Q: I've heard that cheese tends to make any wine taste better (something about the effect on the taste buds I think), but may then mask the taste of excellent wine. Is this true?
-From: Christina K. in Understanding Wine

A: You are correct, Christina. There's an old saying among wine merchants, "Buy on bread, sell on cheese," since plain bread keeps your palate fresh so you can better evaluate the wine while cheese smooths the rough edges of a less-than-wonderful wine.

Cheese shields your taste buds much like the protective ear muffs worn by construction workers. You won't feel the blast of tannins found in some red wines, but the symphony found in others will also be muted.

Here's how it works: The fats and proteins in the cheese gum up your taste buds so there's little chance for tannins to make much of an impact. This is why I advise leaving the cheese to the end of an analytical wine tasting.

When you're at a tasting and want to cleanse your palate between wines, stick to water and plain crackers. To clear cheese out from your taste buds, go for more water and crackers as well as a wine with good acidity.

-- Gloria Maroti, director of education

Q: Can the grapes of the three red wines in this course be mixed with others grapes to make up different wines?
-From: Deb F. in the ABCs of Wine Sales and Service

A: Pinot Noir is rarely blended. This delicately-flavored grape just doesn't like mixing it up with other grapes. Think of the brilliant kid in your piano class. (Or, if I were to compare Pinot to food, I'd think of Pinot Noir as really good sorbet, with a pure, delicate, decided flavor on it's own -- you just don't want to blend in chocolate chunks or browies because they'd overwhelm the delicate flavors of the sorbet.)

Shiraz (aka Syrah) can be delicate like Pinot, especially in the Northern Rhone where it is often bottled on its own, or it can be the popular kid on the block who makes every outing an adventure. The Aussies sometimes blend Shiraz with Cabernet Sauvignon and in the Southern Rhone, Syrah is often mixed with Grenache.

Cabernet Sauvignon can be pretty tannic on it's own; it's a serious, focused adult who relaxes a bit when surrounded by friends. Cab's best friend and most frequent blending partner is Merlot (which is usually softer, fleshier and fruitier), followed by Cabernet Franc and sometimes Malbec and Petit Verdot. These grapes are the typical blend for red wines in Bordeaux. In California, this Bordeaux blend is sometimes called Meritage (rhymes with heritage).

-- Gloria Maroti, director of education

Q: How long will a dessert wine or Port stay fresh after the bottle is opened?
-From: John R. in Understanding Wine

A: Sweet dessert wines generally hold up better than dry wines once opened. Two or three days shouldn't affect the quality too much, even up to a week, depending on the wine.

Other dessert wines, like Sherry, Tawny Port or Madeira, maintain their integrity for a longer period of time because they have been exposed to oxygen during the winemaking process and the alcohol, which acts as a preservative, is higher. A week, maybe two, should be no problem once they are open.

To help maintain freshness, opened wines should always be kept in the refrigerator.

-- Bruce Sanderson, tasting director and senior editor

Q: At what point should a novice taste a truly fine, well-balanced wine? Surely if this occurs too early, with little understanding of what truly makes a fine wine, the experience is almost wasted. What do you think?
-From: John R. in Understanding Wine

A: Upon reading your question, the often-repeated adage, "Youth is wasted on the young," springs to mind. Children may not appreciate why running barefoot across the lawn is so deliciously wonderful, but ear-to-ear grins prove that they enjoy it all the same.

Now to apply that experience to wine. Even though I knew little about wine (other than the wine coolers and odd bottle I drank in college), the first good bottle I drank grabbed my attention. I remember voicing my incredulity, "This was made from grapes? Nothing but grapes? Are you sure It tastes really good; it has so many different flavors. May I have some more?"

The upshot is that I don't think it's ever too early to taste a really fine wine. That said, I do think that with age and experience, we gain the context, the framework, the language that allow us to more nearly define why barefoot freedom or a particular wine are so wonderful.

The lawn? A cool and prickly green swath in front of a row of brick double-deckers in Belmont, Massachusetts.
The wine? A 1964 Amarone.

-- Gloria Maroti, director of education

Q: Do the glasses one uses for sampling/drinking wine influence the drinking experience?
-From: Chris D. in Understanding Wine

A: Absolutely the glasses make a difference. They don't have to be of the foo-foo pricey variety, but the basic wine-glass should be tulip-shaped; the wider bowl lets you swirl the wine without spilling and the narrower rim helps concentrate aromas.

To see what a difference a glass makes, try the same wine out of a tulip-shaped glass, a water glass and a plastic cup. See if the wine doesn't taste markedly different from the three different glasses.

Even the difference between various tulip-shaped glasses can be significant. If you are short on glasses at a tasting, make sure each individual taster has all the same glasses for the wines they'll compare.

-- Gloria Maroti, director of education

Q: Why are single vineyard wines significant? Are they always better than blends from multiple vineyards?
-From: Lisa M. in Understanding Wine

A: Like the lead singer in a Broadway musical, a single-vineyard wine tends to have its own unique character and charm. When assessing character, “better” comes down to personal taste; the character might appeal to you, or it might not. Quality is a separate issue and, for the most part, only exceptional vineyards are used to produce single-vineyard wines. These wines usually reflect the quality of the vineyard, but may occasionally have an off-vintage (or an off-night, to continue the analogy).

On the other hand, wines blended from multiple vineyards are more like the musical's chorus. The character may be less exciting, but if one of the singers is having an off-night, the rest make up for it.

Finally, when it comes to compensation, both single-vineyard wines and true stars are rare and both command higher prices than the chorus.

-- Gloria Maroti, director of education