Encruzado (en-crew-ZAH-doh)

Important grape in the dry white wines of Portugal’s Dão region.

When critics describe a wine, they refer to all of these except for its:

A. Head

B. Legs

C. Nose

D. Body

A wine’s “nose” is its aroma. Wine pros will say, for example, that a given wine has a nose of apricots and peaches. Similarly, a wine’s “legs” are the rivulets of wine that inch up the inside surface of the glass above the wine, then run slowly back down. It’s often said (erroneously) that the thicker the legs, the better the wine. Legs are a complex phenomenon related to the amount of glycerol and alcohol in the wine, plus the rate of evaporation of the alcohol. A wine’s “body” is its weight on the palate. Light-bodied wines feel about as heavy as skim milk on the palate, while full-bodied wines feel like half-and-half or even cream. Medium-bodied wines are somewhere in the middle. Head? Um, that falls in the beer department.

Txakolina

Don’t worry–it’s actually easy to pronounce. Txakolina (shack o LEE na) is a type of fresh white wine made in Spain’s Basque Country. Considered a fantastic match for sharp cheeses, Serrano ham, and any sort… Continue reading

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