Finesse

Used to describe a wine with elegance and BALANCE. The term implies that the wine is polished and sophisticated. Hearty, rustic country wines would not be described as having finesse, while a well-made Champagne or top white Burgundy might be.

What is the name of the scale used to measure the spiciness of peppers?

A. The Dorian Scale

B. The Scoville Scale

C. The Richter Scale

D. The Beaufort Scale

The Scoville scale measures the amount of spiciness or “heat” in chili peppers, in Scoville Heat Units (SHU). Scoville Heat Units are assigned based on how much dilution is required for the “burn” of a chili to no longer be sensed by taste testers. This point of dilution is determined when oil extracted from the dried chili is diluted with sugar water to a certain concentration level. If a pepper rates 5,000 SHU, this pepper must be diluted 5,000 times before its heat is no longer detectable. Bell peppers rate between 0 and 100 on the SHU scale whereas serrano peppers rate between 10,000 and 25,000 Scoville Heat Units. The scale goes even higher— where ghost peppers earn 750,000 to 1.5 million SHU and the mysteriously named Pepper X rates 1.5 to 3 million SHU making it one of the hottest chilis on the planet.

Infused for Summer: Vermouth

Vermouth is a fortified wine infused with botanicals, herbs, spices, fruits, and sometimes vegetables. Among the ingredients is usually the aromatic plant wormwood (from which the word vermouth is derived). Each vermouth producer has his… Continue reading

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