Students in high spirits

Students were carded at the doors of the William Pitt Union Ballroom Tuesday evening.

The… Students were carded at the doors of the William Pitt Union Ballroom Tuesday evening.

The Pitt Program Council hosted a wine tasting for Pitt students ages 21 and older.

A representative from Student Health Services spoke about alcohol safety before the program and discouraged drinking in large amounts.

“This is about quality, not quantity,” Pitt Program Council Advisor Tom Misuraca said.

Nick Biondi, a wine enthusiast and Pitt graduate, led the evening’s program.

Throughout the evening, students were each given eight, 1 ounce samples of wine to taste and given advice on how wine can be used to compliment a meal.

“Wine is supposed to be partnered at the dinner table with your meal,” Biondi said.

Biondi suggested serving fruit-flavored chardonnays with foods such as salads, seafood and light pasta dishes. Students were given a chance to taste multiple chardonnays.

Biondi said that chardonnay is “probably the finest white wine in the world.”

Apples, pears and basic citrus are the central fruits in chardonnays.

Biondi also said that wines with high acidities go well with cream sauces.

He said that it is difficult to find a wine to correspond well with Mexican food.

“I still think the best wine I’ve ever had with Mexican food is beer,” Biondi said.

Biondi said that the standard alcohol content of wine is between 12.5 to 14.5 percent. He said that companies are permitted to have about 1.5 percent leniency when making their wine.

Dessert wines such as ports and sherries are typically composed of about 18 percent alcohol.

The cost of wines depends on the current market condition. Biondi said that restaurants usually mark up the price of wine by approximately 2-2.5 percent, and it is more cost effective to buy wine in a bottle and not by the glass.

“It’s always a better value to buy the bottle,” Biondi said.

For example, it would cost about $35 to purchase a bottle of processed chardonnay in a restaurant. There are about five glasses in each bottle, which would each cost approximately $8 to $9.

Some restaurants also buy wine that is not available in state stores in order to make a greater profit.

Biondi said that many restaurants do not take the necessary precautions to keep wine fresh, and he told the assembled students not to be afraid to send wine back if it has gone bad.

The color of wine can tell a lot about it, especially its age. White wines should be vibrantly colored. When they turn gold or brownish they are typically old and have gone bad.

“Most wines made in the world are not meant to be kept forever,” Biondi said.

Biondi said that keeping the cork wet when storing wine is an effective way to keep it fresh. This keeps it from cracking and letting air in.

Another problem to watch for is corked wine. Wine is considered to be corked when it has contacted a contaminated cork during its aging process.

Biondi said that corked wine smells like locker room socks.

The temperature at which wine is served is also very important.

“Most white wines should be chilled to a certain degree, but not freezing cold, because then you can’t taste them,” Biondi said.

Red wines should be served at approximately 55-60 degrees.

Biondi said that after opening a bottle of red wine, he tries to drink it in a few days, so it doesn’t go flat.

Many companies are starting to use screw caps instead of corks to seal their wine bottles, and as far as Biondi has seen, screw cap wines are just as good as corked ones.

But soon it was time to go, and just like with other special occasions, the event had ended when the wine ran out.