Yellow or golden in color, white wine tasting is a sensual and rewarding experience. Pair the wine with any type of white meat and transform your dinner into something amazing. White wine is, as you can probably tell, not so white. Most are made from the skins and juices of gold and green grapes. Grape-skins can be held responsible for the color: the skins are in contact with the inner grape, including the juice during the fermentation process, which causes the diffusion of color. Each wine has a particular color, which depends on the grape used and the length of time the skin’s pigmentation is in contact with the juice. Some Champagnes include select juices from red or black grapes, though omitting the skins in the fermentation process.

Turn to white wine for a light dinner, or a picnic at the beach. It is more refreshing and lighter tasting than that of a bold red wine, making it perfect for spring and summer occasions. Its taste is often described as dry or sweet. When pairing with foods, think “white with lighter food,” and you won’t be led astray. For serving, use narrower glasses for drinking. White wine doesn’t need to breathe as much as red wine. Also, serve it at fifty degrees Fahrenheit, too warm and you’ll be able to taste the alcohol. Why serve it cold? The colder the temperature, the less tart, sweet and aromatic it seems. Wine strives on three basics: sugar, acid (which your tongue tastes), and aromatics. Aromatics must dissolve and disperse in the air before you can smell the wine. So, by chilling the wine, you’re going to cause the flavor to lessen. If you’re paying for the bold flavor of a white wine, why chill it at all? White wine is refreshing for two reasons. First, when you drink the wine and it comes into contact with your tongue, the sourness causes you to salivate, making you want more. Second, because the wine is chilled. So, if you don’t want a refreshing white wine, don’t chill it.

Thanks in large part to chicken’s low price, low fat, and high versatility, the amount of chicken consumed in the United States has increased exponentially. That wasn’t always the case. Even though chicken is one of the oldest living species of animal, it was a rarity on the dinner table. Today, thanks to modern production methods, almost anyone can afford chicken. In fact, adjusted for inflation, chicken is only a third the price it was 40 years ago. Chicken consumption also has increased because of increasing awareness of the need to reduce fat in the diet. Chicken, as long as the skin is not eaten, is generally lower in fat than most other types of meat. At least half of the fat in a chicken is in the skin.

The government grades chicken quality with USDA classifications A, B, and C, which are based on meatiness, appearance, and how intact the skin and bones are. Grade A chickens, the highest grade, are usually found in markets. Grade B chickens are less meaty, and grade C birds are scrawnier yet. B- and C-graded chickens often are used for processed and packaged foods. The grade stamp can be found within a shield on the package wrapping, or sometimes on a tag attached to the bird’s wing. Many ungraded chickens find their way to stores because grading is not mandatory.

Chickens called “broilers” are butchered at about 7 weeks of age, when they weigh between 2 and 4 pounds. The term “fryer” is often given to larger birds from this age range. “Roasting chickens” generally weigh more than 4 pounds and are slaughtered when they reach 10 weeks. “Stewing chickens” – also known as hens or boiling fowl – range in age from 10 to 18 months. They can weigh between 3 and 6 pounds. Generally, they are used for stews and soups because their meat is tougher. Shoppers may also encounter other terms to describe chicken. A Rock Cornish hen is a chicken hybrid that weighs about 2 pounds when butchered. Because there is relatively little meat on the carcass, each hen is typically considered 1 serving.

Another type of chicken in stores is called free-range chicken. According to the USDA, this term means that the chicken was allowed to roam outdoors. Depending on the manufacturer, the chicken may or may not have been fed a vegetarian diet free of hormones, growth enhancers, and antibiotics. Some believe that this special treatment results in a fuller-flavored chicken. One thing certain is that it adds to the expense. Most free-range chickens are far more expensive per pound than regular chicken.

Wine tasting is an assessment of a wine’s quality. It’s not just about taste but also covers aroma, color, the way it feels in one’s mouth and how long the wine persists in the mouth after tasting. Wine tasting is also one way to determine the maturity of the wine and whether it is suitable for aging or for immediate drinking. Its purpose it to discover the key facets of the wine in order to appreciate it better in every sense of the word.

Wine tasting also serves to compare a particular wine with others that fall into the same price range, region or vintage – its quality, whether it is typical of the region it was made in, whether it uses certain wine making techniques and if it has any faults. It may sound hard to believe, but practiced wine tasters can actually tell if a wine was made through oak fermentation or malolactic fermentation. Their taste buds and their noses are simply that well-developed.

Wine should be served at temperatures of 16 and 18 degrees centigrade (60 and 64 degrees fahrenheit). It is at this temperature that the wine’s flavor and aroma is said to be most detectable. It is important that wines be served at the same temperature so that they can be judged using the same standards. The one exception is in the case of sparkling wine, which is usually served chilled mainly because sparkling wine does not taste well when it is warm.

Since wines do not taste alike, the order of tasting the wine is also important. For instance, heavy or sweet wine leaves a lingering taste that can affect the taste of succeeding lighter wines. There is actually a preferred order of tasting: sparkling wines; light whites, then heavy whites; roses; light reds; heavy reds; sweet wines. So, the next time you see someone smelling his wine or just gently dabbing it on his tongue and lips, you have a better idea of what’s going on. In truth, it looks foreign and a little complicated, but anyone can be an accomplished wine taster with some practice.