International

A wine cellar can be as small as a kitchen cabinet or as big as the maze of secret passages underground a castle. It does not matter as long as conditions are right for storage and maturation of wine.

There are so many different possible pasta recipes it might seem impossible to provide general guidelines. But all good pasta recipes have a few things in common.

One of the great things about pasta is its versatility. Not only is it nutritious and tasty, but it goes with any wine you happen to favor. Still, you'll want to select a wine that goes with the whole dish.

Do you wonder why serving cheese with wine is so popular? Cheese is salty and salt enhances the tasting experience for many wines. A medium wine served with cheese may look like a better one and a good wine may appear fabulous; but there is more to it.

The idea of giving deep thought to which food to serve with a selected wine goes back centuries. It will surprise many that the same is true of pairing a good beer with a favorite dish.

There are more than one concept to take the measure of a beer. Hops influence the bitterness, malts determine the sweetness. Finally, the alcohol content provides one last dimension to the brew.

Back a few years ago when I was on a trip to India, I noticed that many dishes were cooked in yogurt sauce and that sautéing of onions was one of the favorite ingredients in most recipes.

Hops could be classified as a useless plant if not for its role in brewing. Hops is a basic ingredient for beer.

Unlike wine, the majority of beers are not brewed to age. Beer typically spoils within a few months, a year at most, with rare exceptions. Even specialty brews aren't made to improve over the five, ten or even longer age of some fine wines. There are some specialty brews, though, that can age up to 30 years.