brought to you by

Wine well stored is wine well enjoyed. Here’s a look at the good, the bad and the ugly of wine storage thanks to our friends at Vintec . Did you know the wrong storage environment can negatively affect your wine after only a few weeks? Check out this list of all the places you might store your wine at home, and which ones you should absolutely avoid. The Ugly Surprisingly, some of the worst places that you can store your wine are in your kitchen. This includes near your oven, or next to your fridge – which dispels a considerable amount of heat during its compressor cycles. Any wine professional will tell you that fluctuating temperature is the worst for your wine. Similarly, storing wine in a consistently hot environment, will literally cook your wine, resulting in ‘spoiled fruit’ flavours. The Bad Unfortunately this category covers a lot of the places we often think are okay for wine storage, such as under the staircase, in a basement, or in Styrofoam boxes. Wine’s ideal cellaring temperature is between 12ºC and 14ºC. Storing wine under 10° will stunt maturation, while above 16° will prematurely age the wine. On top of this, low humidity environments dry out corks, which allows air into the bottle – this is really bad. The Good So, where should you store your wine?  The best place is somewhere that has been specifically designed to accommodate the needs of your wines, like a cool natural underground cellar or a climate-controlled wine cabinet. A well-made wine cabinet replicates the conditions found in the best natural underground wine cellars by controlling humidity, temperature and UV light. While you may assume a wine cooler is a good alternative, unfortunately these generate intense blasts of cold air, creating large temperature fluctuations, and they remove ambient humidity, causing your corks to dry out. The most convenient option for wine lovers is a product specifically designed for your wines. Wine storage experts Vintec have developed a comprehensive range to suit all needs and requirements, offering wine cabinets with 20-bottle capacities right up to walk-in cellars for over 4000 bottles.  Their range includes something for all budgets and spaces, and is well worth the investment to protect your favourite drops. For more details on Vintec’s extensive wine storage range visit vintec.com.au