About Barware

When planning a romantic dalliance with your significant other, it’s important to get all of the details just right. If you’re going for an intimate dinner at home, for example, you’ll want to make sure that the atmosphere is free of interruptions and everyday distractions. Let grandma handle the kids for a night. Break out your finest bottle of red wine along with your finest glass wine sets and indulge in each other’s company over a home-cooked meal.

You can enhance the effect by putting on a little romantic piano music. This will add a new dynamic to your special night in - lending your home or apartment the ambience of an elegant restaurant. Few things enhance or strengthen a relationship like a bit of quality time together in close quarters. By incorporating the above elements, you can practically guarantee your liaison will go off without a hitch.

Not everybody has a natural taste for wine. Just as a fine wine must age to reach peak quality, a wine palate must do the same in order to fully appreciate complex flavors. Training your wine palate allows wine drinkers to recognize the different flavors in the wines they consume.

To start out research all the flavors common to wines. Chocolate, blackberry, black pepper, strawberry and apricot are some flavors common to wine. Get familiar with these flavors by tasting each of the foods. Also make sure to smell the foods and get comfortable with their aromas. This process should be repeated a few times in order for your palate to process the tastes and smells.

Sample a variety of wines from different regions and countries, and always be sure to get a new wine glass each time you test a new varietal. Try talking to yourself or a friend aloud as you taste the wines. Verbalizing your thoughts and impressions will allow you to better remember each flavor.

After you feel your wine palate has been thoroughly developed host a wine party. Give each guest a different bottle of wine and tell them to bring their favorite corkscrews from home. This will allow your guests to feel they are a valuable part of the process.

The image on the top and the numbers below are for a formal dinner place setting.

1. Napkin  
2. Fish Fork
3. Dinner or Main Course Fork
4. Salad Fork
5. Soup Bowl & Plate
6. Dinner Plate
7. Dinner Knife
8. Fish Knife
9. Soup Spoon
10. Bread & Butter Plate
11. Butter Knife
12. Dessert Spoon and Cake - Dessert Fork
13. Sterling Water Goblet
14. Red Wine Glass
15. White Wine Glass

Last but not least, some food and wine pairing tips:

Wine and food pairing guide to start things off:

Below you will find very general complementary food and wine pairing recommendations. Use them for reference, as a starting point. We urge you to go explore both delicate complements and outright contrasts to discover your true food and wine pairing preference! And of course start with good glass wine sets.
Wine guide for typical dishes:

    * Chicken – Chardonnay or lighter reds such as Rioja, Barbera, Grenache, Burgundy
    * Green Salad – Herby whites such as Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Blanc.
    * Grilled Fish – Light medium bodied whites such as Pinot Grigio, Chablis
    * Pasta (red sauce) – Chianti, Zinfandel, Pinot Blanc
    * Pasta (white sauce) – Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay, Viognier, Gavi
    * Raw or steamed shellfish – Crisp, acidic wines such as Champagne, Sauvignon Blanc
    * Steak – Full-bodied red such as Cabernet, Bordeaux

Wine guide for Asian cuisines:

    * Chinese – Riesling, Gewurztraminer, Sauvignon Blanc, and Pinot Noir
    * Indian – Zinfandel, Chardonnay
    * Japanese – Beaujolais, Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling
    * Thai – Chablis, Chardonnay

Wine guide for cheese:

    * Creamy soft brie or camembert – Red Burgundy, Chardonnay, Chablis
    * Strong goat cheese –Sauvignon Blanc, Sancerre, Pouilly-Fume
    * Hard Gouda – Chianti, Dolcetto, Pinot Noir
    * Semi hard cheese – Semillon, Rioja, Sauvignon Blanc
    * Smoked cheese – Gewurztraminer, Sauternes, Shiraz
    * Strong blue cheese – Sauternes, Port, Hermitage, Madeira

Elements behind wine and food pairing:

When pairing food, you are really complementing or contrasting four elements: weight, flavor intensity, taste, and smell. The way the dish is prepared and cooked will affect these elements:

    * Body/ weight:    heavy, medium, or light-body?
    * Flavor intensity:    weak, moderate, strong?
    * Smell/ aroma:    earthy, fruity, grassy/herbal?
    * Taste:    sweet, spicy, acidic, sour, bitter, additional spices used (e.g. lemongrass)?

For example, most people prefer Cabernet Sauvignon with red meat because they are both full-bodied, strong flavor and the protein in the meat will lighten the tannin in the wine. The wine explorers might pair it with a lighter and fruitier Merlot or a fruity but full-bodied Chardonnay.

Using spicy, strong-flavor Thai food as another example – the classic gourmets would go for full-bodied and complex Chardonnay. The wine explorers might contrast it with a sweet and light Riesling. Be sure and use a good glass wine sets when serving wine with food.