Allen's Retail Liquor Store

Basic guide to blush wines

2011-11-29T12:17:00.000-08:00

To help you pick a wine you'll enjoy, we came up with a basic guide to wine types. This time, let's look at the blush or pink wines, plus a few lighter reds.

We profile each type of wine we carry, and we help you make sense of what it will taste like, what it goes well with and whether you might enjoy it. Each wine is described in these ways:

Level of sweetness. From really sweet to very dry.
Amount of body. Wines range from light body that is very easy to drink, through full body with lots of flavor, to very full body with intense flavors that can be a challenge!
Taste. Each variety has a one-word (ok, sometimes a two-word) summary. We chose words like floral, fresh, crisp, rich, luscious, fruity, smooth, and spicy to describe the wide range of flavors in wines. I even found little clip art pictures to help you imagine the flavors before you buy. (Ever try to find a picture that describes a taste? It ain't easy!)

Many blush wines
have a taste of fruit,
but they vary in sweetness.

White Zinfandel:

Blush or pink in color
Semi-sweet or lightly sweet
Light body, easy to drink
Tastes "Fruity" like fresh fruits
Drink with pastas and any light dishes
Serve chilled

Sweet Blushes like Franzia Blush and Pink Niagara

Blush or pink in color
Semi-sweet (a little sweet)
Light body, easy to drink
Tastes "fruity" like fresh fruits
Drink with any light dishes
Serve chilled

Dry Blushes like White Merlot, Eye of Toad dry Pinot Noir blush, and Blushing Bastard

Blush or pink in color
Semi-dry (not sweet)
Light body, easy to drink
Tastes "Fruity, Crisp" like citrus
Drink with any light dishes
Serve chilled

Chillable Red:

Light red or dark blush in color
Semi-sweet (very lightly sweet)
Medium body, flavorful
Tastes "Fruity" like fresh fruit
Drink with pastas, ham, turkey
Serve chilled

Red Rose and Burgundy
feel smooth to taste

Red Rose:

Darker blush, light red in color
Semi-dry (not quite sweet)
Light body, easy to drink
Tastes "Smooth" like it feels soft in your mouth, and has a soft fruit flavor
Drink with chicken, beef, steak, fish
Serve lightly chilled

Burgundy:

Dark blush, nearly red in color
Dry (not sweet)
Medium body, flavorful
Tastes "Smooth" like it feels soft in your mouth
Drink with hearty dishes, beef, steak
Serve room temperature

Chianti has a cooking spice taste
and goes well with spicy foods.

Chianti:

Dark blush, nearly red in color
Dry (not sweet)
Medium body, flavorful
Tastes "Spicy" like cooking spices
Drink with Italian foods and spicy dishes
Serve at room temperature

Sangria:

Dark blush, or Light Red in color
Sweet (really sweet!)
Light body, easy to drink
Tastes "Very Fruity" with fruit flavoring the wine
Drink with Mexican foods, spicy dishes
Serve chilled or over ice. Great with fresh fruit added to it!

Concord wines are almost as sweet
as candies.

Sweet Reds like Concord

Red (but so sweet, we put it in with blushes)
Sweet (really sweet!)
Light body, easy to drink
Tastes "Luscious" like juicy candy
Drink with any light dishes
Serve chilled

How to speak beer

2011-09-24T06:48:00.001-07:00

Here's a great introduction to the world of beer, all in one cute graphic.

Source: Pimsleur Approach

How to spike punch with 190 proof grain alcohol

2011-06-30T11:15:00.000-07:00

Making some trash can punch or cowboy kool aid? Here's how much Everclear or 190 proof alcohol to add to reach your target, or at least get close.

For 1 Gallon of punch:

to get 3%-4%: add one half of a 200ml bottle of Everclear
for 5%-6%: add 200 ml
8%-10%: 375 ml
12%-15%: 750ml

2 Gallons:

for 3%-4%: add 200 ml
5%-6%: 375 ml
8%-10%: 750 ml
12%-15%: 1 liter

3 Gallons:

3%-4%: 375 ml
5%-6%: 750 ml
8%-10%: 1 liter
12%-15%: 1.75 ml

5 Gallons:

3%-4%: 750 ml
5%-6%: 1 liter
8%-10%: 2 liters
12%-15%: 3 liters

10 Gallons:

3%-4%: 1 liter + 375 ml
5%-6%: 2 liters + 375 ml
8%-10%: 5 liters
12%-15%: 6.5 liters

15 Gallons:

3%-4%: 2 liters
5%-6%: 4 liters
8%-10%: 6 liters
12%-15%: 9 liters

20 Gallons:

3%-4%: 3 liters
5%-6%: 5 liters
8%-10%: 9 liters
12%-15%: 13 liters

30 Gallons:

3%-4%: 4 liters
5%-6%: 7 liters + 750 ml
8%-10%: 12 liters
12%-15%: 19 liters

OK, have fun, and be careful with that 190 proof!

How many calories in wine, liquor and beer

2011-04-13T12:53:00.000-07:00

Counting calories in drinks isn't easy, but we have this handy table to give you some guidelines.

A shot is 1.5 ounces.

Spirits: Whiskey, vodka, rum, gin

80 proof : 1 shot = 97 calories
90 proof: 1 shot = 110 calories
100 proof: 1 shot = 124 calories

Beer:

6% alcohol : 12 ounces = 151 calories
Light: 12 ounces = 98 calories

Wines:

Dry wines: 3.5 ounces = 87 calories
Sweet wines: 2 ounces = 80 calories
Champagne: 3.5 ounces = 91 calories
Dry vermouth: 1 ounce = 33 calories
Sweet vermouth: 1 ounce = 44 calories

Please note that these are approximate. Use them only as an estimate, ok? Thanks.

How to Read a Wine Label

2011-03-27T13:56:00.000-07:00

First, do you like the way it looks? While this is not important to the taste of the wine, it can be part of the overall enjoyment.

Now, down to brass tacks as it were.

The most important things on the label are the: grape (Merlot, Pinot Noir, Zinfandel, Pinot Grigio, etc), the winemaker (Ste Michelle, Little Penguin, Toad Hollow, etc), and the vintage (2008, 2010).

the grape because it will immediately tell you whether it's the type of wine you like or want to drink,
the winemaker because some are good and some are not,
the vintage because some years are better than others.

"Table wine," is a blend of different grapes from different vintages; that doesn't mean it's not good. "California wine" can mean a blend of grapes from anywhere in the state, not just where they grow best. If a wine's from Napa or Sonoma, it will say so.

Don't worry about words like "reserve" and "private selection," Basically, they mean nothing; they're just marketing ploys. Pretty much the same for bin or bottle numbers. However, if you find a bin number from a particular vintner that consistently yields a pleasant wine, time after time, by all means, seek it out.

Labels are like sign posts: they can help you.

How many ounces in liquor bottles

2009-11-09T14:08:00.000-08:00

It's that time of year when folks are making recipes. So you need to know how many ounces are in the different size liquor bottles. That's why we keep this handy dandy chart of sizes at the store.

I've put the old traditional bottle names like pint, fifth, and half gallon in quotes because they are no longer accurate measurements. We may still call them that, but things have changed!

standard shot = 1.5 oz
50 ml "mini" bottle = 1.7 oz
200 ml "half pint" bottle = 6.8 oz
375 ml "pint" bottle = 12.7 oz
750 ml "fifth" or standard wine bottle = 25.4 oz
1 liter "quart" bottle = 33.8 oz
1.5 liter wine "magnum" bottle = 50.8 oz
1.75 liter "half gallon" or "handle" bottle = 59.2 oz
3 liter wine bottle or box = 101.6 oz
5 liter wine box = 169 oz

1 cup = 8 oz

And for bonus points, ever wonder why they called it a "fifth" bottle? It was a fifth of a gallon.

Beer 101

2007-08-17T06:48:00.001-07:00

By: Bret Kimbrough, allrecipes.com

Beer is almost as old as civilization itself. The ancient Egyptians left beer in the tombs of Pharaohs to ensure a happy afterlife, and barley has been cultivated for thousands of years for the purpose of brewing beer.

The Code of Hammurabi, the oldest known system of written laws, contains statutes governing the sale and brewing of beer in Mesopotamia. Those ancient brews were murky, dark, heavily spiced concoctions few of us would recognize as beer today. Fortunately, considerable energy has been devoted over the past few millennia to refining and codifying the beer brewing process.

Lagers: Clearly Refined
When most people hear the word "lager," their thoughts immediately turn to the mass-produced stuff that comes in cans at the grocery store. While most of these are lagers, they only represent one jewel in the lager crown. The word lager actually comes from the German word lagern, which means "to store." Lagers are subjected to long fermentation and aging periods in order to produce a brew of exceptional clarity and refinement. (As the German saying goes, "Iss, was gar ist, trink, was klar ist, und sprich, was wahr ist:" Eat what is well cooked, drink what is clear, and speak what is true.) A true lager takes at least 30 days to prepare.

Serving Suggestion: try a clean, elegant pilsner as an aperitif--the beer's bitterness is good for stimulating the appetite.

Beyond Blonde
Lagers include hoppy, floral Pilsners, malty helles (blonde) bocks, refreshing Dortmunders and silky Bavarian-style lagers. There are also darker offerings like schwarzbier, dunkels, and the darker bocks. While it is hard to generalize about such a diverse race of beer, all of these brews do have certain things in common: they are all fermented with lager yeast, Saccharomyces uvarum. This yeast likes to work within a range of about 35-50 degrees F and tends to yield a beer of clean, very approachable flavor. Far from being bland, this straightforward fermentation profile allows the ingredients in a beer to really shine through and let the flavors of malt, hops and the native water's character excite the senses.

Suggested Pairing: Bock beers go well with German-style sausages.

Best Served Cold
The herbaceous saaz hops and very soft water of the Czech Republic work with lager yeast to create a wonderful, delicate bitterness, milky malt flavor and pillowy mouth feel. The dark lagers native to Munich, on the other hand, possess flavors of walnuts, caramel and chocolate from roasted malts that add complexity to the assertive sweetness of those beers. Lager is a drink best served cold. Lagers not only ferment at a cold temperature, but age at 35 degrees F or less to ensure purity and clarity. Beer that is produced near freezing is best consumed near freezing.

Suggested Pairing: Munich Dark lager and pecan pie.

An Ales Tale
Ale is the older of the two kingdoms by several centuries. Ales usually take around 10 days to produce, but some stronger varieties may be allowed to age for months. The word "ale" derives from the Norse word Øl, which was a term assigned to any fermented grain beverage. The first "ales" were fermented by wild yeast, like a sourdough bread. Some of these spontaneously fermented beers are still made today in and around Brussels, Belgium and are known as Lambics. Time and practice, however, lead to ways to isolate the good stuff that made consistent, palatable real ales that were desired in other parts of the world.

Suggested Pairing: When cooking your favorite mussel recipe, substitute gueze (unfruited) lambic for white wine. The Belgians have been doing this for centuries.

Warm Drafts
Ales include the golden ales of Cologne, Germany (Kölsch), pale ales, brown ales, porters, stouts, wheat beers, Belgian styles and many others. Ales are fermented by a yeast called Saccharomyces cerevisiae. This fungus likes to work in a temperature range of around 68-72 degrees F. This warm fermentation produces many flavors (fruity, floral, buttery) that complement those present in the other ingredients of the brew and result in a beer of tremendous complexity. Because of the warm temperatures used to produce ales, a good ale is best consumed at cellar temperature: 55 degrees F or so. This allows great yeast-induced flavors and aroma to really step forward during the drinking experience.

Suggested Pairing: English pale ale and farmstead Cheddar are a match made in heaven.

Don't Be Afraid of the Dark
It bears mentioning that within the world of ales dwell a couple of unique inhabitants: porter and stout. These brews are special in that an appreciable amount of heavily roasted (think charred) grain is used to color and flavor the offerings. As a result, wonderful flavors of smoke, chocolate, spice, wood and molasses are woven into the tapestry of these beers. Don't be afraid of dark beers--they can be some of the most captivating beers in the world.

Suggested Pairing: Porter and bittersweet chocolate are a brilliant match. On the savory side, dry stouts (such as Guinness, Beamish, Murphy's, O'Haras) are a classic match with oysters on the half shell.

Making wine buying a little easier

2007-03-20T10:57:00.000-07:00

To help you find wines you'll enjoy, I've posted simple new shelf signs.

With great help from Glenna Mae, our official wine taster, each wine variety is described with in three ways:

Level of sweetness. From really sweet to very dry.
Amount of body. Wines range from light body that is very easy to drink, through full body with lots of flavor, to very full body with intense flavors that can be a challenge!
Summary. Each variety has a one-word (ok, sometimes a two-word) summary. We chose words like floral, fresh, crisp, rich, luscious, fruity, smooth, and spicy to describe the wide range of flavors in wines. I even found little clip art pictures to help you imagine the flavors before you buy.

We also included some suggested food pairings and whether or not to serve the wine chilled.

Here's the description for Chardonnay:

Dry. Not at all sweet.
Full Body. Lots of flavor.
Rich.
Drink with flavorful dishes of pork, chicken and fish.
Serve chilled.

See? Easy!

I'd love to have your feedback, so stop by when you are in Alva, look over the signs, and let me know what you think!

Wine 101

2006-04-09T12:58:00.000-07:00

Term
What it means
What to try

(1)Buttery
An actual buttery flavor (think really good popcorn)
Hogue Chardonnay

(2)Body
Describes the weight of the wine on the palate. Light feels like skim milk, medium = whole milk feel, full= half and half feel.
[light] Riesling Kabinett
[medium] Pinot Noir
[full] Bogle Zinfandel

(3)Fruity
Smell or taste of fruit: pear, apple, peach, citrus. (Fruitiness does not equal sweetness.)
Beringer White Zinfandel

(4)Spicy
Taste or smell of cooking spices--cinnamon, nutmeg, maybe even peppercorns.
Gewurztraminer

(5)Grassy
Think how a freshly mown lawn should taste if it tasted like it smells.
Sauvignon Blanc