August 19, 2011

Wine For Normal People Radio : Episode 25 Top 7 Wine Myths DEBUNKED!

In my line of work, I hear it all. People spout alleged facts about wine left and right and it's hard to tell what's truth and what's fiction. We could go on and on, but this week Rick and I debunk the top 7 myths of the wine world.

Here are the show notes...

We start with a few shoutouts to awesome reviews on iTunes for the show! Amazing stuff!

A new and fabulous piece of "old school" technology for the Wine For Normal People Podcast... Call us!!! 800-599-8478 (in the U.S.) or 1-415-226-9105 and dial extension 5 to leave your question for the Wine For Normal People Podcast, and we will play it on the show!

  • Listener Question - from Brandy in the UK about food and wine pairing


  • Main Topic - Top 7 Wine Myths DEBUNKED! We cover these topics:
    1. Flavors in Wine
    2. Aging Wines
    3. Expensive Wines
    4. French Wine
    5. Cigars & Wine (controversial and I'm sure some of you will hate me for my view)
    6. High Scoring Wines (and Wine Critics)
    7. Screw Caps (vs. Corks)

  • Grape of the Week - Tempranillo

And a special and amazing thanks to Sean Amann for creating an awesome intro for Grape of the Week!! If you want to submit your version or any other music or stuff for the show, drop me an email at elizabeth(at)winefornormalpeople(dot)com and we'll put it on the air!

Please comment on the Facebook Page and if you haven't done so already please review us on iTunes and we'll give you a shout out!

To access the podcast please click the player below or go here:

Ep 025 Top 7 Wine Myths DEBUNKED!





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7 comments:

  1. BrandyAugust 20, 2011 at 6:21 AM

    Elizabeth, Rick, thanks for the information re: wine pairings!

    I really love the podcast!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wine For Normal PeopleAugust 22, 2011 at 11:38 PM

    You're awesome. Sorry we were late on getting this up. We missed your party...at least you'll know for next time. You sound great on radio, FYI!!!

    Elizabeth

    ReplyDelete
  3. BrandyAugust 23, 2011 at 1:34 PM

    Hey, I'm always cooking South Asian food now for my husband, so no worries on the timing!

    ReplyDelete
  4. RHB2January 20, 2012 at 11:01 AM

    I just discovered the podcast, and have been listening to the episodes in order. I'm loving the podcasts, and I'm also enjoying exploring Elizabeth's blog. I really like Elizabeth's way of explaining wines, and I find the whole approach to be refreshing. Having said that, I was a bit surprised on hearing this episode the comments on cigars and wine. It seemed very out of character to me to hear her saying that on the one hand, she doesn't smoke cigars, and on the other hand, they don't pair well with wines. Ever. How does she know that? Well, she's been in the same room with cigars, and so she knows that the flavors of cigars are too overpowering to go with wines. I can assure you that cigars do not taste the same to the smoker as they smell to one who is only near the person who is smoking. There is also a huge range of different styles of cigars, from very subtle to

    I also need to take exception to Elizabeth's comment that the only possibly workable pairing of wine for cigars would be something like a very bold cabernet. This is, in my actual experience, very far off the mark. My experience has been that wines with significant tannins are particularly bad match for most cigars, as the tobacco seems to amplify whatever tannins the wine has. In my experience white wines that aren't too dry are best with cigars. A bit of acidity helps. Sweeter, heavier bodied red wines also seem to do well.

    I wonder if Elizabeth would be comfortable giving such a strident review of an actual wine she had never tasted, and if not, why take this tack? Why not just say "I've never tried it, so I have no idea"? Maybe it's just that smoking is so out of fashion that it's acceptable to be a bit of a snob towards smokers?

    ReplyDelete
  5. Wine For Normal PeopleJanuary 22, 2012 at 10:12 PM

    Hi RHB2,

    I'm glad you like the podcast and blog! Thanks so much for listening/reading.

    I actually have had a cigar with wine before and I didn't think it was a good pairing, so I'm not completely in the dark here.

    I understand that as a cigar smoker you have passion for the subject. I think cigar smokers and wine lovers have a ton in common -- we both look for nuance, flavor, a great sensory experience. I think there is a lot of common ground.

    But I'm a serious wine dork. The thought of anything competing with or overpowering the subtlety of wine is, to me, a really, really bad thing. Because cigars are so powerful on their own, I think even a cigar lover like you would admit that the wine isn't the star of the show when you smoke a cigar. From my extremely wine-centric perspective, I think it's doing the wine and the cigar a disservice to have competition.

    Your point is correct though, I don't smoke cigars regularly so my comment comes from my limited experience and that of those I know who do smoke cigars and are passionate about wine (but don't drink them together because of the reasons I mentioned). So maybe I overstated the point, but I gotta argue the snot point...just because someone doesn't like something, doesn't make them a snob.

    Thanks for you comment and I look forward to hearing from you again!
    Elizabeth

    ReplyDelete
  6. RHB2January 22, 2012 at 11:45 PM

    Elizabeth,
    Thanks for your response. There are a few things that you've said that I would argue with: First, your description of cigars as being always overpowering is just not true. Part of the problem may be with the kinds of cigars that you've smoked? You live in America, where the cigar market is dominated by Nicaraguan cigars, which tend to be very powerful, and in my opinion unbalanced cigars. I guess I'm nitpicking, because very often you're correct, that cigars and wine can be very bad pairings. But when it works, it can be wonderful. Cigars like the Montecristo Especiale, or the Cohiba Siglo III, for example, are very delicate, subtle cigars, especially with some age.

    So imagine someone trying to explain to you that wine doesn't go with food. They know that because they tried food with wine once and it was not good. You'd probably want to know what they tried.

    So what was the cigar that you had with wine, and what was the wine?

    Obviously cigars aren't as easy to pair with wine as food, but it can be very nice.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Wine For Normal PeopleMay 2, 2012 at 12:02 PM

    Hi RHB2,

    Sorry for the delayed response -- I'm going through old emails today and realized I never got back to you on this!

    To be honest, I really don't remember what the cigars I've had were (I gave up smoking anything a while ago) but I do remember that it was with a Napa Cabernet Sauvignon and I just didn't think it did either thing justice.

    I guess we'll agree to disagree on this one!

    Thanks for listening!
    Elizabeth

    ReplyDelete