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: Zinfandel
Temecula Wine Tours in the Sky
Like many people, I am fascinated by flying. I love to get on an aircraft not only because it take me to faraway land, but also because it gives me a feeling of being lifted up in the sky. To me, it’s a great way to start the day with peace, tranquility and stunning views.
A few years ago my husband and I and some friends took a helicopter tour over volcanoes national Park on the big Island in Hawaii. Now that was a great time! The flight itself lasted approximately 45 minutes, which does not really seem like a long time. But we got to see a lot in those 45 minutes.
It seems like whenever I want to try a new adventure, I head for smaller and smaller aircraft, as is evidenced by this flight in a hot air balloon over the Temecula wine country. For my next adventure I’m really kicking around the idea of doing some hang gliding on the Oregon coast.
I loved the peace and tranquility of being up in the air with the birds, without the noise of a propelled craft. Although the sound of pumping hot air into the balloon to keep us aloft was quite noisy. Other than that, the absolute solitude was astounding. The views of the vineyards in the Temecula Valley was awe inspiring. I cannot imagine a better way to start the day!
We took the morning flight, which had us up in the air in the while it was still fresh. They served Champagne before the flight, and we departed from one of the Temecua Valley wineries. After the flight, we had lunch on a lovely terrace overlooking the vineyards and rehashed our flight. Then we continued on to the ground portion of our wonderful Temecula wine tour with an open air jeep tour. In addition to the wineries we visited, there was even some off roading to a spot with a great view of the valley from a cliff side vantage point, that was off the beaten track.
It is hard to describe how it feels to hang in the air. It is not quite the same sensation as being in an airplane, because an airplane is rapidly moving through the sky. A hot air balloon, while not motionless, is moving so slowly that it feels as if you are motionless. But, unlike the hang gliding I will try next, with a hot air balloon ride you have the security of a floor under your feet and walls around you.
And the views! I am a big fan of rooftop bars or tall buildings with views. As long as there is some type of railing or barrier between me and the view, my fear of heights does not kick in. My camera had a busy morning of it, capturing the oh so different angle we had of the vineyards. It was impossible to not end up with some great photos. It was also one of the most romantic mornings I have ever had in my life. Since my husband and I were the only passengers, our guide graciously left us alone unless we addressed him.
It was great to be able to see the vineyards from the air, and then to finish up my Temecula wine tours adventure in an open-air Jeep, visiting the wineries that I recently viewed from the air. It’s a good thing we did not do it the other way around. Although it would be great fun to climb into a hot air balloon after a day of wine tasting, since I swallow instead of spit when I am wine tasting, I cannot see them allowing me to do that.
How to Spot Counterfeit Wines
“Keep clear of wine I tell you, white or red, especially Spanish wines which they provide and have on sale in Fish Street and Cheapside. That wine mysteriously finds its way to mix itself with others.” Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales (14th Century).
Chaucer, evidently a suspicious man, would no doubt be amazed at the sophistication of counterfeit wine production in the 20th and 21st century. As in both the art and antique world, rogue elements have been attracted by fine wine’s high prices, so much so that wine counterfeit trading on the secondary fine wine market has risen to a worrying 5%, according to Wine Spectator magazine.
It’s important to note of course that counterfeit or fake wine can also cover doctored or illegally blended wines. For the purposes of this article we are concentrating on the particular band of black marketers who devote themselves to the manufacturing, distribution and selling of fraudulent fine wines.
So how do you spot a counterfeit bottle?
LABEL
Many leading estates have their wine labels posted on their website. Failing this you can search for the wine label via Google Images (take care to ensure the website you end up on is reputable). Benchmark the website label with your own. In the case of a bottle in your possession, remember if a wine is old, a perfect label is often a worrying sign…
CORK
Does the cork look unusually young? Corks, like bodies, become brittle with age. If your bottle purports to be 15/20 years old, does the cork look of a similar age? (to complicate matters slightly, wine collectors can, and do, recork wines occasionally).
CAPSULES/FOILS
Capsules can be lead, wax aluminium, or plastic. Make sure your capsule is of a type (and colour) that the wine estate or Chateau uses (or used).
BOTTLE SHAPE
Look at the wine estate’s website again. Does the shape of your bottle concur with the bottle shape on the website? This is a crude method, but remember that fine wines are generally found in Burgundy (sloping shoulder) or Bordeaux (angular shoulder) shaped bottles.
Finally, make sure you buy from established, reputable sources.
Wine Cork Screws and Openers
There are many varieties of wine cork screws and openers available that will suit everyone from the new wine drinker to the all-out, wine cellar owning enthusiast. What you need will simply depend on your personal needs. Lever style corkscrews are good for beginners. This really makes opening wine bottles easier than the hand screw type. This style is sure to quickly and easily open up wine bottles with great speed. This is the easiest type of opener but it is pretty big in your drawer in space. They tend to range from $ 30-$ 150, depending on how complex it is.
The waiter’s corkscrew is the old fashioned opener that resembles a pocket knife with the cork screw and bottle opener. This is one of the hardest wine cork screws and openers to use and requires a good bit of work and practice to get good at using. It is very inexpensive and takes up little space when closed. It also contains a knife which is helpful in removing foil on a bottle of wine. The twisting pull cork is a handy little device which is a step up from the waiter’s corkscrew. You simply pop this on the bottle, twist it down, and pull out the cork! A quality model is important and for those with wrist troubles, this may not be the right type of opener.
Winged corkscrews are yet another type of wine cork screws and openers. This is a cork screw that when twisted downward, the wings come up. When the wings are up completely, you push them downward, which really saves on hand and arm power if you are not strong. The two-pronged opener is not a cork screw, and you get the two metal prongs down the two sides of the cork. Once in, you pull and twist until the cork comes out. This is really good for old wine with a damaged cork, but this style of wine bottle opener is not easy to use and can be damaged itself if not used properly.
The final type of cork screw is the air pump corkscrew. You pump air which is forced between the wine and the cork, forcing the cork to rise up and come out. Some people don’t feel that this is method is good for the wine, so it is not a very popular one. As you can see there are many types of wine cork screws and openers to choose from. The style you choose depends on how you will use it and which method you will prefer.
Wine History – A Quick Lesson
As crazy as this sounds and you might not believe it, but before there was wine, there were vessels to drink it from. Yes, believe it or not, there were containers that actually held liquid before liquid gold was created. These containers were just waiting for something to fill it that would satisfy its purpose far beyond what it could ever dream. Enter wine. The first wine glasses were made from many different materials from baked clay potter to gourds made of leather to goblets of silver and gold. Animal horns were even used, especially by the Vikings. These vessel examples were what was used when one was trying to maintain a certain level of decorum, otherwise drinking straight from larger storage container was entirely acceptable.
As far back as 50 A.D.a scientist named Pliny the Elder worked to encourage glass as a preferred container for holding wine, but this was not widely possible due to the fact that glass was as treasured a material as gold and jewels because at that time the process and ancient technology used to make glass was expensive and very difficult. Because of this, the first version of the wine glass that consisted of a base, stem and foot dates from the 15th century. Due to the Industrial Revolution, glass today is very easy to produce which in turn makes it affordable compared to all previous centuries. In fact, even as late as the beginning of the 20th century glass was difficult to mass produce. These facts make it easy to see how glass was just as precious as gold or silver a few hundred years ago.
Again, because of the Industrial Revolution, the mass production of glass suddenly made sets of wine glasses affordable to everyday blue collar working folks. Wine glasses along with champagne flutes, tumblers and goblets were sold in sets, usually containing a dozen in each set. Suddenly glass was the preferred material for wine vessels and this made it easy for people to covet the color and body of the wine, which is just as important as taste and indeed needed to get the full experience out of drinking wine. With these discoveries, glass began to be shaped specifically to enhance the bouquet and body of red, white and blush wine alike. These inventions gave a while new perspective and twist into wine drinking and enjoyment.
Shape and size of the bowl of the glass is very important to the full experience of wine enjoyment. You should buy glasses specifically for the red and white wine and even champagne. A lot of science has gone into the shape of each type of glass and you would greatly benefit by using the proper shape for the wine you are drinking.
Find More Zinfandel Wine Articles
Which Wine Goes With What?
Most everyone reading is now rolling their eyes. “Not THIS again!” So much fuss is made over pairings between food and wine, that you have to wonder what all the fuss is about, and whether it is possible for anyone to learn it in one lifetime. Do you just have to go to wine college and get a degree? Well, no, but it wouldn’t hurt…
Let’s try to skim this down to the basic elements: At the end, it’s all about you, your taste buds, and how much you care. If you think tilapia fried in olive oil is the best match for Cabernet, that’s all you. Nobody is more right about what you like than you are. And if you really want to appreciate the elegant art of matching food with wine, you should experiment anyway. How are you going to know why a buttery Chardonnay isn’t a good companion for prime rib beef, until you try it yourself? Go ahead and try new things; we promise that the Wine Police won’t come and haul you away!
There are the “by-the-book” wine snobs who have vast lists of food and wine pairings. At the other end of the spectrum are those who dismiss the whole school of thought as a lot of hot air. The truth, as you might expect, lies somewhere in the middle. And with many wine experts contradicting each other on specific cases, you would expect that there’s less science and more art to it.
Some basic rules of thumb: Either white wines go with fish and poultry and red with everything else, or else red wines go best with red meats (beef, pork, lamb) and white wines go with everything else. If only it were as simple as color-coding!
Here’s a better rule of thumb: Pair a strong-taste with a delicate taste. Another way to say this is “complex wines with simple foods, simple wines with complex foods”. You want the two to compliment each other. Think of how you wouldn’t wear a polka-dot shirt with a striped tie, but rather match a solid color to a pattern.
As with clothes, you also don’t want the tastes of food and wine to clash. Use the same common sense that tells you which foods match together. A sweet dinner of crab’s legs and lobster tail will be great with a Chardonnay, which is sweet and delicate. A grilled T-bone steak wants a hefty, fruity wine with a kick to compliment it; time for a Bordeaux! But in some cases, contrast is more important. Liver is a strong, lingering taste, so it needs a modest, mild, contrasting compliment, rather than a match which would be overpowering; how about a Pinot Noir or any burgundy that isn’t too demanding?
The “red with red” rule is so consistent that it even applies to things other than meat: For pasta, match a red wine to a tomato-based red pasta sauce, and a white to a white Alfredo-type sauce. The same goes for sauces on vegetables. As for vegetables themselves, once again we should go for matching simple for simple with complex for complex.
Cheeses are another broad area. Anything goes. Most wine experts in fact like to have a wide array of cheeses and wines so they can mix and match. As with playing chords on a musical instrument, there isn’t always an absolutely right or wrong answer. This goes for cheese sauces and fondues, too.
The purpose of this little spiel is to demystify the world of wine for the common person. Hopefully, you’ve gleaned enough hints from here to have a basic concept of what’s going on. If you want to pursue the subject deeper, there’s whole encyclopedias devoted to this subject. And if you find yourself dining with companions who barely tolerate your wine drinking, let alone putting up with a rule-book wine bore, you’ll still be loose enough to relax and not be so stuffy about it.