Overview To Sampling Wine
The fundamentals of tasting red wine are reasonably straightforward to find out. As soon as the basics are understood, the nuances and details can be enhanced over a lifetime. Like any kind of various other skill, More »
Red Wine Types
Red wine has a lot of different types, among which, the most popular include Merlot, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz. Moreover, More »
Category Archives: Merlot
Health Benefits Of Wine
Will it give us an increase in longevity? Some very impressive statistics are coming out from Researchers who have found red wines rich in flavonoids are actually good for our health. These flavonoids are known for their antioxidant properties which work with the body to resist viruses and carcinogens among other perks, such as helping your body to resist cancer and cardiovascular disease.
Almost every year there are headlines touting the health benefits related to drinking wine. The good news is there really are health benefits to wine consumption. These benefits are based on moderate consumption. The American Heart Association classifies “moderate consumption” as one to two four-ounce glasses of wine per day. Here’s a list of benefits that should make you very happy to be a wine lover.
Resveratrol is produced by grapes to act as its defense, when it detects some kind of a fungal infection starting to develop in its skin, and when the skin is exposed to yeast during the process of fermentation. Other substances present in wine that have tremendous health benefits to our body are other types of polyphenols, antioxidants, and flavonoids.
Some studies in women regarding the consumption of alcohol and risk of breast cancer found an increase of this type of cancer in women who consume at least one drink daily. According to a report by the American Cancer Society in 2004 there was an increase of 30% in the death rate from breast cancer in women who would drink alcohol daily.
Many believe red wine is better for you than white wine, because that is what early studies found. Skin from red grapes contained a powerful antioxidant called resveratrol, which was transferred into red wine during manufacturing. However, nowadays manufacturers are altering their winemaking processes for both red and white wine to boost health benefits.
However, to get enough of the anti-oxidant for an immediate health supplement would require drinking a lot of wine at once, and of course that would be harmful. Chemists figured out how to get the beneficial antioxidants of red wine without the alcohol – the red wine pill. Resveratrol in pill form contains no alcohol, has no calories, and delivers more antioxidants than a glass of wine.
Also they have found that you can reduce your risk of getting heart disease as well so you may want to drink you daily dose of Resveratrol laced red wine. If are not a wine drinker and are looking to start then you may want to go to a wine tasting because it is the best way to find out what type of wine that you like. Also you will be able to taste a variety of wine without having to purchase a bottle that you may not like.
Extreme Weight Problems: While the term “beer belly” may have given alcohol a bad rap when it comes to weight, wine is actually proven to help the severely overweight. In order for this to be true, dry wine, wine that does not contain sugar, needs to be ingested: four or five ounces are taken at dinnertime or bedtime. In one study, the average weight loss of those who ingested this wine was twice that of those who didn’t.
Of course, the health benefits of wine are working only with a moderate consumption of this wonderful multi-use drink. Any abuse of alcohol which is contained in wine will not only eliminate all its benefits, but add to other health problems. So, always remember that like just about everything else, moderation is the key to take full advantage of wine.
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Wine Bottle Holders
Wine Bottle Holders are a fantastic gift idea for anyone who loves their wine. Our great selection has such a variety of themes and designs you are sure to find something for the wine lover in your life. Brilliant for birthdays, Christmas, anniversaries, Valentines or even as a thank you gift, these are a great gift idea that anyone would love to receive.
The wine bottle holders in this range include a whole host of animals and characters. We have dog wine bottle holders and cat wine bottle holders for pet lovers, as well as many other themed wine bottle holders for shopping addicts, party girls, motorbike fans and foodies amongst others and they are all made from 100% recyclable metal. Wine Bottle Holders make a great centrepiece for a dinner party. Why not give one to your host instead of the usual box of chocolates it will certainly be a talking point. And it is something your host can keep and use time and time again. These wine bottle holders are each a little work of art bringing something fun and eye catching to the dining table. And theyre useful too as the wine bottle is placed in the holder, those annoying drips of wine (especially red wine!) no longer get onto your tablecloth or wood staining and ruining them.
Wine Bottle Holders even look great out in the kitchen and are an ideal place to store open bottles of wine which do not need to be refrigerated. However it is always important to ensure that unopened bottles of wine are stored at their correct temperature and in their best environment. This ensures that the wine maintains its character and taste. Because each wine is different, it is best to find out the recommended storage for that particular grape so you get the best out of it, especially if you have a really good bottle of wine.
If youre picnicking then a wine bottle holder is a must. Safely tuck your bottle of wine into its holder as you lay out your food and you wont have to worry about finding a non bumpy bit of ground on which to store your bottle. If you are on a romantic picnic with the girl of your dreams the last thing you want to be worrying about is spilled wine and shell be very impressed with your organisation skills too! If your picnic is on the beach then using your wine bottle holder is even better. Keeping your bottle safely stored in its holder means you wont knock it into the sand or stones. And you can guarantee that even if the wind is blowing everything around when you eat outside at least you know your bottle of wine will be safely secured in place. Dining al fresco was never so easy!
Wine accessories such as these wine bottle holders make excellent gift ideas for wine lovers. Why not give a bottle of their favourite wine with the holder. It is a gift that can be used time and time again. For the full set why not also add a wine bottle stopper so all their wine drinking needs are catered for.
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Wine Aerators Reviewed
Giving your wine time to breathe is essential to getting the true experience of a wine’s flavor and feeling. If you’ve previously been just opening up a bottle and drinking it immediately, then the simple change of giving wine time to breathe is going to make a huge difference in your enjoyment of the wines you choose.
The effect that this will have is going to depend heavily in the kind of wine you choose. If you’re drinking a younger wine, giving it time to breathe is going to mellow out the harsher notes and make it a more pleasant experience. The effect on older wines is almost the exact opposites, as it brings out lost flavors and allows you to taste subtle flavors that you might miss if you were just going to drink it straight from the bottle.
The problem with this is that while giving the wine time to breathe, it also means that you have to decant the wine and allow it in the mix with the air so that the molecules of the wine have time to interact with the oxygen in the air. While this works, it’s also incredibly time consuming.
Which is why some enterprising folks have created wine aerators, which are designed to allow the air to mix with the wine as your pour, so that you can enjoy the full flavor of wine without having to decant and wait. If you’re someone who wants to enjoy your wine without having to go through the whole ritual first.
Like anything else, not all wine aerators are created equal. The two main things to consider with wine aerators are how well they work and their aesthetics. You need a wine aerator to actually do the job it was designed to do, and you also want something that’s going to not look like something created by a glassblower who had a sneezing fit.
A wine aerator that is extremly popular in the UK is beginning to make itself known as an essential part of any wine lover’s kitchen in the United States. This wine aerator has a great rep, but does the actual device live up to the hype.
The first and by far the most important thing to consider is whether or not the Wine aerator does what it’s intended to do: does it bring out the full flavor of the wine. The answer is an unequivocal yes.
The design is where it takes its name from; as it weaves the wine around the air, a process that gives you an optimum mix of air and wine, and it really b rings out the subtle flavors of virtually any wine. It’s also designed so that it can work with both a decanter and individual wineglasses, which makes it a very flexible aerator.
The functionality would probably be enough to recommend the Weaver on its own, but it’s a pretty nifty piece of work. It’s made out of more or less unbreakable polycarbonate in a beautiful design, so you’ll be happy to have it on your table.
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Making Wine at Home
People’s love for wine has extremely grown today. Not just in some countries but all over
the world. This is reason enough that the need to know how to make homemade wine is
tremendously increasing for personal consumption. Wine making equipment and supplies
today are readily available in stores anywhere. It allows wine lovers to make it possible
for themselves to stack their wine racks with their own homemade wines. The best thing
you get in making wine by yourself is fulfillment and contentment for the efforts spent.
For many years people have tried making their wines especially red and white wines at
home and have failed. As more people have tried to make this a hobby the materials,
supplies and recipes are being improved. The wine making kits help a lot and more
people learn to love and make home wine making their leisure and gratification. There
could even be times when some group of wine lovers exchange recipes to improve the
flavor of their own batches. How one person appreciates his/her homemade wine would
not be the same as how others would also value theirs. However, the kits available for
making homemade wine help make unswerving and dependable results so that more
people would enjoy the same wine.
For special family occasions like Christmas, birthdays, anniversaries, reunions and other
more wine makers and lovers may make special wines in preparation for these occasions.
This would make the special day enjoyable. As you look forward to the gathering, you
can time the preparation of your vintage as you know when to bottle and how long the
aging period is in time for the occasion. You also will reap financial benefits by making
your own wine at home. Wine connoisseurs will only tell you that the more expensive
the wine the better it tastes, but this is not true all the time. The more you keep on
making your own home made wine soon you will be able to produce an excellent and
exceptional tasting wine.
Normally, the more you learn about something the more you learn to appreciate its
complexities. The more you would love to do it. The same thing goes with wine
making at home, the more you learn to make it, the more you will love to do it.
As you keep doing this, in just a short period of time you’ll find yourself into that hobby
and wine making at home will be your passion then. You will absolutely enjoy it, even
your family and friends will get into your passion. Dare yourself…Homemade wine
making is really a grand and exciting learning experience. Make it a hobby, be satisfied
and enjoy.
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Wining and Dining
This article explains some basic information about wine as it relates to food and cooking. I cannot think of a better marriage in the culinary sphere than that of food and wine. What we choose to drink with our food can completely alter the entire dining experience; whether it is in a 5-star restaurant eating duck confit or sitting in your own backyard with the grill fired up, wine will always bring a new level to your food experience. This article will cover how to read wine labels, order wine in a restaurant, pair wine with food, and avoid the ever-so-dreaded corked wine. Once one has a basic grasp on these core principles they will feel more comfortable mingling food and wine in their next dining experience.
Wine labels do contain a ton of information and reading them can prove to be a daunting task. One way of elevating this concern is to realize that the information is being provided to assist you in making an informed, accurate wine selection. Use the information to your advantage and you will begin to reap the benefits quickly. The largest print of the front of the wine bottle is the name of the winery from which the wine came. To some this means nothing, to others this is a deal breaker. The smaller text under the name is referred to as the “appellation” or simply put ‘the country or region where the grapes were grown’. This can be extremely broad, like earth, or very specific, like Joe’s Winery, row 2 section 4. Take this information with a grain of salt. It can shed some light as to the wine’s contents, but should not be a deciding factor when making your selection. The date on the bottle correlates to the wine’s vintage- the year in which the grapes were harvested. A lot of people are incorrect in thinking this is the date in which the wine was bottled, but that is not necessarily the case. Wines can be bottled years after the grapes are picked. Varietal refers to the specific kind of grapes from which the wine was made. Not all wines list a varietal as they may not be required to do so by law, or the wine contains levels of numerous varietals. A few other “uncommon” items you may see listed on a label are ripeness, estate bottling, and other required information by law.
Ordering wine with food can be very difficult as restaurants usually present you with a bible listing of available wines. The most important things you need to consider are what you are looking for in a wine at that specific time. Go around the table and get a feel for what everyone is going to order, what their wine preferences are, are what kind of mood you are trying to set for the meal. Keep in mind the one bottle of wine usually serves about 3 people. If you have a group of 5 to 7, and some want red and others want white, then go ahead and order one of each. Once you have a feel for what you are looking for, then delve into the wine list. Most good wine lists will contain the wine’s producer, country of origin, vintage, specific varietal notes, and offer suggestions for ideal food pairings. If this information is limited, feel free to quiz your server a bit about what they suggest, which wine has been most popular, or what the chef may recommend. This is a great chance for you to learn and for them to show off all of the wonderful memorization. Once selected, make sure you verify your wine selection when it is brought to the table. This is usually a great chance for the server to add $ 50 onto the bill. Take a taste, confirm, and enjoy your evening.
Pairing wine with food is probably the most personal aspect of discovering the world of wine. What tastes good to you outweighs all other predefined principles on how food and wine interact. I generally get the fullest essence of a wine by using both smell and taste. The nose can pickup smaller notes that your mouth is just not equipped for. Use the two senses in conjunction with one another to gain the most insight. A general rule is to pair delicate wines (white) with light food, and full wines (reds) with heartier food.
I tried to avoid this topic, but if I’m going to talk about food and wine as it relates to the culinary world, then I must share a little knowledge with you about corked wine. Corked wine arises when the actual cork (yes, the cork, not the wine) has been contaminated with TCA. Depending on the amount of TCA, the affects will range from the wine smelling like nothing at all to smelling like an old, damp attic. TCA can almost always be identified in the ordering stage listed above, when the server brings the bottle to your table and you take your initial whiff. Now, corked wine wouldn’t be worth mentioning, except I recently came across an article which shows that nearly 5% of wine bottles are affected by TCA contamination in at least some part. This was a staggering statistic to me, and after watching how many bottles get popped at a restaurant in any given night, I thought it was something to start paying attention to. If you cannot detect after your initial whiff and first taste, then it will most likely not affect your dining experience. Only in strong cases would one need to send a bottle back due to the amount of TCA present. This is not something to look for in every bottle, and I am not trying to make the general public skeptical about every bottle of wine, but it is something to tuck back in the wine sector of your brain. I hope this article presented you with some useful information on how food and wine interact with one-another. I can’t stress how intermingled the two are in the culinary world, and if one wants to become a success in the kitchen then they must have at least a basic understanding of this relationship. Now that you have a basic grasp on how to read wine labels, how to order wine in a restaurant, how to pair wine with food, and how to avoid the ever-so-dreaded corked wine, you can feel that much more comfortable in your next dining experience. If anyone has had some successful (or not so successful) wine experiences while dining out, I ask that you share them in your comments here. Real-world scenarios are what help everyone else learn about the superb relationship between food and wine.
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