Good Food - Wine Agony Aunt
Dealing with a drinking dilemma? Winemaker, freelance journalist and author Cathy Gowdie counsels on everyday wine angst. Use the comment function to ask her a question.
Read more entries below:
Will cellaring improve cleanskins?
Few of us are lucky enough to get better looking with age. The same goes for wine.
Drink | Wine agony aunt | Tue May 14 03:00:00 EST 2013
Is a wine fridge worth the money?
I've been to a couple of houses where a wine fridge is a bit of a feature. Are they worth the money?
Drink | Wine agony aunt | Tue Apr 30 03:00:00 EST 2013
What makes wine 'natural' or otherwise?
At its best, "natural" wine refers to a winemaking philosophy of letting the grapes speak. At its worst, it's about sloppy winemaking practices.
Drink | Wine agony aunt | Tue Apr 16 03:00:00 EST 2013
Are wine bin ends good value for money?
What are wine bin ends? Do they offer good value for money?
Drink | Wine agony aunt | Tue Apr 09 03:00:00 EST 2013
How much wine is too much?
I seem to drink more than my friends, by quite a margin. Does this make me look like a lush?
Drink | Wine agony aunt | Tue Mar 26 03:00:00 EST 2013
Cleaning crystal glasses
How to remove red wine stains from crystal.
Drink | Wine agony aunt | Tue Mar 19 03:00:00 EST 2013
Knowing what's in your wine by the glass
Without clapping eyes on the bottle, how do you know which wine has been poured into your glass?
Drink | Wine agony aunt | Tue Mar 12 03:00:00 EST 2013
Matching wine with coffee
What sort of wine is good to serve with coffee? It used to be port but that seems to have fallen from favour.
Drink | Wine agony aunt | Tue Mar 05 03:00:00 EST 2013
Letting red wine breathe
Before you embark on the whole ''breathing'' thing, think about whether your wine needs it.
Drink | Wine agony aunt | Tue Feb 26 03:00:00 EST 2013
Which is better: cut crystal or plain glass?
Quite a few folk regard a $150 cut-crystal glass as a less desirable vessel for wine.
Drink | Wine agony aunt | Tue Feb 19 03:00:00 EST 2013
French sparkling versus French champagne
There's more to French sparkling wine than champagne.
Drink | Wine agony aunt | Mon Feb 11 23:59:34 EST 2013
Party planning with wine
I'm having drinks for about 40 people at home. How many bottles for that many guests?
Drink | Wine agony aunt | Tue Jan 29 03:00:00 EST 2013
When wealthy hosts serve mediocre wine
There's no polite way of forcing your hosts to pour what you've brought.
Drink | Wine agony aunt | Tue Jan 22 03:00:00 EST 2013
Your hosts don't open your wine - what do you do?
There's no polite way of forcing your hosts to pour what you've brought.
Drink | Wine agony aunt | Tue Jan 22 03:00:00 EST 2013
Storage methods for odour-free glasses
Any kind of glass can get whiffy if it's stored with smelly things, and that will affect the flavour of your wine.
Drink | Wine agony aunt | Tue Jan 15 03:00:00 EST 2013
How to open champagne with flair
I like to pop the cork with a bang but my girlfriend says I should take it more slowly.
Drink | Wine agony aunt | Tue Dec 18 03:00:00 EST 2012
Wine agony aunt
Is it OK to like chardonnay or is that asking to be ostracised? Friends groan and roll their eyes when I order it.
Drink | Wine agony aunt | Tue Dec 04 03:00:00 EST 2012
A reader asks: 'is it OK to like chardonnay?'
For a while, a lot of Aussie chardonnays looked like Audrey Hepburn in a Von Dutch baseball cap - gorgeous gone bogan. Now, she's back being dressed by Givenchy.
Drink | Wine agony aunt | Tue Dec 04 03:00:00 EST 2012
Choosing wine for a group
You're out with a group and have been asked to choose the wine. Sorry chum, but you've copped the poisoned chalice, writes wine agony aunt Cathy Gowdie.
Drink | Wine agony aunt | Tue Nov 27 03:00:00 EST 2012
Keeping the sparkle in your sparkling
The popular theory that an open bottle of champagne will stay bubbly if you place a teaspoon in the neck has been put to the test by numerous scientific minds, writes wine agony aunt Cathy Gowdie.
Drink | Wine agony aunt | Tue Nov 20 03:00:00 EST 2012
