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 »
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.
The Wine Glasses For Customers
When you are going to be buying promotional wine glasses for your customers, there are several things to consider. It is not as simple as just buying coffee mugs for customers, there is much more to it than that. You need to consider several things when buying promotional items for your customers.
Wine glasses need to be made out of certain glass because if the wine glass is made from cut or fused glass, it will interfere with the taste of the wine. Brown glass and lead crystal glass are considered the best types of glass for wine. Lead crystal glasses are considered the best glasses for wine because they look good and are the best material for the flavor of the wine.
The shapes of the glasses are very important to keep the flavor and the aroma at its highest level. In order to qualify as a wine glass, the opening of the glass must not be wider than the widest part of the bowl of the glass. The wine glass also needs to have a long stem to keep fingers from smearing the glass, and the glass stem prevents your hand from warming the wine, as is found with brandy glasses and their short stems.
Red wine glasses have a rounder and wider bowl which increases the rate of oxidization, which subtly alters the flavor and aroma. Oxidization is better for red wines than white wines, hence the different glass.
White wine glasses can vary greatly in their size and shapes. These glasses will be designed so that there is minimal oxidization because this is not something that you want with your white wine. These glasses have smaller mouths, and that reduced surface area reduces the overall rate of oxidization. These glasses are also used for champagne since you do not want much oxidization with champagne either.
When you are giving away promotional glasses, you want to make sure that you give your customers glasses that they will want. While you will always have your company name and logo on the personalized glasses, you should ensure that you give customers who drink red wine, red wine glasses, and vise versa for white wine glasses. This ensures that the glasses will be used on a regular basis by your customers, and that gives your brand the most exposure which is very important.
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Six Basic Steps to Make Wine
Do You Know the Basic Steps to Make Wine? These Winemaking Instructions will Test Your Wine Savvy
All wines are made differently, where the winemaking process is easily adapted to the different grape cultivars that exist. While the process of making wine is one and only, there are many variations that you can apply to better suit the style of wine you wish to brew, and the type of grape varietal that you’ve harvested for your winemaking.
Below you will find the basic wine making steps and instructions to achieving a delicious bottle of wine. You can follow this to the t, or tweak it in your best knowledge to improve the quality and taste of your resulting brew.
1) Sanitization
Alike other processes of food and beverage production, all materials and consumables must be ridded of bacteria and natural yeasts, which can alter or throw off the quality and flavor of your wine. To eliminate harmful microorganisms successfully, use cold water to wash your produce and allow to air dry. Next, prepare a solution made of 5 crushed Campden tablets, in half a gallon of water. Cover al surfaces with the mixed solution, let act for ten minutes and rinse. Allow surfaces to air-dry thoroughly before you begin using your workstation.
2) Crushing
In winemaking, crushing is done to create a must (liquid and solids) out of the grapes. While crushing is generally achieved with the use of a crushing grate, it used to be traditionally done by feet stomping. Nowadays, tools like crushing grates or wooden paddles allow us to obtain the same result, with much less space and physical effort.
For white wines, grapes that are crushed must then be separated from their skins, stems and seeds (also called lees) in order to prevent the extraction of color into the juice and wine-to-be. For red wines, the lees are left in the must to incorporate tannins (the pigment responsible for red wine color) into the brew.
3) Preparing a Starting Liquid
In order to have an efficient fermentation process, you must make a starting liquid with the wine making yeast that you have chosen. To prepare a starting liquid, allow 24hrs for yeast to wake. Mix yeast, with a jug of lukewarm water and sugar. Cover and let sit for a day. In the meantime, place the must and/or grape juice in a primary fermentor; mix in 4 crushed camped tablets and cover. . If desired, incorporate two crushed Campden tablets to rid your crushed grapes of any bacteria or unwanted yeasts from interfering with the wine fermentation.
4) Fermenting
Once your starting liquid has rested for a day, you’ll see foam forming at the top. Incorporate the liquid to the primary fermentor along with the must (for red wines) and/or grape juice (for white wines). A yeast nutrient can also be added at this point. Top container off with water up to the 5.5gal mark. Do not mix or stir. Cover.
5) Fermenting II
After 2 days have elapsed, you must now mix in the fermenting liquid twice a day. Do this until a week of fermentation is complete, or modify this step according to the type of wine that you are making. Alterations will include temperature conditions, length of fermentation and other details in the process.
6) Racking
Once the grape juice has been made into wine via fermentation, you are now ready to rack the wine and eliminate sediments. If you are making re wine, make sure to remove the pomace (or left over seeds, stems and skins) that float on the surface of the fermentor. Extract any retained juice by using a mesh bag to squeeze the liquid through. Using a hose, siphon the wine into a carboy, making sure to leave any sediment in the bottom of the primary fermentor.
Top off carboy with water if necessary (up to measured line), and set up a moistened airlock to prevent the intrusion of oxygen in the wine. Allow the wine to sit for 4 weeks, and do a second racking to eliminate other sediments that could remain in the wine. A third racking might be necessary for heavily-sedimented red wines, or if you wish to clarify your wine further. Clarifying agents can also be used to eliminate the need for a third racking, yet many winemakers recommend doing this to achieve a smooth, nicely bodied wine.
Following the racking, you’ll bottle and age. Make sure to adapt the aging process to the style of wine that you wish to make. To your winemaking success!
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Under Counter Wine Racks Save Space
Under counter wine racks are small and compact designed to fit in tight spaces. You can find many different styles and sizes of under counter wine racks. This racking will be the most suitable for kitchens or under your wine bar.
There are many things that you must take into consideration when you are looking for the best under counter wine rack. The first is of course your budget and prices will vary. The price is generally going to be less expensive when it is smaller with less features, and will increase in price as the rack gets larger with additional features.
Some additional considerations that are very important will be the size of the space that you will be putting your under counter wine rack. Understanding your needs will help you narrow down your available choices and make your selection a bit easier.
In order to purchase the right wine rack that will go under your counter in your kitchen or behind your wine bar you will need to take the above things into consideration, as well as what type of wine that you will be storing in the unit. Wine storage is important to maintaining the quality of your wine whether it’s red wine or white wine. As opposed to an under counter wine rack, you may also want to consider a small wine cabinet instead which allows for the wine to be stored in a climate controlled environment.
You are going to have many choices of under counter wine racks to choose from and if you use the methods above then it should drastically cut down on the choices. Purchasing your wine rack online will save you money, but more importantly it will help you to determine the best model for you.
If you have a certain space you are trying to fill, you may need a custom wine rack. However, you should also look at a variety of modular or kit racking that is available. Many of the modular racks can be cut in height or width to allow for a customized under counter rack at a modular price!
White Wine – Ultimate Sophistication
The ultimate in sophistication and class in the world of wine would be the white wine. It is so versatile because of all the varieties and styles is comes in. White wine can be paired with just about any food you can imagine. Whites can be sweet, dry or even semi-sweet. They are easy to recognize because of their light yellow or almost clear coloring. White varietals are grown all over the world with the most famous probably being the Chardonnay grape originally from France. However, this grape is just as at home in California and New Zealand. This white wine is renowned for its smoke flavor with a hint of oak. Chardonnay is not the favorite of this author, but that does not diminish its popularity world wide.
A much sweeter contender for favorite white wine worldwide would be the Riesling. Rieslings originate in Germany and by far they make the best, but it has had a slow start in the world of white wine. Unfortunately there are many poor quality sugary substitutes which have given Rieslings a bad name. These substitutes have tarnished the reputation of a very fine wine, but like the nature of all Germans, they do not give up and they quickly overcome. High quality Rieslings hail from the Rhine and Saar valleys and have help to reestablish this wine as one of the finer whites. Varieties in America and Australia have contributed to the good reputation of this grape variety.
A great way to enjoy your favorite whites thoroughly is to pair them with your favorite foods. Cheese is a simple and great way to enjoy your favorite white wine. Mild cheese is best paired with a sweeter white like White Riesling or a Gewurztraminer. Full bodied cheeses pair wonderfully with a Chenin Blanc or a Dry Riesling. Seafood or pastas with cream sauces should be paired with a Chardonnay to enhance flavor while shellfish like lobster, crab, and shrimp pair amazing with a Sauvignon Blanc. Asian foods like Thai pair great with the sweet wines as well, the best being Gerwurztramner. Poultry goes well with any white wine. This may surprise many of you, but chocolate is perfect with a glass of White Riesling. Yummy!
While it may be important to consider what food you will pair with your white wine it is more important to enjoy the wine you are drinking. The number one reason to choose any wine is by if you like it or not. Then when you find one or many you like, you might try to increase your pleasure by pairing it with just the right food. The quality, color, notes and variety all combine to make the best wines in the world, but that is all for naught if you do not like it in the first place and cannot find yourself taking another sip. White wine is considered the ultimate in class because of its versatility. You can drink whites socially, with a meal or while reading a book! You will find the best white wines being drunk during BBQ’s and charity events alike. It is your choice and make it confidently and often.
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