Wine varietal pronunciation.

Get your pronunciation right with the following varietals and impress your friends out at dinner when ordering from the wine list to the waiter (even if you don't know what it is you are ordering you can still do it in style like as if you know what you are doing). I've picked some popular varietals you will commonly find on a wine list:

Chardonnay (Shard-don-aye)
Sauvignon Blanc (Saw-vin-yong Blonc)
Riesling (Ree-sling)
Verdelho (Ver-del-oh)
Semillion (Sem-ion)
Borytis (Boh-try-tiss)
Vermentino (Ver-men-tee-no)
Moscato (Moss-ca-toe)
Shiraz (Sher-razz)
Cabernet (Cab-er-ney)
Malbec (Mal-bec)
Lambrusco (Lamb-brus-co)
Merlot (Mer-low)
Tempranillo (Tem-prah-knee-yo)
Champagne (Sham-payne)
Pinot (Pea-know)
Noir (Nw-ah)
Cuvee (Que-vey)
Brut (Broot)

And finally, a product that is always suffering from misunderstood pronunciation:

Moet! It's not Moey! It's Moe-ette! Thanks.

Matching Wine with Sushi.

Oyster Bay Sparkling Brut rocks! Fruity yet dry enough to remain fresh and lively. Goes perfect with Salmon and cream cheese rolls especially. Kingfish and Bonito Nigiri are also an absolute must try. About $20.

Ah, the Henschke Keyneton Euphonium. For those of you that know this wine you might be thinking it is too big for the delicate nature of Sushi. Well, you'll be pleased to know it is an excellent red in my opinion to accompany Tuna Sashimi given its oiliness. $45 and up. I picked a 2008 which went down nicely.

Brown Brothers Cienna is one of those rare sweet reds that I actually enjoy. In fact I recommend it to anyone that normally drinks sweet white. Served chilled, this went great with a mixed Sushi platter. $16.

How to pour Champagne correctly.

Impress your friends at your next party with displaying the correct way to open that nice bottle of Champagne:

1.) Undo the top which will reveal the wiring - it is there for a reason! It is there for your safety so the cork doesn't pop up due to the high pressure of the contents.

2.) Leave the wiring on the top of the cork. Grasp the top of the bottle with one hand and cup the bottom of the bottle with your other hand. Twist the bottle using your hand underneath and keep your other hand around the cork still as you twist. The result should be that the cork doesn't let a popping sound occur however a gentle fizzing sound should happen instead.

3.) Take off the wiring and cork, take a glass by the stem and begin to pour slowly at an angle to about three quarters of the glass full. The glassware should always be tulip glasses. Never pour the contents into a glass on a table as this will cause the bubbles to froth excessively and overflow.

The result of this is you have a beautiful glass of bubbly with all the fizz intact.