I read that a Sauternes should be about 55 degrees. In practical
terms, how many hours in the fridge is that?

On 11 Apr 2006 04:54:10 -0700
wrote:

> I read that a Sauternes should be about 55 degrees. In practical
> terms, how many hours in the fridge is that?
>

No disrespect intended, but how can we answer this without
knowing at least the ambient temperature of the wine to begin
with?

If I pull a Sauternes from the cellar, it's going to be pretty close
to 55 F already. So the answer for me is "no time at all." If
you are posting from someplace very hot, no doubt the answer
is "rather longer."

In practical terms, stick it in the fridge and check it every once
in a while! Or use a bucket of mixed ice and water, much faster.

-E

--
Emery Davis
You can reply to ecom
by removing the well known companies

> If the bottle is at 100degrees you'll need some time. :-)
> If we assume 70 and that your fridge holds 45 you'll probably need 2 hours,
> Anders

Ah, good points. I hadn't considered the question of a "starting
temp." It's not in a temp-controlled cellar (it should be; I know).
It's just in a cool part of my basement. I'll just stick it in for a
couple hours. Thanks.

> skrev i melding
oups.com...
>
>> If the bottle is at 100degrees you'll need some time. :-)
>> If we assume 70 and that your fridge holds 45 you'll probably need 2
>> hours,
>> Anders
>
> Ah, good points. I hadn't considered the question of a "starting
> temp." It's not in a temp-controlled cellar (it should be; I know).
> It's just in a cool part of my basement. I'll just stick it in for a
> couple hours. Thanks.
>
You are welcome. Do also take note of Emery's excellent suggestion of a
bucket of ice and water. That works more quickly and has the additional
advantage that if you find the wine still is too warm it is easy to put it
back even when opened.
Anders

Unless the sauterne you are drinking is a New York State's Taylor or a
California Gallo, to me 55 degrees will mask the wines nuances---60-65 is
fine. I'd err on the side of less time in the ice box, unless you have no
access to ice and a bucket. If you don't like tap water you can freeze up
some Evian.
"Anders Tørneskog" > wrote in message
...
>
> > skrev i melding
> oups.com...
> >
> >> If the bottle is at 100degrees you'll need some time. :-)
> >> If we assume 70 and that your fridge holds 45 you'll probably need 2
> >> hours,
> >> Anders
> >
> > Ah, good points. I hadn't considered the question of a "starting
> > temp." It's not in a temp-controlled cellar (it should be; I know).
> > It's just in a cool part of my basement. I'll just stick it in for a
> > couple hours. Thanks.
> >
> You are welcome. Do also take note of Emery's excellent suggestion of a
> bucket of ice and water. That works more quickly and has the additional
> advantage that if you find the wine still is too warm it is easy to put it
> back even when opened.
> Anders
>
>

wrote:
> I read that a Sauternes should be about 55 degrees. In practical
> terms, how many hours in the fridge is that?

In addition to the good responses of others, you may also need to
consider the temperature of the wine glasses. If the glasses have a
paper-thin bowl, then they will not change the temperature of the wine
much. On the other extreme, consider glasses with very heavy bowls of
cut crystal and that you store the glasses in the kitchen where they
might reach a rather high temperature, say 85 degrees F. Even if your
wine is at 55 degrees F when you pour it, it will increase in
temperature considerably if you pour it into a heavy, warm glass. In
such a case it might be better to cool the glasses to about the
temperature of the wine before you pour, or chill the wine to a lower
temperature.

"Joe "Beppe"Rosenberg" > skrev i melding
...
> Unless the sauterne you are drinking is a New York State's Taylor or a
> California Gallo, to me 55 degrees will mask the wines nuances---60-65 is
> fine. I'd err on the side of less time in the ice box, unless you have no
> access to ice and a bucket. If you don't like tap water you can freeze up
> some Evian.
Ouch - New York State? Being here in Europe I automatically thought of the
real stuff. Isn't the practice of malappropriating names outlawed in the
US?

Hmm, I'd still go for 55F considering that it will warm up in the glass - do
we have a Sauternes expert in this ng? (For a second opinion, Beppe! :-)
Anders

On 11 Apr 2006 08:24:59 -0700, "cwdjrxyz" >
wrote:

>
wrote:
>> I read that a Sauternes should be about 55 degrees. In practical
>> terms, how many hours in the fridge is that?
>
>In addition to the good responses of others, you may also need to
>consider the temperature of the wine glasses.

And the temperature of the fridge!

If you really want to get anal about it you should bear in mind that
the required temperature wil depend on the aromas in your particular
bottle. Oh, and personal preference. Wasn't there somone famous who
used to drink Yquem with ice?

Personally I would concentrate on enjoying the wine rather than
fretting about the precise temperature.

--
Steve Slatcher
http://pobox.com/~steve.slatcher

On Tue, 11 Apr 2006 19:02:35 +0200, Mike Tommasi >
wrote:
>Agreed. Translated into more practical terms, you should be aware that
>there are all kinds of Sauternes produced, not all Sauternes is good, in
>fact very few are. A bottle under $40 cannot be any good (at that price
>you cannot find good botrytis wine, it simply costs a lot to make...),
>so these bottles are best tasted very cold indeed.
>
>Even pricey Sauternes can be mediocre, if you want to experience good
>Sauternes then go for the really reliable stuff. For these, 55 degrees
>might be a little on the cold side. A cold wine will warm up fairly fast
>at today's room temperatures, if it is too cold pour some in your glass
>and wait a bit, try it as it warms up and see at which point it hits the
>spot...

And you haven't even begun to consider the cost of that pound of
French foie gras that is de rigeur for enjoyment of a sauternes.


Ed Rasimus
Fighter Pilot (USAF-Ret)
"When Thunder Rolled"
www.thunderchief.org
www.thundertales.blogspot.com

On Tue, 11 Apr 2006 19:02:35 +0200
Mike Tommasi > wrote:

[]
> Agreed. Translated into more practical terms, you should be aware that
> there are all kinds of Sauternes produced, not all Sauternes is good, in
> fact very few are. A bottle under $40 cannot be any good (at that price
> you cannot find good botrytis wine, it simply costs a lot to make...),
> so these bottles are best tasted very cold indeed.
>

Okay, we've occasionally discussed the cost to produce a bottle of wine.
You cite this precise number most, uh, confidently.

Would you be so kind as to break out the assumptions so that
us poor folk can understand where the $40 (depart cave, of course)
comes from?

My thanks in advance!

-E
--
Emery Davis
You can reply to ecom
by removing the well known companies

Anders Tørneskog wrote:
> "Joe "Beppe"Rosenberg" > skrev i melding
> ...
>
>>Unless the sauterne you are drinking is a New York State's Taylor or a
>>California Gallo, to me 55 degrees will mask the wines nuances---60-65 is
>>fine. I'd err on the side of less time in the ice box, unless you have no
>>access to ice and a bucket. If you don't like tap water you can freeze up
>>some Evian.
>
> Ouch - New York State? Being here in Europe I automatically thought of the
> real stuff. Isn't the practice of malappropriating names outlawed in the
> US?

Alas, no, Anders. There are "Champagnes" being made in California,
"Ports" being made everywhere and even still some "Chablis." Of course,
none of these wines can be exported to the EU, but in all honesty none
of them have any desire to do so, sitting as they do near the bottom of
the quality hierarchy.

>
> Hmm, I'd still go for 55F considering that it will warm up in the glass - do
> we have a Sauternes expert in this ng? (For a second opinion, Beppe! :-)

Mr. Hugh Johnson advocates a much lower serving temperature in his
Pocket Wine Book (37-45 F, 3-7 C). That sounds a bit crazy to me, but I
don't drink enough Sauternes to know firsthand.

Mark Lipton

Mark Lipton wrote:

> Mr. Hugh Johnson advocates a much lower serving temperature in his
> Pocket Wine Book (37-45 F, 3-7 C). That sounds a bit crazy to me, but I
> don't drink enough Sauternes to know firsthand.
> Mark Lipton

Yes, Johnson suggests a rather low temperature for Sauternes. However
he suggests 54 - 57 F for the best sweet German wines in his
encyclopedia, while he suggests 46 - 50 for good German and Austrian
wines and 50 - 54 for best dry German wines. I also remember reading
that the late Baron Philippe de Rothschild had some very old Sauternes
in his cellar. He sometimes served some of his extremely old Sauternes
that was beginning to show a bit of oxidation, slightly frozen, and he
claimed this made it much more refreshing and drinkable.

I think Johnson's suggestion might not be much too low for generic
Sauternes blends at the lower end. The low temperature makes they less
cloying, and most do not have much interesting bouquet to lose be
cooling too much anyway. However I avoid poor sweet wines, when
possible. However, for mature Yquem, I start out at cellar temperature
in the 50s F range. Sometimes if the wine is very hot with alcohol and
has plenty of fruit, it is more refreshing at a slightly lower
temperature. I have some silver bulbs with stems filled with a liquid
and keep these in the freezer. If you want the wine just a bit colder,
you only have to stir the wine in the glass a bit with these devices.
Unfortunately I do not remember where I bought these devices many years
ago.

I like Sauternes with my seared foie gras...but I like the Foie Gras served
warm.

I prefer red burgs however with my foie gras.




"Mike Tommasi" > wrote in message
...
> Ed Rasimus wrote:
>
>>
>> And you haven't even begun to consider the cost of that pound of
>> French foie gras that is de rigeur for enjoyment of a sauternes.
>
> It goes well if you quickly toss slices of raw fattened duck liver in a
> pan before serving (thus removing most of the fat).
>
> The habit of serving cold slices of cooked foie gras is questionable, foie
> gras is mostly fat, and fat does not go well with sweet and relatively low
> acidity wines like most Sauternes.
>
> --
> Mike Tommasi - Six Fours, France
> email link http://www.tommasi.org/mymail

wrote:
> I read that a Sauternes should be about 55 degrees. In practical
> terms, how many hours in the fridge is that?

The blondes are restless tonight...

Earlier in this thread, mention was made of some English writers
recommendations on the optimum temperature for keeping Sauternes(Barsac's
too). I believe people in the UK in general keep their homes chilly by
American standards. When an Englishman decrees wines like Domaine Penguin
be served at room temperature, they mean in the 60's, the US room
temperature even with increasing fuel costs is 5 degrees higher.

Also the UK palate differs then the denizens on there other side of the
pond. Specifically they have a better appreciation for older wines and
flaws while we Yanks prefer fruit bombs. To an English person a 30 year old
champagne is just reaching its peak. To an American that same bottle is
over the kill.
> wrote in message
oups.com...
>
> wrote:
> > I read that a Sauternes should be about 55 degrees. In practical
> > terms, how many hours in the fridge is that?
>
> The blondes are restless tonight...
>